16:1. The decree of Allah is at hand, so do not seek to hasten it. Glorified and exalted be He, far above the partners they ascribe to Him!

16:2. He sends down the angels with His revelation by His command to whomever among His slaves He wills, saying: Proclaim that there is no god but I, so fear Me.

Here Allah confirms that what He promised is close at hand, and offers reassurance that it will indeed come to pass:

﴾The decree of Allah is at hand, so do not seek to hasten it﴿ for it is coming, and that which is coming is near at hand.

﴾Glorified and exalted be He far above the partners they ascribe to Him﴿ such as a child, spouse or equal, and other things that thepolytheists attributed to Him that are not befitting to His majesty or are contrary to His perfect nature.

Having declared Himself to be above that which His enemies ascribe to Him, Allah then mentions the revelation that He sent down to His Prophets, that one must believe in with regard to the perfect attributes of Allah:

﴾He sends down the angels with His revelation﴿, which brings (spiritual) life to people’s hearts

﴾by His command to whomever among His slaves He wills﴿ who He knows to be righteous, to carry His message.

The main idea and focus of the call of all of the Messengers is: ﴾Proclaim that there is no god but 1, so fear Mej﴿ that is, the focus is on knowing Allah (ds) and affirming His oneness through the attributes of greatness which are the attributes of divinity, and worshipping Him alone, with no partner or associate. This is the message with which Allah sent down His Books and sent His Messengers.

Then Allah mentions the proof and evidence for that:

16:3. He created the heavens and the earth fora true purpose. Exalted be He far above the partners they ascribe to Him!

16:4. He created man from a drop of semen, then he becomes argumentative, able to express himself.

16:5. And He created the livestock animals for you; they are a source of warm clothing [and blankets] and other benefits, and of their [meat] you eat.

16:6. You find beauty in them when you bring them home in the evening and when you drive them out to pasture [in the morning].

16:7. And they carry your heavy loads to lands that you could not [otherwise] reach without great hardship. Verily your Lord is indeed Compassionate, Most Merciful.

16:8. And [He has created] horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and use for show, and He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge.^{1This may refer to other means of transportation, as suggested by some commentators.}

16:9. It is for Allah to show the straight path, and there are [other] paths which deviate from the right course. If He had so willed, He could have guided all of you.

This chapter is called the chapter of blessings, for at the beginning of it Allah mentions the basic blessings and at the end of it He mentions other blessings that complete those basic blessings. He tells us that He created the heavens and the earth for a true purpose, so that people may contemplate them and thus realise the greatness of their Creator and what He possesses of attributes of perfection, and so that they may know that He created them as a dwelling place for His slaves who worship Him by adhering to what He enjoined upon them of duties and laws that He sent down on the lips of His Messengers. Hence He declares Himself to be above what the polytheists ascribeas partners to Him, as He says: ﴾Exalted be He far above the partners they ascribe to Him﴿ that is, He describes Himself to be above and far greater than the partners they ascribe to Him, for He is the true God, and it is not appropriate for people to worship, love and humble themselves to any but Him.

Having mentioned the creation of the heavens and the earth, He then mentions the creation of that which is in them.

He starts with the noblest of that creation, which is man:

﴾He created man from a drop of semen﴿ then He caused it to develop and grow until it became a complete human with perfect limbs and faculties both visible and invisible. Then he bestowed upon him abundant blessings until, when he reached the level of (physical and mental) completeness, he became filled with pride and self-admiration, ﴾then he becomes argumentative, able to express himself﴿. It may be that what is meant is that man becomes argumentative with his Lord, ungrateful to Him, arguing with His Messengers and rejecting His revelations. Thus he forgets his initial creation and the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon him, so he uses those blessings for sinful purposes. Or it may be that what is meant is that Allah created man from a drop of semen, then He causes him to pass through the stages of development until he becomes a man of reason who is able to express himself, think, develop his views, argue and discuss. So let the individual give thanks to his Lord Who caused him to develop from a stage where he had no power at all and acquire all these abilities.

﴾ And He created the livestock animals for you﴿ that is, He created them for your sake, for your benefit and in your interests. One of the great benefits that you derive from them is that ﴾they are a source of warm clothing [and blankets]﴿ because from their wool, hair and skins you make garments, furnishings and tents.

﴾and﴿ you have in them pother benefits﴿ besides those mentioned above

﴾and of their [meat] you eat﴿.

﴾You find beauty in them when you bring them home in the evening and when you drive them out to pasture [in the morning]﴿ that is, at the time when they rest in the evening and at the time when they go out to pasture. That is because the beauty is not for them; rather it is for you, because you are the ones who enjoy their beauty and you also find beauty in your garments, your children and your wealth, and you admire that.

6(And they carry your heavy loads j? and even carry you ﴾fto lands that you could not [otherwise] reach without great hardship﴿. Allah has caused them to be of service to you, so that you ride on some of them and on others you carry whatever loads you wish to distant lands and faraway regions.

﴾Verily your Lord is indeed Compassionate, Most Merciful﴿ because He has subjected to you that which you need. So to Him be praise as befits the majesty of His Countenance, the greatness of His power and the abundance of His generosity and kindness.

﴾And [He has created] horses, mules and donkeys﴿ and caused them to be of service to you

﴾for you to ride and use for show﴿ that is, sometimes you use them for necessary purposes such as riding, and sometimes you use them for the sake of beauty and show. No mention is made of eating, because it is prohibited to eat mules and donkeys, and horses are not usually used for food; in fact it may be prohibited to slaughter them for food, for fear that they may become extinct. However it is proven in aṣ-Ṣaheehayn (the two authentic Hadith collections of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim) that the Prophet (ﷺ) allowed the eating of horsemeat.

﴾fand He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge﴿ that would come about after the revelation of the Qur’an, of means of transportation in which people ride on land and sea, and in the air, and that they use for their own benefit and in their interests. They are not mentioned in specific terms, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) did notmention in His Book anything but that which people knew (at that time), or they knew something similar to it. As for that which had no comparison at that time, if He had mentioned it they would not have known it or understood what was meant. So He mentioned that in very general terms that may include what they knew and what they did not know. The same may be said concerning the way in which he mentions the blessings of paradise; He mentions by name those which we know or see something similar, such as palm trees, grapes and pomegranates, and He refers in general terms to that of which we know no comparison, as in the verse in which He says: c﴾In them are two kinds of every fruit.﴿ (ar-Rahman 55: 52)

Similarly, here Allah mentions means of transportation that people knew (at the time of revelation) - such as horses, mules, donkeys, camels and ships - and He mentioned others in general terms, ﴾fand He will yet create things of which [today] you have no knowledge﴿.

Having mentioned paths in a literal or physical sense, and stated that He created means for people to travel those paths, such as camels and the like, Allah then mentions the spiritual path that leads to Him:

﴾lt is for Allah to show the straight path﴿ that is, the straight path that is the shortest and most straightforward path that leads to Allah.

As for the path that is deviant in terms of beliefs and actions, this is a description of everything that is contrary to the straight path, for it cuts one off from Allah and leads to the abode of doom. So those who are guided follow the straight path by their Lord’s leave, and those who deviate follow deviant paths.

f(If He had so willed, He could have guided all of you﴿ but He guided some by His kindness and grace, and He did not guide others, in accordance with His wisdom and justice.

16:10. It is He Who sends down water from the sky; from it you drink, and from it grow the plants on which you pasture your livestock.

16:11. With it He causes to grow for you grains, olives, date palms, grapes and all kinds of fruits. Verily in that there are signs for people who reflect.

Thus those who reflect conclude how perfect is the power of Allah, Who sends this water from clouds that are soft and gentle by nature, and they conclude how perfect is His mercy, as He made in the clouds a great deal of water from which they may drink, give their flocks to drink and irrigate their crops, which then bring forth abundant fruit and great blessings.

16:12. And He has made the night and the day, and the sun and moon, to be of service to you, and the stars are also made subservient by His command. Verily in that there are signs for people of understanding.

That is. He has made these things subject to you for your benefit and to serve various interests, to the extent that you cannot do without them at all. So by night you sleep and rest, and by day you go out toseek your livelihood and pursue your religious and worldly interests. From the sun and the moon there comes light which benefits the trees, crops and plants, and reduces moisture and dispels cold that may harm the land and people’s bodies, and other necessities that are connected to the existence of the sun and moon.

In the sun and moon and in the stars there is adornment for the heavens, and they are used for the purpose of navigation in the dark on land and sea, for telling the time and working out dates; these are signs of varying kinds and significance. All of that is referred to here, where Allah says:

﴾Verily in that there are signs for people of understanding﴿ that is, for those who have minds that they use to reflect and ponder, for that is the purpose for which their minds are created and prepared, so that they may understand what they see and hear, unlike the heedless who gain no benefit from seeing except like animals that have no reason.

16:13. And [He has made to be of service to you] all that He has created on earth of different kinds of things. Verily in that there are signs for people who pay heed.

That is, in all that Allah has created for His slaves and scattered across the surface of the earth, such as animals, trees, plants and so on, of various colours and types, there is a sign of Allah’s perfect might, immense generosity and abundant grace. This indicates that none should be worshipped but Him alone, with no partner or associate.

﴾for people who pay heed﴿ that is, for those who bear in mind that which will benefit them of useful knowledge, and they reflectupon that which Allah calls them to contemplate, so that they may pay heed to the evidence that points to Him.

16:14. It is He Who has made the sea to be of service, so that you may eat from it succulent meat [fish] and bring forth from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships ploughing through the waves so that you may seek the bounty of Allah and so that you may give thanks.

That is. He alone, with no partner ﴾has made the sea to be of service﴿ and He has prepared it to offer you different types of benefits ﴾fso that you may eat from it succulent meat﴿ this refers to the various kinds of fish that are caught from the sea tjand bring forth from it ornaments which you wear﴿ which add beauty to your beauty

﴾And you see the ships ploughing through the waves﴿ that is, ploughing through the huge waves with their bows, which take them from one land to another, carrying travellers, provisions and goods by means of which they seek provision and the bounty that Allah has bestowed upon them.

﴾and so that you may give thanks﴿ to the One Who made these things available for you and prepared them, and so that you may praise Allah Who has blessed you with them. To Allah be all praise and thanks, for He has given people that which is in their interests and to their benefit, more than they ask for and wish for, and He has given them some of all that they ask for. We cannot praise Him enough; rather He is as He has praised Himself.

16:15. And He has set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it shake with you; and rivers and paths so that you may find your

16:16. And landmarks. And by the stars too people find their way.

Allah ﴾has set﴿ for the sake of His slaves «fon the earth mountains standing firm﴿. This refers to huge mountains, lest the earth move and shake with the people on it. Hence they are able to till the land, build on it and walk on it. By His mercy, He has created therein rivers which He causes to run from a distant land to another land that is desperate for water, so that they are provided with water for themselves, their flocks and their crops. There are rivers that flow on the surface of the earth, and there are rivers underground which people access by digging, until they reach what Allah has subjected for them, and bring forth the water using buckets and other equipment. By His mercy. He has created in the earth paths, that is roads which connect distant lands,

﴾fso that you may find your way﴿ to those places. You may even find a land that is surrounded with mountains, but Allah has created passes and routes by means of which people may reach such lands.

16:17. Is then He Who creates like one who cannot create? Will you not then pay heed?

16:18. If you [try to] count the blessings of Allah, you cannot count them all. Verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

16:19. Allah knows what you conceal and what you disclose.

16:20. Those they call upon besides Allah create nothing; they are themselves created.

16:21. They are dead, lifeless; and they do not know when they will be resurrected."

16:22. Your God is One God. As for those who do not believe in the hereafter, their hearts refuse to know, and they are arrogant.

16:23. Undoubtedly Allah knows what they conceal and what they disclose. Verily He does not love the arrogant.

Having mentioned what He created of mighty entities and what He has bestowed of great blessings, Allah then tells us that no one resembles him and He has no equal or rival.

f[ls then He Who creates﴿ all these things and does whatever He wills

(■[like one who cannot create﴿ anything, small or great.

