Surah An-Nahl 16:51-60 - Quran Translation Commentary

(16:56) And they assign to things they do not even know, a share out of what We provide them.⁸² By Allah, you will be questioned for what you were fabricating.

(16:57) And they assign to Allah daughters - Glory to Him - and for themselves what they desire.⁸³

(16:58) When one of them is given the good news of a female, his face turns dark as he suppresses (his anger).

(16:59) Hiding from the people because of the ill of which he was informed:⁸⁴ (debating within himself) should he preserve it in humiliation or should he bury it in the ground?⁸⁵ Lo! Evil is that they decide.⁸⁶

(16:60) Those who do not believe in the Hereafter, theirs is an evil similitude while the loftiest similitude is for Allah. He is the Most Powerful, Most wise.

Commentary

77. Majid has a note missed out by most other commentators, and touched upon it in passing even by the contemporary ones. But, seeing how ideas and religious beliefs have a habit of recurrence, it is important to note. He writes: “This repudiates ‘dualism’ in all its forms and shades, especially the Zoroastrian doctrine of two gods or two ultimate principles, Ahriman and Ormazd. ‘At the beginning of things there existed the two spirits who represented good and evil. Both spirits possess creative power, which manifests itself positively in the one and negatively in the other.’ (Ebr. XXII, p. 98). Dualism, however, is not confined to the Zoroastrian religion. Its ‘rudimentary forms ... the antagonism of a Good and Evil deity are well known among the lower races of mankind.’ (PC, II, p. 316). ‘Now, in earlier ages mankind has been found believing in many gods, or in two original spiritual principles or gods, the one good and the other evil, which are at conflict in the universe. The latter belief, which we call dualism, is so congruous with part of our experience, both within ourselves and without ourselves, that it is always reviving. Nevertheless, I think that, like polytheism properly so-called, it is rationally impossible for us today. The science of nature has demonstrated the absolute unity of nature. Good and evil, as we know them in experience, mind and matter, the world of moral purpose and the world of material things, are not the product of two separate original forces. They are knit into one another as phases in one whole, results of one force, one system of interconnected law. The universal material and spiritual is, as Spinonza said, one and (in some sense) of one substance: and God, if there be a God, in part manifest and in part concealed nature, is one only.’ (Gore, Belief in God, p. 53).”

In the same vein, one might add that the physicists are now of opinion that the four forces of nature, the electro-magnetic, the gravitational, the weak and the strong nuclear forces, are manifestations of a single, Super force. They believe a theory of physics is possible (called as Grand Unification Theory, or GUT) which will express the various forces in one formula. Some advances have already been made. Weinberg-Salam theory demonstrates that electromagnetic and the weak force are in fact two parts of a single force. Thus, we will arrive at the “oneness” of physical laws that rule the world (Au.).

78. Asad comments: “This is a striking example of the fluctuation to which personal pronouns are subjected in the Qur’an whenever they refer to God. As already pointed out ... such abrupt changes of pronoun (“He”, “I”, “Us”, “Me”, etc.) indicate that God is limitless and, therefore, beyond the range of definition implied in the use of ‘personal’ pronouns.”

79. The translation reflects the understanding of Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Ikrimah, Mujahid and others as in Ibn Jarir. The Qur’an said (37: 9):

وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ [الصافات : 9]

“And for them will be eternal punishment.”

Two other meanings of “wasib” have also been reported of the Salaf: (i) “obligatory” and (ii) “sincerity.”

80. Majid once again, “It should be borne in mind that a good many pagan nations while believing in One Supreme Being have also offered worship to the Evil One through the motives of fear. The practice is ‘familiar to many barbaric races.’ There is still a ‘numerous though oppressed people in Mesopotamia and adjacent countries’ known as Yazidis or Devil-worshippers. ‘This remarkable sect is distinguished by a special form of dualism. While recognizing the existence of a Supreme Being, their peculiar reverence is given to Satan, chief of the angelic host, who now has the means of doing evil to mankind, and in his restoration will base the power of rewarding them’ (PC, II, p. 329).”

81. That is, the unbelievers, although deny One, true God, turn to Allah alone when they are faced with serious threats to life and property, pleading, groaning and crying in supplications (Ibn Jarir).

82. That is, the pagans assign a share from what Allah bestows on them to their deities about whom they do not even know whether they will be rewarded for, or not (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Zamakhshari).

Another possible meaning is, ‘the idols do not even know that the pagans are ascribing divinity to them (Razi).

Asad relates the verse to a wider context: “... (the verse) bears a wider, more general meaning: It connects directly with the three preceding verses of this surah - namely, with the attribution of a share (nasib) in God’s creativeness - and thus of a decisive influence on one’s life - to ‘causes’ or ‘powers’ other than Him. This view has also been advanced by Razi (with a special reference to astrological speculations).”

83. The allusion is to the pagan suggestion that the angels are female and daughters of Allah, while they preferred sons for themselves (Au.). They ascribed “feminism” to them perhaps because they were not visible, like women, who stay in the inner quarters, invisible to the outsiders (Razi). “The tribes of Khuza`ah .. in particular used to call angels the daughters of God” (Majid).

84. He did not wish to face the people because his wife had given birth to a female.

85. There were several ways in which the pre-Islamic Arabs disposed off their new-born female children. Some of them dug a hole in the ground and buried the infant alive. Others threw them down a cliff, yet others slit their throat, etc. Qays b. ‘Asim told the Prophet, “Messenger of Allah. I buried eight female infants in pre-Islamic times.” He replied, “Free a slave for each one of them now” (Razi).

According to Qatadah, it were the Mudar and Khuda`ah tribes that regularly buried their female infants - the Tamim tribe being the severest. But their world knew of some kind-hearted men also. Sa`sa`ah b. Najiyyah, Farazdaq’s uncle, was one of those who bought off the lives of those destined to die in return for camels (Qurtubi).

All polytheistic religions, whether Indian, African, or some other variety, evince similar characteristics. Newspapers have reported that in 2000, some 7 million abortions were carried out in India, majority of them because the fetus was female (Au.).

86. “Evil is that they decide”: That is, although they hate daughters for themselves, to the point of burying them alive, in an evil judgment, they attribute them to Allah as His daughters (Thanwi, Shafi`).

Asad thinks of another possibility. He writes, “I.e., either of these alternatives is evil: to keep the child as an object of perpetual contempt, or to bury it alive.” And Alusi writes that a Muslim should feel happier at the birth of a daughter, if nothing else, then, in opposition to the pagans.