16. Sūrat al-Naḥl

١٦۔ سُورَةُ النَّحْل

Qurʾān > Chapter 16 > Section 11
القرآن > كتاب ١٦ > باب ١١

16.11 There is a lesson in the process of your own creation: Why, then, believe in deities who have no power to create anything and disbelieve in God, the Creator?

١٦۔١١ مقطع في سُورَةُ النَّحْل

quran:16:71 –

And Allah has favored some of you over others in provision. But those who were favored would not hand over their provision to those whom their right hands possess so they would be equal to them therein. Then is it the favor of Allah they reject?  

And God has favoured some of you above others in ˹respect of˺ provision, thus, some of you are poor, some are rich, some owners, others are owned. Now those who have been ˹more˺ favoured, namely, the masters, would not hand over their provision to those ˹slaves˺ whom their right hands possess, that is, they would not assign that wealth and other things which We have given them as something to be shared ˹equally˺ between them and their slaves, so that they, that is, the slaves and ˹their˺ masters, become equal, partners, in respect thereof. The meaning is: they do not have partners from among their slaves in respect of their wealth, so how can they make certain of God’s servants partners of His? Is it then the grace of God that they deny?, ˹that˺ they reject, when they ascribe partners to Him?
القرآن:١٦:٧١ –

وَاللَّهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِي الرِّزْقِ ۚ فَمَا الَّذِينَ فُضِّلُوا بِرَادِّي رِزْقِهِمْ عَلَىٰ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَهُمْ فِيهِ سَوَاءٌ ۚ أَفَبِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ يَجْحَدُونَ  

{والله فضل بعضكم على بعض في الرزق} فمنكم غني وفقير ومالك ومملوك {فما الذين فضلوا} أي الموالي {برادي رزقهم على ما ملكت أيمانهم} أي بجاعلي ما رزقناهم من الأموال وغيرها شركة بينهم وبين مماليكهم {فهم} أي المماليك والموالي {فيه سواء} شركاء المعنى ليس لهم شركاء من مماليكهم في أموالهم فكيف يجعلون بعض مماليك الله شركاء له {أفبنعمة الله يجحدون} يكفرون حيث يجعلون له شركاء.
quran:16:72 –

And Allah has made for you from yourselves mates and has made for you from your mates sons and grandchildren and has provided for you from the good things. Then in falsehood do they believe and in the favor of Allah they disbelieve?  

And God made for you mates from your own selves, thus He created Eve from Adam’s rib and ˹created˺ all mankind from the seminal fluids of men and women, and made for you, from your mates, children and grandchildren, and He provided you with the good things, of ˹all˺ kinds of fruits, seeds and animals. Is it then in falsehood, ˹in˺ the idol, that they believe and in the grace of God that they disbelieve?, when they associate others ˹with God˺?
القرآن:١٦:٧٢ –

وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ ۚ أَفَبِالْبَاطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَبِنِعْمَتِ اللَّهِ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ  

{والله جعل لكم من أنفسكم أزواجا} فخلق حواء من ضلع آدم وسائر الناس من نطف الرجال والنساء {وجعل لكم من أزواجكم بنين وحفدة} أولاد الأولاد {ورزقكم من الطيبات} من أنواع الثمار والحبوب والحيوان {أفبالباطل} الصنم {يؤمنون وبنعمة الله هم يكفرون} بإشراكهم.
quran:16:73 –

And they worship besides Allah that which does not possess for them ˹the power of˺ provision from the heavens and the earth at all, and ˹in fact˺, they are unable.  

And they worship besides God, that is, other than Him, what has no power to give them any ˹sort of˺ provision from the heavens, such as water, and the earth, such as plants (shay’an, ‘any˹thing˺’, is a substitute for rizqan, ‘provision’) nor do they have the capacity, ˹nor˺ are they able to do anything — and these are the idols.
القرآن:١٦:٧٣ –

وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًا مِنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ  

{ويعبدون من دون الله} أي غيره {ما لا يملك لهم رزقا من السماوات} بالمطر {والأرض} بالنبات {شيئا} بدل من رزقا {ولا يستطيعون} يقدرون على شيء وهو الأصنام.
quran:16:74 –

So do not assert similarities to Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.  