﴾Will you not then pay heed?﴿ And acknowledge that the only One Who can create is more deserving of all worship. Just as He is one in His power of creation and control, so too He is one in His divinity and He alone is deserving of worship.

Just as He had no partner when He created you and others, do not ascribe to Him partners or rivals in worship; rather devote your worship sincerely to Him alone.

﴾flf you [try to] count the blessings of Allah﴿ without thanking Him ﴾you cannot count them all﴿, let alone give proper thanks, for His blessings to His slaves, both apparent and hidden, are as many as the breaths they take and the moments that pass. This applies to all kinds of blessings, both those of which people are aware and those of which they are not aware, which includes what He wards off from them of calamity. The blessings are more than can be counted.

﴾Verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ for He is pleased with a little thanks from you, even though His blessings are so many. As it is the case that His mercy is vast, His generosity extends to all and His forgiveness is available to all, so His knowledge encompasses them all.

﴾Allah knows what you conceal and what you disclose﴿ unlike those that are worshipped besides Him, for they ﴾create nothing﴿ small or great;

﴾they are themselves created﴿ - so how can they create anything when they themselves need to be created by Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)?

Moreover, they possess no attributes of perfection at all, whether that be knowledge or anything else.

﴾They are dead, lifeless﴿; they neither hear, nor see, nor understand anything. Should such things be taken as gods besides the Lord of the worlds? How foolish the polytheists are in their thinking, and how misguided and corrupt they are, for they are misguided by the most obviously corrupt ideas and they regard as equal one who is lacking in all aspects, possesses no attributes of perfection and can do nothing, and One Who is perfect in all aspects, to Whom belong all attributes of perfection in the greatest and most complete manner. He is possessed of all-encompassing knowledge, immense power and abundant mercy that fills the entire universe; to Him be all praise andglory, for He is possessed of might and greatness that none of His creation can fully comprehend.

﴾ Your God is One God﴿; He is Allah, the One, the Self-Sustaining, and there is none like unto Him. People of faith and reason have great awe and veneration for Him in their hearts, they love Him greatly and devote to Him all that they can of both physical and financial acts of worship. All their feelings are attached to Him and all their physical deeds are devoted to Him. They praise Him by affirming His most beautiful names and attributes, and His sublime actions.

﴾As for those who do not believe in the hereafter, their hearts refuse to know﴿ this great fact which no one denies except the most utterly ignorant and stubborn of people; this fact is the oneness of Allah (tawlieed).

tfand they are arrogant﴿ that is, they are too arrogant to worship Him. ﴾Undoubtedly﴿ that is, indeed

﴾Allah knows what they conceal and what they disclose'﴿ of evil deeds ﴾Verily He does not love the arrogant﴿; rather He hates them immensely and will requite them according to their deeds.

f(...Verily, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter hell in humiliation.﴿ (Ghdfir40. 60)

16:24. When they are asked: What has your Lord sent down? they say: Tales of the ancients.

16:25. Hence on the Day of Resurrection they will bear the full weight of their own burdens, as well as some of the burdens of those without knowledge, whom they misled. Miserable indeed will be their burden.

16:26. Those who came before them [also] plotted and planned, but Allah struck at the foundations of what they built and the roof fell down on them from above; the punishment came upon them from a direction they did not expect.

16:27. Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them and will say: Where are My [so-called] partners for whose sake you used to oppose [the Prophets and the believers]? Those who were given knowledge will say: Verily today disgrace and punishment will befall the disbelievers,

16:28. Those whose souls the angels take [in death] when they are wronging themselves. They will offer their submission, saying: We did not do anything wrong. [It will be said to them:] Nay; verily Allah has full knowledge of what you used to do;

16:29. So enter the gates of hell, to abide therein forever. Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant!

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us how vehemently the polytheists rejected His revelations:

﴾When they are asked: What has your Lord sent down?﴿ That is, if they are asked about the Qur’an and the revelation, which is the greatest blessing that Allah has bestowed upon His slaves: What do you say about it? Do you appreciate and acknowledge this blessing,or are you ungrateful and stubbornly reject it? The answer they give is the worst and silliest answer, because they describe it as ﴾Tales of the ancients﴿ that is, lies fabricated by Muhammad (ﷺ) about Allah, and it is no more than stories of the earlier peoples that have been handed down from generation to generation; some of them are true and some of them are false. They gave this opinion and called their followers to adopt it; hence they carry their own burden and the burden of all those who follow them until the Day of Resurrection.

﴾as well as some of the burdens of those without knowledge, whom they misled﴿ that is, some of the burden of those blind followers who had no knowledge except what they called them to, so they will bear the sin of what they called them to. As for those who had knowledge, each one will bear his own burden of sin, because he knew what they knew.

﴾Miserable indeed will be their burden﴿ that is, how miserable will be the burden that will weigh heavily upon them, the burden of their own sin and the sin of those whom they led astray.

﴾Those who came before them [also] plotted and planned﴿ against their Messengers; they came up with all kinds of elaborate tricks to reject the message they brought.

﴾but Allah struck at the foundations of what they built﴿ that is, He dealt with the matter at the root.

f(and the roof fell down on them from above﴿ and what they had plotted and planned became the punishment that was inflicted upon them.

﴾the punishment came upon them from a direction they did not expect﴿. That was because they thought that this elaborate plot would benefit them and protect them from the punishment, but their punishment came through that which they had built and for which they had laid the foundation (of specious arguments).

This is a beautiful example of how Allah foiled the plots of His enemies: they thought and reflected on what the Messengershad wrought, after they decided to reject it, and they came up with principles and rules based on falsehood, to which they referred in order to refute what the Messengers had brought. They also used tricks to cause harm to the Messengers and those who followed them, but their plot became a disaster for them and their planning became the cause of their ruin and destruction, because their plot was evil:

﴾... but the plotting of evil affects none but its authors... )) (Fafir 35:43)

That is the case in this world, but the punishment of the hereafter is another matter. Hence Allah says here: ﴾Then on the Day of Resurrection He will disgrace them﴿ that is, He will put them to shame before all people and will expose their lies and fabrications against Him.

﴾and will say: Where are My [so-called] partners for whose sake you used to oppose [the Prophets and the believers]?﴿ That is, you fought and showed enmity towards Allah and His party for their sake, and you claimed that they were partners to Allah. When He asks them this question, they will have no response but to admit that they were misguided and to acknowledge that they were stubborn, so they will say:

﴾...They are lost from us. And they will testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.﴿ (al-A 'raf7:37)

﴾Those who were given knowledge﴿ that is, the devoted scholars ﴾will say: Verily today﴿ that is, on the Day of Resurrection ﴾disgrace and punishment will befall the disbelievers﴿.

This highlights the virtue of the scholars, for they are the speakers of truth in this world and will be the speakers of truth on the Day of Resurrection, for their words carry weight before Allah and before His creation.

Then Allah tells us what will happen to them at the time of death, and on the Day of Resurrection:

﴾Those whose souls the angels take [in death] when they are wronging themselves﴿ that is, they take their souls when they are in thatstate, when they have committed a great deal of wrongdoing and transgression. It is known what the wrongdoers will face on the Day of Resurrection, of all kinds of punishment, disgrace and humiliation.

﴾They will offer their submission﴿ they will surrender and will deny that which they used to worship besides Allah, saying: We did not do anything wrong﴿. But it will be said to them:

﴾Nay﴿ you did do wrong, for ﴾verily Allah has full knowledge of what you used to do﴿. So their denial will be to no avail. This will occur at some stage of the Day of Resurrection; they will deny what they used to do in this world, thinking that this will benefit them. But when their physical faculties testify against them and what they used to do becomes clear, they will admit it and confess. Hence they will not enter hell until they acknowledge their sins.

﴾So enter the gates of hell﴿ - all those who committed a particular deed will enter through the appropriate gate.

﴾Wretched indeed is the abode of the arrogant!﴿ Namely the fire of hell, for it is the abode of sorrow and regret, a place of misery, pain, distress, anguish and the wrath of the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining. The painful punishment will never be reduced or alleviated, not even for a single day, for the Most Merciful Lord will have turned away from them and caused them to taste the grievous punishment.

(rr-r.

16:30. But when it is said to those who fear Allah: What has your Lord sent down? they say: All that is good. For those who do good, there is good [reward] in this world, and the abode of the hereafter is better, and how excellent is the abode of those who fear Allah,

16:31. Gardens of perpetual abode, which they will enter, through which rivers flow. There they will have all that they wish for. Thus does Allah reward those who fear Him,

16:32. Those whose souls the angels take [in death] in a state of purity, saying [to them]: Peace be upon you; enter paradise as a reward for your deeds.

Having mentioned what the disbelievers said about the revelation, Allah now tells us what the pious said, and that they acknowledged and affirmed that what Allah had sent down was indeed a great blessing and immense good that Allah had bestowed upon His slaves. So they accepted and welcomed that blessing, and they submitted to Allah and give thanks to Him for it, then they learned it and acted in accordance with it.

﴾For those who do good﴿ in worshipping Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and showing kindness to the slaves of Allah,

﴾there is good [reward] in this world﴿ namely abundant provision, a life of ease, reassurance, security and happiness.

﴾fand the abode of the hereafter is better﴿ than this world and all that is in it of various kinds of pleasures and desirable things. For the joy of this life is little and is filled with troubles, and it will soon come to an end, unlike the joy of the hereafter. Hence Allah says: ﴾and the abode of the hereafter is better, and how excellent is the abode of those who fear Allah﴿.

﴾Gardens of perpetual abode, which they will enter, through which rivers flow. There they will have all that they wish for﴿ that is, no matter what they wish for and want, they will get it in the most perfectand complete manner. They will not be able to ask for any kind of joy that would bring them delight and immense pleasure, but it will be granted to them. Hence Allah will give the people of paradise all that they wish for, to the extent that He will even prompt them to ask for some kinds of joy that never crossed their minds.

Blessed be He Whose generosity never ends and to Whose abundance there is no limit; there is nothing like unto Him in His essence, attributes and deeds, and in how these attributes are manifested, and in the greatness of His sovereignty and dominion.

﴾Thus does Allah reward those who fear Him﴿ and fear His wrath and punishment by fulfilling what He has enjoined upon them of obligatory beliefs, actions and words having to do with His rights and the rights of His slaves, and by refraining from that which Allah has prohibited to them.

﴾Those whose souls the angels take [in deathj'p when they are persisting in that fear of Allah

﴾in a state of purity﴿ that is, when they are pure and free of any shortcomings or impurity that could reach them and undermine their faith. So their hearts are content with knowing and loving Allah, their tongues constantly remember and praise Him, and their physical faculties are constantly focused on acts of obedience and turning to Him.

﴾Those whose souls the angels take [in death] in a state of purity, saying [to them]: Peace be upon you﴿ that is, the perfect greeting is for you, and safety from all ills, for now you are safe from all that you may dislike.

﴾enter paradise as a reward for your deeds﴿ which includes your faith in Allah and submission to His command. Good deeds are the means of admission to paradise and salvation from hell, and they were able to do those good deeds by the grace and mercy of Allah, not by their own strength and power.

16:33. Are they [the disbelievers] waiting for the angels to come to them, or for the decree of your Lord to come to pass? Likewise did those who came before them. It is not Allah Who wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.

16:34. The evil consequences of their deeds overtook them, and the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule overwhelmed them.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) asks: Are these people to whom the revelations came but they did not believe, and they were exhorted but they did not pay heed, waiting tffor the angels to come to them﴿ to take their souls in death

﴾or for the decree of your Lord to come to pass﴿ namely the punishment that will befall them, for they deserve that it should befall them? ﴾Likewise did those who came before them﴿ - they rejected and disbelieved, then they did not believe, until the punishment came upon them.

﴾flt is not Allah Who wronged them﴿ when He punished them ﴾but it was they who wronged themselves﴿ for they were created to worship Allah, so that they might attain His pleasure and admittance to paradise, but they wronged themselves and abandoned the purpose for which they were created, and exposed themselves to permanent humiliation and eternal misery.

﴾The evil consequences of their deeds overtook them﴿ that is, the punishment that resulted from their deeds﴾and the very thing [punishment] they used to ridicule overwhelmed them - when their Messengers told them about the punishment, they would ridicule it and mock those who told them of it, so the very thing that they used to mock overwhelmed them.

16:35. Those who ascribe partners to Allah say: If Allah had so willed, we would not have worshipped anything besides Him - neither we nor our fathers - and we would not have declared anything forbidden without His sanction. Likewise did those who came before them. Is the duty of the Messengers anything other than conveying the message in the clearest way?

That is, the polytheists tried to justify their polytheism by saying that it was the will of Allah, and that if Allah had not willed it, they would not have ascribed partners to Him or prohibited any of the livestock animals that He had permitted, such as the baheerah, waseelah, ham} and so on, without His sanction. This was a false argument, because if that were true, Allah would not have punishedthose who came before them, when they ascribed partners to Him and He punished them most severely. If He had liked that action on their part. He would not have punished them. But their only aim was to reject what the Messengers had brought. Otherwise they were fully aware that there was no justification that they could present before Allah, for Allah had issued commands and prohibitions to them, and had granted them the ability to do what He had enjoined upon them, and had given them the strength and willpower from which their deeds stemmed. So their basing their justification on the divine will and decree was utter falsehood. Moreover, everyone realises, on the basis of his common sense, that man is able to do whatever he wants, without anyone stopping him. So they combined disbelief in Allah and His Messengers with rejection of the conclusion that was based on rational thinking and common sense.

﴾Is the duty of the Messengers anything other than conveying the message in the clearest way?﴿ that reaches the heart, so that no one has any excuse before Allah. If the Messengers have conveyed the commands and prohibitions of their Lord to them, but they used the divine decree as an excuse for not responding to the call, then the Messengers have no control over the matter; rather the people’s reckoning is with Allah Ofe).

Ham: a stallion camel that was let loose for the sake of the idols after siring a particular number of offspring, and was not required to carry any load.

16:36. Indeed We sent to every nation a Messenger [saying]: Worship Allah [alone] and shun false gods. Among them were some whom Allah guided, and some for whom misguidance became inevitable. So travel through the land and see what was the fate of the deniers.

16:37. Though you [O Prophet] may be eager for them to be guided, Allah does not guide those whom He leaves to go astray, and they will have no helpers.

Here Allah tells us that His proof has been established against all nations; there is no nation, earlier or later, but Allah sent a Messenger to them, and all the Messengers brought the same call and the same religion, which is worship of Allah alone with no partner or associate. ﴾Worship Allah [alone] and shun false gods﴿. The nations fell into two categories with regard to their response to the call of the Messengers or their lack thereof:

﴾Among them were some whom Allah guided]J so they followed the Messengers in belief and deed

﴾and some for whom misguidance became inevitable﴿ so they followed the path of error.

﴾So travel through the land﴿ either physically or by thinking and reasoning

﴾and see what was the fate of the deniers﴿, for by doing so you will see wonders; you will not see any who disbelieved but the consequences for them led to destruction.

﴾Though you [O Prophet] may be eager for them to be guided﴿ and strive your utmost for that purpose

﴾Allah does not guide those whom He leaves to go astray﴿ and even if he took all measures, no one can guide him except Allah ﴾and they will have no helpers﴿ to protect them from the punishment of Allah.

16:38. They swear their most solemn oaths by Allah that Allah will not raise up those who die. Nay, it is a promise by which He is bound, but most people do not realise.

16:39. [They will be raised up] so that He may make clear to them that concerning which they differ, and so that those who disbelieved may realise that they were lying.

16:40. When We will something. We merely say to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the polytheists who rejected His Messenger that ﴾They swear their most solemn oaths by

Allah﴿ that is, they swear so as to affirm that the promise of Allah is false, and that Allah will not resurrect the dead, and that He is not able to bring them back to life after they have turned to dust. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, affirming that they are lying: ﴾Nay﴿, He will resurrect them and gather them on a day concerning which there is no doubt.

﴾it is a promise by which He is bound﴿ and He will not break it or change it

(■[but most people do not realise﴿ - as part of their immense ignorance, they deny the resurrection and the requital.

Then He mentions the wisdom behind the requital and the resurrection: ﴾[They will be raised up] so that He may make clear to them that concerning which they differ﴿ of issues both major and minor, and He will explain and clarify the facts.

﴾and so that those who disbelieved may realise that they were lying﴿ when they see their deeds result in regret, and they realise that the gods on whom they called besides Allah will avail them nothing, when the decree of your Lord (namely His punishment) comes to pass, and they see what they used to worship become fuel for hell, for the sun and moon will be rolled up, the stars will be scattered, and it will become clear to those who worshipped them that they were subjugated slaves of Allah who were in need of Him at all times. That is not difficult or hard for Allah, for when He wills something. He merely says to it, ‘Be! ’ and it is, without any objection or refusal; rather it comes to pass in accordance with His will.

16:41. To those who migrated in the cause of Allah after having been wronged. We will surely grant them good in this world, and verily the reward of the hereafter will be greater, if only they knew.

16:42. [They are those] who patiently persevere and put their trust in their Lord.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the virtue of those believers who were tested

﴾those who migrated in the cause of Allah﴿ that is, for His sake and seeking His pleasure

Rafter having been wronged﴿ as they were subjected to persecution and harm by their people, who put pressure on them in order to bring them back to disbelief and polytheism. So they left behind theirhomeland and their loved ones, and moved away out of obedience to the Most Gracious. Allah tells us that they will have two rewards: reward in this world in the form of abundant provision and a life of ease that they saw with their own eyes, after they migrated, prevailed over their enemies, conquered new lands, acquired immense booty from them and became wealthy; Allah gave them good things in this world.

﴾and verily the reward of the hereafter﴿ which Allah has promised them on the lips of His Messenger (ﷺ)

﴾will be greater﴿ than the reward of this world, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Those who believe, migrate, and strive and fight in Allah’s cause, offering their wealth and their lives, are of a higher rank before Allah. It is they who will triumph. Their Lord gives them glad tidings of mercy from Him and His good pleasure, and of gardens in which eternal bliss will be theirs, to abide therein forever. Verily with Allah there is an immense reward.﴿ (at-Tawbah 9: 20-22)

﴾if only they knew﴿ that is, if only they had certain knowledge of what there is with Allah of reward for those who believe in Him and migrate in His cause, not one of them would have stayed behind.

Then Allah describes His close friends (awliya ’): ﴾f[They are those] who patiently persevere﴿ in heeding the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and in accepting the decree of Allah, even if it is painful, and in bearing the harm and trials that they suffer in His cause.

﴾and put their trust in their Lord﴿ that is, they rely on Him in doing what He loves; they do not rely on themselves. Thus they attain success and their affairs become sound, for patience and trust in Allah are the prerequisites for success in all affairs. No one misses out on anything good except because of lack of patience and lack of effort in what is expected of him, or because of failing to put one’s trust in Allah and rely upon Him.

16:43. We did not send before you [O Muhammad] any but men to whom We gave revelation. So [O people] ask those who have knowledge,^{1This may refer to: Jewish and Christian scholars who have knowledge of the previous scriptures; Muslim scholars who have knowledge of the Qur’an; or those who have knowledge of the history of earlier nations.} if you do not know.

16:44. [We sent them] with clear signs and the scriptures, and We have sent down to you the Reminder [the Qur’an], so that you may explain to the people what has been sent down to them and so that they may reflect.

That is, you are not unprecedented among the Messengers, for We did not send angels before you; rather We sent men who were perfect, not women ﴾to whom We gave revelation﴿ of laws and rulings, and this was by His bounty and kindness towards people, without any effort on their part.

﴾So [O people] ask those who have knowledge﴿ of the earlier scriptures t-(if you do not know﴿ the stories of the earlier peoples and you are not sure whether Allah sent men as Messengers before.

So ask of the people who have knowledge of that, to whom the earlier scriptures were sent down, for they learned them and understood them, and it is established according to all of them that Allah only sent men to whom He granted revelation, from among the people of thecities. The general meaning of this verse points to implicit praise for people of knowledge, and indicates that the highest type of knowledge is knowledge of the revealed Book of Allah, as Allah instructs those who do not know to refer to them in all cases. It also implies praise for people of knowledge, as Allah instructed us to ask them so that the ignorant one may do what is required of him. This indicates that Allah entrusted them with His revelation and that they are enjoined to purify themselves and strive to attain attributes of perfection.

The best people of knowledge are those who have knowledge of this Holy Qur’an, for they are people of knowledge in a true sense and are more deserving of this title than others. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾and We have sent down to you the Reminder [the Qur’an]﴿ in which there is mention of what people need to know about religious and worldly issues,

﴾so that you may explain to the people what has been sent down to them﴿ this includes explanation of the words and explanation of the meanings

﴾and so that they may reflect﴿ upon it, and learn some of its treasures and knowledge, according to their ability and focus on it.

16:45. Do then those who devise evil plots feel sure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the punishment will not come upon them from a direction they do not expect?

16:46. Or that He will not seize them suddenly in the midst of their comings and goings, and they can never escape it?

16:47. Or that He will not seize them when they are apprehensive of the impending calamity? Verily your Lord is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Here Allah seeks to alarm the disbelievers who commit various kinds of sins, by reminding them that the punishment may come upon them suddenly when they are not aware. The punishment may come upon them from above, or from beneath them, as in the case of a landslide and the like, or it may come upon them whilst they are going about their business and not thinking about it at all, or it may come upon them when they are apprehensive about the punishment. They cannot escape Allah in any of these scenarios; rather they are under His control and their forelocks are in His Hand.

But He is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful and He does not hasten the punishment for the sinners; rather He gives them respite, grants them well-being and bestows provision upon them, whilst they offend Him and His close friends. Yet despite that He opens the gates of repentance to them, calls them to give up the bad deeds that harm them, and promises in return for that the best honours and forgiveness for what they have committed of sins. So let the sinner feel ashamed before his Lord, for the blessings of Allah are descending upon him at all times whilst his sins are ascending to his Lord at all times. Let him realise that Allah gives respite but He does not let the sinner get away with it, for when He seizes the sinner, His grasp is the grasp of One Who is Almighty, Omnipotent. Let him repent to Allah and turn back to Him in all his affairs, for He is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

Let him hasten to seek His all-encompassing mercy and great kindness, and let him follow the paths that lead to the grace of the Most Merciful Lord, by fearing Him and striving to do that which He loves and is pleased with.jpj'j di&jji»

'» / 5

_*>b

16:48. Have they not seen the things that Allah has created, and how their shadows move to the right and the left, prostrating to Allah in all humility?

16:49. To Allah prostrates all that is in the heavens and every living creature on earth, as do the angels, and they are not arrogant.

16:50. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.

﴾Have they﴿ that is, those who doubt the oneness, greatness and perfection of their Lord

﴾not seen the things that Allah has created﴿ that is, all of His creations and how their shadows move

﴾fto the right and the left, prostrating to Allah﴿ that is, they all prostrate to their Lord, humbling themselves before His greatness and majesty ﴾fin all humility﴿ that is, they are humbled, under His control and subjugation; their forelocks are in the Hand of Allah and under His control.

﴾To Allah prostrates all that is in the heavens and every living creature on earth﴿ humans and animals alike ﴾as do the angels﴿ - the angels are mentioned specifically after all creatures have been mentioned in general terms, because of their virtue and noble nature, and because they worship Allah a great deal. Hence He says: ﴾and they are not arrogant﴿ that is, they do not disdain to worship Him, despite their large numbers and their great size and power, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾The Messiah would never disdain to be a slave to Allah, nor would the angels who are close to Him...﴿ (an-Nisa'4: 172)

﴾They fear their Lord above them﴿. Having praised them for their constant obedience and submission to Allah, He then praises them for their fear of Allah Who is above them in terms of His essence, might and perfect attributes, and they are beneath Him, so they are humble and subjugated.

