An-Nahl: ( 81 ) And Allah has made for you . . . . .

And Allah has made for you, from what He has created, shadows—things you find shade under from the clouds, trees, mountains, and others. This is what the apparent meaning dictates, and it has been narrated from Qatadah, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and Mujahid that it is limited to clouds. From Al-Zajjaj and Qatadah, it is also narrated that it is limited to trees. From Ibn Qutaybah, it is limited to trees and mountains. Perhaps all of these are examples provided by their respective authors. From Al-Sa’ib, it is said that the intended meaning is the shadows of houses, which is as you see, and it is attributed to Him (Glorified be He) because those lands were overwhelmingly hot.

And He has made for you, from the mountains, shelters—places where you dwell for protection, such as caves and the like. The singular is kinn, and its root is "covering" from akannahu and kannahu, meaning he covered it. It is pluralized as aknan and akinnah.

And He has made for you garments—the plural of sirbal, which is anything that is worn. That is, He made for you clothing of cotton, linen, wool, and others.

That protect you from heat—He singled out heat for mention, as Al-Mubarrad said, as a sufficiency of mentioning one of two opposites in place of the other, namely the cold. He did not single out cold for mention because, for them, protection from heat was more important, as previously mentioned. Some said: "From the rays of the sun." Heat was singled out because protection from it is more important. The claim of importance was challenged by the fact that it is rendered remote by the previous mention of protection from cold in His saying (Exalted be He): "In them, you have warmth." Then it was said: This is the reason for limiting it to heat here, because of the prior mention of its opposite there.

It was objected that we do not concede that the establishment of "warmth" there renders the claim of importance remote; rather, the difference in the two styles indicates this importance. Al-Zajjaj said: Heat was singled out because that which protects from heat also protects from cold. Al-Zamakhshari mentioned this after mentioning the importance, and he said in Al-Kashf: "It is the [correct] view, and the singling out of heat for mention is due to what he preceded with in the first view," meaning the importance. As for what was said regarding the priority of the former due to His saying (Exalted be He): "from what He has created, shadows," it is of no substance, because He (Glorified be He) followed it with His saying: "from the mountains, shelters." Moreover, it is in a context of comprehensiveness. The author of that opinion is Ibn al-Munir. He also challenged the statement that "what protects from heat protects from cold," arguing that this is contrary to what is known. What is known is that protection from heat is through thin and fine shirts, and protection from cold is the opposite. If a person were to wear the clothing of one season during the other—the scorching heat or the winter—they would be considered foolish. So contemplate this.

And garments—from breastplates and armor.

That protect you from your violence—meaning the violence that reaches one from another in war, such as striking and stabbing. Some said: The root of ba's (violence) is intensity, and here "war" is intended, and the speech contains an elliptical genitive, meaning "the harm of your violence." According to the first view, there is no need for this. This has been deemed more likely.

Thus—meaning, like that perfection of grace in the past—does He perfect His grace upon you in the future. From this, it is said: Just as Allah was benevolent in the past, so He is benevolent in what remains, or: "Like this thorough perfection, He perfects His grace upon you." The singular "grace" is used either because the intended meaning is the verbal noun (genericity), or because that, in relation to the side of Majesty, is a small thing. Ibn Abbas recited tatimmu with an open ta (feminine), and ni'matuhu in the nominative case as the agent, with the attribution of "perfection" to it being metaphorical. Also from him (may Allah be pleased with them both) is ni'amuhu in the plural form.

So that you may submit—meaning the desire that you look at the graces He has showered upon you, so you recognize the right of their Bestower, believe in Him (Exalted be He) alone, and forsake what you used to associate with Him. This is based on the idea that "Islam" in its known sense is synonymous with "Faith." It is also possible that it is in its linguistic sense, which is submission and compliance, meaning: so that you may submit to Him (Glorified be He) and comply with His command (Mighty and Majestic is He). In any case, it is placed in the position of its cause, as was indicated.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) recited taslamun with a fatha on the ta and the lam, from salamah (safety), meaning: so that you may be thankful, and thus be safe from punishment; or you look into them, and thus be safe from polytheism. It is said: you are safe from wounds by wearing those garments. There is no harm in interpreting this as safety from afflictions in general, so as to include the affliction of heat and cold. The second interpretation is closer to the meaning of the majority's recitation.

Regarding this, in some reports, a Bedouin heard His saying (Exalted be He): "And Allah has made for you, from your houses, a place of rest," until the end of the two verses. He said upon every grace: "O Allah, yes." When he heard His saying (Glorified be He): "So that you may submit," he said: "O Allah, this [submission]—no." Then it was revealed...