Surah An-Nahl 16:1-9 - Quran Translation Commentary

2. He sends down the angels with the spirit by His command to whom He will of His slaves,³ (saying): Warn mankind that there is no God except Me, so fear Me.⁴

3. He has created the heavens and the earth with truth.⁵ He is Exalted above all that they associate (with Him).

4. He created man from a drop of fluid, yet behold: he is an open disputant.⁶

5. And the cattle He has created, from them you have warm clothing,⁷ and other benefits,⁸ and thereof you eat; ⁹

6. And therein is beauty for you, when you bring them home in the evening, and when you take them to the pasture in the morning.¹⁰

7. And they carry your loads for you to a place you could not reach except with great physical toil.¹¹ Indeed your Lord is Compassionate, Merciful.¹²

8. And horses, and mules and asses (He has created) that you may ride¹³ them and as embellishment. And he creates that which you do not know.¹⁴

9. And the straight path reaches Allah,¹⁵ and there are some other paths that are not straight¹⁶. And had He willed, He would have led you all aright.¹⁷

Commentary

1. The thing which the polytheists were seeking to hasten was the divine punishment. They used to say why does the divine punishment about which the Prophet was warning them not coming down on them?”

They are seeking to hasten the punishment, and if its time were not fixed, the punishment would have definitely come.” — (Al-Ankabut-53).

Therefore, in the ayah the words ‘amrullah’ (Allah’s command) only signify Allah’s punishment, and the purpose is to explain that those who are seeking to hasten the divine punishment have been destined to receive their punishment, and the time has come near, when they would taste it. Accordingly, in a few years those who clung to their polytheism were completely wiped out, so much so that at the time of the Last Hajj of the Prophet (09 A.H.) not only there was not a single polytheist in Makkah but also in the whole of Arabia. In other words, Muslims’ swords descended on the polytheists in the form of divine punishment. This punishment was different from the punishment meted out to earlier nations, yet it is a fact that the opponents of the Prophet had to face total destruction.

Besides, it is also a fact that death is a very near thing, and when death comes to polytheist or infidels, the angels of punishment appear and his spirit tastes the pangs of punishment in the world of Barzakh (world between this and the next world). Then on the Day of Resurrection, -- ---- which is likely to occur very soon—such people will be thrown into the Hell for good. In short, for the polytheists and the unbelievers the divine punishment is, from every aspect, close by.

2. That is: Allah is above being associated with anybody. When these people ascribe to Him things which are below His divine status they can only deserve to receive His punishment.

3.’Rooh’ or spirit means the revelation which Allah sends down to the Prophets. Since it descends on the hearts of the prophets like the spirit, and it gives life to man, it has been called the Spirit, the ayah also reveals that prophethood is a divine gift, and Allah blesses only those of His slaves with it whom He selects for this exalted position. In other words, prophethood is not a thing which man can attain by his efforts, it is entirely a ‘divine gift in attaining which man’s efforts have no place.

4. That is: Whenever a revelation came from Allah, it brought the message of tawheed, i.e. monotheism. Therefore, all the teachings of all the prophets were that of monotheism, and they had directed men to a life with fear of God in hearts.

It is therefore, clear that the religions which teach polytheism in any form cannot be related to any true prophet, nor such a teaching can be termed as ‘revelation’ or word of God.

5. This has been explained in Note No.124, Surah Al-An’am.

6. Man has forgotten his origin that he has been created from a filthy droplet and has started disputing as to how the revival of dead is possible. Had he pondered over his first birth, he would have realized the reality that the God who can create from the lowly droplet of a fluid, man with such high talents can surely have the power to bring him to life again. And if man realizes this reality, then he would not dare dispute the power and authority of the All Powerful, Almighty, God.

7. That is: You prepare warm clothing from their hair and wool.

8. Some cattle are used for riding and some for ploughing the field. Some animals provide milk, and their skins are also found useful. Thus various benefits are derived from them.

9. Their flesh provides you food.

10. Since various benefits are derived from the cattle, and they are tended for increase in their numbers which means additional income, the scene of the cattle returning home in the evening or going to pastures in the morning gives pleasure and pride to the owner.

At the time of the revelation of Qur’an Arabs used to keep and tend cattle, which was one of their professions, Qur’an has drawn this picture to remind of this blessed gift from God.

11. In those days camels and bullocks were the main beasts of burden.

12. Allah is Compassionate and Merciful, that is why He has created creatures which relieve man of his toil and physical strains, and He has also bestowed innumerable gifts on him to make his life comfortable.

13. In the above lines were mentioned those creatures (cattle) which in Arabic are called ‘An’am’, that is camel, cow, sheep and goat. About them it is stated that ‘thereof you eat’. But the animals mentioned are horses, mules and asses, which have been created so that they may be used for riding. Therefore, the point that emerges from this is that those animals are for being eaten and these are for being used for riding. Human nature is also inclined towards eating the flesh of horses, mules and asses.

14. Probably it is a hint at those energies which were not yet known to mankind, but subsequent discoveries provided the modern means of transport to man, e.g. steam, petrol, electricity, etc., which produce the energy to run the rail engines, motor cars, ships and the aero planes, etc. and Allah alone knows what other things has He created for man to make his life more comfortable.

15. That is: The path of belief and virtuous acts is the only straight path leading to Allah. Man can reach Allah by following this path only and can thus seek His pleasure. Conventionally it is called ‘Islam’, towards which Qur’an invites everyone.

In the foregoing ayah Allah’s gift of creating animals for riding was mentioned, which automatically gave rise to the image of path and destination. In consonance with the occasion, the reader’s mind is turned towards the spiritual path and the real destination, that the path of monotheism is the straight path which alone leads up to God. It gives us an idea how the Quranic ayat are mutually interrelated and coordinated. Since Qur’an has building of the mind and thought in view, it diverts the mind towards high realities in accordance with the requirements of the occasion, and from this aspect there is deep co-ordination among the Quranic ayat.

16. That is: Apart from tawheed or monotheism, which is the path of Islam, no other path is straight, but that all other paths are tortuous, and they do not lead up to God. Let nobody be under the wrong impression that man can reach up to God by following any path, and that man may follow either monotheism or indulge in polytheism, it does not affect the consequences nor does it affect the final outcome. In the present times opportunists present the idea of the path of polytheism and idolatry being similar to the path of Islamic monotheism and equate Islam with other false and polytheistic religions in such attractive terms in keeping with their political objectives, e.g.

“The spirit of all religions is one, though their shapes are different. In the same way as the reality of water, which can be obtained from a well, from the springs and also from the ghats of the rivers.” — (Gagan’s Mazahib-i-Alam number (Urdu) page 64). “ All the beliefs in the world are like the branches of a tree, and every branch is different from other branch and has its own distinctive position, but the source or the origin of these branches is one and the same.” (Ibid p. 818).

Both these examples are misleading, for the water which has been contaminated by the filth of polytheism cannot be equal to the clean and pure water of the spring of monotheism, and how can the tree which bears bitter and sour fruits be equal to the tree which bears tasty and sweet fruits!

17. For explanations please see Note No.271, Surah An’am.

And for you He has subjected the night and the day, and the sun and the moon to be of service, and the stars are also subjected in service by His command. Verily, herein are signs for the people who have sense. (Al-Quran)