Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 53 of 165

Al-An'am 6:53

وَكَذَٰلِكَ فَتَنَّا بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لِّيَقُولُوٓا۟ أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنۢ بَيْنِنَآ ۗ أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ

“And thus We have tried some of them through others that they [i.e., the disbelievers] might say, "Is it these whom Allāh has favored among us?" Is not Allāh most knowing of those who are grateful?[310]”

Saheeh International

Essence

The proud asked why guidance went to the poor and not to them; Allah answered that He knows who will be grateful.

A reflection

Who keeps the list of the favoured?

At a hospital's annual awards evening, the consultants half expect the compassion prize to go to one of them. It goes to the night cleaner on the cancer ward. Forty patients nominated her. Nobody on the top table had noticed her name.

The nobles of Makkah had a list like that in their heads. If God were to favour anyone with guidance, surely it would be them: the old families, the men whose word moved tribes. So when the favour landed on freedmen and hired hands, they sneered. 'Are these the ones Allah has favoured, from among us?'

Notice they used the right word without meaning it. Manna, to favour, is a gift given unasked, so heavy it weighs on the one who receives it. They admitted, by accident, that faith is a favour from Allah. Their only objection was the address on the parcel.

The answer does not argue. It asks: 'Is not Allah most knowing of the grateful?' One spiritual commentator draws out the logic. His favours have places that suit them, and He knows those places. Had your hearts been like theirs, knowing the worth of the gift, you would have been favoured too. The same pairing of choice and knowledge returns later in this surah: 'Allah knows best where to place His message' (6:124).

The great early commentator adds a striking line. Favour and its withdrawal are not given for wealth or poverty. Wealth and poverty, strength and weakness, are not things people do. Reward follows what a person earns.

This is where the ego shrinks. We all keep private lists of who deserves guidance, who is 'the type' to become religious, who is too far gone. The ayah takes the list out of our hands. The One who knows every heart decides where His favour lands. Our pride was never consulted, and was never qualified to be.

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.