Quran Universe
9:124

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتۡ سُورَةٞ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمۡ زَادَتۡهُ هَٰذِهِۦٓ إِيمَٰنٗاۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فَزَادَتۡهُمۡ إِيمَٰنٗا وَهُمۡ يَسۡتَبۡشِرُونَ

Waitha ma onzilat sooratun faminhum man yaqoolu ayyukum zadathu hathihi eemanan faamma allatheena amanoo fazadathum eemanan wahum yastabshiroona

And whenever a surah is revealed, there are among the hypocrites those who say, "Which of you has this increased faith?" As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing.

Word by word
  1. وَإِذَاAnd whenever
  2. مَآAnd whenever
  3. أُنزِلَتۡis revealed
  4. سُورَةٞa Surah
  5. فَمِنۡهُمamong them
  6. مَّن(are some) who
  7. يَقُولُsay
  8. أَيُّكُمۡWhich of you
  9. زَادَتۡهُ(has) increased [it]
  10. هَٰذِهِۦٓ(by) this
  11. إِيمَٰنٗاۚ(in) faith
  12. فَأَمَّاAs for
  13. ٱلَّذِينَthose who
  14. ءَامَنُواْbelieve
  15. فَزَادَتۡهُمۡthen it has increased them
  16. إِيمَٰنٗا(in) faith
  17. وَهُمۡand they
  18. يَسۡتَبۡشِرُونَrejoice
At-Tawbah · 9:124Madinah

Which of you did this surah increase in faith?

The same verses, two very different effects

When a surah came down
a new surahrecited to all
to the mockers
"who cares?"which of you grew?
to the believers
more faithand rejoicing
What faith does
fixed amountyou have it or not
it growsand it can shrink

Some hypocrites asked each other mockingly, after a surah came down, which of you has had his faith increased by it? Allah answered that the believers did grow in faith, and rejoiced. Ibn Kathir calls this one of the strongest proofs that faith increases and decreases.

You sit in a Friday khutbah. The person next to you scrolls. You hear one line that lands, and your chest feels lighter for the rest of the day. Same words, same room. The verse says what you bring to the Quran shapes what it does to you.

My faith is just at whatever level it is.

Each verse I take in with an open heart can raise my faith.

Try this

Read a few verses today slowly, and ask Allah to increase your faith through them.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And whenever there comes down a Surah, some of them (hypocrites) say: "Which of you has had his faith increased by it" As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice (124)But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add Rijs (doubt) to their Rijs (doubt); and they die while they are disbelievers (125)

Faith of the Believers increases, while Hypocrites increase in Doubts and Suspicion

Allah said,

وَإِذَا مَا أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ

(And whenever there comes down a Surah), then among the hypocrites are,

مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهُ هَٰذِهِ إِيمَانًا

(some who say: "Which of you has had his faith increased by it?")

They say to each other, who among you had his faith increased by this Surah [from the Qur'an]? Allah the Exalted said,

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَزَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ

(As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice.)

This Ayah is one of the mightiest evidences that faith increases and decreases, as is the belief of most of the Salaf and later generations of scholars and Imams. Many scholars said that there is a consensus on this ruling. We explained this subject in detail in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, may Allah grant him His mercy.

Allah said next,

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَتْهُمْ رِجْسًا إِلَىٰ رِجْسِهِمْ 

(But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add Rijs to their Rijs.) the Surah increases them in doubt, and brings more suspicion on top of the doubts and suspicion that they had before. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ

(And We send down in the Qur'an that which is a healing)[17:82], and,

قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ

(Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand)".)[41:44]

This indicates the misery of the hypocrites and disbelievers, since, what should bring guidance to their hearts is instead a cause of misguidance and destruction for them. Similarly, those who get upset by a type of food, for instance, will be upset and anxious even more if they are fed that food!