Surah An-Nahl 16:26-34 - Quran Translation Commentary

26. Those who had gone before them had also plotted, so Allah struck at the foundation of their edifice, then the roof fell down on them from above them,⁴⁰ and the punishment came to them they knew not from where.

27. Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them and will say: “Where are My partners, about whom you created disputes?” ⁴¹ (At that time) those who have been given knowledge⁴² will Say: “Verily, this day disgrace and evil are for the disbelievers.”

28. “Whom the angels cause to die while they are wronging their own selves.”⁴³,⁴⁴ Then they plead beseechingly: “We were not doing any wrong.” Nay! Verily Allah is the Knower of what you were doing.⁴⁵

29. So enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein forever ⁴⁶(What an evil place indeed is the abode of the proud!

30. And when those who fear Allah are asked: “What has your Lord sent down?” They say:” The best thing.” For those who performed good deeds in the world, there is good (reward),⁴⁷ and the dwelling in the Hereafter will indeed be better. How excellent is the abode of those who fear Allah!

31. Gardens of Eden (perpetuity)which they will enter, underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will have whatever they like.⁴⁸ Thus will Allah repay those who fear Him.

32. Those whom the angels cause to die while they are in a clean state,⁴⁹ they say: “Peace be on you: Enter the Paradise in repayment of what you did.⁵⁰

33. Are they (disbelievers) waiting for the angels⁵¹ to come down or for the deliverance of the judgement of your Lord?⁵² Those who have gone before them had done likewise. Allah did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

34. So that the evil which they did recoiled upon them, and that at which they mocked encompassed them.⁵³

Commentary

40. That is: There were quite a few nations in the past who had plotted and schemed against their prophets, but the prophets call to Truth shook the foundations of the order established by them on the basis of unbelief and polytheism, and when Allah’s judgment came, this order was uprooted from its very foundation, and the establishers of the order met with the worst destruction. For their disbelief and polytheism, the resultant punishment took such a form that the edifices constructed by them became their own graves, e.g. the earthquake shook the foundations of their dwellings from underneath and then the roof along with the entire building collapsed on them from the above.

41. That is: Those whom you associated with Me in My godhood—about whom you had invented all kinds of stories and indulged in lengthy disputes and discussion, where have they disappeared?

42. That is: Those whom knowledge was given in the world, in other words those who had derived benefit from that knowledge whose original source was the divine revelation, will feel, on seeing this condition of the polytheists in the divine court on the Day of Judgment, that the same fate, which was intimated by the divine revelation, awaits the polytheists. They will, therefore, loudly claim that today the disbelievers will meet their evil end, which they deserved. The ayah also reveals how Allah will honor the people with knowledge on the Day of Judgment.

43. This is a description from Allah about what kind of punishment the disbelievers will receive as stated above, but it is also shown that they are seized by the divine punishment from the very moment their souls depart from their bodies.

44. That is: By disbelieving and indulging in polytheism and rebellion against God they are wronging themselves, because they suppress the voice of their own conscience which only recognizes monotheism. It results in not only the stoppage of the development of their self but also in its diminution.

45. That is: On seeing the angels of death, the intoxication of their pride goes away, and they adopt the attitude of acceptance and submission, stopping all disputes. At that time, they are so much frightened that they deny all their misdeeds. But the angels belie their assertions and tell them that Allah is not unaware of their misdeeds and there is no chance for them to escape by telling lies.

46. The angels of death inform the idolaters and polytheists at the time of their death that on the Day of Resurrection they are to enter the Hell and to abide therein forever. This process starts from the beginning of the border of death, i.e. in the world of Barzakh, which in the hadith has been termed as the grave.

And the polytheists say: “Had Allah willed, we would not have worshipped anything beside Him, neither we nor our forefathers, nor would we have declared anything forbidden without (command from) Him.” Such was the way in which those who passed before them54 had acted. Then what responsibility is on the messengers save clear conveyance of the message? (Al-Quran)

47. The good reward which the righteous people get in this world itself is: clean earning, clean life, peace of mind, sweetness of faith, true honour and real greatness.

48. The real suffering of man is that what he wants he does not always get, and it is impossible in this world that man may always get everything that he wants; not even the greatest king in this world could get his every wish fulfilled. If it were so, this world would become Paradise. But Allah has not created this world for this purpose, and therefore, it would be absolutely wrong for any person to expect the fulfillment of his every wish. For this purpose, He has created Paradise in the next world, the very definition of which is that every wish of the entrants therein will be fulfilled and their every want will be met. It is the last word for the most desirable and the most desired thing.

49. In the condition in which their selves are completely free from any contamination of polytheism, disbelief, pride and sinning.

50. Truly pious people, who have fear of God always in their heart, are given the glad tidings of Paradise by the angels at the very time of their death.

51. That is: The angels of death.

52. That is: Punishment.

53. That is: The punishment, which they mocked at, finally encompassed them and they were exterminated by it.