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Surah 16. An-Nahl

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16:106
مَن كَفَرَ بِٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ إِيمَـٰنِهِۦٓ إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُۥ مُطْمَئِنٌّۢ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ وَلَـٰكِن مَّن شَرَحَ بِٱلْكُفْرِ صَدْرًا فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ Man kafara bi A ll a hi min baAAdi eem a nihi ill a man okriha waqalbuhu mu t mainnun bi a leem a ni wal a kin man shara h a bi a lkufri s adran faAAalayhim gha d abun mina All a hi walahum AAa tha bun AAa th eem un
As for anyone who denies God after having once attained to faith - and this, to be sure, does not apply to133 one who does it under duress, the while his heart remains true to his faith,134 but [only to] him who willingly opens up his heart to a denial of the truth -: upon all such [falls] God's condemnation, and tremendous suffering awaits them:
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "except" - but the Arabic construction of the sentence that follows makes it necessary to render the simple particle illa in the manner adopted by me ("and this, to be sure, does not apply to...", etc.).

Lit., "one who is coerced, the while his heart is at rest in [his] faith". This relates to believers who, under torture or threat of death, ostensibly "recant" in order to save themselves. Although the Qur'an makes it clear in several places that martyrdom in the cause of faith is highly meritorious, "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (cf. 2:233 and {286}, 6:152 , 7:42 , 23:62 , and many other Qur'anic statements to the same effect).

Anyone who is forced to deny faith after its acceptance, while his heart remains loyal to the faith shall be absolved; but any who denies faith willingly after its acceptance and open his breast to unbelief, shall incur the wrath of Allah and shall be sternly punished.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Whoever disbelieves in Allah after their belief- not those who are forced while their hearts are firm in faith,1 but those who embrace disbelief wholeheartedly- they will be condemned by Allah and suffer a tremendous punishment.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to ’Ammâr ibn Yâsser, an early revert to Islam, who was tortured to leave Islam. To save his life, ’Ammâr pretended to denounce Islam, but his heart was full of faith. When he told the Prophet (ﷺ) about what happened, this verse was revealed, reassuring him that his faith was intact.

Whoso disbelieveth in Allah after his belief save him who is forced thereto and whose heart is still content with Faith but whoso findeth ease in disbelief: On them is wrath from Allah. Theirs will be an awful doom.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Anyone who after accepting faith in Allah utters unbelief except under compulsion his heart remaining firm in faith but such as open their breast to unbelief on them is Wrath from Allah and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty. 2145
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The exception refers to a case like that of 'Ammar, whose father Yasir and mother Sumayya, were subjected to unspeakable tortures for their belief in Islam, but never recanted. 'Ammar, suffering under tortures himself and his mind acted on by the sufferings of his parents, uttered a word construed as recantation, though his heart never wavered and he came back at once to the Prophet, who consoled him for his pain and confirmed his faith.

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16:107
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمُ ٱسْتَحَبُّوا۟ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا عَلَى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ Tha lika biannahumu ista h abboo al h ay a ta a l dduny a AAal a al a khirati waanna All a ha l a yahdee alqawma alk a fireen a
all this, because they hold this world's life in greater esteem than the life to come, and because God does not bestow His guidance upon people who deny the truth.
  - Mohammad Asad
This is because such people love the life of this world more than the hereafter, and that Allah does not guide those who knowingly reject faith.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
This is because they prefer the life of this world over the Hereafter. Surely Allah never guides those who 'choose to' disbelieve.
  - Mustafa Khattab
That is because they have chosen the life of the world rather than the Hereafter, and because Allah guideth not the disbelieving folk.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
This because they love the life of this world better than the Hereafter: and Allah will not guide those who reject faith.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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16:108
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ طَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْغَـٰفِلُونَ Ol a ika alla th eena t abaAAa All a hu AAal a quloobihim wasamAAihim waab sa rihim waol a ika humu algh a filoon a
They whose hearts and whose hearing and whose sight God has sealed - it is they, they who are heedless!135
  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "of what is good and what is bad for them". - For an explanation of God's "sealing" the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth, see 2:7 and the corresponding note.

