Al-Hadid · Madani · ayah 11 of 29

Al-Hadid 57:11

مَّن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يُقْرِضُ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَـٰعِفَهُۥ لَهُۥ وَلَهُۥٓ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ

“Who is it that would loan Allāh a goodly loan so He will multiply it for him and he will have a noble reward?”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah asks who will advance Him a beautiful loan, as if it were already done, and promises to repay it multiplied, with His pleasure besides.

A reflection

Asked as if it had already been done

Man dhā alladhī yuqriḍu Allāha qarḍan ḥasanan: who is it that will lend Allah a beautiful loan? The question form is not a request for information. One commentator calls it a most eloquent urging, confirming the command to spend that came a few ayat earlier.

Another commentator notices something finer in the grammar. Normally you ask "who did it?" when you know a thing has happened and want to know the doer. The ayah is phrased that way on purpose. It asks about the doer as though the deed, with so many reasons pressing for it, has already been done. The only question left is who did it, so that he can be rewarded.

Picture a primary teacher arriving early on a Monday. The classroom, which she left in chaos on Friday, has been tidied: chairs stacked, books shelved, a vase of supermarket flowers on her desk. She does not ask "will someone tidy this?" She asks the class, beaming, "Who did this?" She already knows the deed is good. She wants to know whom to thank.

That is the tone of this ayah. It does not plead or threaten. It asks, almost as a host scanning a room for the guest he wants to honour: who is the one? The doubling and the noble wage are already waiting for whoever turns out to be that person.

There is a quiet invitation here, especially after the previous ayah ranked the early givers above the later ones. The question is open to anyone reading it now. Man dhā: whoever you are, however late you have come. It does not ask whether you are rich enough or early enough. It asks who will step forward, as though the door has already been opened and a place set for whoever does.

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.