Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:56-60

Surah An-Nahl (16:56-60)

And they assign to that which they do not know a portion...

Know that when the Almighty established clear proofs demonstrating the falsehood of the statements of the polytheists and those who liken others to Him, He then detailed their erroneous sayings and exposed their foolishness in this verse.

The first category of their corrupt statements is: "And they assign to that which they do not know a portion." (وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ نَصِيبًا)

There are two opinions regarding the pronoun in "that which they do not know" (لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ):

1. It refers to the polytheists mentioned in the preceding verse (إِذَا فُزِّقَ مِنْكُمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ يُشْرِكُونَ). The meaning is that the polytheists themselves do not possess knowledge.
2. It refers to the idols. The idols do not know what their worshippers do.

Arguments favoring the first opinion (referring to the polytheists):

• Attributing knowledge (or lack thereof) to a living being is literal, whereas attributing it to an inanimate object is figurative.
• The pronoun in "And they assign" (وَيَجْعَلُونَ) refers to the polytheists, so the pronoun in لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ must also refer to them.
• The phrase لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ is plural (with the waw and nun), which is more fitting for rational beings (humans) than for inanimate idols.

Arguments favoring the second opinion (referring to the idols):

• If we say it refers to the polytheists, we require an implied object (e.g., "They assign a portion to that which they do not know to be a god," or "that which they do not know to be beneficial or harmful").
• If it refers to the idols, no implication is needed; the meaning is "They assign a portion to that which has no knowledge or understanding."
• If the knowledge were attributed to the polytheists, the meaning would be flawed, as it is absurd for them to assign a portion of their sustenance to something they do not know.

Further elaboration on the first opinion (if referring to the polytheists): This interpretation also requires implication, which can be understood in several ways:

1. They assign a portion to that which they do not know has a right over them, nor do they know any benefit in obeying it or harm in turning away from it. Mujahid said: They know that God created them and benefits/harms them, yet they assign a portion to that which they do not know benefits or harms them.
2. They assign divinity (إِلَهِيَّتَهَا) to that which they do not know.
3. They assign the reason for their worship to that which they do not know.
4. It is meant to belittle the idols, suggesting they are so insignificant that they are as if they do not know.

There are several interpretations for the meaning of "portion":

1. They assigned a portion of their crops and livestock to God (as offerings to draw near to Him), and a portion to the idols (as offerings to draw near to them). This was explained at the end of Surah Al-An'am.
2. The portion refers to the specific categories of sacrificial animals: the Bahirah, the Sa'ibah, the Wasilah, and the Ham (as stated by Al-Hasan).
3. They might have believed that certain outcomes were achieved only through the assistance of some of those idols, similar to how astrologers divide the world's elements among the seven planets, assigning certain minerals, plants, and animals to Saturn, and others to Jupiter.

When the Almighty recounted this doctrine of the polytheists, He said: "By God, you will surely be questioned." (تَاللهِ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ)

This serves as a severe warning directed specifically at these people, akin to His statement: "By your Lord, We will surely question them all about what they used to do" [Al-Hijr: 92]. In either case, God swears by Himself that He will question them. This is a severe threat, as the questioning will be one of reprimand and admonition.

Regarding the timing of this questioning, there are two possibilities:

1. It occurs near death, upon witnessing the angels of punishment, or perhaps in the grave.
2. It occurs in the Hereafter. This is more likely, as God has already informed us of the various forms of reprimand that occur there during questioning, bringing it closer to a threat of punishment.

The second category of their corrupt statements is: "And they assign to God the daughters." (وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ الْبَنَاتِ)

This is similar to His statement: "And they have designated for God the angels, who are His servants, as females" [Az-Zukhruf: 19]. The tribes of Khuza'ah and Kinanah used to say that the angels were the daughters of God.

I believe the Arabs used the term "daughters" because the angels, being hidden from sight, resembled women in their concealment. Furthermore, the disc of the sun, due to its dazzling light and overwhelming brilliance, is hidden from the eyes, so they attributed femininity to it. This is what seems most likely regarding the reason for their adoption of this corrupt opinion and false doctrine.

