وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍۢ ۖ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُۥ خَيْرٌ ٱطْمَأَنَّ بِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ ٱنقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ خَسِرَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.
Introduction
This is āyah 11 of Sūrat Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage), the 103rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 17. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 103 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Hajj (22)
(And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge�) [22:11]. The commentators of the Qur'an said: �This verse was revealed about some Bedouins who used to travel from the desert to Medina to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. If one of them had, during such visits, good health, or his mare gave birth to seemly foals or his wife gave him a boy, such that his wealth and cattle multiplied - he would be pleased and well contended. He would say: 'Since I embraced this religion, I have not seen anything but good'. If, on the other hand, he fell ill, during such visits, or his wife gave birth to a girl, or his foals were stillborn, such that he lost his wealth, or such that the payment of alms to him was delayed - the devil would come to him and whisper: 'Since you embraced this religion, you have not gained anything but evil', and thus he would renounce his religion. Allah, exalted is, therefore, revealed (And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge)�. 'Atiyyah reported that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: �A Jewish man who had embraced Islam lost his sight, wealth and children. He thought that Islam was ill-omened and so he went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'Discharge me!' The Prophet said: 'you do not get discharged from Islam'. The man said: 'I did not gain any good from this religion of mine!' The Prophet said: 'O Jew, Islam smelts men as fire smelts the dross of iron, silver and gold'. Then the verse (And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge) was revealed�.
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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