Surah 16. An-Nahl

or that He will not take them to task [suddenly] in the midst of their comings and goings,⁵¹ without their being able to elude [Him],

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in the midst of their habitual occupations. My interpolation of the word "suddenly" is warranted by the reference, in the next verse, to the alternative of gradual decay.

Or that He may not seize them in the course of their journey leaving no way for their escape?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or that He will not seize them in their going to and fro so that there be no escape for them?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

or take them to task through slow decay?⁵² And yet, behold, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace!⁵³

  - Mohammad Asad

One of the meanings of takhawwuf is "gradual diminution" or "decay" or "slow destruction" (Lisan al-'Arab, art. khawafa; thus also Tabari and Zamakhshari); in the above context, the term has obviously both a social and a moral connotation: a gradual disintegration of all ethical values, of power, of civic cohesion, of happiness and, finally, of life itself.

Sc., "seeing that He offers you guidance through His prophets, and gives you time to reflect and mend your ways before you do irreparable harm to yourselves".

Or that He may seize them after alerting them about the danger? Yet your Rabb is Beneficent, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or that He will not seize them with a gradual wasting? Lo! thy Lord is indeed Full of Pity, Merciful!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

HAVE, THEN, they [who deny the truth] never considered any of the things that God has created⁵⁴ - [how] their shadows turn right and left, prostrating themselves before God and utterly submissive [to His will]?⁵⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

In view of the separate mention, in the next verse, of animals and angels, the "things" referred to here apparently denote inanimate objects and perhaps also living organisms like plants.

Lit., "and they are utterly lowly" or "submissive". The "prostration" referred to in this and the next verse is obviously a symbolism expressing the intrinsic subjection of all created beings and things to God's will. See also 13:15 and the corresponding notes [33] and [34].

Do they not see how every object that Allah has created casts its shadow right and left, prostrating itself to Allah in all humility?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have they not observed all thing that Allah hath created, how their shadows incline to the right and to the left, making prostration unto Allah, and they are lowly?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, before God prostrates itself all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth - every beast that moves, and the angels:⁵⁶ [even] these do not bear themselves with false pride:

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the lowest as well as the highest. The term dabbah denotes any sentient, corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement, and is contrasted here with the noncorporeal, spiritual beings designated as "angels" (Razi).

To Allah prostrate all the creatures of the heavens and the earth, including the angels; and they are not arrogant:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Allah maketh prostration whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth of living creatures, and the angels (also), and they are not proud.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

they fear their Sustainer high above them, and do whatever they are bidden to do.⁵⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., they must, by virtue of their nature, obey the impulses implanted in them by God and are, therefore, incapable of what is described as "sinning". Man, however, is fundamentally different in this respect. In contrast with the natural sinlessness of "every beast that moves, and the angels", man is endowed with free will in the moral sense of this term: he can choose between right and wrong - and therefore he can, and often does, sin. But even while he sins he is subject to the universal law of cause and effect instituted by God and referred to in the Qur'an as sunnat Allah ("God's way"): hence the Qur'anic statement that "before God prostrate themselves, willingly or unwillingly, all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and on earth" ( 13:15 ).

they fear their Rabb Who is above them, and they do whatever they are commanded to do.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They fear their Lord above them, and do what they are bidden.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And God has said: "Do not take to worshipping two [or more] deities.⁵⁸ He is the One and Only God: hence, of Me, of Me alone stand in awe!"⁵⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

The double dual in ilahayn ithnayn ("two deities") serves to emphasize the prohibition of worshipping "more than one deity" - i.e., anything but the One God.

This is a striking example of the fluctuation to which personal pronouns are subjected in the Qur'an whenever they refer to God. As already pointed out in my Foreword, note [2], as well as in other places, such abrupt changes of pronoun ("He", "I", "We", "Us", "Me", etc.) indicate that God is limitless and, therefore, beyond the range of definition implied in the use of "personal" pronouns.

Allah has commanded: "You shall not worship two gods: there exists only One God, I am the One Whom you should fear."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath said: Choose not two gods. There is only One God. So of Me, Me only, be in awe.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And His is all that is in the heavens and on earth, and to Him [alone] obedience is always due: will you, then, pay reverence to aught but Him?

  - Mohammad Asad

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth and His Deen (laws or ways of life) is followed in the universe - would you then fear any one other than Allah?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, and religion is His for ever. Will ye then fear any other than Allah?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, whatever good thing comes to you, comes from God; and whenever harm befalls you, it is unto Him that you cry for help⁶⁰ -

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. {6:40-41}.

Whatever blessings you enjoy are from Allah, and when touched by distress, He is the One to Whom you cry for help.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And whatever of comfort ye enjoy, it is from Allah. Then, when misfortune reacheth you, unto Him ye cry for help.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

yet as soon as He has removed the harm from you, lo! some of you [begin to] ascribe to other powers a share in their Sustainer's divinity,⁶¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "associate [other powers] with their Sustainer": i.e., by attributing the change in their "luck" to what they regard as "extraneous" factors and influences, they invest the latter, as it were, with divine qualities and powers.