Such are those whose hearts, ears and eyes are sealed by Allah; and they are the ones who are heedless.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
They are the ones whose hearts, ears, and eyes are sealed by Allah, and it is they who are 'truly' heedless.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Such are they whose hearts and ears and eyes Allah hath sealed. And such are the heedless.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Those are they whose hearts ears and eyes Allah has sealed up and they take no heed. 2146
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 7. On account of their iniquities and their want of Faith their hearts and their senses become impervious to Allah's grace, and they run headlong to perdition.

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16:109
لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّهُمْ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمُ ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَ L a jarama annahum fee al a khirati humu alkh a siroon a
Truly it is they, they who in the life to come shall be the losers!
  - Mohammad Asad
There is no doubt that in the hereafter they will be the losers.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Without a doubt, they will be the losers in the Hereafter.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Assuredly in the Hereafter they are the losers.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Without doubt in the hereafter they will perish.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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16:110
ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا فُتِنُوا۟ ثُمَّ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ وَصَبَرُوٓا۟ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ Thumma inna rabbaka lilla th eena h a jaroo min baAAdi m a futinoo thumma j a hadoo wa s abaroo inna rabbaka min baAAdih a laghafoorun ra h eem un
And yet, behold, thy Sustainer [grants His forgiveness] unto those who forsake the domain of evil after having succumbed to its temptation,136 and who thenceforth strive hard [in God's cause] and are patient in adversity: behold, after such [repentance] thy Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!
  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the concept of fitnah (appearing here in the verbal form futinu) and of my rendering it as "temptation to evil", see surah {8}, note [25]. As regards the expression alladhlna hajaru in its spiritual connotation, see surah {2}, note [203] and surah {4}, note [124].

On the other hand, Allah is most surely forgiving and compassionate towards those who had to leave their homes after being persecuted because of their faith, struggled hard and remained steadfastly patient.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
As for those who emigrated after being compelled 'to renounce Islam', then struggled 'in Allah's cause', and persevered, your Lord 'O Prophet' is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful after all.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Then lo! thy Lord--for those who become fugitives after they had been persecuted, and then fought and were steadfast--lo! thy Lord afterward is (for them) indeed Forgiving, Merciful,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But verily thy Lord to those who leave their homes after trials and persecutions and who thereafter strive and fight for the faith and patiently persevere thy Lord after all this is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. 2147
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

I take this verse to refer to such men as were originally with the Pagans but afterwards joined Islam, suffered hardships and exile, and fought and struggled in the Cause, with patience and constance. Their past would be blotted out and forgiven. Men like Khalid ibn Walid were numbered with the foremost heroes of Islam. In that case this verse would be a Madinah verse, though the Sura as a whole is Makkan. Perhaps it would be better to read, with some Commentators, fatanu in the active voice rather than futinu in the passive voice, and translate "after inflicting trials and persecutions (on Muslim)." Notice the parallelism in construction between this verse and verse 119 below.

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16:111
يَوْمَ تَأْتِى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ تُجَـٰدِلُ عَن نَّفْسِهَا وَتُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ Yawma tatee kullu nafsin tuj a dilu AAan nafsih a watuwaff a kullu nafsin m a AAamilat wahum l a yu th lamoon a
[Be conscious, then, of] the Day when every human being shall come to plead for himself [alone] and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged.
  - Mohammad Asad
On the Day of Judgement every soul will come pleading for itself and every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'Consider' the Day 'when' every soul will come pleading for itself, and each will be paid in full for what it did, and none will be wronged.
  - Mustafa Khattab
On the Day when every soul will come pleading for itself, and every soul will be repaid what it did, and they will not be wronged.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
One day every soul will come up struggling for itself and every soul will be recompensed (fully) for all its actions and none will be unjustly dealt with. 2148
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When the Reckoning comes, each soul will stand on its own personal responsibility. No one else can help it. Full justice will be done, and all the seeming inequalities of this world will be redressed.

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16:112
وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ Wa d araba All a hu mathalan qaryatan k a nat a minatan mu t mainnatan yateeh a rizquh a raghadan min kulli mak a nin fakafarat bianAAumi All a hi faa tha qah a All a hu lib a sa aljooAAi wa a lkhawfi bim a k a noo ya s naAAoon a
AND GOD propounds [to you] a parable: [Imagine] a town which was [once] secure and at ease, with its sustenance coming to it abundantly from all quarters, and which thereupon blasphemously refused to show gratitude for God's blessings: and therefore God caused it to taste the all-embracing misery137 of hunger and fear in result of all [the evil] that its people had so persistently wrought.138
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the garment" (libas) - idiomatically used in classical Arabic to describe the utmost degree of misfortune which "envelops man like a garment" (Taj al-'Arus, with specific reference to the above verse).

