Surah 16. An-Nahl

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-21 [2], 22-25 [3], 26-34 [4], 35-40 [5], 41-50 [6], 51-60 [7], 61-65 [8], 66-70 [9], 71-76 [10], 77-83 [11], 84-89 [12], 90-100 [13], 101-110 [14], 111-119 [15], 120-128 [16]

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Quran Text of Verse 101-110وَ اِذَاAnd whenبَدَّلْنَاۤWe substituteاٰیَةًa Verseمَّكَانَ(in) placeاٰیَةٍ ۙ(of) a Verseوَّ اللّٰهُand Allahاَعْلَمُ(is) most knowingبِمَاof whatیُنَزِّلُHe sends downقَالُوْۤاthey sayاِنَّمَاۤOnlyاَنْتَyouمُفْتَرٍ ؕ(are) an inventorبَلْNayاَكْثَرُهُمْmost of themلَا(do) notیَعْلَمُوْنَ know قُلْSayنَزَّلَهٗHas brought it downرُوْحُthe Holy Spiritالْقُدُسِthe Holy Spiritمِنْfromرَّبِّكَyour Lordبِالْحَقِّin truthلِیُثَبِّتَto make firmالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelieveوَ هُدًیand (as) a guidanceوَّ بُشْرٰیand glad tidingsلِلْمُسْلِمِیْنَ to the Muslims 16. An-Nahl Page 279وَ لَقَدْAnd certainlyنَعْلَمُWe knowاَنَّهُمْthat theyیَقُوْلُوْنَsayاِنَّمَاOnlyیُعَلِّمُهٗteaches himبَشَرٌ ؕa human beingلِسَانُ(The) tongueالَّذِیْ(of) the oneیُلْحِدُوْنَthey referاِلَیْهِto himاَعْجَمِیٌّ(is) foreignوَّ هٰذَاwhile thisلِسَانٌ(is) a languageعَرَبِیٌّArabicمُّبِیْنٌ clear اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoلَا(do) notیُؤْمِنُوْنَbelieveبِاٰیٰتِin the Versesاللّٰهِ ۙ(of) AllahلَاnotیَهْدِیْهِمُAllah will guide themاللّٰهُAllah will guide themوَ لَهُمْand for themعَذَابٌ(is) a punishmentاَلِیْمٌ painful اِنَّمَاOnlyیَفْتَرِیthey inventالْكَذِبَthe falsehoodالَّذِیْنَthose whoلَا(do) notیُؤْمِنُوْنَbelieveبِاٰیٰتِin the Versesاللّٰهِ ۚ(of) Allahوَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَand thoseهُمُtheyالْكٰذِبُوْنَ (are) the liars مَنْWhoeverكَفَرَdisbelievesبِاللّٰهِin Allahمِنْۢafterبَعْدِafterاِیْمَانِهٖۤhis beliefاِلَّاexceptمَنْ(one) whoاُكْرِهَis forcedوَ قَلْبُهٗwhile his heartمُطْمَىِٕنٌّۢ(is) contentبِالْاِیْمَانِwith the faithوَ لٰكِنْButمَّنْ(one) whoشَرَحَopensبِالْكُفْرِto disbeliefصَدْرًا(his) breastفَعَلَیْهِمْthen upon themغَضَبٌ(is) a wrathمِّنَofاللّٰهِ ۚAllahوَ لَهُمْand for themعَذَابٌ(is) a punishmentعَظِیْمٌ great ذٰلِكَThat (is)بِاَنَّهُمُbecauseاسْتَحَبُّواthey preferredالْحَیٰوةَthe lifeالدُّنْیَا(of) the worldعَلَیoverالْاٰخِرَةِ ۙthe Hereafterوَ اَنَّand thatاللّٰهَAllahلَا(does) notیَهْدِیguideالْقَوْمَthe peopleالْكٰفِرِیْنَ the disbelievers اُولٰٓىِٕكَThoseالَّذِیْنَ(are) the onesطَبَعَAllah has set a sealاللّٰهُAllah has set a sealعَلٰیoverقُلُوْبِهِمْtheir heartsوَ سَمْعِهِمْand their hearingوَ اَبْصَارِهِمْ ۚand their sightوَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَAnd thoseهُمُthey areالْغٰفِلُوْنَ the heedless لَاNoجَرَمَdoubtاَنَّهُمْthat theyفِیinالْاٰخِرَةِthe Hereafterهُمُ[they]الْخٰسِرُوْنَ (are) the losers ثُمَّThenاِنَّindeedرَبَّكَyour Lordلِلَّذِیْنَto those whoهَاجَرُوْاemigratedمِنْۢafterبَعْدِafterمَاwhatفُتِنُوْاthey had been put to trialsثُمَّthenجٰهَدُوْاstrove hardوَ صَبَرُوْۤا ۙand were patientاِنَّIndeedرَبَّكَyour Lordمِنْۢafter itبَعْدِهَاafter itلَغَفُوْرٌsurely is Oft-Forgivingرَّحِیْمٌ۠Most Merciful

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Translation of Verse 101-110

(16:101) Whenever We replace one verse by another verse - and Allah knows what He should reveal - they are wont to say: "You are nothing but a fabricator¹⁰² (who has invented the Qur'an)." The fact is that most of them are ignorant of the Truth.

