Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 78

(Ayah78) ➊ {وَ اللّٰهُ اَخْرَجَكُمْ مِّنْۢ بُطُوْنِ اُمَّهٰتِكُمْ …:} The mention of Allah’s blessings and the proofs of His being the only deity, which began from verse (65) of this surah «{ وَ اللّٰهُ اَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً }», continues here. In this verse, the first favor is bringing forth from the wombs of mothers. Many stages are included in this beforehand. After forming a complete child in the womb for nine months, providing a way out, and bringing the child out safely along with the mother— is this a trivial matter? Despite such a great favor, Allah has used very harsh words for man’s ingratitude and for adopting shirk, saying: «{ قُتِلَ الْاِنْسَانُ مَاۤ اَكْفَرَهٗ (17) مِنْ اَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهٗ (18) مِنْ نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهٗ فَقَدَّرَهٗ (19) ثُمَّ السَّبِيْلَ يَسَّرَهٗ}» [ عبس : ۱۷ تا ۲۰ ] “Destroyed is man! How ungrateful he is, from what thing did He create him? From a drop, He created him, then determined his measure, then made the way (out of the mother’s womb) easy for him.”

➋ {لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ شَيْـًٔا:} When a human comes out of the mother’s womb, he knows nothing, then Allah teaches him some things naturally, for example, finding the mother’s milk, sucking it, putting whatever he finds into his mouth, etc. The way to obtain other necessities of eating, drinking, and sustaining life, Allah has placed in the nature of every creature except man, otherwise nothing would remain alive.

➌ {وَ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَ الْاَبْصَارَ وَ الْاَفْـِٕدَةَ … :} Ears, eyes, and hearts have been granted to every living being, but all other creatures benefit from them only as much as is in their nature. The way a duck used to swim millions of years ago, there has been no change or progress in it even now; the same is the case with birds, cattle, and sea creatures. Predators and insects also continue on the same path, whereas Allah has granted man some choice so that he can choose between guidance and misguidance. Then, the ears, eyes, and heart given to him preserve the experiences of previous generations through writing, convey them to those who come after, and remain engaged in new inventions. As a result, man has achieved such worldly progress that in terms of residence, travel, food and drink— in short, in every matter, there is no comparison between the comforts of the first human and today’s human. Similarly, in obtaining energy, he has reached the atom, from which he has prepared countless means of destruction as well as human benefits. In short, if man reflects on the abilities granted by Allah, he would never deny His existence, nor associate any partner with Him, nor call anyone else a fulfiller of needs, remover of difficulties, provider, or helper of the poor, because no one else has any share in any blessing, nor would he show any negligence in His worship and obedience, rather, at all times, with his heart, tongue, and every limb, he would express gratitude to Him in word and deed.

➍ { لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُوْنَ :} Allah has made all this so that you may give thanks. Although it is not mentioned here whether man gave thanks or not, in many other places Allah has said that most people do not give thanks, as He said: «{ وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُوْنَ }» [ المؤمن : ۶۱ ] “But most people do not give thanks.” And He said: «{ وَ قَلِيْلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُوْرُ }» [ سبا : ۱۳ ] “And few of My servants are grateful.” The reason is that for recognizing their Creator, they neither use their ears, nor their eyes, nor their hearts. See Surah Al-A’raf (179).

78. 1. شَیْئًا is indefinite; you did not know anything, neither virtue nor wretchedness, nor benefit nor harm.

78. 2. So that through ears you may hear sounds, through eyes you may see things, and He gave you hearts—that is, intellect (because the center of intellect is the heart)—by which you can distinguish between things and recognize benefit and harm. As a person grows older, his intellect and senses also increase, until when he reaches the age of consciousness and maturity, these abilities also become strong, and then eventually reach perfection.

78. 3. That is, these abilities and powers have been granted by Allah so that man may use these organs and faculties in such a way that Allah becomes pleased. Through them, he should worship and obey Allah. This is the practical gratitude for these blessings of Allah. It is mentioned in the hadith: "Among the things by which My servant attains My closeness, the most beloved to Me are those which I have made obligatory upon him. In addition, through voluntary acts (nawafil) he also strives to attain My closeness, until I begin to love him. And when I begin to love him, I become his ear with which he hears, his eye with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, his foot with which he walks. And if he asks Me, I give him, and if he seeks refuge with Me from anything, I grant him refuge."

Note: Some people misunderstand this hadith and attribute divine powers to the friends of Allah (awliya). Whereas the meaning of the hadith is that when a servant makes his obedience and worship sincere for Allah, then his every action is only for the pleasure of Allah. He hears only that which Allah has permitted with his ears, sees only that which Allah has permitted with his eyes, whatever he grasps with his hands or walks towards with his feet is only that which the Shariah has allowed. He does not use them in disobedience to Allah, but only in obedience.

Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers knowing nothing, and He gave you hearing, sight [79], and hearts, so that you may give thanks.

[79]
Allah’s Blessings and Man’s Ingratitude:

From here, the previous subject, that is, the continuity of the arguments for Tawheed, is being re-established. At the time of birth, the human child is as unaware and weak as no other living creature’s offspring is. The offspring of all other living beings, as soon as they are born, begin to see and move about. But the human child cannot even sit, let alone walk. Then Allah Almighty has granted eyes, ears, and hearts to all living beings. But the ears, eyes, and heart that Allah has given to man possess such capability and capacity that, through them, man has made all other living beings and creatures subservient to himself and rules over them. Now, it is only right that he should be grateful to the Being who granted him such capable ears, eyes, and heart. He should listen to Allah’s word with his ears, see the signs and powers of Allah scattered throughout the universe with his eyes, and then reflect with his heart and reach the recognition and oneness of the True Creator. But it is unfortunate that most people did not value these blessings of Allah Almighty, and despite having the capacity, did not use their ears, eyes, and hearts for the purpose for which Allah had granted these blessings to man. For their worldly purposes, they used them only as much as other animals do.