23:58

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمۡ يُؤۡمِنُونَ

Waallatheena hum biayati rabbihim yuminoona

And they who believe in the signs of their Lord

Word by word
  1. وَٱلَّذِينَAnd those
  2. هُم[they]
  3. بِـَٔايَٰتِin (the) Signs
  4. رَبِّهِمۡ(of) their Lord
  5. يُؤۡمِنُونَbelieve
Al-Mu'minun · 23:58Makkah

They believe in the signs of their Lord.

Signs in creation and in revelation


Two kinds of signs
in the worldwhat He decrees
in the Bookwhat He commands
they
believe both
Believing like Maryam
only when it suits me
all of it is Hisdecree and command

Ibn Kathir says they believe in His universal and legislative signs, as Maryam testified to the words of her Lord and His scriptures. She accepted that what exists happens by His decree, and what He commands is what He loves.

You accept the verses that comfort you and scroll past the ones that ask something hard. You thank Allah for the good news and blame bad luck for the rest. Belief takes both.

I believe in the parts that make sense to me.

Everything that happens and everything He commands are signs from the same Lord.

Try this

Read one verse today that you usually skip, and sit with what it asks of you.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 23:57)

Verily, those who live in awe for fear of their Lord (57)And those who believe in the Ayat of their Lord (58)And those who join not anyone as partners with their Lord (59)And those who give that which they give with their hearts full of fear, because they are sure to return to their Lord (60)It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in them (61)

Description of the People of Good Deeds

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ

(Verily, those who live in awe for fear of their Lord;) means, even though they have reached the level of Ihsan and have faith and do righteous deeds, they are still in awe of Allah and fear Him and His hidden plans for them, as Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The believer combines Ihsan with awe, while the disbelievers combine evil deeds with a sense of security."

وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(And those who believe in the Ayat of their Lord;) means, they believe in His universal and legislative signs, as Allah says about Maryam, peace be upon her:

وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ

(and she testified to the truth of the Words of her Lord, and His Scriptures)(66:12), meaning that she believed that whatever existed was by the will and decree of Allah, and that whatever Allah decreed, if it was a command, it would be something that He liked and accepted; if it was a prohibition, it would be something that He disliked and rejected; and if it was good, it would be true. This is like the Ayah:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ لَا يُشْرِكُونَ

(And those who join not anyone (in worship) as partners with their Lord;) meaning, they do not worship anyone or anything else besides Him, but they worship Him Alone and know that there is no god except Allah Alone, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who does not take a wife or have any offspring, and there is none comparable or equal unto Him.

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ

(And those who give that which they give with their hearts full of fear, because they are sure to return to their Lord.) means, they give in charity, fearing that it may not be accepted from them because of some shortcoming or failure to meet the required conditions of giving. This has to do with fear and taking precautions, as Imam Ahmad recorded from 'A'ishah: I said: "O Messenger of Allah,

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ

(And those who give that which they give with their hearts full of fear...) Are these the ones who steal and commit Zina and drink alcohol while fearing Allah?" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

لَا، يَا بِنْتَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ، وَلَكِنَّهُ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي وَيَصُومُ وَيَتَصَدَّقُ وَهُوَ يَخَافُ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

(No, O daughter of Abu Bakr. O daughter of As-Siddiq, the one who prays, fast and gives in charity, fearing Allah.) This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded something similar in which the Prophet ﷺ said:

لَا يَا بِنْتَ الصِّدِّيقِ، وَلَكِنَّهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُصَلُّونَ وَيَصُومُونَ وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ وَهُمْ يَخَافُونَ أَلَّا يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ:

أُولَٰئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ

(No, O daughter of As-Siddiq, they are the ones who pray and fast and give in charity while fearing that it will not be accepted from them, (It is these who hasten in the good deeds.)) This is also how Ibn 'Abbas, Muhammad bin Ka'b Al-Qurazi and Al-Hasan Al-Basri interpreted this Ayah.