Surah an-Nahl

It is also called—as Ibn Abi Hatim recorded—the "Surah of Favors" (Surat al-Ni‘am). Ibn al-Faras said: This is because Allah the Exalted enumerated therein His favors upon His servants. It is generally agreed that it is Meccan; Ibn Mardawayh recorded this from Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah the Exalted be pleased with them both). Al-Nahhas recorded through the path of Mujahid from the Master [Ibn Abbas] that it was revealed in Mecca, except for three verses from its end, which were revealed between Mecca and Medina when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah the Exalted grant him peace) was returning from Uhud.

In another narration from him, it is said that it is entirely Meccan except for the words of the Exalted: "And do not exchange the verses of Allah for a small price" up to His saying, the Glorified: "by the best of what they used to do." It was narrated by Umayyah al-Azdi from Jabir ibn Zayd that forty verses of it were revealed in Mecca, and the remainder were revealed in Medina.

It consists of one hundred and twenty-eight verses, as stated by al-Tabarsi and others, without dispute. What al-Dani mentioned in his book on the numbering [of verses] is that it is ninety-three, and it is said ninety-four, and it is said ninety-five in the rest of the codices. It contains abrogated verses; it is said there are four verses by consensus, and one verse that is disputed. The reality of the matter regarding this will become clear to you, if Allah the Exalted wills.

An-Nahl: (1) The Command of Allah has come...

Since the mockers and deniers of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) were mentioned at the end of the previous Surah, the beginning here, after the statement of Allah the Almighty, "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful," is with His saying, "The command of Allah has come, so do not be impatient for it." This is appropriate for the context, as many have mentioned regarding its meaning and the reason for its revelation. In Al-Bahr, regarding the connection, it states that when Allah the Almighty said, "By your Lord, We will surely question them all," it was an alert regarding their gathering on the Day of Resurrection and their being asked about what they did in this world. Thus, it was said: "The command of Allah has come," for the intention behind it—according to the majority—is the Day of Resurrection.

Al-Jalal as-Suyuti mentioned that the end of Surah Al-Hijr is strongly linked to the beginning of this one, for His saying, "And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty," which is interpreted as death, has an apparent connection to His saying here, "The command of Allah has come." Observe how it came in the former as "comes to you" (ya'tika) in the present tense, and in the latter as "has come" (ata) in the past tense, because the future precedes the past, as established in its place. The "command" (amr) is one of the matters, and interpreting it as the Day of Resurrection—as stated in Al-Bahr—is understood as including it and other things, such as the descent of the promised punishment upon the disbelievers. From Ibn Jurayj, there is an interpretation referring only to the descent of the punishment; he said: The "command" here refers to what Allah promised His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of victory, triumph over enemies, and vengeance against them through killing, captivity, looting wealth, and taking possession of houses and homes. Ibn Jarir and others reported from Ad-Dahhak that the intention is the laws, limits, and obligations. It is as if he interpreted it as one of the "commands," though this is debatable, as it has not been reported that anyone was "impatient" for the obligations and limits of Allah. Expressing this as "the command of Allah" is for the sake of intimidation and magnification; it signifies that its fulfillment and coming are subject to His binding decree and prevailing judgment. Its "coming" refers to its nearing and approach, according to the method of arranging the expected as if it were the reality.

It is also permitted that the intention is the arrival of its precursors, so the past tense remains in its literal sense. Perhaps the report by Ibn Marduyah, via Ad-Dahhak from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), interpreting the "command" as the emergence of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), supports what was mentioned. Some left the verb in its true meaning and claimed the meaning is: The command of Allah has come as a promise, so do not be impatient for its occurrence.

The appearance of the work of many suggests the choice that the past tense is in the sense of the present tense through metaphor, by likening the confirmed future to the past in terms of the certainty of occurrence. The evidence for this is His saying, "so do not be impatient for it," for if it had already occurred, there would be no impatience. This is what the heart leans toward. The pronoun in "impatient for it" (tasta'jiluhu), according to the apparent, refers to the "command," because that is what is being discussed. It is also said that it refers to Allah the Almighty—i.e., do not be impatient with Allah for the punishment or the arrival of the Day of Resurrection—like His saying, "And they ask you to hasten the punishment." This is contrary to the apparent, yet it is said to be more consistent with what follows.

The address is specifically for the disbelievers. This is supported by the recitation of Ibn Jubayr: "So let them not be impatient for it" (fala yasta'jiluhu), in the form of a prohibition for the third person. Even if their impatience was by way of mockery, it is taken to be the reality, and they were forbidden by a kind of irony, not with the believers, whether the intention of "the command of Allah" is what we mentioned or the punishment specifically promised to the disbelievers. As for the first, it is because it is inconceivable for believers to be impatient for the Hour or the punishment that includes it. As for the second, it is because impatience from the believers would be a reality, while from the disbelievers it would be mockery, so a single form cannot encompass both. Resorting to a metaphorical meaning that encompasses both without a hidden subtlety is a constraint that does not befit the status of revelation.

Some claimed the address is general and offered as evidence what was narrated from Ibn Abbas: When the verse "The Hour has approached" was revealed, the disbelievers said among themselves: "He claims the Resurrection has approached," so they held back from some of what they were doing to see what would happen. When it was delayed, they said: "We do not see anything," so "The reckoning for the people has approached" was revealed, and they grew fearful and awaited its approach. When the days dragged on, they said: "O Muhammad, we do not see anything of what you threatened us with," so "The command of Allah has come" was revealed. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sprang up, and the people lifted their heads. When "so do not be impatient for it" was revealed, they were reassured. Then he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "I and the Hour have been sent like these two," and he pointed with his two fingers, "It almost preceded me."

There is no evidence in this for generality, because the basis of their reassurance was their realization that the intention of "the coming" is the figurative coming, not the literal one that would render impatience impossible—and thus render the prohibition of it impossible, for the prohibition of a thing implies its possibility in general. That realization is based on the prohibition of impatience, which implies its possibility and necessitates that the impossible has not occurred. This does not differ regardless of who the impatient one is. Rather, it contains clear evidence against the generality, because the intention of "the command of Allah" is the Hour, and the occurrence of impatience for it from the believers is impossible. Yes, it is permissible to restrict the address to them on the premise that the command of Allah is the punishment specifically promised to the disbelievers, but what the miraculous nature of the revelation requires is that it is specific to the disbelievers. This is what Abu as-Sa'ud stated.

There is discussion regarding this from several angles... [The text continues with technical analysis of grammatical connections and scholarly disagreements regarding the scope of the address.]