Surah As-Saffat

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

✦

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The Surah · Verses 75 to 113

﴿٧٥﴾ وَلَقَدْ نَادَىٰنَا نُوحٌۭ فَلَنِعْمَ ٱلْمُجِيبُونَ

Wa laqad nadana Nuhun falani'ma al-mujibun

And Nuh called upon Us, and We are the best of those who answer.

﴿٧٦﴾ وَنَجَّيْنَٰهُ وَأَهْلَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلْكَرْبِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ

Wa najjaynahu wa ahlahu mina al-karbi al-'azim

And We delivered him and his household from the great distress.

﴿٧٧﴾ وَجَعَلْنَا ذُرِّيَّتَهُۥ هُمُ ٱلْبَاقِينَ

Wa ja'alna dhurriyyatahu humu al-baqin

And We made his descendants the ones who remained.

﴿٧٨﴾ وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ

Wa tarakna 'alayhi fi al-akhirin

And We left for him, among those who came later,

﴿٧٩﴾ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَىٰ نُوحٍۢ فِى ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Salamun 'ala Nuhin fi al-'alamin

peace upon Nuh among all the worlds.

﴿٨٠﴾ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

Inna kadhalika najzi al-muhsinin

That is how We reward those who do good.

﴿٨١﴾ إِنَّهُۥ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Innahu min 'ibadina al-mu'minin

He was among Our believing servants.

﴿٨٢﴾ ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا ٱلْءَاخَرِينَ

Thumma aghraqna al-akharin

Then We drowned the others.

﴿٨٣﴾ وَإِنَّ مِن شِيعَتِهِۦ لَإِبْرَٰهِيمَ

Wa inna min shi'atihi la Ibrahim

And among those who followed his way was Ibrahim,

﴿٨٤﴾ إِذْ جَآءَ رَبَّهُۥ بِقَلْبٍۢ سَلِيمٍ

Idh ja'a Rabbahu biqalbin salim

when he came to his Lord with a sound heart,

﴿٨٥﴾ إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِۦ مَاذَا تَعْبُدُونَ

Idh qala li abihi wa qawmihi madha ta'budun

when he said to his father and his people, "What is it that you worship?

﴿٨٦﴾ أَئِفْكًا ءَالِهَةًۭ دُونَ ٱللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ

A ifkan alihatan duna Allahi turidun

Is it a lie, gods besides Allah, that you want?

﴿٨٧﴾ فَمَا ظَنُّكُم بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Fama zannukum bi Rabbi al-'alamin

Then what is your thought about the Lord of the worlds?"

﴿٨٨﴾ فَنَظَرَ نَظْرَةًۭ فِى ٱلنُّجُومِ

Fanazara nazratan fi an-nujum

He cast a look at the stars,

﴿٨٩﴾ فَقَالَ إِنِّى سَقِيمٌۭ

Faqala inni saqim

and said, "I am unwell."

﴿٩٠﴾ فَتَوَلَّوْا۟ عَنْهُ مُدْبِرِينَ

Fatawallaw 'anhu mudbirin

So they turned away from him and left.

﴿٩١﴾ فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰٓ ءَالِهَتِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ

Faragha ila alihatihim faqala ala ta'kulun

He turned to their gods and said, "Will you not eat?

﴿٩٢﴾ مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنطِقُونَ

Ma lakum la tantiqun

What is wrong with you that you do not speak?"

﴿٩٣﴾ فَرَاغَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَرْبًۢا بِٱلْيَمِينِ

Faragha 'alayhim darban bil-yamin

Then he turned upon them, striking with his right hand.

﴿٩٤﴾ فَأَقْبَلُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يَزِفُّونَ

Fa aqbalu ilayhi yaziffun

They came rushing toward him.

﴿٩٥﴾ قَالَ أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ

Qala ata'buduna ma tanhitun

He said, "Do you worship what you carve,

﴿٩٦﴾ وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

Wallahu khalaqakum wa ma ta'malun

when Allah created you and what you make?"

