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
أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِدُلُوكِ ٱلشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَقُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا
Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur’ān [i.e., recitation] of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed.
إِذًا لَّأَذَقْنَـٰكَ ضِعْفَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ وَضِعْفَ ٱلْمَمَاتِ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًا
Then [if you had], We would have made you taste double [punishment in] life and double [after] death. Then you would not find for yourself against Us a helper.
قَالَ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَآ أَنزَلَ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِلَّا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ بَصَآئِرَ وَإِنِّى لَأَظُنُّكَ يَـٰفِرْعَوْنُ مَثْبُورًا
[Moses] said, "You have already known that none has sent down these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence, and indeed I think, O Pharaoh, that you are destroyed."
ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّآ أَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةِ ۗ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتُلْقَىٰ فِى جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًا مَّدْحُورًا
That is from what your Lord has revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], of wisdom. And, [O mankind], do not make [as equal] with Allāh another deity, lest you be thrown into Hell, blamed and banished.