16:30 An-Nahl (The Bee)

لما ذكر الله قيل المكذبين بما أنزل الله، ذكر ما قاله المتقون، وأنهم اعترفوا وأقروا بأن ما أنزله الله نعمة عظيمة، وخير عظيم امتن الله به على العباد، فقبلوا تلك النعمة، وتلقوها بالقبول والانقياد، وشكروا الله عليها، فعلموها وعملوا لها { لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا ْ} في عبادة الله تعالى، وأحسنوا إلى عباد الله فلهم { فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً ْ} رزق واسع، وعيشه هنية، وطمأنينة قلب، وأمن وسرور. { وَلَدَارُ الْآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ ْ} من هذه الدار وما فيها من أنواع اللذات والمشتهيات، فإن هذه نعيمها قليل محشو بالآفات منقطع، بخلاف نعيم الآخرة ولهذا قال: { وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ الْمُتَّقِينَ ْ}

هذا خبر عن السعداء بخلاف ما أخبر به عن الأشقياء فإن أولئك قيل لهم "ماذا أنزل ربكم" قالوا معرضين عن الجواب لم ينزل شيئا إنما هذا أساطير الأولين وهؤلاء قالوا خيرا أي أنزل خيرا أي رحمة وبركة لمن اتبعه وآمن به ثم أخبر عما وعد الله عباده فيما أنزله على رسله فقال" للذين أحسنوا في هذه الدنيا حسنة "الآية كقوله تعالى "من عمل صالحا من ذكر أو أنثى وهو مؤمن فلنحيينه حياة طيبة ولنجزينهم أجرهم بأحسن ما كانوا يعملون" أي من أحسن عمله في الدنيا أحسن الله إليه عمله في الدنيا والآخرة ثم أخبر بأن دار الآخرة خير أي من الحياة الدنيا والجزاء فيها أتم من الجزاء في الدنيا كقوله "وقال الذين أوتوا العلم ويلكم ثواب الله خير" الآية وقال تعالى "وما عند الله خير للأبرار" وقال تعالى "والآخرة خير وأبقى" وقال لرسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم "وللآخرة خير لك من الأولى" ثم وصف الدار الآخرة فقال "ولنعم دار المتقين".

What the Pious say about the Revelation, their Reward and their Condition during and after Death

Here we are told about the blessed, as opposed to the doomed, who, when they are asked,

مَّاذَآ أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ

(What is it that your Lord has revealed) they will reluctantly answer, "He did not reveal anything, these are just the fables of old." But the blessed, on the other hand, will say, "That which is good," meaning - He revealed something good, meaning mercy and blessings for those who followed it and believed in it. Then we are told about Allah's promise to His servants which He revealed to His Messengers. He says:

لِّلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ فِى هذِهِ الْدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ

(For those who do good in this world, there is good) This is like the Ayah,

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَـلِحاً مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَوةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(Whoever works righteousness - whether male or female - while being a true believer verily, to him We will give a good life, and We shall certainly reward them in proportion to the best of what they used to do.) (16:97), which means that whoever does good in this world, Allah will reward him for his good deeds in this world and in the next. Then we are told that the home of the Hereafter will be better, i.e., better than the life of this world, and that the reward in the Hereafter will be more complete than the reward in this life, as Allah says,

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ وَيْلَكُمْ ثَوَابُ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ

(But those who were given (religious) knowledge said: "Woe to you! The reward of Allah (in the Hereafter) is better) 28:80 and,

وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِّلأَبْرَارِ

(and what is with Allah for the righteous is better.) 3:198 and;

وَالاٌّخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى

(Although the Hereafter is better and enduring) (87:17). Allah said to His Messenger :

وَلَلاٌّخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الاٍّولَى

(And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present) (93:4). Then Allah describes the abode of the Hereafter, saying,

وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ الْمُتَّقِينَ

(And excellent indeed will be the home (i.e. Paradise) of those who have Taqwa.)