﴿٩٧﴾ قَالُوا۟ ٱبْنُوا۟ لَهُۥ بُنْيَٰنًۭا فَأَلْقُوهُ فِى ٱلْجَحِيمِ

Qalu ibnu lahu bunyanan fa alquhu fi al-jahim

They said, "Build him a structure and throw him into the blaze."

﴿٩٨﴾ فَأَرَادُوا۟ بِهِۦ كَيْدًۭا فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْأَسْفَلِينَ

Fa aradu bihi kaydan faja'alnahumu al-asfalin

They intended a plot against him, and We made them the lowest.

﴿٩٩﴾ وَقَالَ إِنِّى ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّى سَيَهْدِينِ

Wa qala inni dhahibun ila Rabbi sayahdin

He said, "I am going to my Lord. He will guide me."

﴿١٠٠﴾ رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ

Rabbi hab li mina as-salihin

"My Lord, grant me one of the righteous."

﴿١٠١﴾ فَبَشَّرْنَٰهُ بِغُلَٰمٍ حَلِيمٍۢ

Fabashsharnahu bighulamin halim

So We gave him the good news of a forbearing boy.

﴿١٠٢﴾ فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعْىَ قَالَ يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ فِى ٱلْمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذْبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ

Falamma balagha ma'ahu as-sa'ya qala ya bunayya inni ara fi al-manami anni adhbahuka fanzur madha tara, qala ya abati if'al ma tu'maru satajiduni in sha'a Allahu mina as-sabirin

When he reached the age of working alongside him, he said, "My son, I see in the dream that I am to sacrifice you. Look, what do you see?" He said, "My father, do what you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the patient."

﴿١٠٣﴾ فَلَمَّآ أَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهُۥ لِلْجَبِينِ

Falamma aslama wa tallahu lil-jabin

When they had both submitted and he laid him down upon his forehead,

﴿١٠٤﴾ وَنَٰدَيْنَٰهُ أَن يَٰٓإِبْرَٰهِيمُ

Wa nadaynahu an ya Ibrahim

We called out to him, "Ibrahim,

﴿١٠٥﴾ قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ ٱلرُّءْيَآ ۚ إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

Qad saddaqta ar-ru'ya, inna kadhalika najzi al-muhsinin

you have fulfilled the vision." That is how We reward those who do good.

﴿١٠٦﴾ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلْبَلَٰٓؤُا۟ ٱلْمُبِينُ

Inna hadha lahuwa al-bala'u al-mubin

This was the clear trial.

﴿١٠٧﴾ وَفَدَيْنَٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍۢ

Wa fadaynahu bidhibhin 'azim

And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.

﴿١٠٨﴾ وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ

Wa tarakna 'alayhi fi al-akhirin

And We left for him, among those who came later,

﴿١٠٩﴾ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ

Salamun 'ala Ibrahim

peace upon Ibrahim.

﴿١١٠﴾ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

Kadhalika najzi al-muhsinin

That is how We reward those who do good.

﴿١١١﴾ إِنَّهُۥ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Innahu min 'ibadina al-mu'minin

He was among Our believing servants.

﴿١١٢﴾ وَبَشَّرْنَٰهُ بِإِسْحَٰقَ نَبِيًّۭا مِّنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ

Wa bashsharnahu bi Ishaqa nabiyyan mina as-salihin

And We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet among the righteous.

﴿١١٣﴾ وَبَٰرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَىٰٓ إِسْحَٰقَ ۚ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِمَا مُحْسِنٌۭ وَظَالِمٌۭ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ مُبِينٌۭ

Wa barakna 'alayhi wa 'ala Ishaq, wa min dhurriyyatihima muhsinun wa zalimun linafsihi mubin

And We blessed him and Ishaq. Among their descendants are those who do good and those who clearly wrong themselves.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What This Part Means

Overview

The Two Who Were Answered

Part One closed on men arguing in the fire about who ruined whom, and on a man in the Garden who remembered a friend that almost took him down with him. Part Two answers that argument with two lives. Nuh called and was answered. Ibrahim asked and was answered. Between them stands every kind of pressure a man faces for standing alone: a whole people who will not listen, a father who worships what he carved, a fire built specifically for him, and finally a command that touched the one thing he had asked for. The section repeats a single sentence over each man like a seal. That is how We reward those who do good. Verse 80 over Nuh, verse 105 and verse 110 over Ibrahim. The reward is stated before the reader is told what it cost.

