ٱلْأَخِلَّآءُ يَوْمَئِذٍۭ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous
Introduction
This is āyah 67 of Sūrat Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold), the 63rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 25. 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
- 63 of 114
- Surah
- Az-Zukhruf (43)
Bosom friends on that day will be enemies of one another, except for the godwary. Know that in reality God alone deserves friendship, no one else. This is because perfect beauty and never-ending majesty belong to Him, the beginningless Essence and everlasting attributes belong to Him, limitless existence and infinite munificence belong to Him, and non-instrumental knowl- edge and uncontrived power belong to Him. Abū Bakr ṣiddīq said, “When someone tastes of unmixed love for God, that prevents him from seeking this world and alienates him from all mankind.” Whenever the limpidness of the Real's love settles down in someone's heart, the opacity of seeking this world and people's acceptance packs its bags from his heart. If he then loves anyone among the people, it is because that person has an attachment to the Real or an affinity with the Real through His friendship. Whenever any- one has a friend, in reality he also loves his abode, street, and neighborhood. The poet says, My covenant is not because of love for earthly dust, but for that in which the Beloved dwells. * What I want from Your street is Your face. Friendship for the godwary and the pious is what He says: “His friends are only the godwary” [8:34]. Love for God's Messenger is what he himself says: “Love me because of God's love!” So, the final end of all loves is the perfection of the beauty of the Divine Presence. To this He alludes with His words, “Surely the final end is unto thy Lord” [53:42]. The mark of love is that whenever something reaches you that is disliked by your nature and makeup, you accept it gladly. MuṣṬafā said, “The foul odor of the fasting person's mouth is more fragrant with God than the aroma of musk.” The altered smell from the mouth of the fasting per- son comes from the aroma of the pavilion of holiness. Consider it prior to all the perfumes of the world, for the Friend approves of it. Poets have said, Were the Beloved's hand to pour poison for me, poison from His hand would be sweet. * The heart that You burn thanks You, the blood that You shed boasts. * The blood that You spill thanks You, the heart that You scare praises You. * The poison I drink in remembrance of You is sweet, the mad man who sees You comes to his senses. It has also been said, “Whoever sees You recognizes, whoever recognizes clings, and whoever clings burns. The burnt one will not be burned again.” Rather, he will be caressed with this call:
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.
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