Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:38
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 38 of 96
لِّأَصْحَٰبِ ٱلْيَمِينِ
Translation
for those on the Right,
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'For the companions of the right.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the phrase gathers up the whole preceding list, thornless trees, layered fruit, endless shade, flowing water, raised couches, perfected companions, and stamps it: all of this is 'li-ashab al-yamin', for the people of the right. Ask yourself: this is the reward not of the impossibly elite 'foremost' but of the ordinary faithful, the right-hand multitude. It presses home the earlier hope: I do not have to reach the summit to receive lavish generosity; simply ending up on the right hand opens all of this. It reframes my aim from an anxious striving for perfection I'll never reach, to a steady, hopeful faithfulness that lands me among the people of the right. Am I so fixated on falling short of the heights that I overlook the vast, generous 'good enough' of the right hand?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:38 is discussed in 3 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:38 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.