Al-Hashr · Madani · ayah 23 of 24

Al-Hashr 59:23

هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign,[1658] the Pure,[1659] the Perfection,[1660] the Grantor of Security,[1661] the Overseer,[1662] the Exalted in Might,[1663] the Compeller,[1664] the Superior.[1665] Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Eight names move from sovereignty through safety to power, and the ones that sound harshest in English turn out to mend and to shelter.

A reflection

Greatness that is simply true

The last name in this ayah is the one that most unsettles modern readers: al-Mutakabbir. Its root is the same as kibr, pride. In human beings it is a vice. How can it be a name of praise?

A classical commentator gives the answer in two lines. A created being who displays greatness is lying. He has no real height, only need and smallness, so his claim adds the fault of falsehood to the fault of his nature. When Allah displays His greatness, it is the truth. It guides His servants to know His majesty. In us, pride joins a lie to a lack. In Him, it joins perfection to perfection.

That is why the ayah ends at once: glory be to Allah, far above what they associate with Him. Created beings sometimes claim a share in this quality. He is exalted above every such claim.

The Prophet ﷺ conveyed Allah's words on this: pride is My cloak and greatness My garment. Whoever contends with Me in either, I will cast into the Fire (Sunan Abi Dawud, graded ṣaḥīḥ).

This is the ego's sharpest correction. Every swagger, every need to be seen as above others, is an attempt to wear a garment that belongs to Someone else. It never fits. It slides off and makes the wearer ridiculous. Humility is not a pose for the weak. It is simply taking off what was never ours, and leaving greatness where it belongs.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.