﴾and they do what they are commanded﴿ that is, no matter what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) commands them to do, they obey His command willingly.

The prostration of created beings to Allah is of two types. The first is involuntary prostration, which points to His attributes of perfection and majesty; this is applicable to all creatures, believers and disbelievers, righteous and evildoers, humans and animals. The second is voluntary prostration, which is applicable only to His close friends and believing slaves, among the angels and others.

16:51. Allah has said: Do not take two gods [for worship], for He is but One God, so fear none but Me.

16:52. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and constant obedience is due to Him alone. Will you then fear anyone other than Allah?

16:53. Whatever blessing you have, it is from Allah, then when misfortune afflicts you, it is to Him that you cry out for help.

16:54. Yet when He has relieved you of your misfortune, some of you ascribe partners to their Lord,

16:55. Showing their ingratitude for what We have given them. Take your pleasure now, but you will soon know the consequences.

Here Allah instructs us to worship Him alone, with no partner or associate, because He is the only One Who bestows blessings and there is no god but Him.

﴾Do not take two gods [for worship]﴿ that is, do not ascribe a partner in divinity to Him when He ﴾is but One God﴿, One in His great attributes and unique in all His actions.

Just as He is One in His essence, names, attributes and actions, so you should worship Him alone. Hence He says: ﴾so fear none but Me﴿, obey My commands and heed My prohibitions, without associating any of My creation with Me, for they under the control of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and constant obedience is due to Him alone﴿ that is, devotion, worship and humility at all times are due to Allah alone, so people are required to be sincere towards Allah and to be true slaves to Him.

4Will you then fear anyone other than Allah﴿ among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth? For they do not possess any power to cause you harm or benefit you. It is only Allah Who gives and bestows kindness.

﴾Whatever blessing you have﴿ visible or invisible ci)it is from Allah﴿ and no one else has any part in that.

﴾then when misfortune afflicts you﴿ such as poverty, sickness or hardship

﴾it is to Him that you cry out for help﴿ that is, you raise your voices, calling upon Him and beseeching Him, because you know that no one wards off harm and hardship except Him, Who alone gives you whatyou love and wards off what you hate. Therefore none is deserving of worship except Him alone.

But many people wrong themselves by denying the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them. When He saved them from hardship, at times of ease they begin to ascribe some of His helpless creation as partners to Him. Hence He says:

﴾Showing their ingratitude for what We have given them﴿ that is, when We saved them from hardship and difficulty.

﴾Take your pleasure now﴿ for a little while, in this world ﴾but you will soon know the consequences﴿ of your disbelief.

16:56. They allocate a portion of the sustenance We have given them to those whose reality they do not even know. By Allah, you will surely be called to account for the lies you have been fabricating.

16:57. And they ascribe daughters to Allah - glory be to Him! - but for themselves they choose what they desire [sons].

16:58. When news is brought to one of them of [the birth of] a female infant, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief.

16:59. He hides away from people because of the bad news he has been given. Should he keep her and feel disgraced or bury her in the dust? How evil is their estimate of Allah!

16:60. Those who do not believe in the hereafter have evil attributes, and to Allah belong the most sublime attributes, for He is the Almighty, Most Wise.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the ignorance and wrongdoing of the polytheists, and how they fabricated lies against Allah, for they allocated to their idols that knew nothing and could not bring any benefit or ward off any harm, a share of that which Allah had provided and blessed them with. They used the provision He had bestowed to associate others with Him and to draw closer to carved idols, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us elsewhere:

﴾They allocated to Allah a portion of that which He created of crops and livestock. They say: This is for Allah - or so they claim - and this is for our partners [that we ascribe to Him], Then, that which is allocated for their ‘partners’ never reaches Allah, while that which is allocated for Allah does reach their ‘partners’. How ill they judge. ﴿

﴾you will surely be called to account for the lies you have been fabricating﴿ and it will be said:

﴾.. .Has Allah given you leave to do so, or do you fabricate lies against Allah? What do those who fabricate lies against Allah think about the Day of Resurrection?...﴿ (Yoonus 10: 59-60)

Allah will punish them severely for that.

tf And they ascribe daughters to Allah J﴿ because they described the angels who are close to Allah as being His daughters ﴾but for themselves they choose what they desire﴿ namely sons, because they deeply hated to have daughters ﴾When news is brought to one of them of [the birth of] a female infant, his face darkens﴿ with distress at what has befallen him ﴾fand he is filled with inward grief﴿ that is, he is filled with grief and sorrow if he is given news of an infant daughter, to the extent that he feels ashamed before his fellow men and tries to hide away because of this bad news. Then later on he thinks, on the basis of corrupt ideas, what he should do about this daughter of whose birth he has been informed.﴾Should he keep her and feel disgraced﴿ should he let her live, and not kill her, and put up with humiliation and disgrace?

?﴾or bury her in the dust﴿ that is, bury her alive. This is a reference to female infanticide for which Allah condemned the polytheists. ﴾How evil is their estimate of Allah!﴿ for they ascribe to Him that which is not befitting to His Majesty, as they ascribe offspring to Him.

But they did not stop there; rather they ascribe the inferior of the two to Him, namely female offspring which they themselves disdained and hated. So how could they ascribe it to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? What a bad judgement this was on their part.

Because this was one of the negative attributes that His enemies, the polytheists, ascribed to Him, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says here: ﴾Those who do not believe in the hereafter have evil attributes﴿ that is, attributes of imperfection and shortcomings ﴾and to Allah belong the most sublime attributes﴿ - this refers to every attribute of perfection, and whatever perfection exists, Allah is more deserving of it, without that implying any kind of shortcoming. To Him belong the most sublime attributes in the hearts of His close friends, which means veneration, respect and love, turning to Him and knowing Him.

﴾for He is the Almighty﴿ Who subjugates all things and to Whom all creatures submit ﴾Most Wise﴿ Who does what is appropriate. So He does not enjoin or do anything but that for which He may be praised and extolled for the divine perfection that is implied thereby.

16:61. If Allah were to take humankind to task for their wrongdoing. He would not leave on [the earth] a single living creature, but He gives them respite for an appointed term. Then when their appointed time comes, they will not be able to delay it for a single moment or bring it forward.

Having mentioned what the wrongdoers fabricated against Him, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) here mentions the perfect nature of His forbearance and patience:

﴾If Allah were to take humankind to task for their wrongdoing﴿, no more and no less

﴾He would not leave on [the earth] a single living creature﴿ because He would destroy those who committed the sin as well as others of all types of creatures and animals, for the bad consequences of sin may lead to destruction of crops and livestock.

﴾but He gives them respite for an appointed term﴿ that is, He does not hasten the punishment for them until an appointed time, which is the Day of Resurrection.

﴾Then when their appointed time comes, they will not be able to delay it for a single moment or bring it forward﴿ so let them beware, so long as they are still within the respite period, before the time comes when there will no longer be any respite.

Cir-ir

16:62. They ascribe to Allah that which they dislike [for themselves], and their tongues assert the falsehood that the better things willbe theirs. Without a doubt for them is the fire, and they will be hastened on into it.

16:63. By Allah, We indeed sent [Messengers] to nations before you, but Shaytan made their deeds fair-seeming to them [the evildoers]. He is their ally today, and theirs will be a painful punishment.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that the polytheists ﴾ascribe to Allah that which they dislike [for themselves]﴿ of daughters and abhorrent attributes. This refers to the association of others with Allah, by devoting some acts of worship to created beings who are slaves of Allah. Just as they would hate for their slaves - who are created beings just like them - to be their partners and share in that which Allah has provided to them, how can they ascribe partners to Allah from among His slaves?

﴾and﴿ in addition to this serious offence, ﴾their tongues assert the falsehood that the better things will be theirs﴿ that is, that they will be in a good situation in this world and the hereafter. But Allah refutes that claim by saying: ﴾Without a doubt for them is the fire, and they will be hastened on into it﴿ that is, they will be rushed into it and will remain therein, and will never come out of it.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights to His Messenger (ﷺ) that he is not the first Messenger to be rejected, as He says: ﴾By Allah, We indeed sent [Messengers] to nations before you﴿, calling them to affirm the oneness of Allah

﴾but Shaytan made their deeds fair-seeming to them﴿, so they rejected the Messengers and claimed that what they were following was the truth that would save them from all harm, and that what the Messengers were calling to was the opposite of that. When the Shaytan made their deeds fair-seeming to them, he became their ally, so they obeyed him and followed him and took him as their ally.

_Will you then take him and his progeny as allies instead of Me, even though they are enemies to you? What a wretched exchange for the wrongdoers!﴿ (al-Kahf 18: 50)

﴾and theirs will be a painful punishment﴿ in the hereafter, because they turned away from being allies of the Most Gracious and were content to be allies of the Shaytan; therefore they deserve that humiliating punishment.

liil'j j it 1 ,jj

16:64. We have only sent down the Book to you so that you may make clear to them that wherein they differ, and so that it may be guidance and mercy to people who believe.

16:65. Allah sends down from the sky water whereby He gives life to an earth that is dead. Verily in that is a sign for people who listen [attentively].

That is, a sign for people who listen to the exhortation and admonishment of Allah, and understand from that that He alone is deserving of worship and no worship should be devoted to any but Him alone, for He is the One Who bestows blessing by sending down rain and bringing forth all kinds of plants. He is able to do all things, and the One Who gives life to the earth after it was dead is able to give life to the dead. The One Who bestows all these favours is the Possessor of abundant mercy and immense generosity.

V ujjj 'j -*—> OjoiwJ ij 'j

16:66. And verily in livestock animals too there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that [fluid] which is in their bellies, produced alongside faeces and blood: pure milk, palatable to those who drink it.

16:67. And from the fruits of date palms and grapevines, you obtain intoxicants, and good provision. Verily in that there is a sign for people of understanding.

﴾And verily in livestock animals too﴿) that Allah has caused to be of service to you

﴾there is a lesson for you﴿ from which you learn of Allah’s perfect might and abundant kindness, for he gives you (milk) to drink from their bellies, which contain faeces and blood; from between that comes pure milk that is free of contamination and palatable to those who drink it, because it is delicious, quenches thirst and nourishes. Can this be anything but divine power, not merely the dictates of nature?

What thing in nature can turn fodder that animals eat and the water that they drink, whether it is fresh or salty, into pure milk that is palatable to those who drink it?

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has created many benefits for His slaves in the fruits of the palm tree and grapevine, such as various kinds of provision which is eaten raw and cooked, fresh and preserved, food and drink that they make from their juice and steeped fruits, and the strong drink that was previously permitted, then Allah abrogated the permissibility of all intoxicants, and He replaced that with good things such as nabeedh (a drink made by steeping dates and the like) and other kinds of delicious permissible drinks.

Verily in that there is a sign for people of understanding﴿ of the perfect might of Allah, as He brings forth (provision) from trees that are like pieces of lumber, yet they produce delicious fruits. Just as He encompasses all His slaves with His mercy and makes this provision available to them. He is the only God Who is deserving of worship, for He is the only One Who does that.

16:68. And your Lord inspired the bee [saying]: Make your homes in the mountains or in the trees or in the [hives] that [humans] construct.

16:69. Then feed on all kinds of fruit and follow the ways made easy for you by your Lord. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people. Verily in that there is a sign for people who reflect.

There is a sign in the creation of the little bee, which Allah has inspired and taught in this wondrous manner, and shown it places where it can find food, then come back to the hives which the bees build in the way that Allah has taught them. Then there comes from the bees’ stomachs this delicious honey of varying colours, depending on the various flowers on which the bees fed; in it there is healing for people from many sicknesses. This is indicative of the perfect care of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and His perfect kindness to His slaves, and that no one is to be loved and called upon except Him.

