'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl

This surah was called the Surah of Blessings because of the blessings that Allah enumerated in it upon His servants. It is Meccan, except for His saying: "And if you retaliate, let your retaliation be proportional to that by which you were harmed" [An-Nahl: 126], this verse was revealed in Medina regarding the representation of Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, and the martyrs of Uhud. And except for His saying: "And be patient, and your patience is only through Allah" [An-Nahl: 127], and except for His saying: "Then indeed, your Lord will be for those who emigrated" [An-Nahl: 110]. As for His saying: "And those who emigrated for the cause of Allah after they had been wronged" [An-Nahl: 41], it is Meccan regarding the migration to Abyssinia.

His saying, glorified and exalted is He:

"The command of Allah has come, so do not hasten it. Glorified and exalted is He above what they associate" "He sends down the angels with the Spirit by His command upon whom He wills of His servants, to warn that there is no deity except Me, so fear Me" "He created the heavens and the earth in truth. Glorified and exalted is He above what they associate" "He created man from a sperm-drop; then at once, he is a persistent adversary".

It has been narrated that when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: Gabriel, peace be upon him, in the narration of the revelation: "The command of Allah has come," the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, stood up. When he said: "So do not hasten it," he became calm. And His saying: "The command of Allah," the majority of the interpreters said that He means the Day of Resurrection, and in it is a warning to the disbelievers. (p-325) It was said that the intended meaning is the victory of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. It was also said that the intended meaning is the punishment of the disbelievers of Mecca by killing Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his triumph over them. This discussion was mentioned regarding Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. It was said that the intended meaning is the obligations of Allah and His rulings upon His servants and His legislation for them. This is the saying of Al-Dhahak, and it is distanced by His saying: "So do not hasten it," because we do not know of hastening except in three instances: two of them are for the disbelievers regarding the Day of Resurrection and the punishment, and the third is for the believers regarding victory and the triumph of Islam. And His saying: "The command has come" - according to this saying - is news of what will come. This is confirmed from the perspective of assurance, and if the news is true, it confirms the future by being expressed in the past tense, as if it is so clear and certain that it has already occurred. This is good in the news of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, for the truth of its occurrence.

And a group said: "Ataa" means "came close," and this is similar to what I said. It is permissible to speak with this in my view for one who knows the context of emphasis and understands the metaphor. However, if the addressee does not understand the context, it is not permissible to place the past tense in the place of the future, because that corrupts the report and necessitates lying. It was permitted in the condition due to the clarity of the context with "that." And whoever said: "Indeed, the matter is the Resurrection," said: His saying: ﴿So do not hasten it﴾ is a response to those who said: ﴿Hasten for us our share﴾ [Sad: 16] and similar to it from the punishment, or to those who are slow in seeking victory from the believers in the reading of one who read with the 'taa' – and this is the reading of the majority – addressing the believers, or addressing the disbelievers, meaning: Say to them: ﴿So do not hasten it﴾. And Sa'id ibn Jubayr read with the 'yaa' addressing the polytheists in the third person. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "Tushrikoon" with the 'taa' from above, and all the rest read with the 'yaa.' Al-Tabari preferred the reading with the 'taa' from above in both letters. Abu Hatim said: He read "Yushrikoon" with the 'yaa' from below in this and the one after it, Al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, Nafi', Abu 'Amr, Ibn Nisah, Al-Husn, and Abu Rajaa. And 'Isa read the first with the 'taa' from above, and the second with the 'yaa' from below. Abu Al-Aliyah, Talhah, Al-A'mash, Abu Abd Al-Rahman, Yahya ibn Wathab, and Al-Jahdaray all read them both with the 'taa' from above. Al-Asma'i narrated from Nafi' the 'taa' in the first.

Nafi', Asim, Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "He sends down the angels" with a 'ya' and a strong 'zay'. Al-Tabari preferred it for its abundance. Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr read with a softened 'zay' that is broken and a silent 'nun'. Ibn Abi 'Abla read with a 'nun' for greatness and a strong 'zay'. Qatadah read with a 'nun', a softened 'zay', and a silent 'nun'. In this and the one before it, there are many irregularities. Abu Bakr narrated from Asim: "He descends" with a damm on the 'ta', an open 'nun' and 'zay', a strong 'zay', and the raising of "the angels" upon what has not been named its doer. This is the reading of Al-A'mash. Al-Jahdari read with a 'ya' that is rounded, a silent 'nun', and an open 'zay'. Al-Hasan, Abu Al-'Aliya, Asim, Al-Jahdari, and Al-A'raj read with an open 'ta' and the raising of "the angels" as they are the doers. Al-Mufaddal narrated it from Asim, and "the angels" here refers to Gabriel, peace be upon him.

The interpreters differed regarding "the spirit". Mujahid said: The spirit is prophethood. Ibn 'Abbas said: The revelation. Qatadah said: By mercy and revelation. Al-Rabi' ibn Anas said: Every word of Allah is a spirit, and from it is His saying, the Exalted: "We revealed to you a spirit from Our command" [Ash-Shura: 52]. Ibn Jurayj said: The spirit is a being with a form like the form of the children of Adam. Gabriel never descended except that he was with him, and they are many, and they are angels. This is a weak statement as it has no chain. Al-Zajjaj said: The spirit is what gives life to the hearts by the guidance of Allah, the Exalted, to them.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a good saying, and it seems that the wording is in the sense of comparison. That is, what He commanded the prophets to warn the people with, calling them to monotheism, is in comparison to the commands that are in actions and worships like the spirit to the body. Do you not see His saying, the Exalted: "Is he who was dead, then We gave him life and made for him a light" [Al-An'am: 122]? And "who" in this verse - according to this interpretation we have proposed - is for part of it, and according to other sayings, it is for indicating the type. And "from" in His saying: "upon whom He wills" is for the prophets, and "that" in the place of the genitive is a substitute for "the spirit", and it is correct for it to be in the accusative by dropping the preposition, on the assumption of: "that they warn". It is also possible that it is explanatory in the meaning of "that". Al-A'mash read: "to warn", and the warning is good here even if there is nothing in the wording that indicates fear from the fact that the warners are disbelievers in divinity. For within their command is a place of fear, and within the news of the oneness is a prohibition of what they were upon and a threat.

Then He, the Exalted, mentioned what is said to the prophets by revelation in meaning, and did not mention it by its wording. For if He had mentioned it by its wording, He would have said: "that they warn that there is no deity except Allah", but He only mentioned that in its meaning. This is common in all sayings when they are reported to be narrated either by their wording or to be narrated only in meaning.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "He created the heavens and the earth" is a verse indicating the power of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And His saying: "in truth" means with the necessary and appropriate. This is because it indicates attributes that are rightfully for one who has the ability to create, innovate, and revive, which are life, knowledge, power, and effective will, unlike their partners who have no right to any of the attributes of lordship. Al-A'mash read with an additional 'fa': "So exalted is He."

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿He created man from a sperm drop﴾ refers to mankind as a whole. He took for it two ends to show the distance between them by the power of Allah. It has been narrated that this verse was revealed in response to the words of Ubayy ibn Khalaf: "Who can revive the bones when they have decayed?" And His saying: "a disputant" may imply the disbelievers who dispute about Allah and argue about His oneness and His law. Ibn Salam mentioned this from Al-Hasan Al-Basri. It may also imply something broader than this, as the verse enumerates the blessing of intellect and eloquence upon mankind. It appears that when it is established in the disputes of the disbelievers, it adds to the lesson a warning.