Verses 75 to 82

He Called, and the Answer Came

Nuh gets eight verses. His whole life of preaching sits inside one word in verse 75, nadana, he called Us. What follows is not his patience but the response to it. We are the best of those who answer. We delivered him. We made his descendants the ones who remained. Verse 77 is worth sitting with. The men who mocked him had numbers, standing, and the certainty that comes with a crowd. Verse 82 disposes of them in four words. Then We drowned the others. What survived the water was the household of the man everyone had written off. Verse 79 gives him something the flood could not give: peace upon Nuh among all the worlds, spoken permanently, in a Book recited after him by people who never met him. Verse 78 names the mechanism. We left for him, among those who came later. A man's reputation among his contemporaries is a rented thing. What Allah leaves for him is not.

Verses 83 to 98

The Sound Heart, and What It Did

Verse 84 defines Ibrahim by one thing before it lets him speak. He came to his Lord with a sound heart, qalbin salim. Everything after that is what a sound heart does when it is surrounded. It asks a direct question first, in verse 85: what is it that you worship. It does not open with a sermon. It opens with a question that makes a man look at his own hands. Verse 95 is the answer folded into another question. Do you worship what you carve, when Allah created you and what you make. The object came from the carver, and the carver came from Allah. That is the whole argument, and it fits in two verses. Verse 91 is where a man discovers what he actually thinks. Ibrahim stands alone in the temple and speaks to the statues as if they were guests. Will you not eat. What is wrong with you that you do not speak. He is not being clever. He is demonstrating the silence in front of witnesses who will arrive shortly. Verse 97 is the price. They said, build him a structure and throw him into the blaze. Note that they did not answer the argument. They built a furnace. When a man has no reply, he reaches for heat. Verse 98 settles it in a single line. They intended a plot against him, and We made them the lowest.

Verses 99 to 113

The Thing He Asked For, and the Thing He Was Asked

Verse 99 is a man walking out of everything he was born into. I am going to my Lord. He will guide me. He does not say where he is going. He says who he is going to. Verse 100 is the only request Ibrahim makes in this entire section, and it is not for safety or wealth. My Lord, grant me one of the righteous. He asks for a son and specifies the quality before the existence. Verse 101 answers it. A forbearing boy, halim, the same quality the son proves in verse 102 when he says do what you are commanded. Then verse 102 turns the request into the trial. The command comes in a dream, and Ibrahim does not act on it alone. He tells the boy and asks him what he sees. The son's answer contains no negotiation. You will find me, if Allah wills, among the patient. Verse 103 uses the dual form. When they had both submitted. The obedience was two men's, not one man's. Verse 106 names it plainly. This was the clear trial. Verse 107 ends it. We ransomed him with a great sacrifice. The knife was never the point. The willingness was. The surah does not name the son inside this account. It names Ishaq afterward, in verse 112, as separate good news. Notice what verse 113 refuses to do. And We blessed him and Ishaq. Among their descendants are those who do good and those who clearly wrong themselves. Lineage from Ibrahim guarantees nothing. The blessing is real and it is not inherited automatically. Every man in that line still brings his own heart.

Structural Summary

Verses Seventy-Five to One Hundred Thirteen. He Called, and the Answer Came.

Two men, one pattern. Each is named, each is delivered, each is sealed with the same sentence. Nuh is answered out of a flood. Ibrahim is answered out of a fire, then tested with the very thing he was given. The section closes by stating that the line of Ibrahim contains both the good and the clearly wrong, so that no reader mistakes descent for standing.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Verses Seventy-Five to One Hundred Thirteen. Ask For the Quality.

Read verse 100 before you make any request of Allah this week. Ask for the quality, not only the thing.

Verse 91. Take one thing you have been giving your time to and ask it plainly what it has returned to you. Sit with the silence.

Verse 80, verse 105, verse 110. Copy the repeated sentence once by hand and note under it what it cost each man to earn it.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verse 751 / 8

The Verse

In verse 75, what does Allah say in response to the call of Nuh?