سُوْرَةُ النَّحْلِ
Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 1
أَتَىٰٓ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴿1﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islâmic laws or commandments) ordained by Allâh will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it. Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَتَىٰٓ
atā
Will come
أَمْرُ
amru
(the) command of Allah
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
(the) command of Allah
فَلَا
falā
so (do) not
تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ
tastaʿjilūhu
(be) impatient for it
سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ
sub'ḥānahu
Glorified is He
وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ
wataʿālā
and Exalted (is) He
عَمَّا
ʿammā
above what
يُشْرِكُونَ
yush'rikūna
they associate
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
1. (O disbelievers) The command of Allah has come, so do not seek to hasten it [1]. He is Glorified and Exalted above [2] what they associate with Him.
[1]
The Form of Allah’s Punishment Upon the Quraysh and Its Beginning With the Prophetic Migration:
The polytheists of Makkah would often taunt the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by saying that if you are truthful, then why has the punishment you speak of not yet come upon us? They observed that it had been ten or twelve years since the Prophet ﷺ had warned them of punishment, yet no punishment had come, so these words had become their habitual saying. From this, they would infer two things: first, the truth of their polytheistic religion, and second, the denial of the Prophethood of the Prophet of Islam. The beginning of this surah responds to these very points. The answer to the first point is that the coming of the punishment is certain; there is no need to hasten it, for soon you will be faced with it—consider it as if it has already arrived. Now, as for the question of what that punishment was and when it came, it is established that as long as the Prophet is present among a people, punishment does not descend upon them. After that, there are two possibilities: one is that the Prophet and his companions are commanded to migrate and are taken out from among them, or they are saved by any other means, and then the divine wrath descends upon the remaining criminals. The second form of punishment is that Allah causes the criminal people to be struck at the hands of the emigrants, until disbelief and polytheism are crushed. Both forms of punishment are mentioned in Surah Tawbah, verse number 52, therefore, in our view, the starting point of this punishment was the Prophetic Migration itself, the command for which was given shortly after the revelation of this surah. This very migration became the cause for the end of the oppression and tyranny of the polytheists of Makkah, and the Muslims were able to breathe freely, and this migration proved to be the prelude to the Battle of Badr, in which disbelief was thoroughly beaten. Only eight or ten years after this migration, the disbelievers and polytheists were gradually eradicated in such a way that disbelief and polytheism were so thoroughly uprooted that not even a trace remained in all of Arabia.
[2] This is the answer to their second inference: that if our polytheistic religion were not true, punishment would have already come upon us. With the coming of the punishment, this inference was refuted by itself, and everyone came to know that their deities could not avail them in any way, therefore they are false.
[1]
The Form of Allah’s Punishment Upon the Quraysh and Its Beginning With the Prophetic Migration:
The polytheists of Makkah would often taunt the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by saying that if you are truthful, then why has the punishment you speak of not yet come upon us? They observed that it had been ten or twelve years since the Prophet ﷺ had warned them of punishment, yet no punishment had come, so these words had become their habitual saying. From this, they would infer two things: first, the truth of their polytheistic religion, and second, the denial of the Prophethood of the Prophet of Islam. The beginning of this surah responds to these very points. The answer to the first point is that the coming of the punishment is certain; there is no need to hasten it, for soon you will be faced with it—consider it as if it has already arrived. Now, as for the question of what that punishment was and when it came, it is established that as long as the Prophet is present among a people, punishment does not descend upon them. After that, there are two possibilities: one is that the Prophet and his companions are commanded to migrate and are taken out from among them, or they are saved by any other means, and then the divine wrath descends upon the remaining criminals. The second form of punishment is that Allah causes the criminal people to be struck at the hands of the emigrants, until disbelief and polytheism are crushed. Both forms of punishment are mentioned in Surah Tawbah, verse number 52, therefore, in our view, the starting point of this punishment was the Prophetic Migration itself, the command for which was given shortly after the revelation of this surah. This very migration became the cause for the end of the oppression and tyranny of the polytheists of Makkah, and the Muslims were able to breathe freely, and this migration proved to be the prelude to the Battle of Badr, in which disbelief was thoroughly beaten. Only eight or ten years after this migration, the disbelievers and polytheists were gradually eradicated in such a way that disbelief and polytheism were so thoroughly uprooted that not even a trace remained in all of Arabia.
[2] This is the answer to their second inference: that if our polytheistic religion were not true, punishment would have already come upon us. With the coming of the punishment, this inference was refuted by itself, and everyone came to know that their deities could not avail them in any way, therefore they are false.