(v* 4(2)

16:70. Allah has created you, then He will take your souls [in death]. Among you are some who are sent back to a feeble age, so thatthey know nothing after having known [much]. Verily Allah is All-Knowing, Omnipotent.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that it is He Who creates people then causes them to go through the stages of life, one after another. Then after they have completed their allotted term, He takes their souls in death; and He causes some of them to live until they are ﴾sent back to a feeble age﴿ that is, the worst state that a person may reach, where he becomes physically weak and in poor health, until even the mind, which is the essence of man, becomes increasingly weak, to the extent that he forgets everything he knew and his mind becomes like that of a child. Hence Allah says: ﴾fso that they know nothing after having known [much]. Verily Allah is All-Knowing, Omnipotent﴿. Allah’s knowledge and power encompass all things, which includes the stages of life that man goes through, one after another, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾lt is Allah Who created you in a state of weakness, then after weakness He gave you strength, then after strength, weakness and grey hair. He creates as He wills, and He is the All-Knowing, Omnipotent.﴿

16:71. Allah has favoured some of you above others in what He has provided. Those who are so favoured are unwilling to share their provisions with those slaves whom they own, so that they will all be equal in this respect. Is it Allah’s favours they deny?

This is among the evidence of Allah’s oneness and the abhorrent nature of ascribing partners to Him. Here He says: just as you all have in common the fact that you are created and granted provision, but He ﴾has favoured some of you above others in what He has provided j﴿, by the same token He has made some of you free, with abundant wealth, and He has made others slaves to them, who do not own anything of worldly wealth. Just as the masters are the ones whom Allah has favoured over them in terms of provision, they ﴾are unwilling to share their provisions with those slaves whom they own﴿ and they regard that as something impossible, in like manner those whom you ascribe as partners to Allah are slaves who possess not even an atom’s weight of dominion, so how can you regard them as partners to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? Can this be anything but the worst of wrongdoing and ingratitude for the blessings of Allah? Hence He says: ﴾Is it Allah’s favours they deny?p Had they affirmed the blessing and attributed it to the One Who bestowed it, they would not have ascribed anyone as a partner to Him.

Vj lij)J ^ ^ 4' OjJ OJXmj

Irt

16:72. Allah has given you spouses of your own kind and has given you, through your spouses, children and grandchildren, and provided you with good things as sustenance. Will they then believe in falsehood and show ingratitude for the blessings of Allah,

16:73. and will they worship, besides Allah, that which has no power to provide anything for them from the heavens or the earth as sustenance, and can do nothing at all?

16:74. So do not liken anything to Allah. Verily Allah knows and you do not know.

16:75. Allah makes this comparison: a slave, the property of another, who has no power over anything, and one on whom We have bestowed goodly provision from Us, and he gives of it both in private and in public. Are the two equal? Praise be to Allah. But most of them do not know.

16:76. Allah makes [another] comparison: two men, one of whom is mute, unable to do anything, and is a burden on his master; whichever way he directs him, he achieves nothing good. Is he equal to one who enjoins justice and follows a straight path?

Here Allah tells us about the great blessings that He bestows upon His slaves, as He gives them spouses so that they may find tranquillity in them (cf 30: 21), and He gives them from their spouses children in whom they delight and who help them and meet their needs, and they benefit from them in many ways. And He bestows upon them good and pure provision, of all kinds of food and drink, as well as other visible blessings, more than they can ever enumerate.

﴾Will they then believe in falsehood and show ingratitude for the blessings of Allah﴿ that is, will they believe in falsehood that had no mention before, then Allah created it and it cannot do anything or create anything, and it cannot grant provision or control anything? This is general in meaning and applies to everything that is worshippedbesides Allah: it is false, so how can the polytheists take it for worship besides Allah?

﴾fand show ingratitude for the blessings of Allah'p by denying them and using them for the purpose of disobeying Allah and disbelieving in Him. Can this be anything other than the worst of wrongdoing, wickedness and foolishness?

﴾and will they worship, besides Allah, that which has no power to provide anything for them from the heavens or the earth as sustenance, and can do nothing at all? js Here Allah tells us of the ignorance and wrongdoing of the polytheists, for they worship besides Him gods that they regard as partners to Allah, when in fact they have no power to provide anything from the heavens or the earth. They do not send down rain or provision, they do not cause any plants to grow on earth, they have no dominion at all over the heavens or the earth, and they cannot do any of these things even if they wanted to.

This is the description of their gods, so how could they regard them as equal to Allah or liken them to the One Who has dominion over the earth and the heavens, to Whom all dominion, praise and power belong? Hence Allah says:

﴾So do not liken anything to Allah j﴿ in such a way as to imply equality between Him and His creation.

﴾Verily Allah knows and you do not know﴿. Therefore we should not speak about Him without knowledge, and we should listen to the comparisons that He makes. Hence He makes two comparisons for Himself and for those that are worshipped besides Him. The first comparison is that of a slave who does not own himself or any worldly wealth, and the second is that of a man who is free and wealthy, to whom Allah has granted goodly provision of all types of wealth, and he is generous and likes to give to others, so he spends in secret and openly. Can these two men be equal? No, they are not equal, even though they are both created beings and it is not impossible for them to be regarded as equal.

If they are not equal, then how can a created slave who has no dominion, power or ability - rather he is dependent in all aspects - be equal to the Lord, the Creator, the Sovereign of all realms, Who is able to do all things? Hence Allah praises Himself, and all types of praise are exclusively for Him alone, as He says: ff Praise be to Allah)﴿. It is as if it was said: if that is the case, then why did the polytheists regard their gods as equal to Allah? He said: ﴾But most of them do not know﴿; if they had truly known, they would not have dared to commit this grave action of ascribing partners to Allah.

The second comparison is that of *ftwo men, one of whom is mute﴿ and can neither hear nor speak (•funable to do anything﴿, small or great ﴾and is a burden on his master﴿ that is, his master serves him and he is not able to serve or help himself, so he is lacking in all aspects. Is he equal to one who enjoins justice and follows the straight path, so his words are just and his deeds are righteous? Just as they are not equal, so the one who is worshipped besides Allah, when he is not able to take care of himself in any way - and were it not for Allah taking care of him, he could not have done anything for himself-cannot be equal to and a rival to one who only speaks truth and only does what is praiseworthy.

16:77. To Allah belongs all that is unseen in the heavens and on earth, and the coming of the Hour will be but as the blinking of an eye or even swifter, for Allah has power over all things.

That is, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the only One Who has knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and on earth. No one knows what is hiddenand secret except He. That includes knowledge of the Hour; no one knows when it will come except Allah, but when it comes it will be ﴾but as the blinking of an eye or even swifter﴿ than that, then the people will rise from their graves on the Day of Resurrection, and those who want respite will have missed their opportunity.

﴾for Allah has power over all things﴿. As He is possessed of all-encompassing power, it is nothing strange that He will raise the dead.

16:78. Allah brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing, and He gave you hearing, sight and intellect, so that you may give thanks.

That is, He is the only One Who bestows these blessings, as He ﴾brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing﴿ and unable to do anything, then He ﴾gave you hearing, sight and intellect﴿. These three faculties are singled out because of their significance and importance, for they are the key to all knowledge, as no one can acquire knowledge except through one of these three faculties. Otherwise with regard to all other faculties and physical strengths, both visible and hidden, it is He Who has also bestowed them and caused them to develop in them, stage by stage, until each one reaches its optimum level. All of that is so that they may give thanks to Allah by using what He has given them of these physical faculties in obedience to Him. Whoever uses them for other purposes, that will be evidence against him and he will have responded to the blessing in the worst manner.

16:79. Do they not see the birds, enabled to fly in mid-air? None holds them aloft except Allah. Surely in that there are signs for people who believe.

That is, because they are the ones who may benefit from the signs of Allah and reflect upon that which has been made a sign pointing to Him. As for others, when they look, it is in a heedless and careless manner. The sign in the birds is that Allah has created them in such a way that they can fly, then He caused this gentle air to be of service for them, so that they may fly in it, then He instilled in them this ability to move, through which they are able to do that. This is indicative of His perfect wisdom, vast knowledge, divine care for all His creatures and perfect power. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

tjh it & JJJl Aiify

L-f tty fyJ '(y„ I r-A. j\

16:80. Allah has made your houses places of rest and repose for you, and He has given you dwellings made from the skins of livestock, which you find light to handle when you travel and when you halt. And from their wool, fur and hair [He has given you] furnishings and other goods [to serve you] for a time.

16:81. Allah has made for you, out of what He has created, that which gives you shade. He has made for you in the mountains places of shelter, and He has given you garments to protect you from heat, and garments to protect you in battle. Thus does He perfect His favours to you, so that you may submit to Him.

16:82. But if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message in the clearest way.

16:83. They recognise the blessing of Allah, yet they deny it, and most of them are ungrateful.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds His slaves of His blessings and expects them to give thanks and acknowledge them.

﴾Allah has made your houses places of rest and repose for you﴿ that is, houses, palaces and the like, to protect you from heat and cold, and to conceal you and your children and your belongings. Inside them you make rooms for different uses, to serve your interests, and in them you keep your wealth and your family, and there are other visible benefits.

﴾and He has given you dwellings made from the skins of livestock﴿ either from the skin itself or from what grows on it, such as wool or hair

﴾which you find light to handle when you travel and when you halt﴿ that is, they are easy to carry when you travel and halt in places where you do not intend to settle, and they protect you from heat, cold and rain, and they protect your goods and luggage from rain. c-(And from their wool, fur and hair﴿ that come from livestock (([He has given you] furnishings﴿ this includes everything that is made from them, such as vessels, furnishings, clothing, blankets, and so on.﴾and other goods [to serve you] for a time﴿ that is, you enjoy these things and benefit from them in this world. These are among the things that Allah has caused his slaves to make and produce.

﴾Allah has made for you, out of what He has created﴿ that is, things that you had no part in making

﴾shade﴿ this refers to the shade of trees, mountains, hills and so on ﴾He has made for you in the mountains places of shelter﴿ that is, caves in which you are protected from heat, hail, rain and enemies, ffand He has given you garments to protect you from heat﴿. Allah did not mention cold, because it was mentioned earlier in this chapter, at the beginning where He mentions basic blessings, which are things that are essential to man; at the end of the chapter He mentions extra blessings. Protection against the cold is a basic blessing, which is a necessity, and it was mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, where Allah says: ﴾And He created the livestock animals for you; they are a source of warm clothing [and blankets] and other benefits﴿ (16: 5).

﴾and garments to protect you in battle﴿ that is, garments that protect you at times of fighting and war. This refers to items such as plate armour, coats of mail and the like. Thus He perfects His favours to you by bestowing upon you innumerable blessings,

﴾so that﴿, when you remember the blessings of Allah and you see these blessings inundating you from all directions ﴾you may submit to Him﴿ that is, to His greatness, and comply with His commands and use His blessings to obey the One Who bestowed them and granted them. Abundance of blessings is one of the causes that lead people to show more gratitude and praise Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for them, but the wrongdoers insist on stubbornly rebelling.

Hence Allah says concerning them: But if they turn away﴿ from Allah and from obedience to Him, after they have been reminded of His blessings and signs

﴾your duty is only to convey the message in the clearest way﴿ that is, it is not your role to guide them; rather you are only expected toexhort, remind, warn and alarm. Once you have done what is required of you, their reckoning is up to Allah, for they can see His blessings and recognise His favours, but they deny that and show ingratitude, ﴾and most of them are ungrateful﴿ and there is nothing good in them; they do not benefit from the succession of signs because of their corrupt thinking and bad intentions, but they will see how Allah requites every stubborn tyrant who is ungrateful for His blessings and who rebels against Allah and His Messengers.

16:84. On the day when We raise up a witness from every nation, no excuse will be accepted from those who disbelieved, nor will they be allowed to make amends.

16:85. When the wrongdoers see the punishment, it will not be alleviated, nor will they be given any respite.

16:86. When those who ascribed partners to Allah see their [so-called] ‘partners’, they will say: Our Lord, these are our [so-called] ‘partners’ whom we used to call upon besides You. But they will respond: You are surely lying.

