Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:97

"(Whoever does righteousness)"—meaning, any righteous work, of any kind. This, as has been said, is a commencement in inciting all believers toward every righteous deed, following the encouragement of a specific group among them to remain steadfast in the specific righteous deeds they already possess, in order to repel the false assumption that the ample reward is exclusive to them alone.

His saying, the Almighty: "(...from male or female)" is a refutation of the misconception that "(whoever)" is restricted to males due to its prominence in the literal wording of "(whoever)" (man), for it is masculine and its pronoun returns to it, even though it covers both types by convention according to the more correct view. This is evidenced by what al-Tirmidhi narrated from the words of the Prophet (ﷺ): "Whoever lets his garment trail out of pride, Allah, the Almighty, will not look at him." And the statement of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her): "So what should the women do with their hems?"—the rest of the Hadith. For Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) understood the inclusion of women in the term "(whoever)," and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) approved her in that. It is also evidenced by the consensus that if one were to say: "Whoever enters my house is free," and the female slaves entered it, they would be emancipated. Some also use this verse as evidence, for if it did not include the female by convention, it would not be valid to clarify it by mentioning both types.

In al-Kashshaf, it is stated: The apparent meaning is its application to males, as females are not included in most legal rulings and dialogues, even if the application is achieved through generalization and the dominance of the masculine. However, when the intent was to explicitly stipulate it so it would be more desirable for both groups, and to be a definitive text regarding their inclusion, it was clarified by mentioning both types. The more correct view is that the application does not require [the principle of] dominance. The full discussion of this is in the books of Usul (legal theory).

His saying, the Almighty: "(...while he is a believer)" is in the position of a state (hal) from the doer of "(does)." It is qualified as such, for there is no consideration for the righteous deeds of disbelievers in deserving reward, by consensus. There is a difference of opinion regarding whether a mitigation of punishment results from them. Some said: It does not result, because of His saying: "And when those who have wronged see the punishment, it will not be lightened for them," and His saying: "And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them scattered dust."

The Imam (al-Razi) said: The benefit of a righteous deed in mitigating punishment is not conditional upon faith, due to His saying: "So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it," and the Hadith about Abu Talib, that he is the lightest of people in punishment due to his love for and protection of the Prophet (ﷺ). In al-Bahr, it is stated that His saying: "So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it" is restricted by this verse and others like it, or that "an atom’s weight" refers to an atom’s weight of faith, as has been mentioned regarding those who emerge from the Fire among the sinful believers. al-Kirmani said: The mitigation of punishment for Abu Talib is not a reward for his deed, but rather it is for the hope of another, or it is from the unique characteristics of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Some said: Faith is a condition for the mitigation to result from righteous deeds if they are among those whose validity depends on an intention which is not valid from a disbeliever, but it is not a condition for the result if they are not of that nature. The full discussion on this matter will follow, if Allah the Almighty wills.

The preference for the nominal sentence is to indicate the necessity of the persistence of faith and its accompaniment to righteous deeds in the consequence of His saying: "(...We will surely cause him to live a good life)..." The "good life" is intended to be the life that occurs in Paradise, for there is life without death, wealth without poverty, health without illness, kingdom without destruction, and happiness without misery. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others narrated from al-Hasan, who said: "Life is not good for anyone except in Paradise." Something similar was narrated from Mujahid, Qatadah, and Ibn Zayd. Allah the Almighty has refuted those who say: "There is no goodness in living as long as it is marred by the reminders of death and old age." Shurayk said: It is a life that occurs in the Barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), for it has come that the grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of the Fire.

Many others said: It is in this world, and it refers to a life accompanied by contentment and satisfaction with what Allah the Almighty has apportioned and ordained for him. Al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab, al-Hakim (who authenticated it), Ibn Abi Hatim, and others narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he interpreted it as such, and said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate: 'O Allah, make me content with what You have provided for me, bless me in it, and replace for me everything I have lost with something better.'" It has also been said: "Contentment is an inexhaustible treasure."

Abu Bakr al-Warraq said: It is a life accompanied by the sweetness of obedience. Abd al-Razzaq and others narrated from Ibn Abbas that he was asked about this, and he said: "The good life is lawful sustenance." This was also narrated from al-Dahhak. Some explained the goodness of this life as being that no punishment results from it, unlike a life supported by unlawful sustenance, for it has come: "Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten wealth, the Fire is more appropriate for it." And this is as you see. Other things were also said.

The most appropriate of these views, assuming it refers to this world, is interpreting it as that which is accompanied by contentment. Al-Wahidi said: "Interpreting it as such is good and preferred, for life in this world is not good except for the life of the contented one; as for the greedy one, he is forever in toil and misery." The Imam said: "The life of the believer in this world is better than the life of the disbeliever for several reasons:

1. Since he knows that his sustenance is obtained through the management of Allah, and that He (Glory be to Him) is a Benevolent Giver who does nothing but what is right, he is satisfied with everything He has decreed and ordained, knowing that his welfare lies therein. As for the ignorant one, he does not know these principles, so he is forever in sadness and misery.
2. The believer always keeps in his mind the types of calamities and afflictions, anticipates their occurrence, and finds himself satisfied with that; thus, when they occur, he does not regard them as overwhelming. Unlike the ignorant one, who is heedless of such insights, so when calamities occur, their impact on his heart is profound.
3. The believer is expanded by the light of the knowledge of Allah, and when the heart is filled with knowledge, it has no room for the sorrows that occur due to worldly conditions. As for the ignorant one, his heart is empty of knowledge, making it a vessel for the sorrows of worldly calamities.
4. The believer knows that the pleasures of physical life are base, so his joy at finding them is not great, nor is his grief at losing them. The ignorant one does not know any other happiness, so his joy at finding them and his grief at losing them are great.
5. The believer knows that the pleasures of this world are necessarily changeable and quick to vanish—and were it not for their change and turnover, they would not have reached him. Thus, when they reach him, his heart is not attached to them, nor does he embrace them with the embrace of a lover, so their loss does not grieve him. The ignorant one is the opposite."