So do not strike any similitude for God, ˹do not˺ ascribe to God likenesses and then associate them with Him ˹in power˺. Truly God knows, that there is nothing like Him, and you do not know, this.
القرآن:١٦:٧٤ –

فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ  

{فلا تضربوا لله الأمثال} لا تجعلوا لله أشباها تشركون به {إن الله يعلم} أن لا مثل له {وأنتم لا تعلمون} ذلك.
quran:16:75 –

Allah presents an example: a slave ˹who is˺ owned and unable to do a thing and he to whom We have provided from Us good provision, so he spends from it secretly and publicly. Can they be equal? Praise to Allah! But most of them do not know.  

God strikes a similitude (mathalan, this is substituted by ˹the following, ‘abdan mamlūkan˺) a slave who is a chattel (mamlūkan, an adjective to distinguish him ˹this type of slave˺ from a free man, who is the servant of God ˹alone˺) having no power over anything, since he has no mastery, and one on whom (man, is an indefinite ˹noun˺, adjectivally qualified, in other words, a free man) We have bestowed a fair provision from Us, such that he spends thereof secretly and openly, that is, disposing of it as he wishes: the first similitude is for the idols, while the second is His, exalted be He. Are they equal?, the powerless slaves and the dispensing free men? No. Praise belongs to God, alone. But most of them, that is, the people of Mecca, do not know, the chastisement they will come to, and so they associate others with God.
القرآن:١٦:٧٥ –

ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا عَبْدًا مَمْلُوكًا لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَمَنْ رَزَقْنَاهُ مِنَّا رِزْقًا حَسَنًا فَهُوَ يُنْفِقُ مِنْهُ سِرًّا وَجَهْرًا ۖ هَلْ يَسْتَوُونَ ۚ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ  

{ضرب الله مثلاً} ويبدل منه {عبدا مملوكا} صفة تميزه من الحر فإنه عبد الله {لا يقدر على شيء} لعدم ملكه {ومن} نكرة موصوفة أي حرا {رزقناه منا رزقا حسنا فهو ينفق منه سرا وجهرا} أي يتصرف فيه كيف يشاء والأول مثل الأصنام والثاني مثله تعالى {هل يستوون} أي العبيد العجزة والحر المتصرف؟ لا {الحمد لله} وحده {بل أكثرهم} أي أهل مكة {لا يعلمون} ما يصيرون إليه من العذاب فيشركون.
quran:16:76 –

And Allah presents an example of two men, one of them dumb and unable to do a thing, while he is a burden to his guardian. Wherever he directs him, he brings no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice, while he is on a straight path?  

And God strikes a similitude (mathalan, this is substituted by ˹the following, rajulayn˺) two men, one of whom is dumb ˹from birth˺, having no power over anything, as he cannot understand nor be understood, and who is a liability, burdensome, to his master: — the ˹legal˺ guardian of his affairs — wherever he directs him, he does not bring, therefrom, any good, he does ˹not˺ succeed, and this is the similitude of the disbeliever. Is he, that is, the dumb one mentioned, equal to one who enjoins justice, that is, to one who is able to speak, of benefit to people, since he enjoins it ˹justice˺ and encourages ˹others to˺ it, and follows a path, a way, that is straight? — this being the second ˹man˺, the believer — No ˹he is not equal to him˺. It is also said that this ˹last similitude˺ is a similitude of God, while the ˹similitude of the˺ dumb one is of the idols, so that the preceding ˹verse˺ contains the similitude of the disbeliever and the believer.
القرآن:١٦:٧٦ –

وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَجُلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَبْكَمُ لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ كَلٌّ عَلَىٰ مَوْلَاهُ أَيْنَمَا يُوَجِّهْهُ لَا يَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ ۖ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ ۙ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ  

{وضرب الله مثلاً} ويبدل منه {رجلين أحدهما أبكم} ولد أخرس {لا يقدر على شيء} لأنه لا يفهم ولا يُفهم {وهو كلّ} ثقيل {على مولاه} وليّ أمره {أينما يوجهه} يصرفه {لا يأت} منه {بخير} ينجح وهذا مثل الكافر {هل يستوي هو} أي الأبكم المذكور {ومن يأمر بالعدل} أي ومن هو ناطق نافع للناس حيث يأمر به ويحث عليه {وهو على صراط} طريق {مستقيم} وهو الثاني المؤمن؟ لا، وقيل هذا مثل الله، والأبكم للأصنام والذي قبله مثل الكافر والمؤمن.