16:87. On that day they will offer total submission to Allah, and the [false gods] of their own invention will be lost from them.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about those who disbelieve in the Day of Resurrection: no excuse will be accepted from them and thepunishment will not be alleviated for them; their so-called partners will disavow them and they will affirm their own disbelief and fabrication of lies against Allah.

﴾On the day when We raise up a witness from every nation﴿ who will testify against it with regard to its deeds and its response to the one who called them to true guidance. Those witnesses whom Allah will raise up will be the most sincere and most just of witnesses, namely the Messengers; once they have given their testimonies, judgement will be passed and ﴾no excuse will be accepted from those who disbelieved)﴿ because any excuse they offer, after it becomes certain that what they followed was false, will be an invalid excuse that will not benefit them in the slightest. If they also ask to be sent back to this world so that they may put things right, they will receive no response and that excuse will not be accepted; rather the severe punishment will be hastened for them, and it will not be alleviated for them, and they will be given no respite from the time they see it. There will be no reckoning for them, because they will have no good deeds to their credit; rather their bad deeds will be checked and counted, and they will be shown to them, and they will be made to confess to them and will be exposed to shame.

﴾When those who ascribed partners to Allah see their [so-called] ‘partners’﴿ on the Day of Resurrection, and they realise that they were false and will not be able to deny it

﴾they will say: Our Lord, these are our [so-called] ‘partners’ whom we used to call upon besides You﴿; they have no power to benefit us or intercede for us. They themselves will admit the falseness of those so-called partners, and will disbelieve in them, and there will appear enmity and hostility between them and the so-called partners.

﴾But they will respond﴿ that is, the so-called partners will answer back and say to them: ﴾You are surely lying﴿ because you regarded us as partners to Allah, and you worshipped us besides Him, but we did not instruct you to do that and we did not claim that we deserved to be regarded as divine, so the blame is on you.

At that point they will surrender to Allah and submit to His ruling, and they will realise that they are deserving of punishment.

﴾and the [false gods] of their own invention will be lost from them﴿ so they will enter hell, and their hearts will be filled with hatred of their own selves and praise for their Lord, for they will only be punished in accordance with their deeds.

16:88. For those who disbelieve and bar others from the path of Allah, We will add punishment to their punishment because they used to spread mischief.

That is, they spread mischief when they themselves disbelieved, rejected the revelations of Allah, fought His Messengers, barred people from the path of Allah, and became promoters of misguidance. Thus they deserve a multiple punishment, just as they committed multiple offences and spread mischief on Allah's earth.

(AS : ) 4{*a} ijyU-llll.

16:89. On the day when We raise up from every nation, a witness against them from amongst themselves. We will bring you [O Muhammad] as a witness against these [your people]. And Wehave sent down to you the Book, explaining all things, and as guidance, mercy and glad tidings for the Muslims.

Having mentioned above that He will raise up a witness from every nation (16: 84), Allah mentions the same thing here, and singles out this noble Messenger (Muhammad [3||]).

﴾We will bring you [O Muhammad] as a witness against these [your people]﴿ that is, to testify concerning your Ummah, good and bad. This is by the perfect justice of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): every Messenger will testify concerning his nation, because he is more aware than others of the deeds of his nation, and he will be more just and too compassionate to testify against them except as they deserve.

This is like the verses in which Allah says: ﴾Thus We have made of you an Ummah [nation, community] justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over humankind, and the Messenger might be a witness over you... jJ (al-Baqarah 2:143)

- and:

﴾How will it be when We bring a witness from every nation and bring you [O Muhammad] as a witness against them? On that day, those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth could be levelled over them...﴿ (an-Nisa’4: 41-42)

And We have sent down to you the Book, explaining all things﴿, both the fundamental and minor issues of religion, rulings in this world and the hereafter, and everything that people need to know. It explains fully, in clear words, to the extent that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) repeats in it the most important matters that one needs to be aware of at all times. The Qur’an repeats these ideas and discusses them in different words, and with different approaches and proofs, so that they become well-established in people’s hearts and bear good fruit, according to how firmly established they are in the heart. Allah Bs) uses clear, short and comprehensive phrases that include many meanings. Consider,for example, the verse that follows this one, and what it contains of innumerable commands and prohibitions.

As this Qur’an explains all things, it constitutes the proof of Allah against all people. Therefore it has left no excuse for the wrongdoers, and the Muslims benefitted from it, as it became a source of guidance for them, by which they are guided with regard to all their affairs, both religious and worldly. It is also a mercy for them, through which they attain all good in this world and the hereafter. Guidance is that by means of which they attain beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, and mercy is what results from that of reward in this world and the hereafter, such as spiritual well-being, a sense of reassurance, perfection of reasoning which cannot be perfected unless it is based on the meanings of the Qur’an, which are the most sublime meanings, good deeds, good manners, abundant provision, victory over enemies in word and deed, and attaining the pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and His paradise, in which are eternal blessings such as no one knows except the Most Merciful Lord.

16:90. Verily Allah enjoins justice, kindness and giving kinsfolk [their due], and He forbids obscenity, wickedness and wrongdoing. He admonishes you, so that you may pay heed.

The justice that Allah enjoins includes justice with regard to His dues and those of His slaves. Justice in this sense involves paying those dues in full, by doing what Allah has ordained of financial and physical duties, and those which are a combination of both, whetherthat duty is to Him or to other people, as well as treating other people on the basis of complete justice. So anyone who is in a position of authority should fulfil his duties towards those who are under his authority. This applies equally to the ruler, members of the judiciary, deputies of the ruler and deputies of the judiciary. Justice is what Allah has enjoined upon them in His Book and on the lips of His Messenger (ﷺ), and He has commanded them to adhere to it. Justice in interactions includes the area of buying and selling, as well as all other business transactions; that requires fulfilling all obligations and commitments, not falling short with regard to dues, not cheating, deceiving or wrongdoing others.

Justice is obligatory and kindness is a virtue that is encouraged, such as benefitting people by means of wealth, physical actions, knowledge and other ways of benefitting them. That even includes kindness to animals, including those whose flesh it is permissible to eat and others.

Allah singles out giving kinsfolk their due - even though this is included in the general meaning - so as to emphasise the importance of their rights and encourage fulfilment thereof, because it is a must to uphold ties with them and show kindness towards them. This includes all relatives, both close and distant; the more closely related they are, the more deserving they are of kindness.

﴾and He forbids obscenity﴿ - this refers to every major sin that is regarded as abhorrent according to religious teachings and sound human nature, such as ascribing partners to Allah, unlawful killing, fornication and adultery, stealing, self-admiration, arrogance, looking down on people, and other evil deeds.

Wickedness includes all kinds of sins that have to do with the rights of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

Wrongdoing includes all kinds of transgression against people, whether that has to do with their lives, their wealth or their honour.

This verse is concise and includes all that is enjoined and prohibited; there is nothing that is not included. This is a basic principle to which all minor issues are connected. Anything that involves justice, kindness or giving kinsfolk their due comes under the heading of that which Allah has enjoined; anything that involves obscenity, wickedness or wrongdoing comes under the heading of that which Allah has forbidden. Thus we see the goodness and beauty of that which Allah has enjoined, and the evil and ugliness of that which He has prohibited. Everything that people say or do is to be measured by this standard. Blessed be the One Who put in His words guidance, healing, light and the criterion to distinguish between good and evil in all things.

Hence He says:

(-﴾He admonishes you)i by what He explains to you in His Book, by enjoining on you that which is in your best interests and prohibiting to you that which is detrimental to your interests.

﴾so that you may pay heed﴿ to what He exhorts, and thus understand it, for if you pay heed to it and understand it, you will act in accordance with it, and thus you will attain blessing after which there is no misery.

Having enjoined what is obligatory according to the basic principles of Islamic teaching, Allah then enjoins fulfilling whatever a person commits himself to (of additional obligations):

16:91. Fulfil the covenant of Allah^{1Covenant of Allah: this refers to the pledge (bay ‘ah) made when entering Islam.} when you have entered into it, and do not break your oaths after you have confirmed them and have made Allah your surety, for verily Allah knows all that you do.

16:92. Do not be like the woman who unravels the yam she has firmly spun, breaking it into strands, by making your oaths a means of deceiving one another, merely because one party may be more numerous than another.^{2What is meant is: do not let the small numbers of the Muslims and the greater numbers of the polytheists deceive you into breaking the covenant or pledge (bay‘ah) you made when you entered Islam.} Allah is only testing you by means of this, and on the Day of Resurrection He will surely make clear to you the matters concerning which you differed.

This includes everything that a person promises to his Lord, such as acts of worship and any vows he makes or oaths he swears, if fulfilling them is an act of righteousness. It also includes any covenants between himself and someone else, such as a contract between two parties to a deal, or a promise that a person may make to someone else, committing himself to it. In all such cases he is obliged to fulfil it if he is able to do so. Hence Allah forbade breaking such promises, as He says: ﴾(and do not break your oaths after you have confirmed them and have made Allah your surety﴿ by mentioning His name in your pledge. So it is not permissible for you not to comply with that for which you have made Allah your surety, for that would be a failure to venerate Allah and would be disrespectful towards Him, after the other party accepted the oath from you and he accepted this confirmation when you made Allah your surety. Just as the other party trusted you and thought well of you, you should fulfil what you said you would do and assured him of.

﴾for verily Allah knows all that you do﴿ and He will requite each person for his deeds, according to his intention and aim.

﴾Do not be﴿, by breaking your covenants, like the worst example that is most indicative of the foolishness of the one who breaks his covenant, which is the likeness of ﴾the woman﴿ who spins a strong thread, then when it has become strong as expected, she undoes it and breaks it into ﴾strands﴿, because she got tired of spinning it, then when she undid it she got tired again, so she did not gain anything except frustration, tiredness, foolishness and lack of reasoning. This is like the one who breaks the covenant he made: he is a wrongdoer and a fool who is lacking in religious commitment and dignity.

﴾by making your oaths a means of deceiving one another, merely because one party may be more numerous than another﴿ that is, it is not appropriate in that case for you to make an oath and enter into a covenant, then look for an opportunity to break it, so the one who gives the covenant is inferior in terms of power and will fulfil it because he has no other choice, not because he respects the covenant and oath but because of his weakness. However, if he is in a position of strength and he sees some worldly benefit in breaking his oath, then he will break it and not care about the covenant of Allah and the oath he made in His name.

All of that is going along with whims and desires, and giving precedence to them over what Allah expects of you and the dictates of human dignity and sound character, just because one party may be more numerous and stronger than another.

This is a trial from Allah by means of which He tests you, as He creates circumstances with which to test people and demonstrate who is sincere and faithful to his word, and who is immoral and evil.

﴾and on the Day of Resurrection He will surely make clear to you the matters concerning which you differed﴿ and He will requite each person according to his deeds, and will expose the betrayer to shame.

16:93. If Allah had so willed. He would have made you a single community, but Allah leaves astray whomever He wills and guides whomever He wills, and you will surely be questioned about what you used to do.

﴾lf Allah had so willed﴿ He would have caused all people to be united in following guidance, and He would have made them da single community﴿. But He is the only One Who has the power to guide people or leave them to stray. His guiding or leaving astray are among His actions that are connected to His knowledge and wisdom. He bestows guidance upon whoever deserves it, by His grace, and he withholds it from whoever does not deserve it, by His justice, dand you will surely be questioned about what you used to dop of good or evil, then He will requite you for it in the most perfect and just manner.

16:94. Do not make your oaths a means of deceiving one another, lest any foot should slip after being firmly planted and you have to taste the evil [consequences] of having barred people from the path of Allah, and yours will be a grievous punishment.

﴾Do not make your oaths﴿ and your covenants and pledges on the basis of your whims and desires, fulfilling them or breaking themas you wish, for if you do that, your feet will slip after having been firmly planted on the straight path, and you will ﴾have to taste the evil [consequences] )? that is, the punishment that will cause you grief and distress

﴾of having barred people from the path of Allah﴿ as you went astray and caused others to go astray

﴾and yours will be a grievous punishment﴿ that will be multiplied.

