وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَآ أَعْمَٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلُكُمْ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِى ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ
"…They are given their reward twice over for their patience; they repel evil with good and spend of what We have provided for them. When they hear idle talk they turn away from it and say: 'Our deeds are ours and your deeds are yours. Peace be upon you; we do not seek out the ignorant.'"
This construction was treated at Fuṣṣilat 41/34 (idfaʿ bi'llatī hiya aḥsan) and had been carried into the field of argument at al-ʿAnkabūt 29/46. The third link is here.
| Place | Verb | Field |
|---|---|---|
| Fuṣṣilat 41/34 | Idfaʿ — د-ف-ع | Enmity |
| al-ʿAnkabūt 29/46 | Lā tujādilū illā bi'llatī hiya aḥsan | Argument |
| al-Qaṣaṣ 28/54 | Yadraʾūn — د-ر-أ | Evil |
The root د-ر-أ: to push, to drive back, to ward off. The lexicographers use the word especially for getting in front of something and blocking it.
The root ل-غ-و was analysed in detail at al-Wāqiʿa 56/25 (speech that is not reckoned with, that goes for nothing) and had occurred at Fuṣṣilat 41/26 as a tactic (wa'lghaw fīh — make a noise over it). I do not repeat it here.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Lanā aʿmālunā wa lakum aʿmālukum | Separation — it divides the accounts |
| Salāmun ʿalaykum | Peace — it does not set up enmity |
| Lā nabtaghi'l-jāhilīn | A boundary — it does not seek the relationship |
I record this as my own reading: the answer is neither silence nor retaliation — it is a third way. And the salām in the middle of it keeps the separation from turning into enmity.
The use of salāmun ʿalaykum in this context stands on the same line as al-Zukhruf 43/89 (fa'ṣfaḥ ʿanhum wa qul salām) — there too a separation is sealed with a greeting of peace.