An-Naba · Makki · ayah 20 of 40

An-Naba 78:20

وَسُيِّرَتِ ٱلْجِبَالُ فَكَانَتْ سَرَابًا

“And the mountains are removed and will be [but] a mirage.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The mountains, the very picture of what never moves, are set travelling until they are a mirage: something that looks solid and is nothing.

A reflection

'Conquered'

A climber reaches the summit of a famous peak after six weeks on the mountain. He plants a small flag, takes a photograph and posts it with a single word: conquered. It is a real achievement, won with frostbitten fingers and fierce discipline. But the mountain has not been conquered. It did not notice he was there.

For the first hearers, the mountain was the very picture of what does not move. A man who would not be shifted was called a mountain. In the previous passage, mountains were the pegs that hold the earth steady (78:7). Now the surah says: suyyirat al-jibāl, the mountains are set moving. One commentator links it with another ayah in which Allah speaks in His own voice: 'The Day We set the mountains moving' (18:47). The movement comes by His command and His subjugation.

The ego finds this hard to hear. We like to think that some things in our lives are immovable: our position, our savings, our health, our reputation. We treat them as mountains and plant our little flags on them. Yet the actual mountains, far heavier than any of these, will be sent drifting like dust at one word.

That is not a threat to crush us. It is a correction of scale. The peak that took six weeks to climb will one day be a mirage. The summit of a career or a bank balance cannot bear the weight of our pride.

Does Allah speak of this power to be admired? He is free of need. The reminder is for us, so that we stop confusing the high places we have climbed with ground that cannot move.

The climber can keep his photograph with gratitude. But 'Conquered' is the wrong word. 'Allowed up, for a while' would be closer to the truth.

The full entry has 4 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.