16:95. Do not sell the covenant of Allah fora small price. Surely, that which is with Allah is better for you, if only you knew.

16:96. Whatever you have will [inevitably] come to an end, but that which is with Allah is everlasting. And We will surely grant those who are patient their reward according to the best of their deeds.

16:97. Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer, We will surely grant him a good life, and We will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) warns His slaves against breaking covenants and oaths for the sake of worthless worldly matters.

﴾Do not sell the covenant of Allah for a small price﴿ that you gain by breaking the covenant and not fulfilling it.﴾Surely, that which is with Allah﴿ of reward in this world and the hereafter for the one who gives precedence to pleasing Him and fulfils the promise he made to Allah

﴾is better for you﴿ than worthless worldly gain

﴾if only you knew﴿.

So give precedence to that which will abide over that which will cease to be, for whatever you have, even if you have a great deal, e﴾will [inevitably] come to an end﴿ and will perish ﴾but that which is with Allah is everlasting﴿ as He is, so it will never cease to be or perish. Therefore he is not wise who gives precedence to that which is transient and insignificant over that which will abide and is precious. This is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾But you [O humankind] prefer the life of this world even though the hereafter is better and more lasting.﴿ (al-A ‘la 87: 16-17)

- and:

4... that which is with Allah is best for the righteous.﴿ <A1 ‘Imran 3:198)

This offers encouragement to be uninterested in worldly matters, especially that lack of interest which one must develop; this means showing no interest in that which is harmful and distracts one from that which Allah has enjoined and giving it precedence over the rights of Allah. This kind of disinterest in worldly matters is obligatory.

What helps a person to lose interest in worldly matters is comparing in his mind the pleasures and desires of this world with the good things of the hereafter, for he will find such differences that he will be prompted to give precedence to that which is more sublime. The kind of disinterest in worldly matters that is regarded as praiseworthy does not mean devoting all one’s time to acts of worship that are limited to rituals such as prayer, fasting, dhikr and so on; rather a person is not truly disinterested in worldly matters until he does whatever he isable to do of acts both visible and hidden that are enjoined in Islamic teaching and whatever he is able to do of calling people to Allah and to His religion in word and deed. True lack of interest in worldly matters is lack of interest in anything that does not bring benefit in religious or worldly terms, and desiring and striving for everything that is of benefit.

﴾And We will surely grant those who are patient﴿ in obeying Allah and in refraining from disobedience to Him, and who wean themselves from worldly desires that are detrimental to their religious commitment

﴾their reward according to the best of their deeds﴿. Each good deed brings a tenfold reward, up to seven hundredfold, and many times more than that, for Allah will not cause the reward of those who do good to be lost. Hence He mentions the reward of those who do good in this world and the hereafter, as He says:

﴾Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer﴿ therefore faith is a condition of the validity and acceptance of righteous deeds. In fact a deed cannot be called righteous unless it is done on the basis of faith, and the faith which inspires one to do good deeds is certain faith that leads to physical actions, both obligatory and recommended. Whoever combines faith and righteous deeds, ﴾We will surely grant him a good life﴿ by instilling reassurance and tranquillity in his heart, so that he will not pay attention to anything that could cause him any disturbance, and Allah will grant him provision that is lawful and good from where he does not expect.

﴾fand We will surely grant them﴿ in the hereafter ﴾their reward according to the best of their deeds﴿, a reward of all types of pleasures such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever crossed the mind of man. So Allah will give him good in this world and good in the hereafter.

16:98. When you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan.

16:99. Verily he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord,

16:100. He has power only over those who take him as an ally and, under his influence, ascribe partners to Allah.

That is, when you want to recite the Book of Allah, which is the noblest and most sublime of books, in which there is a prescription for spiritual well-being and a great deal of knowledge, then the Shaytan shows a great deal of interest (in harming a person) when he starts to do righteous deeds, and he tries to divert him from the purpose and goal for which he does those deeds. The way to keep oneself safe from his evil is to turn to Allah and seek refuge in Him from his evil. So the reciter should say: A ‘oodhu billdhi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan), pondering the meaning thereof and relying in his heart upon Allah to divert the Shaytan from him, striving hard to resist his insinuating whispers and bad thoughts, and seeking the strongest means of warding him off, which is resoiling to faith and depending on Allah.

For the Shaytan ﴾has no power﴿ or control ﴾over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord﴿ alone, with no partner or associate. Allah wards off from the believers who put their trust in Him the evil of the Shaytan, so he has no power or control over them.

Rather he ﴾has power﴿ and control ﴾only over those who take him as an ally﴿ that is, they take him as an ally by turning away fromAllah and starting to obey the Shaytan and joining his party. Therefore they are the ones who make him their ally, then he goads them into committing sin and leads them to the fire.

16:101. When We replace one verse with another^{1This refers to the abrogation of one verse of the Qur’an by another.} - and Allah knows best what He reveals - they say: You are just making it up! But most of them have no knowledge.

16:102. Say: The Pure Spirit has brought it [the Qur’an] down from your Lord in truth, to make firm those who believe, and as guidance and glad tidings for the Muslims.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that those who disbelieve in this Qur’an try to seek out what they think is an argument to support their claim that the Qur'an is fabricated, which is the idea that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the Most Wise Who issues rulings and replaces one ruling with another, by His wisdom and mercy. When they saw that, they criticised the Messenger (ﷺ) and what he brought, and said: ﴾You are just making it up! ﴿ Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: ﴾But most of them have no knowledge﴿, so they are ignorant and have no knowledge of their Lord or of His laws.

It is well known that criticism from an ignorant person that is not based on knowledge carries no weight, for criticism of a thing stems from knowledge of it and what it may contain that dictates praise or criticism.

Hence Allah mentioned His wisdom in doing that, as He said: ﴾Say: The Pure Spirit﴿ namely Jibreel (عليه السلام), the angelic messenger who is to be declared above any fault, betrayal or ills ﴾has brought it [the Qur’an] down from your Lord in truth﴿ that is, he has brought it down in truth, and it contains truth in its stories, commands and prohibitions. So there is no way that anyone can criticise it on a sound basis, because once it is known that it is truth, it is known that all that contradicts it is false.

﴾fto make firm those who believe﴿ when its verses came down in succession, time after time, and the truth continued to reach their hearts little by little, until their faith became firmer than solid mountains. Moreover, they know that it is true, and when Allah prescribes a ruling, then abrogates it, they know that He has replaced it with something like it or something that is better for them than it, and when He abrogates something, He abrogates it in accordance with divine wisdom and in accordance with reason.

﴾and as guidance and glad tidings for the Muslims﴿ that is, it guides them to the reality of things, distinguishing truth from falsehood, guidance from misguidance, and it gives them glad tidings of a goodly reward in which they will abide forever. The fact that it was revealed piecemeal is more effective in bringing guidance and glad tidings, and has a greater impact than if it were to be revealed all at once, because if it came all at once people would not be able to focus on all of it. Rather Allah would send down a ruling and glad tidings, then when they had understood it, reflected upon it, come to know its meaning and fully grasped it, He would reveal more like it, and so on.

Hence the Companions reached the optimum level thereby, and their attitudes and manners changed; they attained manners, habits and deeds that surpassed the first and the last. Hence it is more appropriate and more expected that those who come after them should be shaped by the knowledge contained in it, adopt the manners promoted in it, seek its light in the depths of darkness that results fromwrongdoing and ignorance, and make it their guide in all their affairs. Thus their affairs, both spiritual and worldly, will be put in order.

16:103. We know full well that they say: It is but a man who teaches him. But the one to whom they point speaks a foreign tongue, whereas this is eloquent Arabic speech.

16:104. As for those who do not believe in the signs of Allah, Allah will not guide them, and theirs will be a painful punishment.

16:105. It is those who do not believe in Allah’s signs who fabricate falsehood; it is they who are the liars.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about what the polytheists who disbelieved in His Messenger (ﷺ) said:

﴾they say: It is but a man who teaches him﴿ this Book that he has brought. The man they were referring to was one who spoke a foreign tongue, ﴾whereas this﴿ namely the Qur’an, ﴾is eloquent Arabic speech﴿. Could what they said possibly be true? But the liar tells lies and does not think about what his lies will lead to, so what he says is filled with such utter contradictions and flaws that one would reject it as soon as one thinks about it.

﴾As for those who do not believe in the signs of Allah﴿ that clearly point to the manifest truth, they reject it and do not accept it ﴾Allah will not guide them﴿ when guidance comes to them, so they will reject it and they are punished by being deprived of it and by being forsaken by Allah﴾and﴿ in the hereafter, ﴾theirs will be a painful punishment﴿.

﴾jit is those who do not believe in Allah’s signs﴿ such as those who harbour resentment against His Messenger (ﷺ) after clear proof has come to them

﴾who fabricate falsehood﴿ that is, fabrications and lies come from them

﴾jit is they who are the liars﴿ that is, they are the real liars, and this description is more appropriate for them than for anyone else. As for Muhammad (ﷺ), who believes in the signs of Allah and humbles himself before his Lord, it is impossible for him to tell lies about Allah and attribute to Him words that He did not say. His enemies accused him of lying, but what they attributed to him is more fitting for them, so Allah exposed them and highlighted their shameful deeds; to Him be praise.

O •t-t-t: UJli

16:106. Whoever disbelieves in Allah after having believed - except one who is compelled while his heart remains steadfast in faith - but for those who open their hearts to disbelief, upon them will be the wrath of Allah, and theirs will be a grievous punishment.

16:107. That is because they prefer the life of this world to the hereafter, and because Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

16:108. These are the ones whose hearts, hearing and sight Allah has sealed up; it is they who are heedless.

16:109. Without a doubt, in the hereafter, it is they who will be the greatest losers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the abhorrent state of those who disbelieve in Allah after having believed, and thus become blind after having seen, and go back to misguidance after having been guided, opening their hearts to disbelief, happy and content with it: they incur great wrath from the Most Merciful Lord Whose wrath, once it is incurred, cannot be resisted and all creatures will be angry with those who incur it.

)(and theirs will be a grievous punishment﴿ that is, it will be of the utmost severity, in addition to the fact that it will be eternal and everlasting.

﴾That is because they prefer the life of this world to the hereafter﴿ as they have turned their backs on the hereafter, seeking and pursuing trivial worldly gain, and showing no interest in the good of the hereafter. When they chose disbelief over faith, Allah deprived them of guidance, so He did not guide them, because disbelief had become an established part of their character. Therefore He placed a seal on their hearts so that no goodness would enter them, and He placed seals on their hearing and sight, so that nothing beneficial could reach their hearts thereby. Heedlessness enveloped them and they met with failure at every turn; they were deprived of the mercy of Allah which encompasses all things, and that is because it had come to them but they rejected it, and it was presented to them but they did not accept it.

﴾Without a doubt, in the hereafter, it is they who will be the greatest losers﴿ for they will be the ones who lose their own souls, their wealth and their families on the Day of Resurrection; they will miss out on eternal bliss and incur a painful punishment.

This does not apply to those who are forced and compelled to disbelieve when their hearts remain steadfast in faith and they want to believe, for there is no blame and no sin on them. In the case of one who is compelled and forced to do so, it is permissible for him to speak words of disbelief.

This indicates that the words of one who is compelled to issue a divorce, manumit a slave, enter into a transaction of sale or purchase and so on, does not count, and no shar’i rulings can be based on that, because if there is no punishment for uttering the word of disbelief in the case of compulsion, it is more appropriate to apply that ruling to other, less serious issues.

o*, •

16:110. But verily your Lord - to those who migrated after persecution, then strove [in jihad] in Allah’s cause and patiently persevered - verily your Lord, after all that, will be Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,

16:111. on the day when each soul will come, pleading for itself, and each soul will be paid in full for what it has earned, and no one will be wronged.

That is, verily your Lord Who cares for His sincere slaves by showing kindness to them and blessing them, is also Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful to those who migrated in His cause, leaving behind their homes and wealth, seeking the pleasure of Allah, and werepersecuted to make them return to disbelief, but they persisted in their faith and maintained their certain belief, then strove against the enemies of Allah, striving to bring them into the religion of Allah, in word and deed, and they patiently persevered in these acts of worship which are difficult for most people.

