Surah Al-Mulk 67:23
سُورَةُ المُلۡكِ · Meccan · Verse 23 of 30
قُلْ هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَكُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۖ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ
Translation
Say [Prophet], ‘It is He who brought you into being, He who endowed you with hearing, sight, and understanding- what small thanks you give!’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'He is the One who produced you and made for you hearing and sight and hearts, how little you give thanks.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the order: the faculties are listed as gifts, and the verse closes with a quiet indictment, 'how little you thank.' The very instruments I use to perceive anything at all were handed to me, unearned. Ask yourself: the eyes reading this, the mind weighing it, the heart that can be moved by it, I did not build or buy a single one. When did I last thank Allah specifically for my hearing, my sight, the beating awareness in my chest, rather than only for the things they let me acquire? The verse gently names the imbalance: so much given, so little gratitude returned.
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Mulk 67:23 is discussed in 4 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-Mulk 67:23 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.