Surah Ar-Rahmaan 55:41 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 41 of 78
يُعْرَفُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَٰهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِٱلنَّوَٰصِى وَٱلْأَقْدَامِ
English: The guilty will be known by their mark and will be seized by their foreheads and their feet.
Bengali: অপরাধীদের পরিচয় পাওয়া যাবে তাদের চেহারা থেকে; অতঃপর তাদের কপালের চুল ও পা ধরে টেনে নেয়া হবে।
Meaning & Reflection
'The guilty will be known by their marks, and seized by the forelocks and the feet.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the image: no trial of evidence is needed — the criminals are recognisable at a glance, and taken by the very forelock (the front of the head, seat of pride and will) and the feet that walked them into wrong. Ask yourself: the forelock is where I 'hold my head high'; the feet are what carry me toward what I choose. This verse pictures both — my pride and my direction — becoming the handles by which I'm held to account. It presses an uncomfortable question: the head I lift in arrogance and the feet that carry me toward the wrong door — are they writing a 'mark' on me that will one day be legible at a single glance?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Ar-Rahmaan 55:41:
- 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?