34:50

قُلۡ إِن ضَلَلۡتُ فَإِنَّمَآ أَضِلُّ عَلَىٰ نَفۡسِيۖ وَإِنِ ٱهۡتَدَيۡتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِيٓ إِلَيَّ رَبِّيٓۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٞ قَرِيبٞ

Qul in dalaltu fainnama adillu AAala nafsee waini ihtadaytu fabima yoohee ilayya rabbee innahu sameeAAun qareebun

Say, "If I should err, I would only err against myself. But if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is Hearing and near."

Word by word
  1. قُلۡSay
  2. إِنIf
  3. ضَلَلۡتُI err
  4. فَإِنَّمَآthen only
  5. أَضِلُّI will err
  6. عَلَىٰagainst
  7. نَفۡسِيۖmyself
  8. وَإِنِBut if
  9. ٱهۡتَدَيۡتُI am guided
  10. فَبِمَاthen it is by what
  11. يُوحِيٓreveals
  12. إِلَيَّto me
  13. رَبِّيٓۚmy Lord
  14. إِنَّهُۥIndeed,He
  15. سَمِيعٞ(is) All-Hearer
  16. قَرِيبٞEver-Near
Saba · 34:50Makkah

If I stray, it is mine. If guided, it is His gift.

And He is Hearing, Near


Credit and blame
my mistakesfrom myself
my guidancefrom His revelation
and He is
Hearing, Nearanswers when called
How to see my record
good is minebad is fate
good is His giftmistakes are mine

Ibn Kathir says all good comes from Allah. Ibn Mas'ud, asked about an issue, said: if I am right it is from Allah, and if wrong it is from me and Shaytan. The Prophet ﷺ said: you are not calling one who is deaf or absent, but One who hears, is near, and answers.

When something goes well, you say: I worked hard. When you mess up: it was bad luck, or my upbringing. The verse flips it: good is His gift, mistakes are mine. And He is near when you call.

My successes are mine, and my failures are someone else's fault.

My guidance is Allah's gift and my mistakes are mine. He is near when I call.

Try this

Make a short dua today out loud, remembering He is near and hearing you right now.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 34:47)

Say: "Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours. My wage is from Allah only, and He is a Witness over all things. (47)Say: "Verily, my Lord sends down the truth, the All-Knower of the Unseen. (48)Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect. (49)Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Revelation of my Lord to me. Truly, He is All-Hearer, Ever Near. (50)

I do not ask for any Reward for conveying the Message

Allah commands His Messenger ﷺ to say to the idolators:

مَا سَأَلْتُكُمْ مِنْ أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ ۖ 

(Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours.) meaning, 'I do not want anything for conveying the Message of Allah to you, advising you and telling you to worship Allah.'

إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ ۖ 

(My wage is from Allah only,) means, 'rather I will seek the reward for that with Allah.'

وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

(and He is a Witness over all things.) means, 'He knows all things, and He knows everything about me and the manner in which I am conveying the Message to you, and He knows all about you.'

قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ

(Say: "Verily, my Lord sends down the truth, the All-Knower of the Unseen.") This is like the Ayah:

يُلْقِي الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَىٰ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ

(He sends the Revelation by His command to any of His servants He wills)(40:15). meaning, He sends the angel to whomsoever He wills of His servants among the people on earth, and He is the All-Knower of the Unseen; nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth.

قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") means, truth and the great Law have come from Allah, and falsehood has gone and has perished and vanished. This is like the Ayah:

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ ۚ 

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood, so it destroys it, and behold, it is vanished)(21:18). When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Al-Masjid Al-Haram on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and found those idols standing around the Ka'bah, he started to hit the idols with his bow, reciting,

وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

(And say: "The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished. Surely, the falsehood is ever bound to vanish.")(17:81), and:

قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i.

قُلْ إِنْ ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَا أَضِلُّ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِي ۖ وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّي ۚ 

(Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Revelation of my Lord to me...") means, all good comes from Allah, and in what Allah sends down of revelation and clear truth there is guidance and wisdom. So whoever goes astray, does so by himself, as 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said when he was asked about some issue. He said, "I will say what I think, and if it is correct, then it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, then it is from me and from the Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it."

إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ

(Truly, He is All-Hearer, Ever Near.) means, He hears all the words of His servants, and He is always near to respond to them when they call on Him. An-Nasai recorded the Hadith of Abu Musa which also appears in the Two Sahihs:

إِنَّكُمْ لَاتَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا، إِنَّمَا تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعًا قَرِيبًا مُجِيبًا

(You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One Who is All-Hearer, Ever Near and Responsive.)