Tafsir of An-Naml 27:91

"I have only been commanded to..."

He commanded His Messenger to say: "I have been commanded" to single out Allah alone for worship, and not to take any partner for Him—as the Quraysh have done—and to be among the Hunafa’ (the upright), steadfast upon the religion of Islam.

"And that I recite the Qur’an": Derived from tilawah (recitation) or tulu (following), as in His saying: "And follow what is revealed to you" (Yunus: 109; Al-Ahzab: 2).

"The City": This is Makkah—may Allah Almighty protect it. He singled it out from all other lands by attributing its sanctity to Himself, for it is the most beloved of His lands to Him, the most honored by Him, and the greatest in His sight. Thus said the Prophet (ﷺ) when he departed for his migration; when he reached Al-Hazwarah, he turned his noble face toward it and said: "I know that you are the most beloved of Allah’s lands to Allah. Had your people not driven me out, I would not have left."

He pointed to it with a gesture of veneration and closeness, indicating that it is the home of His Prophet and the place where His revelation descended. He described it with "sanctity" (tahrim), which is its unique attribute, thereby magnifying its portion of honor and loftiness. He described it as sacred, such that its sanctity is not violated except by a wrongdoer who opposes his Lord: "And whoever intends therein a deviation with injustice, We will make him taste a painful punishment" (Al-Hajj: 25). Its grass is not to be cut, its trees are not to be felled, and its game is not to be startled. The one who seeks refuge in it is safe.

He made the entry of all things under His Lordship and Sovereignty like a subordinate to its entry under them. In this is an indication that a King who possesses a city of such great status has possessed it and possessed everything through it. O Allah, bless us in our dwelling there, secure us in it from the evil of every evil-doer, and do not move us from the vicinity of Your House except to the abode of Your mercy.

It is recited: "The One who has sanctified it." And: "And that I recite" (in the reading of Ibn Mas'ud).

"So whoever is guided": By following me in what I am engaged in—the Oneness of Allah, the negation of rivals to Him, entering the Hanifi religion, and following the revelation sent down to me—then the benefit of his guidance returns to him, not to me.

"And whoever goes astray": And does not follow me, then it is not against me. I am only a warner-messenger, and the messenger has no duty but to convey.

Then He commanded him to praise Allah for the blessing of Prophethood He bestowed upon him—a blessing to which no other is equal—and to threaten his enemies with the signs Allah will show them, which will compel them to recognize and acknowledge that they are the signs of Allah. This will be at a time when recognition will not benefit them—meaning in the Hereafter.

According to Al-Hasan and Al-Kalbi, this refers to the Smoke and the Splitting of the Moon, and the vengeances of Allah that befell them in this world. It is also said: It is like His saying, "We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves" (Fussilat: 53).

"And Allah is not unaware of what you do": Every deed they perform, Allah is aware of it and not heedless of it, for heedlessness and forgetfulness are impossible for the One who is All-Knowing by His Essence, and He is beyond the reach of the worlds. It is recited as "what you (plural) do" and "what they (plural) do."

From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Whoever recites Ta-Sin (Surah An-Naml) of Sulayman, he shall have ten rewards for every person who believed in Sulayman or denied him, and [likewise for] Hud, Shu'ayb, Salih, and Ibrahim. He shall emerge from his grave calling out: 'There is no god but Allah.'"