Surah Ar-Rahman 55:60
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 60 of 78
هَلْ جَزَآءُ ٱلْإِحْسَٰنِ إِلَّا ٱلْإِحْسَٰنُ
Translation
Shall the reward of good be anything but good?
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Is the reward of goodness anything but goodness?' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note this famous verse states a universal law as a rhetorical question: 'ihsan', excellence, beauty, doing good beautifully, can only be met with ihsan in return; goodness begets goodness. al-Saadi reads it of God's own way: those who did good beautifully are answered with the beautiful good of Paradise. Ask yourself: I often act as though goodness goes unrewarded, that in a harsh world, integrity is a losing bet and kindness is naivety. This verse names a deep grain in reality that runs the other way: excellence returns. Do I truly believe that the good I do beautifully, even unseen and unthanked here, is met by a Lord whose only response to ihsan is ihsan?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ar-Rahman 55:60 is discussed in 13 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Recompense (Jaza) (key verse)
- Excellence (Ihsan) (key verse)
- People of the Scripture (Ahl al-Kitab)
- Mercy (Rahmah)
- Contentment (Rida)
- Glad Tidings (Bushra)
- Children of Israel (Banu Isra'il)
- Encouragement (Targhib)
- Paradise (Jannah)
- Fear (Khawf)
- Seeing Allah (Ru'yah)
- The Last Day (Al-Yawm al-Akhir)
- Uprightness (Salah)
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ar-Rahman 55:60 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.