When God recounted this saying, He stated: "Exalted is He!" (سُبْحَانَهُ) This contains several meanings:

1. It means to purify His Essence from the attribution of having offspring.
2. It expresses the astonishment of creation at this ugly ignorance—describing the angels as female and then attributing them as offspring to God Almighty.
3. Some commentators interpret it as "God forbid" (مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ), which is close to the first meaning.

Then the Almighty said: "And for them is what they desire." (وَلَهُمْ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ)

Al-Farra' allowed two possibilities for the word mā (مَا):

1. It is in the accusative case (mansub), meaning: "And they assign for themselves what they desire."
2. It is in the nominative case (marfu') as a new beginning, as if the sentence ended at سُبْحَانَهُ, and then a new sentence began: "And for them is what they desire," meaning the sons (as in "Is it for Him the daughters and for you the sons?" [At-Tur: 39]).

Al-Farra' preferred the second option, arguing that if it were an object of the assignment, the phrasing would be "And for themselves what they desire" (وَلِأَنْفُسِهِمْ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ), because one says, "I assigned such-and-such for myself," not "I assigned to myself."

Al-Zajjaj rejected the first possibility, stating that mā must be in the nominative case only. The meaning is: "And for them is the thing they desire." He argued that the accusative case is impermissible because Arabs say, "He assigned for himself what he desires," but not, "He assigned to him what he desires," when referring to himself.

Then, the Almighty mentioned that one of these polytheists would not be pleased with a female child for himself, so how could he attribute to the Lord of the Universe what he would not accept for himself? He said: "And when one of them is given news of a female, his face darkens, and he becomes suppressed (grief-stricken)." (وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُمْ بِالْأُنْثَى ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ)

In linguistic usage, tabshīr (giving good news) is usually restricted to joyful tidings. However, based on the root meaning, it refers to any news that causes a change in the facial complexion. Since joy causes such a change, so does sorrow. Therefore, the word tabshīr must be literally applicable to both cases. This is confirmed by the verse: "Then give them tidings of a painful punishment" [Al 'Imran: 21]. Some say tabshīr here simply means "to be informed," but the first view is more accurate.

Regarding "his face darkens" (ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا), it means his appearance changes due to distress. It is said of someone who suffers an unpleasant event that his face has darkened from grief and sorrow.

The darkening of the face is a metaphor for grief because when a person's joy is strong, his chest expands, and the spirit of his heart flows outward to the extremities, especially the face, due to their strong connection. When the spirit reaches the surface of the face, the face brightens, shines, and illuminates. Conversely, when a person's grief is intense, the spirit is contained within the heart, leaving little effect on the face's surface. Consequently, the face becomes dull, yellowed, or darkened, showing the effects of earthiness and density. Thus, the illumination and brightness of the face are necessary consequences of joy, and the dullness, dustiness, and darkness of the face are necessary consequences of grief and aversion. For this reason, God said: "his face darkens, and he becomes suppressed (grief-stricken)" (وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ), meaning filled with sorrow and grief.

Then the Almighty said: "He hides himself from the people because of the bad news." (يَتَوَارَى مِنَ الْقَوْمِ مِنْ سُوءٍ)

This means he conceals himself from the people due to the bad news he received. Commentators explained that in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), when a man saw signs of labor in his wife, he would hide himself from the people until he knew what was born. If it was a male, he rejoiced; if it was a female, he grieved and would not appear before the people for days to decide what to do with her: "Will he keep her in humiliation or bury her in the earth?" (أَيُمْسِكُهَا عَلَى هُونٍ أَمْ يَدُسُّهَا فِي التُّرَابِ)

• "Will he keep her" (أَيُمْسِكُهَا): Imsak here means to detain or hold, as in "Keep your wife to yourself" [Al-Ahzab: 37]. The pronoun is masculine because it refers back to the implied subject of "what he was given news of" (بِالَّذِي بُشِّرَ بِهِ).
• "in humiliation" (عَلَى هُونٍ): Hawn means contempt or disgrace. Al-Nuḍr ibn Shumayl said it means "it is easier for him in disgrace and contempt." Hawn and Hawan are synonymous. We mentioned this in Surah Al-An'am regarding the "punishment of disgrace" (عَذَابِ الْهُونِ).
  • As for whose quality hawn is, there are two views:
    1. It is a quality of the newborn girl, meaning he keeps her while enduring humiliation for her.
    2. According to 'Ata from Ibn 'Abbas, it is a quality of the father, meaning he keeps her while accepting the humiliation upon himself and against his will.

