A fine model: twin verses with different models
أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ
uswatun ḥasanatun liman kāna yarjū llāha — a fine model for whoever has been hoping for Allah
The two verses share the clause 'a fine model for whoever has been hoping for Allah and the Last Day', but one locates the model in the Messenger of Allah and adds remembering Allah abundantly, while the other locates it in an unnamed 'them' and adds a warning about turning away.
The two verses open with near-identical wording: 'There has indeed been for you... a fine model for whoever has been hoping for Allah and the Last Day' (33:21) and 'There has certainly been for you in them a fine model... for whoever has been hoping for Allah and the Last Day' (60:6). The differences begin with the object of the preposition: in (33:21) the model is 'in the Messenger of Allah', a named, singular figure; in (60:6) it is 'in them', a plural pronoun whose referent stands in the preceding context of that surah, not in the shared wording. The particles also differ: (33:21) has the emphatic لَقَدْ with لَّ, (60:6) the simpler لَقَدْ. After the shared clause the verses diverge sharply. (33:21) continues the description of the one hoping: 'and has remembered Allah abundantly', extending the participial clause with a perfect verb وَذَكَرَ. (60:6) instead breaks off and turns to a conditional: 'And whoever turns away, then indeed Allah—He is the Self-sufficient, the Praiseworthy', using a jussive imperfect يَتَوَلَّ followed by فَإِنَّ. Thus (33:21) expands the positive portrait of the one who takes the model, while (60:6) closes with a statement about Allah that frames turning away as without loss to Allah. The surrounding verses show each in its setting: (33:22) contrasts the believers' conviction with the wavering described in (33:20), and (60:5)–(60:7) sit the model amid prayer for forgiveness and possible affection with former enemies.
Where it occurs
- 33:21 Locates the fine model in the Messenger of Allah and extends the clause with 'and has remembered Allah abundantly'.
- 60:6 Locates the fine model in an unnamed 'them' and closes with a conditional about whoever turns away, followed by 'Allah—He is the Self-sufficient, the Praiseworthy'.
All Qur'anic expressions