Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:101

Surah An-Nahl 16:101

ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ

And when We substitute a verse in place of a verse - and Allah is most knowing of what He sends down - they say, "You, [O Muhammad], are but an inventor [of lies]." But most of them do not know.

Tafsir

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Verse range: 16:101

Open in Qurani

The Idolators' Accusation that the Prophet was a Liar since some Ayat were abrogated, and the Refutation of their Claim Allah says:

وإذا بدلنا آية مكان آية والله أعلم بما ينزل قالوا

And when We change a verse in place of another - and Allah knows best what He reveals - they (the disbelievers) say: "You (O Muhammad) are but a forger.'' Allah tells us of the weak minds of the idolators, and their lack of faith and conviction. He explains that it is impossible for them to have faith when He has decreed that they are doomed. When they saw that some rulings had been changed by being abrogated, they said to the Messenger of Allah:

إنما أنت مفتر

You are but a forger, meaning one who tells lies. But Allah is the Lord Who does whatever He wills, and rules as He wants.

بل أكثرهم ﻻ يعلمون

Rather, most of them know not.

بدلنا آية مكان آية

And when We change a verse (of the Qur'an) in place of another, Mujahid said: this means, "We remove one and put another in its place.'' Qatadah said: this is like the Ayah:

ما ننسخ من ءاية أو ننسها

Whatever verse We change (abrogate) or omit (the abrogated)...'' (2:106) Allah said, in response to them: