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

(16:2) He sends down angels with the Revelation⁶ by His command upon whom He will of His slaves (saying):⁷ ‘Warn that there is no God except I. Therefore, fear Me.’

(16:3) He created the heavens and the earth in truth.⁸ Exalted is He above that they associate (with Him).

(16:4) He created man from a sperm-drop. And lo, (there) he is, an open disputer.⁹

(16:5) And the cattle - He created them for you. In them is warmth¹⁰ and (various other) uses, and of them you eat.

(16:6) And there is beauty in them for you when you drive them home in the evening and take them to pasture in the morning.¹¹

(16:7) And they bear your burden unto places you could not have reached but with great difficulty to the souls. Verily, your Lord is Most Kind, Most Merciful.

(16:8) And (He created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride,¹² and for adornment.¹³ And He creates what you know not.¹⁴

(16:9) And upon Allah is the description of the path¹⁵ while some (of them) swerve away.¹⁶ Had He willed, he would have guided you all together.

Commentary

3. Jalaluddin Suyuti has said: Consider how the previous chapter is connected with this one. The previous chapter ended with the words, “And worship your Lord until death comes to you,” while this one starts with, “Commeth Allah’s commandment” (Alusi).

As regards immediate context, this verse addressed the Makkans who often demanded to know when the Hour would strike. Nadr b. al-Harith in fact said (8: 32), “O God. If this be true from You, then rain down stones upon us” (Au.).

In Yusuf Ali’s tender words, “This is an answer to the taunts of the Pagans, who said, ‘If there is a god, the One true God, as you say, with unified control, why does He not punish the wrong-doers at once?’ The answer is: ‘The decree of Allah will inevitably come to pass; it will come soon enough; when it comes, you will wish it were delayed; how foolish of you to wish even to cut off your last hope of forgiveness?’”

4. According to some of the Salaf, the “amr” of the text alludes to “the Hour” and, the two events being so close, also to the raising of the Final Messenger. Ibn ‘Abbas said that when Jibril was sent with the first message to the Prophet, he remarked, “Allah is Great. The Hour has arrived” (Qurtubi).

Mawdudi has an opinion worth consideration. For ease we shall use sentences from him, mixing with ours: Since this chapter was revealed during the last days of the Prophet’s stay at Makka, a few days before his migration to Madinah, and since the pith of the Makkan argument against him was, ‘Muhammad (peace be on him) claims that we have deviated from the truth. He also claims to be a Prophet designated by God. If both these statements are true, we should by now have been seized by God’s scourge’... in view of above ‘the judgment’ (command in our rendering: au.) refers to Prophet’s Muhammad’s migration from Makkah.

Shabbir however understands “amr” as command alone, which here alludes to the command by which the Muslims would ultimately gain upper hand, emerge triumphant, and the unbelievers routed. The time is close for it. Nor is it too far from the Hour of Resurrection, so, what’s the point in seeking to hasten it?

5. Many commentators have said that those who are warned of the Hereafter, usually rely on someone who will save them - if the promised Hereafter really comes through. So Allah (swt) warned them, “Glorified is He above that which they associate (with Him).”

6. Ibn ‘Abbas has said that the textual “Al-ruh” refers to revelation. Qatadah cites both “revelation” as well as “mercy” in explanation of the term (Ibn Jarir).

Revelation has been called “Al-ruh” (spirit, soul, or life) because therewith is the life of the hearts (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Shawkani).

Razi cites an instance in the Qur’an where the word “ruh” is used in the sense of revelation. Allah said (42: 52),

وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا [الشورى : 52]

“That is how We have revealed to you, a “ruh” (revelation) by Our command.”

He also said (40: 15),

يُلْقِي الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ [غافر : 15]

“He casts His “ruh” (revelation) by His command on whomsoever of His slaves He will.”

Mawdudi expands: “The ‘spirit’ (revelation in our rendering: Au.) mentioned here is the spirit of prophecy. The Messenger is infused with it, and it animates all that he says or does. Revelation and the spirit of prophecy have the same significance in man’s moral life as does the ‘soul’ in the physical life. Hence, the Qur’an has used the term ‘spirit’ for it. Since the Christians were unable to grasp this, they were led to believe in the Holy Ghost and to make him one of the three persons constituting a Trinity.”

7. Mawdudi comments: “The unbelievers took strong exception to the choice of Muhammad (peace be on him), .. for this divine assignment. How could he be so appointed when there were outstanding scions in the leading families of Makka and Ta’if who, in their view, were much better suited for such a position.”

8. That is, everything in the universe attests to the great Truth that it has a single Originator and Sustainer and that there is no room for false gods as proposed by the polytheists. Had there been more than one God, an ordered universe would have never come into existence, instead, chaotic fragments would have been flying about (Au.).

9. Most of the commentators understand the verse as translated above. Nonetheless, Ibn Jarir understands the textual word “mubin” as meaning someone capable of expressing himself skillfully and rationally. Zamakhshari also sees the same possibility. Asad has worded it thus: “.. after having been a [mere] drop of sperm, a particle of matter without consciousness or motion, man becomes highly articulate (mintiq), able to argue on his own [for or against a proposition], courageously facing disputes, and clearly formulating his arguments: [and herein lies] an indication of God’s creative power.”

Another meaning is also possible: Although man has such a lowly origin, he grows so arrogant with time that he challenges his very Creator. With this meaning in view, Shabbir quotes another verse (36: 77-78):

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الْإِنْسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ (77) وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِي الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ [يس : 77 ، 78]

“Has man not considered that we created him from a sperm-drop, and then, lo, he is an open disputer. He strikes examples for Us, forgetting his creation, he says, ‘Who will quicken the bones when they are dust?’”

10. The allusion by “dif’un” is to warm clothes made from animal hide, wool, or fur (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari).

The above point is of course obvious. But could the allusion also be to the common knowledge that animals’ flesh gives warmth to human body? (Au.).

11. Only those can appreciate this verse who have seen in the natural surroundings the beauty of a flock driven back by the evening or being taken out into the fields in the morning. And it is only he who has made a keen observation that will appreciate why the Qur’an spoke first of the cattle being driven back: fed, fat, quiet, slow and playful, the shepherd shooing-shaa-ing from the rear, to control them, while in the morning, lean, heads down, bleating, hurrying to the pasture grounds, in submission, the shepherd simply following them. Further, the evening return is more visible than the early morning quick march.

And, in the beauty of the scene is the evidence of Allah’s existence. One can somehow explain away the creation, but can he ignore the beauty noticeable in every creation? Who is the creator of this beauty? (Au.).

12. In view of the use stated here, of these three kinds of animals: horses, mules and donkeys, viz., “for ride,” in contrast to the use stated for cattle, viz., “of them you eat,” Ibn ‘Abbas disapproved of their meat. Some went so far as to declare horse’s meat as unlawful. However, scholars like Aswad and Ibrahim did not treat horse’s meat as unlawful. Jabir reported, “We used to eat horse’s meat during the time of the Prophet.” He was asked, “What about mules?” He answered, “Mules, no.” As for donkey’s meat, there is no difference in opinion that the flesh of the domesticated ones is prohibited. There are clear ahadith to this effect (Ibn Jarir). In fact Jabir has reported a hadith, preserved in the Sahihayn which says,

نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ خَيْبَرَ عَنْ لُحُومِ الْحُمُرِ الْأَهْلِيَّةِ وَأَذِنَ فِي لُحُومِ الْخَيْلِ

“On the day of Khayber, the Prophet prohibited us flesh of domestic donkeys but allowed horse’s meat.”

Muslim has a report coming from Asma’ bint Abi Bakr which says,

نَحَرْنَا فَرَسًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنَحْنُ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَأَكَلْنَاهُ

“In Madinah we slaughtered a horse during the time of the Prophet, and we all ate thereof.”

(A similar report in Tabarani has the additional words, “(we slaughtered the horse) as it was about to die”: Qurtubi).

As for mules, the Prophet rode them because they were available, otherwise he disapproved of crossing donkeys with horses (Ibn Kathir).

Imam Abu Hanifah was with `Abbas in saying that horse’s meat is makruh (Qurtubi, Shafi`).

13. Whether it is a horse, a camel, or a car, man has always been proud of them and their beauty (Au.).

Thanwi writes that in view of the words, “And there is beauty in them,” and in the words, “(He created) horses, mules, and donkeys ... an adornment” there is nothing wrong in indulging in the good things of life if the aim is to counter inferiority complex, or simply to please one’s inner self, but if one can avoid the pitfall of pride.

14. Shafi`, Asad and others have pointed out the shift in the form of the verb: from “khalaqa” (He created: in the past) to “yakhluqu” (He creates, or will create), to include all future creations of vehicles and means of transport. In Asad’s words, “The use, in this context, of the aorist yakhluqu implies the future tense (“He will create”) in contrast with the past tense khalaqa employed in the preceding passages. Since this reference to God’s continuing creation comes immediately after a mention of primitive means of transport (i.e., animals domesticated by man to this end), it obviously relates to other - as yet unknown - things of the same category: that is to say, to new means of transport which God unceasingly creates through the instrumentality of the inventiveness with which He has endowed man’s mind. Inasmuch as every successive stage of human development bears witness to new, previously undreamed-of inventions in the realm of transport, the Qur’anic statement that `He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge’ is valid for every period - past, present and future - of man’s history.”

15. The translation follows the understanding of Ibn ‘Abbas, Qatadah, Dahhak and others as in Ibn Jarir. This is how Razi and Qurtubi understand it. Shawkani notes another possibility: “Upon Allah is the guidance of him who seeks the path of guidance.” But Mujahid thought it meant that the path of truth leads to Allah (Ibn Jarir).

Ibn Kathir thinks Mujahid’s interpretation is more plausible.

16. That is, not all paths lead to Him. In fact, most of the paths skirt off and lead away from Him (Ibn Jarir). However, if we are to follow Mujahid’s opinion then Ibn Mas`ud’s commentary fits well the context who explained the last part of the verse as, “yet there are some who swerve away from it” (Zamakhshari). In fact, ‘Ali read the original as “minkum ja’ir” that is, some of you swerve away (Shawkani).