وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا ۩ 109
Translations
And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it [i.e., the Qur’ān] increases them in humble submission.
Transliteration
Wa-yakhirrun lil-adhqani yabkun wa-yaziduhum khushu'a
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the believers' emotional and spiritual response upon hearing the Qur'an recited—they fall prostrate to the ground weeping out of reverence and awe for Allah's words. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this verse illustrates the profound impact the Qur'an has on those with sincere hearts, as they are moved to tears and increased humility (khushu') in submission to Allah. Al-Qurtubi emphasizes that this reaction represents the peak of spiritual consciousness and demonstrates how the divine words penetrate the hearts of the faithful.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Isra's discussion of the Qur'an's miraculous nature and its effects on believers. It is part of a broader passage (17:107-109) describing how those who believe respond to the Qur'an with tears and prostration, contrasting them with those who turn away. The surah addresses the spiritual transformation that occurs when sincere hearts encounter Allah's revelation.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027). Additionally, 'When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell down in prostration and weeping' is referenced in the context of Surah Maryam 58, showing a parallel spiritual state of believers.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that true faith involves an emotional and spiritual responsiveness to Allah's words—believers should seek to develop sincere hearts that are moved by the Qur'an's message. In our modern distracted age, this verse encourages us to recite and listen to the Qur'an with presence of heart and genuine reverence, allowing its words to penetrate our souls and increase our humility before Allah.
Related Ayahs
وَمَن يَهْدِ ٱللَّهُ فَهُوَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِهِۦ ۖ وَنَحْشُرُهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ عُمْيًا وَبُكْمًا وَصُمًّا ۖ مَّأْوَىٰهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَـٰهُمْ سَعِيرًا
And whoever Allāh guides - he is the [rightly] guided; and whoever He sends astray - you will never find for them protectors besides Him, and We will gather them on the Day of Resurrection [fallen] on their faces - blind, dumb and deaf. Their refuge is Hell; every time it subsides, We increase [for] them blazing fire.
وَٱسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُم بِصَوْتِكَ وَأَجْلِبْ عَلَيْهِم بِخَيْلِكَ وَرَجِلِكَ وَشَارِكْهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَوْلَـٰدِ وَعِدْهُمْ ۚ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا
And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them." But Satan does not promise them except delusion.
مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُۥ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُۥ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَىٰهَا مَذْمُومًا مَّدْحُورًا
Whoever should desire the immediate - We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished.
۞ قُلْ كُونُوا۟ حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا
Say, "Be you stones or iron