Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:41

"And those who emigrated for the sake of Allah"—that is, for His cause. Fi (for) is taken in its literal sense, implying an indication that this emigration was so encompassed by the sake of Allah that it was like a vessel containing its contents; thus, it is a metaphorical usage of a container (zarfiyyah). Alternatively, it means "for the sake of His pleasure," in which case fi indicates causality, as in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "A woman entered the Fire because of (fi) a cat."

Al-Muhajarah (emigration) fundamentally means cutting off and abandoning others. It became synonymous with leaving the Abode of Disbelief (Dar al-Kufr) for the Abode of Faith (Dar al-Iman). That is, those who emigrated from their homelands and abandoned them for the sake of Allah the Almighty and departed.

"After they were oppressed"—that is, after the oppression of the disbelievers toward them. Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Qatadah that he said: "They are the companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The people of Makkah oppressed them, so they left their homes, and groups of them joined the land of Abyssinia. Then, Allah the Almighty settled them in Medina after that, in accordance with His promise, the Glorious and Exalted, by His words: 'We will surely settle them in the world with a good place'—that is, a good dwelling place achieved for them. We shall accommodate them in the world with a good lodging. Al-Hasan said: 'a good home.' The first interpretation is more apparent because the verb (nubu’a) points to it, while the second is more consistent with His saying: '...settle in the home.' In any case, hasanatan (a good one) is an adjective for a deleted noun, in the accusative case as a circumstantial adverb (zarf). It is also permissible for it to be a second object of nubu’annahum, meaning: 'We shall surely give them a good status.' This has been interpreted as victory over the people of Makkah who oppressed them, and over the Arabs entirely. Others said: It is what remained for them in this world of praise, and the honor that accrued to their children. Mujahid said: The intended meaning is 'a good living,' i.e., good provision. Others said: It is a 'good gift,' and by gift is meant the object given; this is interpreted as everything good the emigrants attained in this world. Some estimated it as 'a good settlement,' thus making it an adjective for a deleted verbal noun. This settlement may be considered to encompass the granting of every good thing that came to the emigrants in the manner mentioned previously. In al-Bahr, it is stated that the apparent meaning is that hasanatan is in the accusative as an infinitive acting as an adjective for a non-cognate source (masdar ghayr sadir), because the meaning of nubu’annahum is 'we shall treat them well,' so hasanatan is in the sense of ihsanan (good treatment).

Under all interpretations, 'those who emigrated' is the subject (mubtada’), and the sentence 'We will surely settle them' is its predicate. Abu al-Baqa’ allowed for alladhina (those) to be in the accusative, governed by a deleted verb which the mentioned verb explains, but the first is definitive according to Abu Hayyan. He said: Therein lies evidence for the correctness of a conditional sentence serving as a predicate for a subject, contrary to Tha’lab. The view held by some investigators is that the predicate in such cases is only the response of the oath, and it is informative, not initiatory (insha’i). The second view of Abu al-Baqa’ was objected to on the grounds that the accusative by a deleted verb is not permitted except where the mentioned verb could govern that accusative, so that it might serve as an explanation. That is not the case here, as one cannot say Zaidan la-adribanna (Zaid, I will surely strike him). The prepositional phrase is connected to what precedes it, and it has been said it is connected to a deleted word serving as a state (hal) from hasanatan."

It is reported from Ibn Abbas that the verse was revealed concerning Suhayb, Bilal, Ammar, Khabbab, ‘Abis, Jubayr, and Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl. The polytheists seized them and began to torture them to force them away from Islam. As for Suhayb, he said to them: "I am an old man; if I am with you, I will not benefit you, and if I am against you, I will not harm you." So he ransomed himself from them with his wealth and emigrated. When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, he said: "The transaction has profited, O Suhayb." And Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "An excellent servant is Suhayb; even if he did not fear Allah, he would not have disobeyed Him." The majority hold to what was narrated from Qatadah. Indeed, Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "It is the authentic [report], and we have not found a reliable chain for this report from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)."

