Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 89

(Ayah 89) ➊ { وَ يَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِيْ كُلِّ اُمَّةٍ … :} For its explanation, see Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (143) and Surah An-Nisa, Ayah (41). {’’ مِنْ اَنْفُسِهِمْ ‘‘} may refer to the testimony of their own skins and other limbs as well. See Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah (20, 21).

➋ {وَ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتٰبَ تِبْيَانًا … : ’’ تِبْيَانًا ‘‘} is a verbal noun, and there is emphasis in the statement, meaning to explain very well, that is, a clear explanation of halal and haram and everything upon which the guidance and misguidance, success and failure of a person in this world and the Hereafter depend. Then, regarding those rulings which the Qur’an has mentioned briefly or has left unmentioned, it has made obedience and following of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) obligatory, thereby commanding to refer to the Sunnah and Hadith.

➌ {لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ :} The claim of the Qur’an is that it contains a clear explanation of everything. Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) once said: [ لَعَنَ اللّٰهُ الْوَاشِمَاتِ وَالْمُوْتَشِمَاتِ، وَالْمُتَنَمِّصَاتِ وَالْمُتَفَلِّجَاتِ لِلْحُسْنِ، الْمُغَيِّرَاتِ خَلْقَ اللّٰهِ، فَبَلَغَ ذٰلِكَ امْرَأَةً مِنْ بَنِيْ أَسَدٍ يُقَالُ لَهَا أُمُّ يَعْقُوْبَ، فَجَاءَتْ فَقَالَتْ إِنَّهُ بَلَغَنِيْ أَنَّكَ لَعَنْتَ كَيْتَ وَكَيْتَ، فَقَالَ وَمَا لِيْ لَا أَلْعَنُ مَنْ لَعَنَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمَنْ هُوَ فِيْ كِتَابِ اللّٰهِ ؟ فَقَالَتْ لَقَدْ قَرَأْتُ مَا بَيْنَ اللَّوْحَيْنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُ فِيْهِ مَا تَقُوْلُ، فَقَالَ لَئِنْ كُنْتِ قَرَأْتِيْهِ لَقَدْ وَجَدْتِيْهِ، أَمَا قَرَأْتِ : «{ وَ مَاۤ اٰتٰىكُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ فَخُذُوْهُ وَ مَا نَهٰىكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْا }» قَالَتْ : بَلٰہ، قَالَ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ نَهَی عَنْهُ ] [ بخاری، التفسیر، سورۃ الحشر، باب : « وما اٰتاکم الرسول فخذوہ…» : ۴۸۸۶ ] “Allah has cursed those women who make tattoos on the skin with a needle and those who get them made, and those who pluck facial hair, and those who create gaps between their teeth, changing what Allah has created.” A woman from Banu Asad named Umm Ya’qub heard this and came and said: “I have heard that you have cursed such and such women?” He replied: “Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has cursed and which is also in the Book of Allah.” She said: “I have read (the whole Qur’an) between the two covers, but I did not find this in it.” He said: “If you had read it, you would have found it. Did you not read: «{ وَ مَاۤ اٰتٰىكُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ فَخُذُوْهُ وَ مَا نَهٰىكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْا }» [ الحشر : ۷ ] ‘And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you from, abstain from it.’” She said: “Of course.” He said: “Then the matter is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has forbidden these actions.”

From this it is understood that, according to the words of the Qur’an itself, the meaning of the explanation of everything in it is that acting upon every command and refraining from every prohibition given by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) regarding the religion is also part of the Qur’an. The commentator Sha’rawi has written here an interesting incident of Sheikh Muhammad Abduh of Egypt. He said that once I was in Paris, and an orientalist (non-Muslim Arabic scholar) said to me that it is in the Qur’an: «{ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتٰبِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ }» [ الأنعام : ۳۸ ] “We have not neglected anything in the Book.” I said, yes, that is correct. He said, well, tell me how many loaves of bread can be made from one ardab (about 48 kg) of flour? I said, this is a simple matter, let’s ask a baker. He said, no, I want to see it in the Qur’an. I said, the Qur’an has told us: «{ فَسْـَٔلُوْۤا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ }» [ الأنبیاء : ۷ ] “If you do not know, ask the people of knowledge (those who understand it).” In short, the explanation of everything is present in the Qur’an. For further details, see Ayah (64) of this Surah and its footnotes.

➍ {وَ هُدًى وَّ رَحْمَةً وَّ بُشْرٰى لِلْمُسْلِمِيْنَ:} Here, instead of using all three words as active participles, verbal nouns have been mentioned, for example, instead of { ’’ هَادِيٌ ‘‘ }, {’’ هُدًى ‘‘ } has been used, and similarly {’’ رَحْمَةً ‘‘} and {’’ بُشْرٰى ‘‘} have been mentioned. This is done for emphasis, for example, if one wants to say that Zaid is extremely just, instead of saying {’’زَيْدٌ عَادِلٌ‘‘}, one says {’’زَيْدٌ عَدْلٌ‘‘}, meaning Zaid is the very essence of justice. The purpose is that the Qur’an is guidance, mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims.