This parable is meant to show that deliberate ingratitude for the manifold blessings which God bestows upon man - in other words, a deliberate refusal to submit to His guidance - is bound, in the long run and in the context of aggregate social life, to have disastrous consequences not only in the hereafter but in this world as well, inasmuch as no society may expect to live in security and ease unless it conforms to the ethical and social standards inherent in the concept of man's "bond with God" (as explained in surah {2}, note [19]).

Allah gives you an example of a town which was enjoying security and peace, receiving its provisions in abundance from every quarter, but it became ungrateful to the favors of Allah. As a result, Allah made its residents taste the consequences of their doings, through inflicting upon them misfortunes of hunger and fear.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And Allah sets forth the example of a society which was safe and at ease, receiving its provision in abundance from all directions. But its people met Allah's favours with ingratitude, so Allah made them taste the clutches of hunger and fear for their misdeeds.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Allah coineth a similitude: a township that dwelt secure and well content, its provision coming to it in abundance from every side, but it disbelieved in Allah's favors, so Allah made it experience the garb of dearth and fear because of what they used to do.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Allah sets forth a parable: a city enjoying security and quiet abundantly supplied with sustenance from every place: yet was it ungrateful for the favors of Allah: so Allah made it taste of hunger and terror (in extremes) (closing in on it) like a garment (from every side) because of the (evil) which (its people) wrought. 2149 2150
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The reference may be to any of the cities or populations in ancient or modern times, which were favoured with security and other blessings from Allah, but which rebelled from Allah's Law and tasted the inevitable penalty, even in the midst of their iniquities. Some Commentators see here a reference to the city of Makkah under Pagan control. See next note.

There is a double metaphor: (1) the tasting of hunger and terror after the abundant supplies and the full security which it had enjoyed; and (2) the complete enfolding of the City as with a garment, by these two scourges, hunger and a state of subjective alarm. If the reference is to Makkah shortly before its fall to the Muslims, the "hunger" was the seven years' severe famine which afflicted it, and the alarm was the constant fear in the minds of the Pagans that their day was done. Peace and prosperity were restored after the re-entry of the Prophet.

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16:113
وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ وَهُمْ ظَـٰلِمُونَ Walaqad j a ahum rasoolun minhum faka thth aboohu faakha th ahumu alAAa tha bu wahum th a limoon a
And indeed, there had come unto them an apostle from among themselves - but they gave him the lie; and therefore suffering overwhelmed them while they were thus doing wrong [to themselves].
  - Mohammad Asad
A Rasool was sent to them from among themselves, but they denied him; so the punishment overtook them because they were wrongdoers.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
A messenger of their own actually did come to them, but they denied him. So the torment overtook them while they persisted in wrongdoing.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And verily there had come unto them a messenger from among them, but they had denied him, and So the torment seized them while they were wrong-doers.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And there came to them an Apostle from among themselves but they falsely rejected him; so the wrath seized them even in the midst of their iniquities.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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16:114
فَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ حَلَـٰلًا طَيِّبًا وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ Fakuloo mimm a razaqakumu All a hu h al a lan t ayyiban wa o shkuroo niAAmata All a hi in kuntum iyy a hu taAAbudoon a
AND SO, partake of all the lawful, good things which God has provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks unto God for His blessings, if it is [truly] Him that you worship.139
  - Mohammad Asad

It is this call to gratitude that provides a connection between the present passage and the foregoing parable of the ungrateful town and, thus, with the opening passages (verses {1-15}) of this surah.

So eat of the good and lawful things which Allah has provided for you; and be grateful to Allah for His favors, if you are sincere in His worship.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
So eat from the good, lawful things which Allah has provided for you, and be grateful for Allah's favours, if you 'truly' worship Him 'alone'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah hath provided for you, and thank the bounty of your Lord if it is Him ye serve.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
So eat of the sustenance which Allah has provided for you lawful and good; and be grateful for the favors of Allah if it is He whom ye serve. 2151
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Ingratitude for Allah's sustenance (in the literal and figurative senses) may be shown in various ways, e.g., (1) by forgetting or refusing to acknowledge the true source of the bounty, viz., Allah, (2) by misusing or misapplying the bounty, as by committing excesses in things lawful, or refusing to share them with others of Allah's creatures when the need arises, or (3) by falsely ascribing to Allah any prohibitions we may set up for ourselves for special reasons or because of our special idiosyncrasies.

