Surah Ar-Rahman 55:42
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 42 of 78
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Translation
Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'So which of the favours of your Lord will you two deny?' The refrain follows the seizing of the guilty, and al-Saadi notes that the clear separation of the guilty from the rest is, again, part of a just order that is itself a mercy. Ask yourself: I want to believe wrongdoing and integrity lead to the same place, that in the end it makes no difference, because that lets me off the hook. This verse insists they diverge, visibly and finally. Which favour will I deny, including the sobering mercy that my choices actually matter, that they are not swallowed into a meaningless sameness? A universe where the marks of my deeds are real is a universe where my life has genuine weight.
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
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