An-Nazi'at · Makki · ayah 24 of 46

An-Nazi'at 79:24

فَقَالَ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ

“And said, "I am your most exalted lord."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Pharaoh claimed the one title that belongs to Allah alone; the believer puts his face on the ground and gives it back to its Owner.

A reflection

The title only One can hold

Five times a day, all over the world, people put their foreheads on the floor and say three quiet words. Subḥāna rabbiya al-aʿlā: glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Sahih Muslim records the Prophet ﷺ saying exactly this in his prostration. The face, the highest part of the body, is placed on the lowest place, the ground. Meanwhile the tongue gives the title 'Most High' to its only Owner.

In this ayah, a man stands before a gathered crowd and claims that same title for himself. Anā rabbukumu al-aʿlā: I am your lord, the most high. One classical scholar explains that Pharaoh meant to place himself above everyone else who had any authority over his people. He was not the only 'lord' in Egypt, he implied, but he was the top of the ladder.

The root ʿ-l-w is height, and the lexicons say nothing in it strays from that. Al-ʿalyāʾ is the top of a mountain. The word taʿāla, 'come', first meant 'come up to me'. Al-aʿlā is the One higher than anything you could place beside Him.

Here is where the ego is caught. Pharaoh said it out loud. Most of us never would. But the same claim lives quietly in the proud heart. My opinion is the highest authority in this house. My comfort outranks your need. My judgement cannot be questioned. Every tyranny, large or small, is a whisper of anā al-aʿlā.

A sharp reader may raise a doubt. Allah also calls Himself al-Aʿlā (87:1). Is that not the same claim Pharaoh made? What makes it right for One and wrong for the other?

The difference is truth. For a creature, claiming to be highest is a lie; he did not make himself, and he will die like everyone he rules. For Allah, it is simply what is so. He does not need our acknowledgement; He is free of need of the worlds (29:6). The acknowledgement is for us. It puts our heads where they belong.

In your next prostration, say the words slowly. Take the title back from your ego and hand it to its Owner.

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.