These are the greatest means by which the highest reward and greatest gift may be attained, namely: Allah’s forgiveness of sins, both minor and major, which also implies deliverance from every disliked thing; and His vast mercy, by means of which they will attain well-being, and their religious and worldly affairs will be put in order. They will have mercy from Allah on the Day of Resurrection, when ﴾each soul will come, pleading for itself﴿, each one saying: Myself myself - not caring for anyone else. On that day, each person will be desperate for the smallest atom of good.

﴾and each soul will be paid in full for what it has earned﴿, of good or evil

﴾fand no one will be wronged﴿, so nothing will be added to their bad deeds and nothing will be detracted from their good deeds.

﴾This day, no soul will be wronged in the least, and you will not be requited for anything other than what you used to do.﴿ (Yd Seen 36:54)

16:112. Allah presents an example: that of a city which was safe and peaceful, with its provision coming to it in abundance from all directions. Yet it was ungrateful for the blessings of Allah, so

Allah caused it to taste extreme hunger and fear, because of what they used to do.

16:113. There came to them a Messenger from among themselves, but they rejected him, so the punishment overtook them in the midst of their evildoing.

This city is Makkah, which is safe and peaceful; and no one therein is to be disturbed. The people of the jahiliyah venerated it to such an extent that one of them might find the murderer of his father and his brother there, but he would not disturb him despite the intense tribal feelings that existed among them and the Arab sense of pride. Thus it attained complete security in a way that was never achieved by any other city. It was also granted abundant provision. Although it was a land in which there were no cornfields and no trees, Allah sent to it provision that came to it from everywhere. Then a Messenger from among them came to them, whose honesty and sincerity they knew well, and he called them to the most perfect of attitudes and manners, and forbade to them all evil things. But they rejected him and were ungrateful for the blessing that Allah had bestowed upon them, so Allah caused them to taste the opposite of what they had been enjoying; He caused them to experience extreme hunger, which is the opposite of abundance, and fear which is the opposite of security. That was because of their actions and disbelief, and their lack of gratitude. ﴾It is not Allah Who wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.﴿ (16: 33)

16:114. So eat of that which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good, and be grateful for the blessings of Allah, if it is Him you worship.

16:115. He has only forbidden you the meat of animals found dead, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any name has been invoked other than that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, then verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

16:116. And do not utter falsehood by letting your tongues declare: This is lawful and this is prohibited, thus fabricating lies against Allah. Verily those who fabricate lies against Allah will never prosper.

16:117. It is only a brief enjoyment, and theirs will be a painful punishment.

16:118. To the Jews We prohibited that which We recounted to you before. We did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs His slaves to eat what He has provided them with of animals, grains, fruits and other things, ﴾lawful and good﴿ that is, so long as it has these two characteristics, so that it is not something that Allah has prohibited and it has not been obtained in any unlawful manner, and the like. So enjoy what Allah has created for you, without being extravagant and without transgressing due limits.

﴾and be grateful for the blessings of Allah﴿ by acknowledging them in your hearts, praising Allah for them and using them to obey Allah﴾fif it is Him you worship﴿ that is, if you are sincere to Him in worship. So do not give thanks except to Him and do not forget the Bestower of blessings.

﴾He has only forbidden you﴿ things that are harmful, so as to protect you from harm. That includes things such as the following:

• ﴾the meat of animals found dead﴿, which includes everything that died without being slaughtered in the prescribed manner; exempted from that are locusts and fish.

• ﴾fand blood﴿ - this refers to blood that has been poured forth (at the time of slaughter); as for that which remains in the veins and flesh, it does not matter.

• ﴾fand the flesh of swine﴿ because it is filthy and impure. That includes the flesh, fat and all parts of the pig.

• ﴾and that on which any name has been invoked other than that of Allah﴿ such as that which is slaughtered for idols, graves and the like, because the intention behind it is the ascription of partners to Allah (shirk).

﴾But if one is forced by necessity﴿ to eat one of the things that have been prohibited - because of urgent necessity and the fear of dying if one does not eat it - then there is no blame on the individual for that, so long as there is no wilful disobedience or transgression; in other words, so long as he does not want to eat that prohibited thing at a time when there is no need to do so, and he is not going beyond that which is lawful to seek that which is prohibited, and he does not transgress by eating more than is essential. Then these things are permissible, subject to the conditions mentioned above.

﴾And do not utter falsehood by letting your tongues declare: This is lawful and this is prohibited﴿ that is, do not declare things to be prohibited or lawful of your own accord, fabricating lies against Allah and attributing to Him words that He never said.

﴾thus fabricating lies against Allah. Verily those who fabricate lies against Allah will never prosper﴿ either in this world or thehereafter, for Allah will inevitably humiliate them; even if they have some enjoyment in this world ﴾flt is only a brief enjoyment﴿, and their ultimate destiny will be the fire, ﴾fand theirs will be a painful

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has only forbidden impure things to us by His grace, to protect us from everything that is repellent.

But in the case of the Jews, Allah prohibited to them good things that had previously been permitted to them, because of their wrongdoing and as a punishment to them, as in the story in Soorat al-An‘am, where He says:

﴾To the Jews We forbade every [animal] with undivided hoof, and We forbade to them the fat of cattle and sheep, except that which adheres to their backs or entrails, or is attached to their bones. Thus We requited them for their wilful disobedience; verily We state the

16:119. Then verily your Lord, to those who do evil in ignorance then repent and mend their ways - verily your Lord, after that, is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Here Allah encourages His slaves to repent and calls them to turn to Him. He tells us that if anyone does evil in ignorance, there are consequences that result from that. If he commits that sin deliberately, then whatever knowledge he has in his heart will inevitably decrease at the time when he is committing the sin, but if he repents and mends his ways, by giving up the sin, regretting it and doing righteous deeds,then Allah will forgive him and have mercy on him; He will accept his repentance and restore him to his previous condition, or make him even better.

16:120. Ibraheem was indeed an exemplary leader, devoutly obedient to Allah, a monotheist, and he was not one of those who ascribed partners to Allah.

16:121. He was ever grateful for His blessings; Allah chose him and guided him to a straight path.

16:122. We gave him good in this world, and in the hereafter he will surely be among the righteous.

16:123. Then We revealed to you [O Muhammad]: Follow the religion of Ibraheem, the monotheist, and he was not one of those who ascribe partners to Allah.

Here Allah tells us of the blessings that He bestowed upon His close friend Ibraheem (عليه السلام) and how He singled him out for sublime virtues and perfect characteristics.

﴾Ibraheem was indeed an exemplary leader﴿ that is, a leader who attained all good characteristics; he was a guide and was himself guided

﴾devoutly obedient to Allah(i that is, he constantly obeyed his Lord and was sincerely devoted to Him﴾a monotheist﴿ who turned to Allah in love, repentance and true servitude, turning away from all others besides Him (﴾and he was not one of those who ascribed partners to Allah﴿ in word or deed, or in any circumstances, because he was the leader of the monotheists.

﴾He was ever grateful for His blessings﴿ that is, Allah gave him good in this world and bestowed upon him blessings both visible and hidden, and he gave thanks for them.

The outcome of these sublime characteristics was that ﴾Allah chose him﴿ and singled him out to be His close friend, and made him one of the elite of His creation and one of His slaves who are close to Him.

﴾and guided him to a straight path﴿ in terms of his knowledge and deeds, so he recognised the truth and gave it precedence over all other things.

﴾We gave him good in this world﴿ namely abundant provision, a beautiful wife, righteous offspring and good characteristics ﴾fand in the hereafter he will surely be among the righteous﴿ who will be of high status and very close to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

One of the greatest of his virtues is that Allah revealed to the leader of humankind and the most perfect of them that he and his Ummah should follow the religion of Ibraheem and take him as an example.

(' T i i j 4 6_ydLic_ 1j aI'-mU

16:124. The Sabbath was only ordained for those who differed concerning it. Verily your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differed.

﴾The Sabbath was only ordained﴿ that is, made obligatory ﴾for those who differed concerning it﴿ when they went astray from Friday. This refers to the Jews, and their differing was the reason why it was made obligatory upon them to respect and venerate the Sabbath. Otherwise, the real virtue is in Friday, to which Allah guided this Ummah.

﴾Verily your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differed﴿ and He will make clear to them who was in the right and who was in the wrong, who deserves reward and who deserves punishment.

16:125. Invite to the way of your Lord on the basis of wisdom and goodly exhortation, and reason with them in the most courteous manner. Verily your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path, and He knows best who is rightly guided.

That is, let your call to all people, Muslims and disbelievers, inviting them to the straight path of your Lord, which includes beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, be ﴾fon the basis of wisdom﴿, addressing each according to his situation and ability to understand, and the level of his acceptance and submission.

Therefore the call to Islam should be based on knowledge, not ignorance, starting with the most important matters, then the next most important, issues that are clearer in the mind and easier to understand, and are more likely to be fully accepted, presenting the call with kindness and gentleness.

If the person called responds to that approach which is based on wisdom, all well and good; otherwise the caller may use goodly exhortation, which is enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, accompanied by encouragement and warnings, pointing out and listing what interests one may attain by adhering to the commands, and what harms one may incur by indulging in that which is prohibited. It may also involve pointing out the honour of the one who adheres to the religion of Allah and the disgrace of the one who does not do so, or describing what Allah has prepared of reward in this world and the hereafter for those who are obedient to Him and what He has prepared of punishment in this world and the hereafter for those who are disobedient to Him. If the person to whom the call is addressed thinks that what he is following is truth or if he is a promoter of falsehood, then the caller to Islam should reason with him in the most courteous manner. These are the ways which are more likely to bring a response, according to both reason and the texts.

One way of doing that is to use evidence that he believes is sound, because this is more likely to achieve the goal and not lead to argument or trading of insults, which will defeat the purpose and is of no benefit. Rather the aim is to guide people to the truth, not to prove them wrong and the like.

﴾Verily your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path﴿ for He knows the reason that led to misguidance, and He knows the deeds that result from misguidance and will requite him for them. ﴾and He knows best who is rightly guided﴿ for He knows that they are fit for guidance, so He guided them then He blessed them and chose them.

16:126. If you retaliate, let your retaliation be commensurate with the wrong that has been done to you. But if you endure patiently, it is indeed better for those who are patient in adversity.

16:127. And be patient and steadfast, for your patience can only be by the help of Allah; do not grieve over them, and do not be distressed because of their plots.

16:128. Verily Allah is with those who fear Him and those who do good.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says - allowing justice yet recommending generosity and kindness:

﴾If you retaliate﴿ against one who mistreated you in word or deed ﴾let your retaliation be commensurate with the wrong that has been done to you﴿ without going beyond that and doing more than was done to you.

﴾But if you endure patiently﴿ and refrain from retaliating, and you forgive their offence

﴾it is indeed better for those who are patient in adversity 1? than settling scores, for that which is with Allah is ultimately better for you and better in outcome, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾...but whoever forgives and reconciles, his reward is with Allah...﴿

Then Allah instructs His Messenger (ﷺ) to be patient in calling people to Allah, and to seek the help of Allah in doing that, and not to rely on himself.

﴾And be patient and steadfast, for your patience can only be by the help of Allah﴿ for it is He Who helps you to do that makes you steadfast.﴾do not grieve over them﴿ if you call them and you see that they do not accept your call, for such grief will not benefit you in the slightest, ﴾and do not be distressed﴿ that is, do not be upset and troubled ﴾because of their plots﴿ because their plot will backfire on them, whereas you are among those who fear Him and those who do good.

And Allah is with those who fear Him and do good, giving them His help, guidance and support, for they are the ones who keep away from disbelief and sin, and they do well in worshipping Allah, as they worship Him as if they can see Him, and if they do not see Him, He sees them; and they show kindness to people by striving to benefit them in all ways. We ask Allah to make us among those who fear Him and do good.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat an-Nahl.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.