Ar-Rahman · Madani · ayah 77 of 78

Ar-Rahman 55:77

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

“So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?”

Saheeh International

Essence

The question comes for the thirty-first and last time; after it there is no more asking, only the Name, so this answer counts.

A reflection

The last time it is asked

By the time a listener reaches this ayah, the refrain has become familiar, even comfortable. It is easy to assume this one is simply the thirty-first of thirty-one: the same line, one more time.

But it is also the last. After it the surah asks nothing more. The next ayah is not a question. It is a declaration: blessed is the name of your Lord.

An old man is in hospital in the last week of his life. His grandson has put Ar-Rahman on his phone and propped it by the pillow. Each time the refrain comes, the old man's lips move with the answer, too weak to be heard. At the last refrain he gathers himself and says it aloud, clearly, so that the nurse at the next bed turns round. Not one of Your favours, my Lord, do I deny. Then he closes his eyes and listens to the final ayah.

He had heard the question all his life. He knew this was the time to answer it properly.

That is the weight of a last question. Thirty times the surah asked and moved on, leaving room to answer later. Here, there is no later in the surah. Whatever the listener says now is the answer he leaves it with.

The same is true of a life. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever repents before the sun rises from the west, Allah turns to him. Muslim records it. The door is open, but it is not open for ever.

If you have heard this question many times and never really answered it, this is the place. Say the answer aloud, once, as if it were the last time it would be asked of you.

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.