سُوْرَةُ النَّحْلِ
Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 61
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ ﴿61﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And if Allâh were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَوْ
walaw
And if
يُؤَاخِذُ
yuākhidhu
Allah were to seize
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah were to seize
ٱلنَّاسَ
l-nāsa
the mankind
بِظُلْمِهِم
biẓul'mihim
for their wrongdoing
مَّا
mā
not
تَرَكَ
taraka
He (would) have left
عَلَيْهَا
ʿalayhā
upon it
مِن
min
any
دَآبَّةٍۢ
dābbatin
moving creature
وَلَـٰكِن
walākin
but
يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ
yu-akhiruhum
He defers them
إِلَىٰٓ
ilā
for
أَجَلٍۢ
ajalin
a term
مُّسَمًّۭى ۖ
musamman
appointed
فَإِذَا
fa-idhā
Then when
جَآءَ
jāa
comes
أَجَلُهُمْ
ajaluhum
their terms
لَا
lā
not
يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ
yastakhirūna
they (will) remain behind
سَاعَةًۭ ۖ
sāʿatan
an hour
وَلَا
walā
and not
يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
yastaqdimūna
they can advance (it)
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
61. 1. This is His gentleness and the demand of His wisdom and purpose that He sees their disobedience, yet He neither takes away His blessings nor does He immediately punish, although if He were to start punishing at the very moment of committing sin, then oppression, disobedience, disbelief, and polytheism are so widespread that no living being would remain on the face of the earth. Because when evil becomes widespread, then in a general punishment, even the righteous are destroyed; however, in the Hereafter, they will be successful with Allah, as is clarified in the hadith (see Sahih Bukhari, number 2118). 61. 2. This is the explanation of His wisdom under which He grants respite until a specified time, so that, firstly, no excuse remains for them, and secondly, some believers may emerge from among their offspring.