The scholar Sheikh Baha’ al-Din al-Subki, in his commentary on al-Talkhis, like other traditionists such as the Hafiz and scholar Zayn al-Din Abd al-Rahim al-‘Iraqi, his son the jurist and Hafiz Abu Zur’ah, and others, stated regarding what was attributed to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in it, saying: "Excellent servant is Suhayb..." up to the end, that we did not find it in any of the books of Hadith after intensive searching. This casts strong doubt on the authenticity of that. Yes, in al-Durr al-Manthur, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said regarding those who emigrated: "They are a people from the people of Makkah who emigrated to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) after their oppression." Then he said: "And their oppressor is polytheism." But this, in its apparent meaning, requires that he (may Allah be pleased with him) read it (dhulimu) in the passive voice.

It was objected to both reports that the Surah is Makki, except for three verses at the end, which are Madani. If the report is authentic, it necessitates either admitting that there are other Madani verses in it, or saying that "Makki" means what was revealed regarding the people of Makkah, or that this verse was not revealed in Medina, or that the "Makki" refers to what was revealed outside of it, or that this is an instance of informing about something before it occurred. All of this is, as you see, [strained]. The first view, held by the majority, is not refuted by the fact that it contradicts the famous opinion on the Surah, because the emigration to Abyssinia occurred before the emigration to Medina, so there is no obstacle to the verse being Makki in the commonly accepted sense. However, it is said that Qatadah, who said the aforementioned, also said that from this verse to the end of the Surah is Madani, which contradicts what was mentioned. Hence, some interpret what was narrated from him earlier as meaning that its revelation was between the two emigrations in Medina. It is impossible to reconcile these views at all. What should be relied upon is that the Surah is Makki, except for verses that do not include this one; rather, it is Makki, revealed between the two emigrations concerning those whom the majority mentioned. And Allah the Almighty knows best the reality of the situation.

Some said: "Those who emigrated" is general for all emigrants, whoever they may be, thus including the first and the last of them. The speaker here considered the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause, as is established among them. Ali (may Allah honor his face), Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), Nu’aym ibn Maysarah, and al-Rabi’ ibn Khuthaym recited lanutwiyannahum with a tha (th), from athwa, rendered causative with the hamza from thawa (to stay/reside). Al-Bahr states that the accusative of hasanatan is by estimating athwa’atan hasanatan (a good stay), or by removing the preposition—i.e., fi hasanatan, a good home or a good status. There is no obstacle, according to what has been said, to considering the verb to contain the meaning of "We shall give them," as indicated initially. The verse is used as evidence, according to one of the views, for the merit of Medina and the merit of the sincerity of deeds for Allah the Almighty.

"And the reward of the Hereafter"—that is, the reward for their aforementioned deeds in the Abode of the Hereafter—"is greater" than what is given to them in this world. Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab that when he gave a gift to a man from the emigrants, he would say: "Take it, may Allah the Almighty bless you with it. This is what He promised you in the world, and what He has stored for you in the Hereafter is better." Then he would read this verse. It is also said that the meaning is "greater than anyone could know before witnessing it." It is not hidden that the style of this promise differs from the previous one in terms of hyperbole.

"If they only knew"—the pronoun refers to the oppressive disbelievers; that is, if they knew that Allah the Almighty gathers for these emigrants the goodness of both abodes, they would have followed them in religion. It is also said that it refers to the emigrants: if they knew that, they would have increased in effort and would not have felt pain for what afflicted them regarding emigration and its hardships, and they would have increased in joy. In al-Ma’alim, it is said this is not permissible because the emigrants do know it. This was refuted by saying that the intended meaning is based on witnessing, and the report is not like direct seeing; or that the intended meaning is detailed knowledge. It is also allowed that the pronoun refers to those who stayed behind from emigration, meaning if those who stayed behind knew what emigration possesses of nobility, they would have followed them.