An-Naba 78:36 - Linguistic Miracle

A recompense from your Rabb—granting far beyond and fully satisfying.

This is a grammatically complex verse but we will keep it simple. When someone does good, Allah gives him much more in return. If you spend a dollar for Allah, He will give you at least 10 dollars in return. We have seen how Allah offers never ending luxury that just keeps on increasing and increasing for eternity. The word jazāʾa at its root means an exact, like for like repayment; like how someone gets his salary according to the work he puts in.¹⁸ Allah says that this concept of jazāʾ, of like for like payment, when applied to Allah, actually means giving much, much more in return than what is actually owed. This is how Allah returns the wage of the worker. By giving him more than what he actually deserves. This is what Jazāʾa is when applied to Allah.

The word ḥisāb is translated as fully satisfying. It is normally translated as “account” but this root also means something that satisfies and satiates.¹⁹ We humans are flawed entities. We lack the ability to achieve utter perfection. Allah says that when He gives, He will give much more than what is actually deserved because He intends to fully and perfectly satisfy the receiver. This satisfaction and bliss will carry on for eternity, with never ending luxury and bliss that just keeps on increasing to maintain perfect euphoria.

Lastly, Allah says Your Rabb- to the Prophet ﷺ . Rabb at its root means caretaking, nurturing and bringing up.²⁰ It was commonly used for raising a child. This is a message to us. This God, the one who rewards so generously, and the only one who can grant you everlasting bliss, is the Lord and caretaker of Muhammad ﷺ , who takes special care of him because He is His prophet ﷺ and chosen messenger ﷺ . If you want to reach this generous, loving God, then obey Muhammad ﷺ . This then goes back to verse 4 where Allah warned people to not disagree over anything that His prophet ﷺ says.

¹⁸ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 307
¹⁹ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 425
²⁰ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 737