Surah Al-Ankabut 29:4
سُورَةُ العَنكَبُوتِ · Meccan · Verse 4 of 69
أَمْ حَسِبَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ أَن يَسْبِقُونَا ۚ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Translation
Do the evildoers think they can escape us? How ill they judge!
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
Wording
This verse comes as a profound challenge and a stern warning from Allah, directed at those who commit wrongdoing. It follows immediately after Allah reminds us that believing and claiming faith isn't enough; it must be tested. Here, the focus shifts to the wrongdoers, specifically the polytheists who persecuted early believers, but the message holds a broader lesson for anyone complacent in sin. Allah Himself is speaking, in a tone of powerful rebuke and denunciation, dismantling a misguided notion.
A Misguided Assumption
The verse opens with "أَمْ حَسِبَ" (Am hasiba), which means "Or did they think...?" The word "أم" (am) here isn't just a simple "or"; it introduces a strong challenge, as if to say, "Rather, how could they possibly think this?!" It signals a shift in topic and carries a tone of disbelief and denunciation, making this assumption appear even more baseless than any previous one. They "حَسِبَ" (hasiba), meaning they *assumed* or *miscalculated*, revealing a flawed way of thinking. These are "الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ" (alladhīna ya'malūna al-sayyi'āt) – "those who do bad deeds." While this includes polytheism and general disobedience, scholars like Ibn Ashur highlight that in this context, it refers especially to those who actively harm and persecute the believers.
Thinking They Can Escape
The core of their misguided thought is "أَن يَسْبِقُونَا" (an yasbiqūnā) – "that they will outrun Us." The word "يَسْبِقُونَا" (yasbiqūnā), meaning to "outrun" or "get ahead of," is used here metaphorically. As al-Zamakhshari explains, it means they imagine they can *escape* Allah's reach, that the consequences for their actions will not catch up to them. Ibn Ashur elaborates that this refers to escaping Allah's justice and judgment. It’s as if they believe they can evade divine retribution, either by getting away with their deeds in this life or by somehow slipping past Allah's power in the Hereafter. But Allah, through this wording, asserts His absolute control: no one can outrun or escape Him, neither in this world nor the next, regardless of how long the punishment is delayed.
An Evil Verdict
Allah concludes this powerful challenge with "سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ" (sā'a mā yahkumūn) – "Evil is what they judge/decide." The word "سَاءَ" (sā'a) is a strong verb of dispraise, conveying utmost condemnation. Their "حُكْمُ" (hukm), their judgment or belief that they can escape Allah's power, is not just mistaken; it is fundamentally evil. As al-Razi points out, such a judgment goes against both sound intellect and divine law. Intellect tells us that Allah can do as He wills, and His laws explicitly promise consequences for actions. Ibn Ashur adds that calling it a "judgment" is a form of sarcasm, mocking their arrogance in setting themselves up as arbiters of what Allah will do. This phrase confirms the utter baselessness of their delusion, emphatically stamping their assumption as wicked and profoundly wrong.
This verse therefore serves as a vital reminder: no evil deed, no matter how subtly committed or how long it goes seemingly unpunished, can escape Allah's perfect knowledge and inescapable justice.
Sources: al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb), al-Zamakhshari (al-Kashshaf), al-Jadwal fi I'rab al-Quran (Mahmud Safi), Ibn Ashur (al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir), al-Jalalayn
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:4 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Ankabut 29:4 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.