Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:11

He causes to grow—that is, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. It is said: “nabata al-shay’” (the thing grew), and “anbatahu Allahu Ta’ala” (Allah, the Exalted, caused it to grow), so it is manbut (grown). The rule for this is munbit, but it is said that anbata is used intransitively for trees. Al-Farra’ recited: “I saw those in need around their houses, dwelling therein until the baql (herbs) anbata (grew).” Al-Asma’i rejected the usage of anbata in the sense of nabata. Abu Bakr read it as nunbitu (we cause to grow) with the nun of majesty. Al-Zuhri read yunabbitu with emphasis, which in one opinion denotes multiplication, though Abu Hayyan favored the view that it is for the intensification of the causative. Ubayy read it yanbutu with a fatha on the ya and the following coordinated objects in the nominative case, acting as the subject.

The clause (He causes to grow for you thereby)—meaning, by what He sends down from the sky—(the crops, the olives, the palm trees, the grapevines...) may be considered another description of the water, or it may be an inaugural sentence by way of explanation, as if it were said: “Does it have other benefits?” and the reply was: “He causes to grow for you thereby…” The choice of the future tense is to indicate renewal and continuity, and that causing growth is His sunnah (habitual way) that continues throughout the ages, or to bring the image to mind because of the wonder it contains.

The two prepositional phrases are brought before the direct object for the reason we have just pointed out, alongside the interest in the first phrase to bring about joy from the very beginning. As for mentioning crops before the others, it is said because they are the foundation of nutrition, the pillar of livelihood, and the sustenance of most of the world; furthermore, it has a connection to the cattle mentioned previously. Next come the olives due to their nobility, as they are a condiment in one respect and a fruit in another. Physicians have mentioned numerous benefits for them, a good number of which are recorded in the Tadhkirah. It is apparent from the words of the linguists that it is a collective noun, the singular of which is zaytunah, and it is applied to the specific tree and its fruit. It is favored that the former is meant here. Most of what grows is in places where the width exceeds a mile, where the cold is intense, and where the land is mountainous with white or red soil.

Then come the palm trees before the grapevines because their permanence is more evident compared to them; for a single palm tree often lives for more than a year, whereas the grapevine is not like that. Yes, the olive is more enduring than both, as an olive tree may live for a thousand years, even though its fruit is often used as a staple—to the point that it has appeared in a report: “No house that has dates in it will be hungry.” They mostly grow in hot, dry lands where sand predominates, such as the noble Madinah, Iraq, and the outskirts of Egypt. According to al-Raghib, it is the plural of nakhl, which applies to both the singular and the plural, while the singular is called nakhlah.

As for grapevines (a’nab), it is the plural of inabah (with a kasrah on the ‘ayn and fatha on the nun and ba). Not a few singular words have come on this pattern. The Qamus mentions several of them. Al-Jawhari attributed the view that this construction is rare in the singular to a lack of knowledge, citing inabah, tawlah, habrah, tayyibah, and khayrah, and saying he knows of no others. Al-Jawhari stated that if you intend to pluralize it for a small number, you use the ta, saying ’anabat (grapevines), and for a large number, ’inab and a’nab.

As for the reasoning for delaying the mention of grapevines, Abu Hayyan stated that their fruit is purely a luxury (not a staple), though it is argued that he intended by the fruit the grape while it is fresh before it becomes raisins; if he meant raisins, it is not conceded. Many jurists, in their discussion on Zakat al-Fitr, state that raisins are a staple food, and indeed, it is apparent from their words that they rank after dates and before rice. Discussions on this do not deny that it is a staple, as is not hidden from one who contemplates the matter.

In the pluralization of (palm trees and grapevines), there is an indication that their fruits are of various kinds. In the Tadhkirah, when mentioning dates, it is said that they are diverse and numerous, just like grapes, to the point that I heard they exceed fifty varieties. When mentioning grapes, it is said that they vary according to size, elongation, thickness of the skin, presence or absence of seeds, and the amount of pulp, color, taste, and so on, to many varieties like the dates. I heard from my father, may mercy be upon him, that he heard in Egypt—when he visited it after returning from Hajj to see his brother who had migrated there to seek knowledge—that in its regions there are nearly three hundred varieties of dates. The responsibility rests upon the one who was heard saying this.

As for the objection that the food of the animal was mentioned before the food of humans, despite human food being more noble, the Imam said it serves to alert one to the nobility of character: that a person’s concern for those under their care should be stronger than their concern for themselves. The reverse is true in His saying, “Eat and pasture your cattle,” to signify that the former is not strictly necessary, even if it is from noble character, according to the report: “Start with yourself, then those you support.” Others said it is because this (the plants) is something in which humans have no input regarding sowing and planting, so the favor is stronger. Others said it is because most of the addressees were owners of livestock who possessed crops but nothing of what was mentioned (the grazing/food). Shahab al-Din said regarding this: You may say that since the mention of animals—the edible and the rideable—preceded, it was appropriate to follow it with a mention of their drink and food, as it is stronger in expressing the favor upon them, for their creation and their livelihood are for the sake of the humans. Whoever bestows a riding animal along with its fodder is more generous.

(In that is a sign for a people who reflect.)—meaning, whoever reflects on how the seed and the pit fall into the earth, and moisture reaches them, penetrating them so that their lower part splits and roots emerge that spread into the earth—sometimes spreading even if it is hard—and the upper part splits—even if it was placed upside down—emerging as a stalk that grows, from which emerge leaves, flowers, grains, and fruits containing bodies of different shapes, colors, properties, and natures, and pits capable of generating similar things in this refined pattern without end, despite the uniformity of water, earth, and air in relation to them all—they would know that these are His traces, and that nothing can resemble Him in any of the attributes of perfection, let alone share in His most exclusive attribute, which is Divinity and the worthiness of worship. How exalted and high is Allah above the lowest of things, such as inanimate objects.

Exalted is Allah, how high is His transcendence! Blessed be he who said: Contemplate the gardens of roses and look at the traces of what the King has made: Eyes of silver standing on stems of gold, Like wrought gold, bearing witness that Allah has no partner.

Since the reasoning with what was mentioned contains a hidden matter requiring reflection and contemplation for those with sound vision, He concluded the verse with reflection.