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 84-89وَ یَوْمَAnd the DayنَبْعَثُWe will resurrectمِنْfromكُلِّeveryاُمَّةٍnationشَهِیْدًاa witnessثُمَّthenلَاnotیُؤْذَنُwill be permittedلِلَّذِیْنَto those whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelievedوَ لَاand notهُمْtheyیُسْتَعْتَبُوْنَ will be asked to make amends وَ اِذَاAnd whenرَاَ(will) seeالَّذِیْنَthose whoظَلَمُواwrongedالْعَذَابَthe punishmentفَلَاthen notیُخَفَّفُit will be lightenedعَنْهُمْfor themوَ لَاand notهُمْtheyیُنْظَرُوْنَ will be given respite وَ اِذَاAnd whenرَاَ(will) seeالَّذِیْنَthose whoاَشْرَكُوْاassociated partners with Allahشُرَكَآءَهُمْtheir partnersقَالُوْاThey will sayرَبَّنَاOur Lordهٰۤؤُلَآءِtheseشُرَكَآؤُنَا(are) our partnersالَّذِیْنَthose whomكُنَّاwe used toنَدْعُوْاinvokeمِنْbesides Youدُوْنِكَ ۚbesides YouفَاَلْقَوْاBut they (will) throw backاِلَیْهِمُat themالْقَوْلَ(their) wordاِنَّكُمْIndeed, youلَكٰذِبُوْنَۚ(are) surely liars وَ اَلْقَوْاAnd they (will) offerاِلَیtoاللّٰهِAllahیَوْمَىِٕذِ(on) that Dayلسَّلَمَthe submissionوَ ضَلَّand (is) lostعَنْهُمْfrom themمَّاwhatكَانُوْاthey used (to)یَفْتَرُوْنَ invent 16. An-Nahl Page 277اَلَّذِیْنَAnd those whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelievedوَ صَدُّوْاand hinderedعَنْfromسَبِیْلِ(the) wayاللّٰهِ(of) AllahزِدْنٰهُمْWe will increase themعَذَابًا(in) punishmentفَوْقَoverالْعَذَابِpunishmentبِمَاbecauseكَانُوْاthey used (to)یُفْسِدُوْنَ spread corruption وَ یَوْمَAnd the DayنَبْعَثُWe will resurrectفِیْamongكُلِّeveryاُمَّةٍnationشَهِیْدًاa witnessعَلَیْهِمْover themمِّنْfromاَنْفُسِهِمْthemselvesوَجِئْنَاAnd We (will) bringبِكَyouشَهِیْدًا(as) a witnessعَلٰیoverهٰۤؤُلَآءِ ؕtheseوَ نَزَّلْنَاAnd We sent downعَلَیْكَto youالْكِتٰبَthe Bookتِبْیَانًا(as) a clarificationلِّكُلِّof everyشَیْءٍthingوَّ هُدًیand a guidanceوَّ رَحْمَةًand mercyوَّ بُشْرٰیand glad tidingsلِلْمُسْلِمِیْنَ۠for the Muslims

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Translation of Verse 84-89

(16:84) (They are heedless of) the Day when We shall raise a witness⁸⁰ from each community and then the unbelievers will neither be allowed to plead nor will they be asked to repent and seek pardon.⁸¹

(16:85) Once the wrong-doers have beheld the chastisement,⁸² neither will it be lightened for them nor will they be granted any respite.

(16:86) And when those who associated others with Allah in His Divinity will see those to whom they ascribed this share, they will say: "Our Lord! These are the beings to whom we ascribed a share in Your Divinity and whom we called upon instead of You," whereupon those beings will fling at them the words: "You are liars."⁸³

(16:87) On that Day they will offer their submission and all that they had fabricated will have vanished.⁸⁴

(16:88) As for those who disbelieved and barred others from the way of Allah, We shall add further chastisement⁸⁵ to their chastisement for all the mischief they did.

(16:89) (O Muhammad), warn them of the coming of a Day when We shall bring forth a witness against them from each community and We shall bring you forth as a witness against them all; (and it is for that purpose that) We sent down the Book to you which makes everything clear,⁸⁶ and serves as a guidance and mercy and glad tidings to those who have submitted to Allah.⁸⁷

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Commentary

80. The word ‘witness’ in the verse stands for the Prophet of a people, or anyone else who after his passing away, asks them to eschew polytheistic superstitions and rituals, invites them to exclusively worship the One True God, and warns them of accountability on the Day of Judgement. Such a person will bear testimony on the Day of Judgement that he did indeed convey the truth to his people. Whatever they did thereafter was, therefore, not out of ignorance. It was rather done despite full knowledge, and so deliberately.

81. This does not mean that people will not be allowed to explain their conduct. What the verse means is that the wrong-doing of the unbelievers will be established by incontrovertible and undeniable evidence. It will leave them no room to explain away or defend their conduct.

82. At this stage they will not be asked to repent and seek pardon from their Lord. For this will be the Hour of Judgement. Both the Qur’an and the Hadith make it clear that one may repent and seek pardon during the present life. It is not possible to do so in the Hereafter. Even in this life, the opportunity for repenting and seeking pardon is available as long as one is not in the throes of death. When a man becomes certain that he is on the verge of breathing his last, his repentance is of no avail. For as soon as a person reaches the frontiers of death, the term for doing good comes to an end. Only one thing follows that event — God’s reward or punishment.

83. This does not mean that the false deities will deny that the unbelievers called upon them to help them and rescue them from distress. What they will deny is that they neither knew nor expressed their consent, nor did they ask them to call upon them rather than upon God. Hence, they were in no way responsible for whatever the polytheists might have done. If people believed that they had the power to hear and answer prayers, or to remove distress or effectively assist them, all this was a lie which people had themselves invented.

Hence, they alone should be responsible for that and bear its consequences.

84. All the fabrications of the unbelievers will vanish on the Day of Judgement. Those in whom the unbelievers and polytheists had placed their trust will be gone. They will be unable to find anyone even to heed their complaints and lamentations. None will be there to solve their difficulties. No holy men or saints will step forward to intercede on their behalf. No one will dare to plead with God that no harm should come to them for they were sincerely devoted to Him.

85. The punishment inflicted on such unbelievers will be two-fold. Apart from being punished for unbelief, they will also be punished for barring others from the way of God.

86. The Qur’an clearly explains what the basic factors are which cause man to find or lose the right way, to attain success or end up in failure. It also clearly illuminates all that a man needs to know in order to be rightly-directed and to be able to distinguish truth from falsehood. However, some people tend to make an altogether erroneous interpretation of (‘which makes everything clear’) and similar statements in other verses of the Qur’an. They take the statement in a purely literal sense to mean that every single thing has been laid down and explained in the Qur’an. Proceeding on this assumption, they try to call out from the Qur’an all sorts of strange facts — scientific and otherwise — in order to vindicate their assumption.

87. The Qur’an will provide sound guidance to those who accept the Qur’an and adopt the stance of obedience in all spheres of life. Adherence to Qur’anic guidance will bring upon them God’s mercy, Moreover, the Book of God will announce to them the glad tidings of their success on the Day of Judgement.

Those who reject the Qur’an, however, will be deprived of God’s guidance and mercy. Not only that but on the Day of Judgement when God’s Messenger will bear witness against them, this Book will serve as an overpowering evidence against them. For the Messenger will conclusively establish that he had conveyed to them the Book which clearly explains the distinction between truth and falsehood.