Then He said: "Or bury her in the earth." (أَمْ يَدُسُّهَا فِي التُّرَابِ) Dass means to hide something within something else.

It is narrated that the Arabs would dig a small pit and place the infant girl inside until she died. It is narrated that Qays ibn 'Asim said to the Prophet (PBUH): "O Messenger of God, I have not felt the sweetness of Islam since I embraced it. I had eight daughters in the Jahiliyyah, and I buried them." The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Free a slave for each one of them." He said, "O Prophet of God, I own camels." He replied, "Offer a sacrifice for each one of them."

It is also narrated that a man said: "O Messenger of God, I have not found the sweetness of Islam since I became Muslim. I had a daughter in the Jahiliyyah. I ordered my wife to adorn her, and I took her out to a deep valley and threw her in. She cried out, 'Father, you are killing me!' Whenever I recall her words, nothing benefits me." The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Whatever was done in the Jahiliyyah is erased by Islam, and whatever was done in Islam is erased by seeking forgiveness."

Know that they differed in how they killed their daughters: some dug a pit and buried her until she died; some threw her from a high mountain; some drowned her; and some slaughtered her. They did this sometimes out of jealousy and tribal honor, and sometimes out of fear of poverty and the burden of maintenance costs.

Then He said: "Unquestionably, evil is what they judge." (أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ)

This is because they reached the utmost extreme in aversion to having a daughter:

1. Their face darkens.
2. They hide themselves from the people due to their revulsion toward the girl.
3. A child is naturally beloved, yet due to their intense aversion, they resort to killing her. This indicates that their aversion and disdain for a daughter reached a point that could not be exceeded.

If this is established, how fitting is it for an intelligent person to attribute to the Holy, Exalted God—who is transcendent above resembling any creature—something that reaches such a great level of aversion? A similar verse is His statement: "Is it for you the males and for Him the females? That then is an unjust division!" [An-Najm: 22].

The Judge (Al-Qadi) said: This verse proves the falsehood of their claims because they attribute to God what, if attributed to any one of them, would cause them to exert themselves to disassociate from it and flee from it. Their judgment in this matter resembles the judgment of these polytheists, but it is worse, because attributing daughters to God is attributing one type of ugliness, whereas attributing all ugliness and obscenities to God is more severe.

We respond to the Judge: Since the impossibility of God having a consort or offspring has been established by definitive proof, God followed it up by mentioning this persuasive argument. Otherwise, not everything considered ugly by custom is ugly when attributed to God. Do you not see that a man adorns his female and male slaves, perfects their appearance, intensifies desire for them, then brings them together and removes all barriers? This is unanimously considered good when done by God, but ugly when done by any creature. Thus, we know that reliance on these arguments based on custom is not absolute; hence, strengthening them with these persuasive arguments is appropriate.

As for the actions of the servants, it has been established by certain and conclusive proofs that God is the Creator of those actions. How can one possibly equate these two categories unless due to extreme fanaticism? And God knows best.

Then the Almighty said: "For those who do not believe in the Hereafter is the worst description, and for God is the highest description." (لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ الْمَثَلُ السَّوْءُ وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَى)

• "The worst description" (الْمَثَلُ السَّوْءُ): This refers to the bad attribute, which is their need for a son and their hatred of females due to fear of poverty and disgrace.
• "And for God is the highest description" (وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَى): This refers to the sublime, pure attribute, which is His transcendence above having offspring.

If it is asked: How can the verse state "for God is the highest description" (وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَى) when God also said, "So do not strike for God [even] the examples" (فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ) [An-Nahl: 74]?

We reply: The example (or description) that God mentions is true and factual, whereas the example mentioned by others is false. And God knows best.

[Verse 61]

And if God were to impose punishment upon the people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon it any moving creature. But He gives them respite until a specified term. And when their term comes, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].

And they assign to God what they detest, and their tongues describe the falsehood that they will have the best [outcome]. No doubt that for them will be the Fire, and they will not be hastened.

And We have not sent down the Book to you except to clarify for them that over which they differed, and as guidance and mercy for a people who believe.