قُلْ مَا يَعْبَؤُا۟ بِكُمْ رَبِّى لَوْلَا دُعَآؤُكُمْ
يَعْبَؤُا۟ — root ع-ب-أ: to give weight to a thing, to take it into account. The lexicographers record the word with the senses "to load a burden, to attach importance".
| Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Were it not for your calling upon Him, He would give you no weight — the calling is the cause of the value |
| 2 | Duʿāʾ here means service |
| 3 | Law lā here does not mean "were it not for" but states a reproach |
And the sūra's closing with this sentence is worth recording: the sūra had opened with objections (4-8) — the ordinariness of the messenger, the expectation of wealth and of an angel. At the close, the worth of a human being is tied not to anything he possesses but to his calling.