(16:102) Tell them: "It is the spirit of holiness that has brought it down, by stages,¹⁰³ from your Lord so that it might bring firmness to those who believe,¹⁰⁴ and guidance to the Right Way,¹⁰⁵ and give glad tidings of felicity and success to those who submit to Allah."¹⁰⁶

(16:103) Surely We know well that they say about you: "It is only a human being who teaches him,"¹⁰⁷ (notwithstanding) that he whom they maliciously hint at is of foreign tongue, while this (Qur'an) is plain Arabic speech.

(16:104) Surely Allah will not enable those who do not believe in the signs of Allah to be directed to the Right Way, and a painful chastisement awaits them.

(16:105) (It is not the Prophet who invents lies), it is rather those who do not believe in the signs of Allah who invent lies.¹⁰⁸ They are liars.

(16:106) Except for those who were forced to engage in infidelity to Allah after believing the while their hearts remained firmly convinced of their belief, the ones whose hearts willingly embraced disbelief shall incur Allah's wrath and a mighty chastisement lies in store for them.¹⁰⁹

(16:107) That is because they love the life of this world more than the Hereafter; and Allah does not guide those who are ungrateful to Allah for His favours.

(16:108) They are the ones upon whose hearts and hearing and eyes Allah has set a seal. They are utterly steeped in heedlessness.

(16:109) No doubt they shall be losers in the Hereafter.¹¹⁰

(16:110) And surely your Lord will be Most Forgiving and Most Merciful towards those who left their homes after they were persecuted, and who thereafter struggled hard and remained constant.¹¹¹

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Commentary

102. The replacement of one verse by another might possibly signify replacing one command by another. For the commands embodied in the Qur’an were revealed gradually. Sometimes it also happened that on one ° particular issue, two or three commandments were revealed one after the other in the course of a few years. The instances which immediately come to mind are those regarding drinking and unlawful sexual indulgence.

We feel disinclined, however, to accept this interpretation. The simple reason is that the verse in question was revealed during the Makkan period. As far as we know, no instances of gradual revelation of commands are on record for this. period.

We, therefore, tend to believe that what is meant by replacing one verse by another is that a certain idea was explained in the Qur’an at different places with the help of different parables. The same story is conveyed with one set of expressions and then later with another. At times a particular aspect of an issue is highlighted and at other times some other aspect of it is emphasized. To prove a point, sometimes recourse is made to one argument and sometimes to another. The same idea is presented briefly at one place and in greater detail at another. This led the Makkan unbelievers to charge the Prophet (peace be on him) with being the author of the Qur’an. For them if the Qur’an had been derived from a divine source of knowledge, it would have set forth every question in such a manner that it would be absolutely clear and there would be no need for taking it up again. They considered it unworthy of God to reveal His messages piecemeal; to send His guidance gradually; and to. resort to a variety of revelations. They contended that piecemeal and gradual revelation did not be hove God. The unbelievers thought such an attitude weak and imperfect which in turn reflected the efforts of human beings to express their imperfect knowledge.

103. The Qur’anic expression ‘Ruh al-Qudus’ literally means ‘holy spirit" or the ‘spirit of holiness’. This appellation is exclusively used for the angel Gabriel. By preferring to use this appellation rather than his proper name, the Qur’an emphasizes that the message of the Qur’an has been conveyed through the spirit which is free from all human weaknesses and imperfections. The Qur’an was communicated to the Prophet (peace be on him) by one who is fully trustworthy so that there-is no danger of his tampering with God’s message. The Qur’an was not communicated through anyone who is prone to lying and fabrications so that he would make up some messages and then falsely ascribe them to God. Nor was it communicated through someone who would resort to deception and fraud under the influence of selfish motives.

Instead, the Qur’4n was communicated by a holy and purified spirit which always conveys the Word of God with utmost trustworthiness.

104. That the Qur’an was revealed gradually rather than in one piece does not prove any deficiency in God’s knowledge or wisdom — a view erroneously held by the unbelievers. It is rather man’s power of comprehension and assimilation which is deficient. Hence, if the Qur’an had been revealed in one piece, it would have been difficult for people to assimilate its whole message in a short span of time. Nor would it have been easy to fully digest even a single aspect of that message in a limited period of time. Thus God, in His wisdom, entrusted Gabriel to communicate the Qur’an to the Prophet (peace be on him) in pieces. At times, the Qur’anic messages were set out succinctly and at other times in some detail The literary style employed to explain the messages also varied, One and the same point is driven home by variously employing different methods. All this is done so that all those who seek the truth might be able to obtain it despite their varying intellectual endowments, and subsequently grow mature in their knowledge, conviction and understanding.

105. This constitutes another reason underlying the gradual revelation of the Qur’an. The believers who attempt to follow the way of God encounter many problems in the course of their calling to Islam as well as in connection with the practical problems of life. The Qur’an provides them with adequate and timely guidance in this regard. It is quite obvious that it would have been altogether unwise to reveal directives in connection with all the different problems and stages of life before people even encountered them. Nor would it have been useful to reveal all the directives together in a short span of time:

106. This constitutes still another reason for the gradual revelation of the Qur’an. The Muslims encountered different kinds of resistance and opposition, and they were also subjected to persecution in a myriad of forms. Formidable obstacles were placed by their opponents to prevent the propagation of Islam.

These daunting circumstances required that the Muslims should constantly receive good tidings from God to keep their morale high. It was also necessary that the believers should be assured of their ultimate victory in order to prevent them falling prey to pessimism and despair.

107. These are reports which mention different names. These were the Makkan unbelievers who were suspected of being the true source of the teachings of the Prophet (peace be on him). In one of the reports, the name of the person mentioned is Jabr who was a Roman slave of ‘Amir ibn al-Hadrami. In another report, the name mentioned is ‘A’ish or Ya‘ish, a slave of Huwaytib ibn ‘Abd al-‘Uzza. Another report mentions Yasar, a Jew, whose agnomen (kunyah) — was Abu Fukayhah, and who was the slave of a Makkan woman. Still another report mentions someone by the name of Bal‘an or Bal‘am, a Roman slave.

Be that as it may, the unbelievers of Makka formed their judgement on the basis of one simple thing. They tried to find out who, among the acquaintances of the Prophet (peace be on him) knew about the Torah and the Gospels. They needed to know nothing else about the person to be able to declare that he was the real author of the Qur’an, a Book which the Prophet (peace be on him) ascribed to God. (See Ibn Hisham, Sirah, vol. 1, p. 393 and al-Qurtubi’s comments on verse 103 of the present surah Ed.)

This shows how grossly mistaken people are in forming opinions about the true worth of their contemporaries. The Makkans had the unique privilege of being directly acquainted with a man like whom none had lived on earth before, nor would ever live after. Disregarding the sterling qualities of such a person, they saw greater merit in some foreign slaves of Makka who had some small knowledge of the: scriptures. Strangely enough, they were inclined to consider them to be the source of knowledge and wisdom embodied in the Qur’an.

108. Alternatively, this verse may be translated as follows: ‘It is only those who do not believe in the signs of Allah who invent lies.’

109. This verse deals with those Muslims who, at that time, were being severely persecuted; were being forced under torture to revert to unbelief. Such believers are being assured that if under such unendurable pressure, and out of the desire to save their lives, they are sometimes inclined to indicate that they no longer believe in Islam, they will be pardoned by God provided their hearts remain secure from all false doctrines. However, if they not only declare their verbal dissociation from Islam, but even in their hearts become convinced that it was some other religious doctrine rather than Islam which was true, they will not be able to escape God’s punishment.

It is not the purpose of the verse to urge people to declare their dissociation from Islam in order to save their lives. All the verse says is that a person would: not be punished for so doing provided that in his heart he retains his faith. However, if someone wants to follow a more praiseworthy cause and prefers to live on a higher level of faith, he ought to adhere to his position even if he is most brutally tortured to death.

If we were to carefully study the time of the Prophet (peace be on him), we would find examples of men like Khabbab ibn Aratt who was made to lie on a red-hot fire until the fire was extinguished by the molten fat of his body. Despite such torture, Khabbab valiantly clung to his faith. Likewise, Bilal was made to put on his armor and then stand in the scorching sun. He was then made to lie down on hot sand and dragged around. In spite of all this, Bilal continued his declaration of God’s unity. In like manner we come across Habib ibn Zayd ibn ‘Asim. Under orders from Musaylimah, the false pretender to prophethood, one limb after another was severed from this man’s body so as to force him to affirm that Musaylimah was a Prophet designated by God. Habib continued to resist such demands, bearing this unspeakable torture until he died.

On the other side of the scale, we see ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, who had seen how both his father and mother were cruelly tortured to death. Thereafter, he himself was subjected to torture. The torture was simply too severe for ‘Ammar to bear; under those unbearable circumstances he uttered all that the unbelievers had wanted him to say. Then he burst into tears and appeared before the Prophet (peace be on him): ‘O Messenger of God, I was not spared until I reviled you and praised their gods.’ The Prophet (peace be on him) asked him: ‘What do you feel is the state of your heart?’ He replied: ‘Satisfied with what I believe in.’ The Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘If the unbelievers repeat their persecution, do again what you did.’ (Ibn Sa‘d, vol. 3, p. 249 - Ed.)

110. These statements were made about those who, finding that the path of faith was difficult, recanted and rejoined the ranks of their people — the unbelievers and the polytheists.

111. Reference is made to those who had migrated to Abyssinia.