Al-Buruj · Makki · ayah 8 of 22

Al-Buruj 85:8

وَمَا نَقَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ

“And they resented them not except because they believed in Allāh, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy,”

Saheeh International

Essence

The only charge against them was faith in the Mighty, the Praiseworthy: which means the persecutors had already lost the argument.

A reflection

'Do you have a lord other than me?'

In the story, the king asks his healed courtier who gave him back his sight. 'My Lord,' he says. The king's reply lays the ego bare: 'Do you have a lord other than me?'

That question lies under the whole trench. The believers had committed no other offence. They simply knew that Someone stood above the king: al-ʿAzīz, the Mighty, and al-Ḥamīd, the Praiseworthy.

ʿAzīz comes from a root of strength and hardness. Ground called ʿazāz was hard earth that rain ran off and hooves could not sink into. A poet called the eagle ʿazīza because she nests on the highest crags, beyond every hand. A thing ʿazza when it grew so rare it could hardly be found, and so became precious. Kings climb towards that height. He is already beyond reach. One classical commentator adds the other side of the name: He is the Mighty by whose side no one who takes refuge is ever wronged.

Every ego asks the king's question at its own size. Picture the founder of a small firm at an awards evening. A young employee he hired and trained is promoted, and in her short speech she thanks Allah first. He smiles for the photographs and says nothing. But for weeks afterwards he is cooler towards her, and he does not quite know why. Pride cannot bear a higher loyalty.

Is it arrogance for God to claim the highest place? In a creature, claiming greatness is a lie told about oneself. In Allah it is simply the truth. Sahih Muslim reports a hadith qudsi: might is His lower garment and grandeur His cloak, and whoever contends with Him for them, He punishes. The king contended for exactly that. The courtier's answer was the free one, and it still is: my Lord and your Lord is Allah.

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.