Surah Ar-Rahman 55:53
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 53 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?' Resting on the paired fruits of every kind, al-Saadi notes the refrain honours abundance itself as a favour, the sheer generosity of variety. Ask yourself: even in this life, the variety of what I'm given, the range of foods, colours, experiences, is a generosity I flatten into 'normal'. Which of these will I deny by never marvelling at the sheer plenty? The refrain keeps returning me to a childlike astonishment I've lost: that there is so much, of so many kinds, and that behind all of it is a Lord whose nature is to give abundantly. Gratitude, again, is simply refusing to let the abundance become invisible.
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ar-Rahman 55:53 is discussed in one study guide on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ar-Rahman 55:53 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.