يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ وَفْدًۭا
On the Day We will gather the righteous to the Most Merciful as a delegation
Introduction
This is āyah 85 of Sūrat Maryam (Mary), the 44th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 16. 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
- 44 of 114
- Surah
- Maryam (19)
The day We shall muster the godwary to the All-Merciful in droves. He did not say, “to the Gardens in droves,” so as to mollify the hearts of the elect among the lovers, for they do not worship Him in hope of the Garden or fear of the Fire. Rather, they worship Him for His sake, for He has promised them that He will muster them to Him. The paradise-seekers are one thing, the God-seekers something else. He ascribed the paradise-seekers to paradise: “Surely the companions of the Garden today are in an occupation, rejoicing” [36:55]. Concerning the God-seekers He said, “The day We shall muster the godwary to the All- Merciful in droves.” Mamshād Dīnawarī was in the throes of death. A dervish was standing before him and sup- plicating: “Lord God, have mercy on him and grant him paradise.” Mamshād looked at him and shouted out, “O heedless man! It has been thirty years that paradise with its marvels and chambers, its houris and palaces, has been disclosing itself, but I have never glanced at it. Now that I am ar- riving at the drinking place of the Haqiqah, you intrude and want paradise and mercy for me!” O chevalier, this talk will not fit into just anyone's craw. It happens that in the pavilions of observation and the stations of generosity these chevaliers become seeking itself-sometimes in the robe of struggle, sometimes in the shirt of contemplation; sometimes in the intoxication of gratitude, sometimes in the sobriety of effacement; they both are and are not, they are both sober and drunk; their hearts are burnt by the fire of jealousy, their spirits drowned in the ocean of bewil- derment. They are runners standing still, silent speakers. When tomorrow people are mustered to the Presence of the Possessor of Majesty, everyone will have a mount. One will have the noble horse of obedience, another the Burāq of aspiration, but they will be in the grasp of Unity's exalt- edness. According to a report, “The spirits of the martyrs are in the craws of green birds.” When the spirits of the martyrs are commanded to depart from this world, they will be put into the craws of green birds and in lamps of light; or, it is said, in the meadows of paradise.
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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