Al-Mutaffifin · Makki · ayah 19 of 36

Al-Mutaffifin 83:19

وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ

“And what can make you know what is ʿilliyyūn?”

Saheeh International

Essence

The Quran pauses before the reward, not to hide it, but to make you long for it.

A reflection

A pause that builds longing

The Quran could have simply described ʿilliyyūn. Instead it stops and asks: and what will make you know what it is? One classical commentator says the question is there to magnify its lofty rank. Another notes that it is addressed to the Prophet ﷺ himself, as if to say: this is something you will come to know.

That pause does something to the listener. It turns information into anticipation.

Picture a father who tells his children on Thursday evening, 'Pack a bag. Tomorrow we're going somewhere. I'm not telling you where.' The children talk about nothing else all evening. They guess, argue and lie awake. By Friday morning the unknown place has grown in their minds. It is already doing its work before they arrive.

For a believer worn down by the long middle of life, this is a gift. Many of us know what we are avoiding. Fewer of us feel much longing for what we are heading towards. The warnings of the surah are vivid. The reward can feel abstract.

The question fixes that. It says there is something so high that it cannot be handed to you in a phrase. You are allowed to wonder about it. You are allowed to lie awake a little.

That wonder is not a distraction from daily faith. It fuels it. The honest invoice, the prayer on time, the patience with a difficult relative are all easier when you know something unimaginably good is waiting. The Quran does not only frighten us away from the pit. It makes us long for the height.

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.