Al-Hadid · Madani · ayah 25 of 29

Al-Hadid 57:25

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَنزَلْنَا ٱلْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَـٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥ وَرُسُلَهُۥ بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ

“We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allāh may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allāh is Powerful and Exalted in Might.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Messengers, a Book and a balance came so people would uphold visible justice, with iron to restrain and serve.

A reflection

The five-year-old carrying the shopping

A father comes back from the supermarket with six heavy bags. His five-year-old daughter runs out and insists on helping. He hands her the bag with the bread in it. She staggers up the path, proud and red-faced. He could have carried everything in one trip. He did not need her help. She needed to give it.

The ayah ends: wa li-yaʿlama Allāhu man yanṣuruhu wa rusulahu bi-al-ghayb. Inna Allāha qawiyyun ʿazīz. So that Allah may make evident who supports Him and His messengers, unseen. Truly, Allah is Strong, Mighty.

Notice the order. First, a call to support Him. Then, immediately, a reminder that He is strong and mighty. A short commentary explains the link: He has no need of anyone's support, but the support benefits whoever gives it. Another commentator says He is self-sufficient in His power and might. He asked people to strive only so that they might benefit and reach reward through obeying.

Qawiyy comes from a root the first hearers could hold in their hands. The quwā were the strands of a rope, twisted together until they bore a load. ʿAzīz pictures an eagle's nest on the highest crag, out of every hand's reach.

That should shrink a particular kind of ego: the believer who feels that Islam, or the mosque, or the cause, would collapse without him. It would not. Allah's religion is not resting on anyone's shoulders. When He invites you to help, He is handing you the bag with the bread in it.

Why describe His strength at all? Not to be flattered. It is to free you from the arrogance of indispensability, and from the anxiety that comes with it. Carry your bag proudly. Just remember who is carrying the other five, and who could carry yours too.

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.