جَنَّـتِ عَدْنٍ

(`Adn (Eden) Paradise (Gardens of Eternity)) refers to the home of the Muttaqun, i.e., in the Hereafter they will have Gardens of Eternity in which they will dwell forever.

تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَـرُ

(under which rivers flow) meaning, between its trees and palaces.

لَّهُمْ فِيهَا مَا يَشَآءُونَ

(in it they will have all that they wish) this is like the Ayah:

وَفِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ الاٌّنْفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ الاٌّعْيُنُ وَأَنتُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

(in it (there will be) all that souls could desire, and all that eyes could delight in, and in it you will live forever.) 43:71

كَذَلِكَ يَجْزِى اللَّهُ الْمُتَّقِينَ

(Thus Allah rewards those who have Taqwa.) meaning, this is how Allah rewards everyone who believes in Him, fears Him, and does good deeds. Then Allah tells us about their condition when death approaches them in a good state, i.e., free from Shirk, impurity and all evil. The angels greet them and give them the good news of Paradise, as Allah says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَـمُواْ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ أَلاَّ تَخَافُواْ وَلاَ تَحْزَنُواْ وَأَبْشِرُواْ بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ - نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى الاٌّخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِى أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ - نُزُلاً مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ

(Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah (alone)," and then behave righteously, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the good news of Paradise as you have been promised! We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. In it you shall have (all) that your souls desire, and in it you shall have (all) that you ask for. An entertainment from (Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.")(41:30:32) We have already referred to the Hadiths that have been reported on the taking of the soul of the believer and the soul of the disbeliever, when we discussed the Ayah,

يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى الاٌّخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّـلِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ

(Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world (i.e. they will keep on worshipping Allah Alone and none else), and in the Hereafter. And Allah will cause the wrongdoers to stray, and Allah does as He wills.) (14:27)

And it is said to those who fear idolatry ‘What has your Lord revealed?’ They will say ‘Good! For those who were virtuous by embracing faith in this world there will be a virtuous reward namely a goodly life; and truly the abode of the Hereafter that is Paradise is better than the world and all that is in it. God says the following regarding it And truly excellent is the abode of the God-fearing it the Hereafter is.

Commentary

It will be recalled that, after describing the blessings of Allah and proving that He was unique in the creation of the universe, the text made a pointed reference to how the polytheists chose to stick to their own ways of error. In the present verses, the text describes how they, not content with their own straying, tried that others should also go astray like them. The punishment they would get for doing that has also been stated here. Earlier to that (24), there is a question about the Qur’ an, and the addressees of the question, at this place, are the polytheists. It is their haughty and ignorant answer which has been mentioned here along with a warning of consequences for this attitude. Then, after five verses (30), the same question has been addressed to believers who fear Allah which is followed by their answer, and where a promise of reward for it has been mentioned.

The Holy Qur'an does not explicitly say as to who asked the question. Therefore, commentators have expressed different views in this matter. Some say that the question was asked by disbelievers. Others say that it was asked by Muslims. Still others take one question to have been asked by the polytheists while the other by Muslims. But, the Holy Qur’ an has kept it ambiguous. This is to indicate that there is no need to are as to where the question came from. What has to be seen is the answer and, more importantly, its ultimate consequence - which, the Qur’ an has it-self chosen to describe.

The essence of the answer given by the polytheists is that they simply refused to acknowledge that there was any word of Allah really revealed from Him. In fact, they dismissed the Qur'an as nothing but tales of people from early ages. Thereupon, the Qur’ an admonished those unjust people for disinforming people about the Qur'an by telling them that it was nothing but the tales of the ancient whereby they make others too go astray like them. As for the consequences, these they shall have to face. It means that the total curse of their sins has to fall on them anyway on the Day of Judgment, but part of the curse of the evil consequences of their role in misguiding others will also fall on them. Then it was said that the burden of sins which these people are piling up on their shoulders is a terribly evil burden.