16:82 An-Nahl (The Bee)

تفسير الآيتين 82 و83 :ـ { فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا } عن الله وعن طاعته بعد ما ذُكِّروا بنعمه وآياته، { فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ } أي: ليس عليك من هدايتهم وتوفيقهم شيء بل أنت مطالب بالوعظ والتذكير والإنذار والتحذير، فإذا أديت ما عليك، فحسابهم على الله فإنهم يرون الإحسان، ويعرفون نعمة الله، ولكنهم ينكرونها ويجحدونها، { وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ } لا خير فيهم، وما ينفعهم توالي الآيات، لفساد مشاعرهم وسوء قصودهم وسيرون جزاء الله لكل جبار عنيد كفور للنعم متمرد على الله وعلى رسله.

وقوله "فإن تولوا" أي بعد هذا البيان وهذا الامتنان فلا عليك منهم "فإنما عليك البلاغ المبين" وقد أديته إليهم.

Homes, Furnishings and Clothing are also Blessings from Allah

Allah mentions His great blessings for His servant in that He has given them homes to dwell in and protect themselves with, in which they find all kinds of benefits. He has also given them homes from the hides of cattle, i.e., leather, which are light and easy to carry on journeys and can be erected wherever they stop, whether they are traveling or are settled. Thus Allah says:

تَسْتَخِفُّونَهَا يَوْمَ ظَعْنِكُمْ وَيَوْمَ إِقَـمَتِكُمْ

(which you find so light when you travel and when you camp;)

وَمِنْ أَصْوَافِهَا وَأَوْبَارِهَا وَأَشْعَارِهَآ

(out of their wool, fur and hair) refers to sheep, camels and goats respectively.

أَثَـثاً

(furnishings) meaning what you take from them, i.e., wealth. It was also said that it means articles of convenience, or clothing. The correct view is more general in meaning than this; it means that you make carpets, clothing and other things from their wool, hair etc., which you use as wealth and for trade. Ibn `Abbas said: `Al-Athath means articles of convenience and comfort." This was also the view of Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, `Atiyah Al-`Awfi, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah. The phrase,

إِلَى حِينٍ

(for a while) means, until the appointed time.

Shade, Places of Refuge in the Mountains, Garments and Coats of Mail are also Blessings from Allah

وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّمَّا خَلَقَ ظِلَـلاً

(And Allah has made shade for you out of that which He has created,) Qatadah said: "This means trees."

وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْجِبَالِ أَكْنَـناً

(and He has made places of refuge in the mountains for you,) meaning fortresses and strongholds.

جَعَلَ لَكُمُسَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ

(and He has made garments for you to protect you from the heat,) meaning clothing of cotton, linen and wool.

وَسَرَبِيلَ تَقِيكُم بَأْسَكُمْ

(and coats of mail to protect you from your violence.) such as shields made of layers of sheet iron, coats of mail and so on.

كَذَلِكَ يُتِمُّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ

(Thus does He perfect His favor for you,) meaning, thus He gives you what you need to go about your business, so that this will help you to worship and obey Him.

لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْلِمُونَ

(that you may submit yourselves to His will). This is interpreted by the majority to mean submitting to Allah or becoming Muslim.

All the Messenger has to do is convey the Message

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ

(Then, if they turn away,) meaning, after this declaration and reminder, do not worry about them.

فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ الْمُبِينُ

(your duty (O Muhammad) is only to convey (the Message) in a clear way), and you have delivered the Message to them.

يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنكِرُونَهَا

(They recognize the grace of Allah, yet they deny it) meaning they know that Allah is the One Who grants these blessings to them, and that He is Bountiful towards them, but they still deny this by worshipping others besides Him and thinking that their help and provisions come from others besides Him.

وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْكَـفِرُونَ

(and most of them are disbelievers.)

وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا ثُمَّ لاَ يُؤْذَنُ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَلاَ هُمْ يُسْتَعْتَبُونَ

وَإِذَا رَأى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ الْعَذَابَ فَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يُنظَرُونَ- وَإِذَا رَءا الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ شُرَكَآءهُمْ قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا هَـؤُلآء شُرَكَآؤُنَا الَّذِينَ كُنَّا نَدْعُوْا مِن دُونِكَ فَألْقَوْا إِلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلَ إِنَّكُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ- وَأَلْقَوْاْ إِلَى اللَّهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ السَّلَمَ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ-

But if they turn away if they reject Islam your duty O Muhammad (s) is only to convey the Message plainly — this was revealed before the command to fight the disbelievers.

Finally, a note about the statement: سَرَ‌ابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ‌ (shirts which protect you from heat - 81). Here, protection from heat has been identified as the purpose of a shirt - though, a shirt protects one from heat and cold both. This has been answered by Imam Al-Qurtubi and other commentators by saying that the Holy Qur’ an has been revealed in the Arabic language, its first addressees are Arabs, therefore, it speaks by taking Arab habits and needs into account. Arabia is a hot country where the very thought of snow and winter chill is far-fetched, therefore, the statement was left with the mention of protection from heat as being sufficient. Yet another explanation for this has been given by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi in Bayan al-Qur’ an by saying that in the beginning of this Surah, the Qur’ an had already said: لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ (and for you, there is provision against cold in them - 16:5). Thus, it was in view of this earlier mention of beating cold and having warmth that only protection from heat has been mentioned here.