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16:115
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةَ وَٱلدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ ۖ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ Innam a h arrama AAalaykumu almaytata wa al ddama wala h ma alkhinzeeri wam a ohilla lighayri All a hi bihi famani i dt urra ghayra b a ghin wal a AA a din fainna All a ha ghafoorun ra h eem un
He has forbidden to you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked; but if one is driven [to it] by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need - verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.140
  - Mohammad Asad

It is to be noted that the above two verses are almost identical with {2:172-173}, and ought, therefore, to be read in conjunction with the whole passage of which those two verses form a part - namely, {2:168-173}. Cf. also {6: 145}.

He has only forbidden you to eat carrion (meat of dead a body), blood, pork, and that over which any name other than Allah has been invoked. But if one is forced by necessity, intending neither to break the Divine Law nor to transgress limits, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
He has only forbidden you 'to eat' carrion, blood, swine,1 and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity- neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need- then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 2:173.

He hath forbidden for you only carrion and blood and swine-flesh and that which hath been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he who is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, lo! then Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
He has only forbidden you dead meat and blood and the flesh of swine and any (food) over which the name of other than Allah has been invoked. But if one is forced by necessity without willful disobedience nor transgressing due limits then Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. 2152
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 173 and notes, v. 3-4, and vi. 121 and 138-146.

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16:116
وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ ٱلْكَذِبَ هَـٰذَا حَلَـٰلٌ وَهَـٰذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفْتَرُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ Wal a taqooloo lim a ta s ifu alsinatukumu alka th iba h atha h al a lun wah atha h ar a mun litaftaroo AAal a All a hi alka th iba inna alla th eena yaftaroona AAal a All a hi alka th iba l a yufli h oon a
Hence, do not utter falsehoods by letting your tongues determine [at your own discretion], "This is lawful and that is forbidden", thus attributing your own lying inventions to God:141 for, behold, they who attribute their own lying inventions to God will never attain to a happy state!
  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the very important problem of an arbitrary determination, based on subjective preferences, of what is to be considered ethically right or wrong, see surah {2}. note [137].

You shall not falsely declare with your tongues: "This is lawful, and that is forbidden," in order to ascribe false things to Allah, for those who forge lies against Allah will never prosper.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Do not falsely declare with your tongues, 'This is lawful, and that is unlawful,' 'only' fabricating lies against Allah. Indeed, those who fabricate lies against Allah will never succeed.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And speak not, concerning that which your own tongues qualify (as clean or unclean), the falsehood: "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so that ye invent a lie against Allah. Lo! those who invent a lie against Allah will not succeed.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But say not for any false thing that your tongues may put forth "This is lawful and this is forbidden" so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah will never prosper. 2153
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Men are apt to create taboos for themselves, out of superstition, and often for selfish ends, and enforce them in the name of religion. Nothing can be more reprehensible.

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16:117
مَتَـٰعٌ قَلِيلٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ Mat a AAun qaleelun walahum AAa tha bun aleem un
A brief enjoyment [may be theirs in this world] - but grievous suffering awaits them [in the life to come]!
  - Mohammad Asad
Brief is their enjoyment of this life, and they shall have a painful punishment.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'It is only' a brief enjoyment, then they will suffer a painful punishment.
  - Mustafa Khattab
A brief enjoyment (will be theirs); and theirs a painful doom.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
(In such falsehood) is but a paltry profit; but they will have a most grievous Penalty.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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16:118
وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ حَرَّمْنَا مَا قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـٰهُمْ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ WaAAal a alla th eena h a doo h arramn a m a qa s a s n a AAalayka min qablu wam a th alamn a hum wal a kin k a noo anfusahum ya th limoon a
And [only] unto those who followed the Jewish faith did We forbid all that We have mentioned to thee ere this;142 and no wrong did We do to them, but it was they who persistently wronged themselves.
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in {6: 146}, revealed shortly before the present surah. The conjunctive particle "And" at the beginning of this sentence establishes a connection with the precept laid down in verse {114} above, "partake of all the lawful, good things which God has provided for you as sustenance": the implication being (as in 6:145 ) that none of the really good and wholesome things have been forbidden to the believer, and that the many dietary prohibitions and restrictions imposed on the Jews were imposed on them alone in punishment of their persistent sinning (cf. 3:93 ).

