Ан-Нахль 16:97–109

Righteous Deeds and their Reward

This is a promise from Allah to those Children of Adam, male or female, who do righteous deeds - deeds in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet , with a heart that believes in Allah and His Messenger , while believing that these deeds are commanded and enjoined by Allah. Allah promises that He will give them a good life in this world and that He will reward them according to the best of their deeds in the Hereafter. The good life includes feeling tranquillity in all aspects of life. It has been reported that Ibn `Abbas and a group (of scholars) interpreted it to mean good, lawful provisions. It was reported that `Ali bin Abi Talib interpreted as contentment. This was also the opinion of Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah and Wahb bin Munabbih. `Ali bin Abi Talhah recorded from Ibn `Abbas that it meant happiness. Al-Hasan, Mujahid and Qatadah said: "None gets this good life mentioned except in Paradise." Ad-Dahhak said: "It means lawful provisions and worship in this life". Ad-Dahhak also said: "It means working to obey Allah and finding joy in that." The correct view is that a good life includes all of these things. as found in the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from `Abdullah bin `Amr that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ، وَرُزِقَ كَفَافًا، وَقَنَّعَهُ اللهُ بِمَا آتَاه»

(He who submits becomes a Muslim has succeeded, is given sufficient provisions, and is content with Allah for what he is given.) It was also recorded by Muslim.

فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْءَانَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَنِ الرَّجِيمِ

The Command to seek Refuge with Allah before reciting the Qur'an

This is a command from Allah to His servants upon the tongue of His Prophet , telling them that when they want to read Qur'an, they should seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaytan. The Hadiths mentioned about seeking refuge with Allah (Isti`adhah), were quoted in our discussion at the beginning of this Tafsir, praise be to Allah. The reason for seeking refuge with Allah before reading is that the reader should not get confused or mixed up, and that the Shaytan would not confuse him or stop him from thinking about and pondering over the meaning of what he reads. Hence the majority of scholars said that refuge should be sought with Allah before starting to read.

(Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord.) Ath-Thawri said: "He has no power to make them commit a sin they will not repent from." Others said: it means that he has no argument for them. Others said it is like the Ayah:

(Except Your chosen servants amongst them.) 15:40

(His power is only over those who obey and follow him (Shaytan), ) Mujahid said: "Those who obey him." Others said, "Those who take him as their protector instead of Allah."

(and those who join partners with Him.) means, those who associate others in worship with Allah.

The Idolators' Accusation that the Prophet was a Liar since some Ayat were abrogated, and the Refutation of their Claim

Allah tells us of the weak minds of the idolators, and their lack of faith and conviction. He explains that it is impossible for them to have faith when He has decreed that they are doomed. When they saw that some rulings had been changed by being abrogated, they said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُفْتَرٍ

(You are but a forger) meaning one who tells lies. But Allah is the Lord Who does whatever He wills, and rules as He wants.

بَدَّلْنَآ ءَايَةً مَّكَانَ ءَايَةٍ

(And when We change a verse (of the Qur'an) in place of another) Mujahid said: this means, "We remove one and put another in its place." Qatadah said: this is like the Ayah:

مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ أَوْ نُنسِهَا

(Whatever verse We change abrogate or omit the abrogated...)" (2:106). Allah said, in response to them:

قُلْ نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ

(Say: "Ruh-ul-Qudus has brought it...") meaning, Jibril,

مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ

(from your Lord with truth, ) meaning, with truthfulness and justice

لِيُثَبِّتَ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ

(for the conviction of those who believe,) so that they will believe what was revealed earlier and what was revealed later, and humble themselves towards Allah.

وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ

(and as a guide and good news for the Muslims.) meaning He has made it a guide and good news to the Muslims who believe in Allah and His Messengers.

The Idolators' Claim that the Qur'an was taught by a Human, and the Refutation of their Claim

Allah tells us about the idolators' lies, allegations, and slander when they claimed that this Qur'an which Muhammad had recited for them, was actually taught to him by a human. They referred to a foreign (i.e., non-Arab) man who lived among them as the servant of some of the clans of Quraysh and who used to sell goods by As-Safa. Maybe the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to sit with him sometimes and talk to him a little, but he was a foreigner who did not know much Arabic, only enough simple phrases to answer questions when he had to. So in refutation of their claims of fabrication, Allah said:

لِّسَانُ الَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّ وَهَذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّ مُّبِينٌ

(The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur'an) is a (in) clear Arabic tongue.) meaning, how could it be that this Qur'an with its eloquent style and perfect meanings, which is more perfect than any Book revealed to any previously sent Prophet, have been learnt from a foreigner who hardly speaks the language No one with the slightest amount of common sense would say such a thing.

الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَتِ اللَّهِ

(Verily, those who do not believe in Allah's Ayat,) Allah will not guide them, and theirs will be a painful punishment, meaning, the disbelievers and heretics who are known to the people as liars. The Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, on the other hand, was the most honest and righteous of people, the most perfect in knowledge, deeds, faith and conviction. He was known among his people for his truthfulness and no one among them had any doubts about that - to such an extent that they always addressed him as Al-Amin (the Trustworthy) Muhammad. Thus when Heraclius, the king of the Romans, asked Abu Sufyan about the attributes of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one of the things he said to him was, "Did you ever accuse him of lying before he made his claim" Abu Sufyan said, "No". Heraclius said, "He would refrain from lying about people and then go and fabricate lies about Allah"

Allah's Wrath against the Apostate, except for the One Who is forced into Disbelief

Allah tells us that He is angry with them who willingly disbelieve in Him after clearly believing in Him, who open their hearts to disbelief finding peace in that, because they understood the faith yet they still turned away from it. They will suffer severe punishment in the Hereafter, because they preferred this life to the Hereafter, and they left the faith for the sake of this world and Allah did not guide their hearts and help them to stand firm in the true religion. He put a seal on their hearts so that they would not be able to understand what is beneficial for them, and He sealed their ears and eyes so that they would not benefit from them. Their faculties did not help them at all, so they are unaware of what is going to happen to them.

لاَ جَرَمَ

(No doubt) means, it is inevitable, and no wonder that those who are like this -

أَنَّهُمْ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ هُمُ الْخَسِرونَ

(in the Hereafter, they will be the losers.) meaning, they will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.

إِلاَّ مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالإِيمَنِ

(except one who was forced while his heart is at peace with the faith) This is an exception in the case of one who utters statements of disbelief and verbally agrees with the Mushrikin because he is forced to do so by the beatings and abuse to which he is subjected, but his heart refuses to accept what he is saying, and he is, in reality, at peace with his faith in Allah and His Messenger . The scholars agreed that if a person is forced into disbelief, it is permissible for him to either go along with them in the interests of self-preservation, or to refuse, as Bilal did when they were inflicting all sorts of torture on him, even placing a huge rock on his chest in the intense heat and telling him to admit others as partners with Allah. He refused, saying, "Alone, Alone." And he said, "By Allah, if I knew any word more annoying to you than this, I would say it." May Allah be pleased with him. Similarly, when the Liar Musaylimah asked Habib bin Zayd Al-Ansari, "Do you bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah" He said, "Yes." Then Musaylimah asked, "Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah ﷺ" Habib said, "I do not hear you." Musaylimah kept cutting him, piece by piece, but he remained steadfast insisting on his words. It is better and preferable for the Muslim to remain steadfast in his religion, even if that leads to him being killed, as was mentioned by Al-Hafiz Ibn `Asakir in his biography of `Abdullah bin Hudhafah Al-Sahmi, one of the Companions. He said that he was taken prisoner by the Romans, who brought him to their king. The king said, "Become a Christian, and I will give you a share of my kingdom and my daughter in marriage." `Abdullah said: "If you were to give me all that you possess and all that Arabs possess to make me give up the religion of Muhammad ﷺ even for an instant, I would not do it." The king said, "Then I will kill you." `Abdullah said, "It is up to you." The king gave orders that he should be crucified, and commanded his archers to shoot near his hands and feet while ordering him to become a Christian, but he still refused. Then the king gave orders that he should be brought down, and that a big vessel made of copper be brought and heated up. Then, while `Abdullah was watching, one of the Muslim prisoners was brought out and thrown into it, until all that was left of him was scorched bones. The king ordered him to become a Christian, but he still refused. Then he ordered that `Abdullah be thrown into the vessel, and he was brought back to the pulley to be thrown in. `Abdullah wept, and the king hoped that he would respond to him, so he called him, but `Abdullah said, "I only weep because I have only one soul with which to be thrown into this vessel at this moment for the sake of Allah; I wish that I had as many souls as there are hairs on my body with which I could undergo this torture for the sake of Allah." According to some reports, the king imprisoned him and deprived him of food and drink for several days, then he sent him wine and pork, and he did not come near them. Then the king called him and asked him, "What stopped you from eating" `Abdullah said, "It is permissible for me under these circumstances, but I did not want to give you the opportunity to gloat." The king said to him, "Kiss my head and I will let you go." `Abdullah said, "And will you release all the Muslim prisoners with me" The king said, "Yes." So `Abdullah kissed his head and he released him and all the other Muslim prisoners he was holding. When he came back, `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "Every Muslim should kiss the head of `Abdullah bin Hudhafah, and I will be the first to do so." And he stood up and kissed his head. May Allah be pleased with them both.