An-Najm · Makki · ayah 5 of 62

An-Najm 53:5

عَلَّمَهُۥ شَدِيدُ ٱلْقُوَىٰ

“Taught to him by one intense in strength [i.e., Gabriel] -”

Saheeh International

Essence

He was taught, and his teacher was one mighty in every strength that makes a messenger trustworthy: understanding, memory and faithfulness.

A reflection

The three strengths of anyone you trust

Shadīd al-quwā: mighty in strengths. Note the plural. The first hearers could see this word in their hands. A rope is made of quwā, strands, each one a quwwa, twisted together. Make one strand thicker than the rest, the lexicons note, and the rope soon snaps. Strength is many strands, wound evenly, bearing a load together.

One great classical theologian asks why that matters, and his answer is practical. When we decide whether to trust what someone passes on, we test three things. First, their understanding. If we suspect a person is muddled, we do not trust his report of a difficult matter; we assume he misunderstood. Second, their memory. Even if he understood, did he forget? Third, their faithfulness. Even if he understood and remembered, did he twist it? Mighty in strands answers all three at once. The angel who taught the Prophet ﷺ understood perfectly, kept it perfectly, and delivered it without alteration.

The same theologian links this to the fuller portrait in Surah At-Takwir. There the angel is possessed of strength, secure with the Lord of the Throne, obeyed, and trustworthy (81:20-21).

Think of a family that must send someone to speak to another family about a proposed marriage. They do not send the loudest uncle, or the richest. They send the one who will grasp what is really being said in that room. Who will remember the details exactly. And who will report back faithfully, even what the family does not want to hear.

Those three tests apply to anyone you rely on: a deputy, a solicitor, a friend who passes on news.

And they apply to you. Where are you weak? Some of us understand well but forget. Some remember everything and colour it. Some are scrupulously honest and simply did not grasp the point. Like the rope, you are only as strong as your weakest strand. Being trusted with anything important asks for all three, wound together.

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.