Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:114

His saying—Exalted be He—"So eat of the provision which God has provided for you" is a derivation from the conclusion of the parable and a deterrence from what leads to an end similar to theirs. The meaning is: Since the state of those who disbelieved in the favors of God—Exalted be He—and denied His Messenger has become clear to you, as well as what befell them on account of that—both in the beginning and in the end—then desist from the state you are in regarding the ingratitude for favors and the denial of the Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace), so that what befell them does not befall you. Recognize the right of God’s favors, and obey the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his commands and prohibitions. Therefore, eat of the provision of God—Exalted be He—while it is "lawful and good," and abandon what you fabricate regarding the prohibition of the ba'irah (sacred camels) and their like. "And be grateful for the favor of God," and acknowledge its right, and do not meet it with ingratitude.

The fa (So) in the meaning is attached to the command to show gratitude; it is attached to the command to eat because eating is a means to gratitude. It is as if it were said: "Show gratitude for the favor of God after eating it as something good." Incorporated within this is the prohibition against the claim of prohibition. There is no doubt that this is only conceivable when the annihilating punishment is anticipated in the future, and its causes have been established. But after it has occurred, who is there to warn, and who is to be commanded to eat and give thanks? Interpreting His saying—Exalted be He—"So the punishment seized them while they were wrongdoers" as a report of something before it occurred is rejected by the endeavor to reform them through commands and prohibitions. Even if it is not rejected regarding the past, the use of such a structure for the future—which is certain to occur—as a metaphor is common.

Directing the command to eat toward the believers, while the subsequent prohibition is directed toward the disbelievers—as al-Wahidi did, saying: "Eat, you, O assembly of believers, of what God has provided for you of the spoils,"—is inappropriate for the status of the Revelation. This was countered by the observation that after interpreting the punishment as the total, annihilating punishment, how can it be intended as what occurred at Badr, when there remained of them many times more than those who had perished? If such an event were sufficient for annihilation, then let those remaining be the ones warned and commanded.

What was mentioned from al-Wahidi—directing the command to eat to the believers—was narrated by the Imam from Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both). Then, he reported from al-Kalbi something that suggests the address is to the people of Mecca, as he said: "The leaders of Mecca spoke to the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) when they were struck by hardship and said: 'You have shown hostility to the men, so what is the matter with the children and women?' Provisions had been cut off from them by the order of the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), so he permitted supplies to be carried to them. Food was carried to them, and God—Exalted be He—said: 'So eat of the provision which God has provided for you,' etc." Then he said: "The saying is what Ibn Abbas said; this is indicated by His saying later: 'He has only forbidden to you dead animals,' etc." He meant: Since you have become secure and have abandoned disbelief, eat the lawful and good, which is the spoils, and leave the foul, which is the dead animals and blood.

In the Tafsir of al-Khazin, it states that the address being to the believers from the people of Medina is the correct view. The correct view is that the "town" is Medina, as Muqatil and some commentators said, and the "village" refers to Mecca. God—Exalted be He—set it as a parable for the people of Medina, frightening and warning them not to do as they (the Meccans) did, lest there befall them what befell them of hunger and fear. This is supported by the fact that the "fear" mentioned in the verse refers to the expeditions and raiding parties that the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) used to send, according to the statement of all commentators, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not commanded to fight while he was in Mecca; he was only commanded to do so while he was in Medina. Thus, he (may God bless him and grant him peace) would send expeditions to Mecca, frightening them with that while he was in Medina. The intended "punishment" is what befell them of hunger and fear, and this is more appropriate than intending it as the slaughter at Badr.

It is apparent that His saying—Exalted be He—"And there certainly came to them," etc., in his view—as it is in the view of the majority—is a shift from using them as a parable to explicitly stating their condition, which is included within it; it is not a continuation of it, for that—as it is said—is contrary to what is immediately understood by the mind. Yes, the claim that the prohibition later is for the believers is extremely far-fetched, and making it for the disbelievers while making the preceding command for the believers is also far-fetched, but less so than the former.

Abu Hayyan claimed that the manifest meaning is that the address of prohibition, like the address of command, is for all those who are legally responsible. The view that the prohibition is for them was reported from al-'Askari, and that it is for the disbelievers from al-Zamakhshari, Ibn 'Atiyyah, and the majority. Perhaps the most appropriate is what the Shaykh al-Islam mentioned, except that constraining the punishment to the "annihilating" one, and the claim that the state of the people of Mecca is like the state of that village—exactly, without any difference even in a single trait—is not free from objection, given that the people of Mecca were not annihilated. Ponder this, and God—Exalted be He—will take charge of your guidance.

"If you are indeed His worshippers" (114): [meaning] you obey Him, or if your claim is true that you intend by worshipping idols to worship Him—Glory be to Him. As for those who said the address is to the believers, they left this upon its literal meaning, i.e., "If you single Him—Exalted be He—out for worship," and the speech is uttered in the form of incitement.