مَن جَآءَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهَا وَهُم مِّن فَزَعٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ ءَامِنُونَ · وَمَن جَآءَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ فَكُبَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى ٱلنَّارِ هَلْ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
man jāʾa bi'l-ḥasanati fa-lahū khayrun minhā wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn · wa man jāʾa bi's-sayyiʾati fa-kubbat wujūhuhum fi'n-nār, hal tujzawna illā mā kuntum taʿmalūn
"Whoever brings a good deed shall have better than it, and they will be secure from the terror of that day. And whoever brings an evil deed — their faces will be flung down into the Fire. Are you recompensed for anything but what you used to do?"
This pair was treated in al-Qaṣaṣ at 28/84, and the asymmetry was set out in a table there. The verses of the two sūras can be set side by side:
| al-Qaṣaṣ 28/84 | al-Naml 27/89-90 | |
|---|---|---|
| The good deed | man jāʾa bi'l-ḥasanati fa-lahū khayrun minhā | The same |
| The addition | None | wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn |
| The evil deed | fa-lā yujzā… illā mā kānū yaʿmalūn | fa-kubbat wujūhuhum fi'n-nār + hal tujzawna illā mā kuntum taʿmalūn |
The first sentence is word for word the same. This is an overlap between the two sūras that can be verified.
And the asymmetry recorded in al-Qaṣaṣ holds here too, and I do not repeat it: to the one who brings good, something better; to the one who brings evil, as much as he did. On one side an increase, on the other exact equivalence.
First — wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn. The root ف-ز-ع had occurred at verse 87, where it was reported that everyone would be struck with terror. This verse fills in the exception to that sentence.
| Verse | Expression | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | fa-faziʿa man fi's-samāwāti wa man fi'l-arḍ illā man shāʾa'llāh | Everyone — with one exception |
| 89 | wa hum min fazaʿin yawmaʾidhin āminūn | Those who bring good |
I record this as an indication, not as a settled interpretation: the exception at verse 87 (illā man shāʾa'llāh) was left open; verse 89 names a group with the same root. The link between the two verses can be verified from the text; but I do not claim that verse 89 defines exactly the exception of verse 87.
The root ك-ب-ب was worked out in al-Mulk at 67/22: to overturn a thing onto its face, to tip it over and pour it out. Kabba — he overturned it, he threw it face down; akabba — he fell on his face. I do not repeat it here.
And the subject of the verb must be recorded: wujūhuhum — their faces. The sentence does not say "they are flung"; its subject is the face.
I record this as an observation about the word order: the face is where a person is recognised and where his standing shows. And at verse 34 of the sūra the queen had said aʿizzata ahlihā adhillatan — the inverting of standing. This verse gives the same idea in a bodily image. I record this as an overlap, not as a claim about intent.
And this verse was mentioned in the discussion of al-Qāriʿa (where the readings of hāwiya were discussed). I rely on that treatment.
The sentence is an istifhām inkārī: a negation in the form of a question. "Are you recompensed for anything but what you did?" — that is, for nothing else.
And the change of person must be recorded: the sentence began in the third person (man jāʾa, wujūhuhum) and ends in the second (tujzawna, kuntum). This too is an iltifāt, and it is the same shift as at verse 88.
I record this as an observation about the word order: in the sūra's last block iltifāt occurs twice in succession (88 and 90), and in both the shift comes at the point where the reckoning is tied to the one addressed.