سُوْرَةُ النَّحْلِ
Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 124
إِنَّمَا جُعِلَ ٱلسَّبْتُ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ ۚ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَيَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا۟ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ﴿124﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
The Sabbath was only prescribed for those who differed concerning it, and verily, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection about that wherein they used to differ.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِنَّمَا
innamā
Only
جُعِلَ
juʿila
was appointed
ٱلسَّبْتُ
l-sabtu
the Sabbath
عَلَى
ʿalā
for
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟
ikh'talafū
differed
فِيهِ ۚ
fīhi
in it
وَإِنَّ
wa-inna
And indeed
رَبَّكَ
rabbaka
your Lord
لَيَحْكُمُ
layaḥkumu
will surely judge
بَيْنَهُمْ
baynahum
between them
يَوْمَ
yawma
(on) the Day
ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ
l-qiyāmati
(of) the Resurrection
فِيمَا
fīmā
in what
كَانُوا۟
kānū
they used (to)
فِيهِ
fīhi
[in it]
يَخْتَلِفُونَ
yakhtalifūna
differ
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.
As for the Sabbath, it was only imposed on those who differed [126] about it. Your Lord will certainly judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding the matters in which they used to differ [127].
[126]
The Sabbath Holiday Was Fixed Due to the Insistence of the Jews:
There was no command in the Abrahamic faith regarding the sanctification of the Sabbath; rather, Friday was appointed, and Muslims also honor Friday. The Sabbath was imposed upon the Jews in such a way that when Mosesؑ told them to honor Friday, they said that Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days. He finished on Friday and rested on the seventh (Saturday), so we too will take a holiday on Saturday. This concept of Allah resting, held by the Jews, was extremely erroneous. However, as a result of their stubbornness with their prophet, the Sabbath was imposed upon them, and the strictness was such that they were to completely abstain from business on the Sabbath and spend the entire day in worship of Allah. Then, as they violated this command, its detailed account has already passed under Surah Al-Baqarah verse 65 and Surah Al-A'raf verse 166. The first disagreement the Jews had regarding the Sabbath was that they insisted on Saturday instead of Friday. Then, a tribe of Jews residing in the town of Eilah did not uphold the sanctity of the Sabbath and, through tricks and excuses, paved the way for fishing on that day. And when the other group forbade them, they would verbally say, "When have we broken the sanctity of the Sabbath? When do we fish on the Sabbath? We fish on Sunday." Then, when Jesusؑ came, he too taught adherence to the Mosaic law and emphasized the sanctification of the Sabbath, but later the Christians disagreed and, instead of Saturday, declared Sunday as the holiday. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Messenger of Allahﷺ said: "We came last, but on the Day of Resurrection we will be first. The only difference is that the People of the Book were given the Book before us, and we were given it after them. So, regarding the day that Allah made obligatory upon them, they differed. Then Allah informed us of that day, so they were left behind us—the Jews were left behind by one day, and the Christians by yet another day after that."
[127] One type of disagreement is as mentioned above, and another is that the Jews used to say that Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ was upon our religion, i.e., he was a Jew. And the Christians used to say that Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ was upon our religion, i.e., he was a Christian. Then, whether it be the polytheists of Makkah, the Jews, the Christians, or the Muslims, all connect themselves to Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ and accept him as their leader. Allah will decide all these matters on the Day of Resurrection—who was truthful, who was false, and what was the reality of their disagreements?
[126]
The Sabbath Holiday Was Fixed Due to the Insistence of the Jews:
There was no command in the Abrahamic faith regarding the sanctification of the Sabbath; rather, Friday was appointed, and Muslims also honor Friday. The Sabbath was imposed upon the Jews in such a way that when Mosesؑ told them to honor Friday, they said that Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days. He finished on Friday and rested on the seventh (Saturday), so we too will take a holiday on Saturday. This concept of Allah resting, held by the Jews, was extremely erroneous. However, as a result of their stubbornness with their prophet, the Sabbath was imposed upon them, and the strictness was such that they were to completely abstain from business on the Sabbath and spend the entire day in worship of Allah. Then, as they violated this command, its detailed account has already passed under Surah Al-Baqarah verse 65 and Surah Al-A'raf verse 166. The first disagreement the Jews had regarding the Sabbath was that they insisted on Saturday instead of Friday. Then, a tribe of Jews residing in the town of Eilah did not uphold the sanctity of the Sabbath and, through tricks and excuses, paved the way for fishing on that day. And when the other group forbade them, they would verbally say, "When have we broken the sanctity of the Sabbath? When do we fish on the Sabbath? We fish on Sunday." Then, when Jesusؑ came, he too taught adherence to the Mosaic law and emphasized the sanctification of the Sabbath, but later the Christians disagreed and, instead of Saturday, declared Sunday as the holiday. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Messenger of Allahﷺ said: "We came last, but on the Day of Resurrection we will be first. The only difference is that the People of the Book were given the Book before us, and we were given it after them. So, regarding the day that Allah made obligatory upon them, they differed. Then Allah informed us of that day, so they were left behind us—the Jews were left behind by one day, and the Christians by yet another day after that."
[127] One type of disagreement is as mentioned above, and another is that the Jews used to say that Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ was upon our religion, i.e., he was a Jew. And the Christians used to say that Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ was upon our religion, i.e., he was a Christian. Then, whether it be the polytheists of Makkah, the Jews, the Christians, or the Muslims, all connect themselves to Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ and accept him as their leader. Allah will decide all these matters on the Day of Resurrection—who was truthful, who was false, and what was the reality of their disagreements?
