Muhammad · Madani · ayah 17 of 38

Muhammad 47:17

وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱهْتَدَوْا۟ زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَءَاتَىٰهُمْ تَقْوَىٰهُمْ

“And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.[1500]”

Saheeh International

Essence

The same recitation that left some blank left others more guided than before, and with a God-consciousness that was His gift to them.

A reflection

Same gathering, opposite results

This ayah answers the one before. In 47:16, people sat with the Prophet ﷺ, heard the Quran and walked out asking what had been said. Here, others sat in the very same gathering. One classical commentator says what they heard from him added faith to their faith, and clarity to the clarity they already had.

The same words. The same room. Opposite results.

What made the difference was not the speaker or the words. It was what each listener brought into the room.

Picture two men who join the same weekly tafsir class at their local mosque. Both attend for a year. One arrives each week with a single question written on a scrap of paper from his own reading. He leaves with it answered, and with two more. The other comes mainly for the tea and the company afterwards. At the end of the year, the first has read half the Quran with its meanings. The second can recite the teacher's favourite jokes.

Neither was turned away. The class gave each of them exactly what they came to receive. The teacher did not change from one row to the next. The listeners did.

A further commentary notices how carefully the surah pairs its opposites. The hearts sealed by accumulated rust in 47:16 are set against guidance that grows in 47:17. Following desire is set against being given God-consciousness.

That is worth remembering every time the Quran is recited in your hearing. The words are the same for everyone present. What they become in you depends on whether you came to receive, or only to attend.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.