Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:10
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 10 of 96
وَٱلسَّٰبِقُونَ ٱلسَّٰبِقُونَ
Translation
And those in front––ahead indeed!
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And the foremost, the foremost!' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note the emphatic doubling, 'as-sabiqun as-sabiqun', the elite third class: those who did not merely do good but raced to it, first to believe, first to give, first to answer the call. Ask yourself: the highest rank is reserved not for the good but for the quick to good, the ones who don't calculate and delay but rush toward what is right the moment it appears. So much of my own good is reluctant, deferred, done at the last acceptable moment. This verse honours the opposite instinct: to beat others to the good deed, to be foremost. When goodness presents itself, am I among those who race toward it, or those who wait to see if they really have to?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:10 is discussed in 4 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Vying in Good (Musabaqah) (key verse)
- Hastening (Musara'ah) (key verse)
- The Last Day (Al-Yawm al-Akhir)
- Society (Mujtama')
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:10 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.