Yet no sooner does He relieve you from the distress than some of you begin to associate others with Him,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And afterward, when He hath rid you of the misfortune, behold! a set of you attribute partners to their Lord,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[as if] to prove their ingratitude for all that We have granted them! Enjoy, then, your [brief] life: but in time you will come to know [the truth]!

  - Mohammad Asad

as if to show their ingratitude for the favors that We bestow on them! Enjoy yourselves; soon you will come to know the consequences.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So as to deny that which We have given them. Then enjoy life (while ye may), for ye will come to know.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

As it is, they ascribe - out of what We provide for them as sustenance - a share unto things of which they know nothing.⁶² By God, you shall most certainly be called to account for all your false imagery!

  - Mohammad Asad

According to most of the classical commentators, this relates to the custom of the pagan Arabs - mentioned in 6:136 - to dedicate a part of their agricultural produce and cattle to their deities; and because those deities were mere figments of imagination, they are described here as "things of which they know nothing". However, as I have pointed out in note [120] on 6:136 , the above statement bears a much wider, more general meaning: it connects directly with the three preceding verses of this surah - namely, with the attribution of a share (nasib) in God's creativeness - and thus of a decisive influence on one's life - to "causes" or "powers" other than Him. This view has also been advanced by Razi (with a specific reference to astrological speculations) in the concluding sentence of his commentary on the above verse.

They set aside a portion of what We have provided them with, for those deities about whom they know nothing. By Allah! You shall most certainly be questioned about the lies you fabricate.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they assign a portion of that which We have given them unto what they know not. By Allah! but ye will indeed be asked concerning (all) that ye used to invent.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [thus, too,] they ascribe daughters unto God, who is limitless in His glory⁶³ - whereas for themselves [they would choose, if they could, only] what they desire:⁶⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that the goddesses Al-Lat, Al-'Uzza and Manat (see note [13] on {53:19-20}), as well as the angels, whom they conceived as females, were "God's daughters". As against this, the Qur'an states that God is utterly remote from every imperfection (subhanahu), complete in Himself, and therefore free from the incompleteness inherent in the concept of "progeny" as an extension of one's own being (cf. 6:100 and the corresponding notes [87] and [88]). - This parenthetic passage, comprising verses {57-59}, is explained in note [66] below.

Namely, only male issue, because the pre-lslamic Arabs regarded daughters as no more than a necessary evil.

They ascribe daughters to Allah - Glory be to Him! - But for themselves, they would like to have what they desire (sons).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they assign unto Allah daughters. Be He glorified! and unto themselves what they desire;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, whenever any of them is given the glad tiding of [the birth of] a girl,⁶⁵ his face darkens, and he is filled with suppressed anger,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., a tiding that should have been regarded as a happy one, since the sex of the child ought to make no difference to parental love.

Whenever the news of a female child is announced to any one of them, his face darkens and he chokes with inward gloom.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When if one of them receiveth tidings of the birth of a female, his face remaineth darkened, and he is wroth inwardly.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

avoiding all people because of the [alleged] evil of the glad tiding which he has received, [and debating within himself:] Shall he keep this [child] despite the contempt [which he feels for it] - or shall he bury it in the dust? Oh, evil indeed is whatever they decide!⁶⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., either of these alternatives is evil: to keep the child as an object of perpetual contempt, or to bury it alive, as was frequently done by the pagan Arabs. - This passage, containing as it does an utter condemnation of men's attitude towards women in pre-Islamic Arabia, has - as is always the case with Qur'anic references to historical events or customs - a meaning that goes far beyond this specific social phenomenon and the resulting infanticide. It would seem that the pivotal point of the whole passage is the sentence, "for themselves [they would choose, if they could, only] what they desire": that is to say, while they are only too ready to associate with God ideas which are repugnant to themselves (for instance, female progeny, which they themselves despise), they are unwilling to accept the concept of man's ultimate responsibility to Him, because such a concept militates against their own hedonistic inclinations by obliging them to impose a moral discipline on themselves. And because they rebel against the idea of ultimate moral responsibility, they instinctively reject the idea of resurrection and of life after bodily death; and since they deny, by implication, God's power to resurrect the dead, they deny His omnipotence and, consequently, begin to "ascribe divinity" - i.e., a genuinely causative function - to all manner of imaginary forces, beings or influences: and so, by means of a parenthetic reference to pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs and customs, the discourse returns full circle to the concept of God's oneness, uniqueness and omnipotence, around which the whole of the Qur'an revolves.

He hides himself from his people because of the bad news he has heard, asking himself whether he should retain her with disgrace or bury her in the dust. Beware! Evil is the judgement they make about Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He hideth himself from the folk because of the evil of that whereof he hath bad tidings, (asking himself): Shall he keep it in contempt, or bury it beneath the dust. Verily evil is their judgment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Thus it is that] the attribute of evil applies to all who do not believe in the life to come⁶⁷ - whereas unto God applies the attribute of all that is most sublime: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., inasmuch as they deny, by implication, man's ultimate responsibility before God. According to Zamakhshari and Razi, the term mathal (lit., "example" or "parable") has here and in the next clause the connotation of sifah ("attribute").

Those who do not believe in the hereafter set an evil example, while Allah applies the highest example, for He is the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For those who believe not in the Hereafter is an evil similitude, and Allah's is the Sublime Similitude. He is the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall