Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 62 of 165

Al-An'am 6:62

ثُمَّ رُدُّوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَوْلَىٰهُمُ ٱلْحَقِّ ۚ أَلَا لَهُ ٱلْحُكْمُ وَهُوَ أَسْرَعُ ٱلْحَـٰسِبِينَ

“Then they [i.e., His servants] are returned to Allāh, their true Lord. Unquestionably, His is the judgement, and He is the swiftest of accountants.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Souls taken one by one return together to their true Master, whose verdict alone stands and who reckons faster than anyone.

A reflection

The last word was never ours

Alā lahu al-ḥukm: listen, His is the judgement. The opening word alā is a call to attention, like a hand raised before an announcement. Then comes the claim, and its word order narrows it: His, and no one else's.

Think how much of a life is spent awaiting verdicts. Exam results. Job interviews. Annual appraisals. Likes, reviews, the opinion of the family at Eid. Picture a novelist whose first book comes out to modest sales. For a year she checks its star ratings every morning, before she has even prayed. A four-star review lifts her for a day. A one-star review, from someone who did not finish the book, sits in her chest for a week. Thousands of strangers have become her court.

The ayah dissolves that court. On the day of return, no appraisal survives, no rating counts, no committee sits. One commentary says that on that day no one else holds any judgement, in form or in substance. Another reads al-ḥukm as the decree that is carried out on them.

This is where the ego loosens its grip. Much of our pride is really a hunger for a favourable verdict. Much of our fear is dread of an unfavourable one. Both assume that people's judgement is final. It is not even close to final.

Does this sound like a monopoly of power? Consider what a perfectly fair final judge would need. Complete knowledge of every act and its intention. No interest in flattery. No need for anything you could give. No one meets that standard but Allah. A judgement reserved to Him is not a ruler hoarding authority. It is the only place a verdict could be wholly just. Every lesser court, including the one in your own head, is an appeal still pending.

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.