This discussion has room for further analysis. It was objected to this preferred interpretation that some of those who do righteous deeds while being believers are not granted contentment, but are rather afflicted with poverty. It was answered that the "believer" intended is one whose faith is perfected, or it is said: "The meaning of whoever does righteousness is whoever has made all his deeds righteous."

Al-Baydawi said in explaining the consequence of his causing him to live a good life: "If he is poor, it is apparent; and if he is wealthy, his life is made good through contentment and satisfaction with the apportionment, and the anticipation of the great reward in the Hereafter—meaning, upon the frustration of some of his desires and the straits of his living." Al-Khafaji stated: "These matters must have some existence in the believer. The last one, meaning the anticipation of the reward in the Hereafter, is universal and inclusive of every believer; thus, it cannot be objected that this is not found in everyone who does righteous deeds, requiring one to interpret the believer as one whose faith is perfected, to the end of what you heard."

It was countered that contentment is satisfaction with the apportionment, as in al-Qamus and others, and the anticipation of great reward cannot exist without it. And how can reward be obtained for the frustration of desire and the straits of living while there is panic and lack of satisfaction? His wording is apparent regarding the realization of this anticipation even if there were no contentment and satisfaction, yet this barely occurs from a knowledgeable believer. Thus, the interpretation is necessary.

Some also analyzed this by stating that perfection of faith cannot exist without satisfaction, and likewise, all deeds being righteous cannot exist without it, because deeds include those of the heart and the limbs, and satisfaction is of the first type. The meaning of "(We will surely cause him to live a good life)" is "We will grant him that which makes his life good." The meaning of the verse then, assuming the intent is contentment and satisfaction, is: "Whoever is satisfied with the apportionment and does such and such, while he is a believer—or whoever does righteous deeds while he is satisfied with the apportionment, characterized by such and such from what constitutes perfect faith—then We will grant him satisfaction with the apportionment, through which his life becomes good." This implies: "Whoever is satisfied with the apportionment, then We will grant him satisfaction with the apportionment, through which his life becomes good." This is as you see, and it contains what is not hidden.

Indeed, interpreting the "good life" as that which is in Paradise is safe from this back-and-forth. It is intended to be that which is safe from the assumption of death, old age, and the arrival of pain and illness. Thus, His saying, the Almighty: "(...We will surely cause him to live a good life)" is an indication of warding off evils, and His saying, Glory be to Him: "(...and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do)" is an indication of attaining benefits. Because the first is more important, it was mentioned first—let it be contemplated. It is as if the meaning is: "And We will surely reward them," etc., according to what is done with the patient ones. There is no trace of repetition in the verse, as al-Tabrisi claimed.

The plural in the pronouns returning to the subject is to observe the meaning, just as the singular in what preceded was to observe the wording. The preference for this over the reverse is based on the fact that causing him to live a good life is in the world, and the reward is in the Hereafter; because the occurrence of the reward is through methods of gathering, which is appropriate for the plural, while the occurrence of that which is in the status of the silah (relative clause) and what results from it is through methods of separation and succession, which is appropriate for the singular. It was said: Based on it being in the Hereafter, the plural and singular are for what preceded, and likewise the preference for this over the reverse except for the pronoun of "We will cause him to live." Regarding its pronoun, it is because causing him to live a good life, in the sense of being safe from the aforementioned, is one thing for all, in which the people of Paradise do not differ; thus, they are as if they were one thing in that. Since the reward is not like that, and the people of Paradise differ therein, the plural pronoun was used with it—so contemplate all of this.

It was narrated from Nafi' that he recited "wa-la-yujziyannahum" (and He will surely reward them) with the 'ya', shifting from the first-person to the third-person. Abu Hayyan said: "It should be that this is based on the assumption of a second oath, not as a conjunction to '(We will surely cause him to live).' Thus, it would be a conjunction of two oath sentences, both of which are omitted, and it would not be a conjunction of a response to a response because of the difference in attribution, and because the second leads to the speaker informing about himself as an absent one, which is not permitted. Based on this, it is not allowed to say: 'Zayd said, I will surely beat Hind or he will surely exile her'—intending: 'Zayd will surely exile her.' But if you make it based on the assumption of a second oath, it is allowed, meaning: 'And Zayd said, he will surely exile her,' because you have in this structure the reporting of the meaning and the reporting of the wording." From the second is: "(And they will surely swear: We intended nothing but good)." From the first is: "(They swear by Allah that they did not say it)." If he reported the wording, it would be said: "What we did not say."

The verse is used as evidence that faith is distinct from righteous deeds, the distinction of a condition from that which is conditioned.