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An-Nahl (The Bee) Section 16 – Abraham Praised – His Faith Made An Ideal

  • Abraham praised

  • Apostle Muhammad to follow the footsteps of Abraham

  • To call mankind unto the way of the Lord with Wisdom and Gentle Exhortation

  • God is always with the pious and those who do good to others

An-Nahl (The Bee) Verses 120 – 128

إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Verily Abraham was an Imam1(leader in religion) (for the) people, devoutly obedient to God, upright, and he was not of the polytheists, (16:120)

شَاكِرًا لِأَنْعُمِهِ اجْتَبَاهُ وَهَدَاهُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

Grateful for His bounties; He (God) chose him and He guided him on the right path. (16:121)2

وَآتَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

And We gave him good in this world, and verily he in the hereafter will surely be of the righteous ones. (16:122)

ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

So We revealed unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) that thou followeth3the religion of Abraham, the upright one; and he was not of the polytheists. (16:123)

إِنَّمَا جُعِلَ السَّبْتُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

Verily the sabbath4was ordain ed only for those who differed about it; and verily thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment in what they used to differ about. (16:124)

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

And call thou unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom5and kindly exhortation and dispute6with them in the manner which is the best; Verily thy Lord knoweth better of him who hath gone astray from His path; and He knoweth best of those guided aright. (16:125)

وَإِنْ عَاقَبْتُمْ فَعَاقِبُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَئِنْ صَبَرْتُمْ لَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لِلصَّابِرِينَ

And if ye punish then punish ye as ye were afflicted; But if ye be patient, certainly it will be best for the patient7ones. (16:126)

وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا تَكُ فِي ضَيْقٍ مِمَّا يَمْكُرُونَ

And be thou patient (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) and thy patience is not but by (the help of) God, and grieve not for them; and distress not thyself at what they devise. (16:127)8

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ

Verily God is with those who guard (themselves against evil), and those who do good (to others). (16:128)

Commentary

Verse 120

Here Abraham is asserted to be an ‘Ummat’ which cannot mean but ‘Imam’, (i.e., a distinctive leading personality), because the word ‘Ummat’ is used in Qur’an to mean any distinctly distinguished group, person, point of time, point of space, to which attention is drawn. This is the justification of the interpretation of the word ‘Ummat’ as ‘Imam’ here and in the other verses of Qur’an which asserts the leading duties for ‘Ummat’ (A.P.).

Verse 125

Note the most polite way in which Islam wants a Muslim to spread the truth against such clear and the most civilized and human method of the propagation of the truth, a heavy attack on Islam and the Holy Prophet is made with the greatest blasphemy that Islam was propagated by sword which is nothing but either the betrayal of the conscience or the betrayal of the ignorance of the facts.

This verse restricts preaching to those who have attained wisdom and know the use of sermonal discourse and the best way of argument ref. to the verses given in the margin besides the Text of this Verse. The study of all these Verses shows that wisdom meant in Qur’an is something gifted by God to His apostles and His own chosen ones (of Aale-Abraheem) (the chosen issues of Abraham) or taught by the apostles or the holy ones.

In this connection the Holy Prophet said:

‘I am the City of knowledge and Ali is its Gate.’

‘I am the House of Wisdom and Ali is its Gate’. And entrusting the beginning verses of Chapter 9 to Ali, the Holy Prophet said: “None shall convey anything or preach on my behalf save myself or Ali who is mine and I am his.” (A.P.).

Verse 126

This verse gives one the right of retaliation or punishment to one who has done him wrong but Qur’an recommends patience as the best course, and further emphasises on the same in the next verse, 16:127, and explains that this tolerance should be for the sake of God, and in God’s way. (A.P.).


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