Surah Ar-Rahman 55:29
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 29 of 78
يَسْـَٔلُهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍۢ
Translation
Everyone in heaven and earth entreats Him; every day He is at work.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Whoever is in the heavens and the earth asks of Him; every day He is engaged in some matter.' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note the two halves: all of creation is perpetually begging from Him, and He is never idle, 'kulla yawmin huwa fi sha'n', at every instant forgiving, provisioning, raising, lowering, answering. His management never pauses. Ask yourself: I imagine God as distant, having set the world running and stepped back. This verse describes ceaseless, active engagement, every being asking, and Him attending to all of it, moment by moment, without ever being 'off'. If He is that continuously involved with the whole of existence, He is not too busy for my small request, and I am not managing my life alone. Do I ask Him as one of the countless who ask, or do I try to be the exception who handles things himself?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ar-Rahman 55:29 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.