89. 1. That is, every prophet will bear witness over his own nation, and the Prophet and his followers will bear witness regarding the prophets that they were truthful and indeed conveyed Your message (Sahih Bukhari).

89. 2. By "the Book" is meant Allah's Book and the explanations of the Prophet (ahadith). The Messenger of Allah also referred to his own ahadith as "the Book of Allah." And "everything" means the news of the past and the future, the knowledge of which is necessary and beneficial, as well as the details of what is lawful and unlawful, and those matters which people need in their religious and worldly affairs and in matters of livelihood and the Hereafter. All these things have been made clear in both the Quran and Hadith.

89. And on the Day when We will raise from every community a witness from among themselves, and We will bring you as a witness [90] against these people. And We have sent down to you the Book as an explanation of all things [91], and as guidance, mercy [92], and glad tidings for the Muslims.

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Your Listening to the Quran from Other Companions:

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ narrates that once the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me, "Recite the Quran to me." I replied, "How can I recite to you when the Quran has been revealed to you?" The Prophet ﷺ said, "That's right, but I like to listen to it from others." Ibn Mas'ud ؓ says that then I began to recite Surah An-Nisa, and when I reached this verse
﴿فَكَيْفَ اِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ اُمَّةٍ بِشهَِيْدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَليٰ هٰوُلاَءٍ شهَِيْدًا﴾ [4: 41]
the Prophet ﷺ said, "Stop now." When I looked, I saw that tears were flowing from his eyes. [بخاري، كتاب التفسير]

The Testimony of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Judgment:

The subject matter of verse 41 of Surah An-Nisa and this verse of Surah An-Nahl is the same. However, there is a difference in wording and order. In both these verses, the demonstrative "these" (ھولاء) can also refer to other prophets. And the testimony will be whether those previous prophets truly conveyed Allah's message to their respective nations. In this sense, the superiority of the Prophet ﷺ over all other prophets is established, and it was due to this intense joy and happiness that tears began to flow from the Prophet's ﷺ eyes, realizing what a great favor of Allah this is upon him. And if "these" (ھولاء) is understood to refer to the people of the Prophet's ﷺ own Ummah who were present at that time, then this becomes a very heavy responsibility, that the Prophet ﷺ will testify to all their good and bad deeds, especially since the Prophet ﷺ had immense love for the Companions ؓ and was very kind to them. It was this thought that caused tears to flow from his eyes. Also, by ﴿هٰوُلاَءِ﴾, those people of the Prophet's ﷺ Ummah can be meant who will be born from after his passing until the Day of Judgment. And the Prophet ﷺ will testify against those who had set aside the Quran. They considered the Quran merely a book of rituals. The inauguration of gatherings and processions would begin with the recitation of the Quran, but after that, they had no concern for its commands. Or against those people who, after understanding the verses and commands of the Quran, would deliberately misinterpret them for worldly purposes or sectarian prejudice. Against all such people, the Prophet ﷺ will testify before Allah that these are the people who abandoned the Quran. As is clear from verse 30 of Surah Al-Furqan.

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What Kind of Detail is in the Quran:

Since the subject of the Noble Quran is the guidance of mankind, here "everything" means everything that relates to human guidance. That is, it contains information about all good and bad deeds and their reward and punishment. This does not mean that all the sciences and arts of the world are included in it, even their details, as some people try to forcibly attribute their own sciences and arts to the Noble Quran. If any matter of medicine, geography, history, or astronomy is mentioned in the Quran, it is incidental; the main purpose of the Quran is not to describe such sciences. Also, among the things mentioned in the Quran, some are detailed in the Quran itself, some are mentioned briefly. Their details are found in the statements of the Quran or in your Sunnah. Even most of the pillars of Islam are mentioned in the Quran only briefly, and their full details are mentioned in the Hadiths, and acting upon these Quranic commands is only possible by seeking guidance from the Hadiths. An important result of this is that those who deny Hadith or do not accept Hadith as proof, in reality, are not only deniers of Hadith but also of the Quran. Then, for new issues that arise and are not mentioned in the Book and Sunnah, it is the duty of the scholars of the Ummah to find solutions to such issues through ijtihad and deduction, keeping the Book and Sunnah in view. And performing ijtihad is also a Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and is established from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and these two things are also included in the explanation of the Quran. In this way, guidance can be obtained from the Quran in every legal matter until the Day of Judgment.

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Three Benefits of the Quran:

The Noble Quran is guidance and mercy for Muslims in the sense that it contains detailed commands and instructions regarding every aspect of life, even providing us with invaluable information about metaphysics. By acting upon these instructions and commands, a person's worldly life is also spent with inner peace and tranquility, and the hereafter is also improved. And it is glad tidings in the sense that it gives obedient servants the good news of a glorious future and the everlasting and eternal blessings of Paradise.