إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُم مِّنَّا ٱلْحُسْنَىٰٓ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ
Indeed, those for whom the best [reward] has preceded from Us - they are from it far removed.
Introduction
This is āyah 101 of Sūrat Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets), the 73rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 17. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 73 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Anbiyaa (21)
As for those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us. To them solicitude preceded at the beginning, so friendship became manifest at the end. One must have solicitude at the beginning for there to be friendship at the end. One iota of the beginningless solicitude is better than the bliss of the two worlds. He who is caressed was caressed in the Beginningless, and he who is called was called in the Beginningless. In the Beginningless His friends drank the cup of gentleness and put on the clothing of bounty. He did the work in the Beginningless, but He made it appear to be done today. He spoke the words in the Beginningless, but He makes what was spoken heard today. He sewed and made ready the robes of honor for the friends in the Beginningless, but today He hands them over. Each day He is upon some task [55:29]. He drives the predetermined things to their appointed times. For some time the mysteries have been spoken to you, but you hear them now. The majesty of His Exaltedness is eternal, but you know today. In the Beginningless the beginningless knowledge was your deputy in knowing the beginningless attributes. In the Beginningless the eternal hearing was your deputy in listening to the beginningless speech. When a guardian has a child's property in hand, he has it as his deputy. When the child reaches maturity, he gives it back to him. In terms of allusion, He is saying that you were the infants of nonexistence when the eternal gentleness took care of your work and acted as your deputy. What bounty and generosity is left that He did not do for you? With the eternal gentleness He conveyed the prescription of the Law to your hearing, He sent the decree to your heart, He spoke of mysteries to your spirit, and He inscribed obe- dience on your limbs. He made you anticipate arrivals from the Unseen: “O you who anticipate the arrival of Our gentleness! O you who look for the marks bearing witness to Our Unseen! Nothing drives friendship into your heart other than the ruling power of Our curtaining. No one strikes the knocker on the door of your heart other than the messenger of Our kindness.” This is the reality of the beginningless beauty, which preceded to the friends and with which the Exalted Lord favored them: those to whom the most beautiful has preceded from Us. The fruit of the most beautiful is endless, for the Exalted Lord has promised, saying, “Those who do the beautiful shall have the most beautiful and an increase” [10:26]. Then He explained the outcome and final end of the folk of felicity and He joined the beginningless precedent with the endless subsequent:
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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