At-Takwir · Makki · ayah 20 of 29

At-Takwir 81:20

ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ

“[Who is] possessed of power and with the Owner of the Throne, secure [in position],”

Saheeh International

Essence

The mightiest angel is known by his strength and his place with the Owner of the Throne: every created power stands where it was placed.

A reflection

The armband was put on him

A football captain leads his team out at a cup final. The armband is on his sleeve, the crowd chants his name, and for ninety minutes he is the most powerful player on the pitch. But he did not put the armband on himself. The manager did, and the manager can take it off at half-time.

This ayah describes the most powerful of the angels. Jibrīl is dhū quwwa, possessed of strength. The commentaries record reports of that strength. He lifted the towns of Lūṭ's people on his wing, they say; a single cry of his ended Thamūd. But the ayah does not stop at his power. It says where he stands: ʿinda dhī l-ʿarsh, with the Owner of the Throne. And it says what he is there: makīn, firmly placed, secure in standing.

The root of makīn is revealing. The desert Arabs called a lizard's eggs makn, held safe inside the mother. A man who was makīn with a king had a firm seat in his favour. The womb is 'a secure resting place', qarār makīn (23:13). In each case, the security is given by another.

That is the ego's blind spot. We experience our strength and our position as ours: the title, the influence, the reputation. The ayah shows even the mightiest created being defined by the One who placed him. Every human throne in the Quran changes hands or falls. The queen's throne is carried across a country in the blink of an eye (27:38–40). Only one Throne is never shaken.

Does the Owner of the Throne need our acknowledgement? He needs nothing. The picture is for us. The ego that remembers who gave the armband wears it lightly. It leads well, and it can hand it back without collapsing.

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.