To the Jews, We prohibited those things which We have already mentioned to you, and it was not We Who imposed the hardships on them but they imposed those hardships on themselves.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
To the Jews, We have forbidden what We related to you before.1 We did not wrong them, but it was they who wronged themselves.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 What is mentioned in 6:146.

And unto those who are Jews We have forbidden that which We have already related unto thee. And We wronged them not, but they were wont to wrong themselves.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
To the Jews We prohibited such things as We have mentioned to thee before: We did them no wrong but they were used to doing wrong to themselves. 2154
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See vi. 146 and n. The further prohibitions to them were a punishment for their hardness of hearts, and not a favour.

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16:119
ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا۟ ٱلسُّوٓءَ بِجَهَـٰلَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوٓا۟ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ Thumma inna rabbaka lilla th eena AAamiloo a l ssooa bijah a latin thumma t a boo min baAAdi tha lika waa s la h oo inna rabbaka min baAAdih a laghafoorun ra h eem un
And once again:143 Behold, thy Sustainer [shows mercy] to those who do evil out of ignorance and afterwards repent and live righteously: behold, after such [repentance] thy Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
  - Mohammad Asad

For this rendering of thumma, see surah {6}, note [31].

Yet your Rabb is forgiving and merciful towards those who do something wrong through ignorance, but later repent and mend their ways.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
As for those who commit evil ignorantly 'or recklessly', then repent afterwards and mend their ways, then your Lord is surely All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Then lo! thy Lord for those who do evil in ignorance and afterward repent and amend--lo! (for them) thy Lord is afterward indeed Forgiving, Merciful.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
But verily thy Lord to those who do wrong in ignorance but who thereafter repent and make amends thy Lord after all this is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. 2155
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See above, xvi. 110 and n. 2147. The parallelism in construction confirms the suggestion of the alternative reading which is made in that note. The similarity of expressions also rounds off the argument, as by a refrain in poetry. What follows now in this Sura is an exhortation to right conduct.

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16:120
إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِّلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ Inna ibr a heema k a na ommatan q a nitan lill a hi h aneefan walam yaku mina almushrikeen a
VERILY, Abraham was a man who combined within himself all virtues,144 devoutly obeying God's will, turning away from all that is false,145 and not being of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God:
  - Mohammad Asad

This is one of the many meanings of the term ummah and, to my mind, the one most appropriate in the above context. - The mention of Abraham at this place contains a subtle allusion to verse {118}, where the Jews are spoken of: for, the latter claim to be "the chosen people" on account of their descent from Abraham, whereas the Qur'an consistently rejects all claims to a special status by virtue of one's descent. Moreover, the Qur'an states in many places that whereas this particular ancestor of the Hebrews - and, by the way, of most of the Arab tribes as well - was a personification of all that is good and upright, so that "God exalted him with His love" ( 4:125 ), his Jewish descendants always tended to rebel against God and, thus, "persistently wronged themselves".

For an explanation of this rendering of the term hanif, see surah {2}, note [110].

In fact Ibrahim (Abraham) was a nation in himself, an upright man obedient to Allah, and he was not of the mushrikin.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Indeed, Abraham was a model of excellence: devoted to Allah, 'perfectly' upright- not a polytheist-
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! Abraham was a nation obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the idolaters;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Abraham was indeed a model devoutly obedient to Allah (and) true in faith and he joined not gods with Allah: 2156 2157
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Ummat: a model, pattern, example for imitation; but the idea that he was an Ummat in himself, standing alone against his world, should not be lost sight of. See next note.

The Gospel of Unity has been the comer-stone of spiritual Truth for all time. In this respect Abraham is the model and fountain-head for the world of western Asia and its spiritual descendants all over the world. Abraham was among a people (the Chaldeans) who worshipped stars and had forsaken the Gospel of Unity. He was among them but not of them. He suffered persecution, and left his home and his people, and settled in the land of Canaan.

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