Surah Ar-Rahmaan 55:26 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 26 of 78
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍۢ
English: Everyone on earth perishes;
Bengali: ভূপৃষ্টের সবকিছুই ধ্বংসশীল।
Meaning & Reflection
'Everyone upon it will perish.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the sweep of 'kullu man 'alayha fan' — every single being on the earth, without exception, is passing away; impermanence is the one universal fact. Ask yourself: I live as though I am the fixed point and the world moves around me — as though everyone else is mortal in theory but I am somehow the exception. This verse admits no exception: *everyone* upon it. The people I lean on, the self I defend so fiercely, all of it is en route to vanishing. Rather than morbid, this is clarifying: if everything on the earth is temporary, then anchoring my heart to any of it is anchoring to something already dissolving. What am I holding as permanent that this verse says is already leaving?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Ar-Rahmaan 55:26:
- Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
- Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
- Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
- Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
- General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?