Makkan — its closing ayat came later
The later years in Makkah; its closing ayat after Uḥud
Mujāhid, ʿAṭiyyah and Ibn Abī Ṭalḥah relate from Ibn ʿAbbās that it is Makkan, and so it is reported from al-Ḥasan, ʿIkrimah and ʿAṭāʾ. The exceptions the scholars name cluster at its end: Ibn ʿAbbās said, in one report, that “If you punish, then punish with the like of what you were made to suffer” came down after the killing of Ḥamzah, and al-Shaʿbī held the whole surah Makkan except those last three ayat. Ubayy ibn Kaʿb’s report places them on the day Makkah was conquered. The traditional order puts the surah seventieth.
رَوى مُجاهِدٌ، وعَطِيَّةُ، وابْنُ أبِي طَلْحَةَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبّاسٍ: أنَّها مَكِّيَّةٌوقالَ ابْنُ عَبّاسٍ في رِوايَةٍ: إنَّهُ نَزَلَ مِنها بَعْدَ قَتْلِ حَمْزَةَ: ﴿وَإنْ عاقَبْتُمْ فَعاقِبُوا بِمِثْلِ ما عُوقِبْتُمْ بِهِوَتُسَمَّى سُورَةُ النِّعَمِ بِسَبَبِ مَا عَدَّدَ اللَّهُ فِيهَا مِنْ نِعَمِهِ عَلَى عِبَادِهِThe same, in other works
- al-BaghawīMaʿālim al-tanzīlAhl al-Sunnah in creedShāfiʿī in fiqh→
Makkan.
سُورَةُ النَّحْلِ مَكِّيَّةٌ
- al-Suyūṭīal-Durr al-manthūrAshʿarī in creedShāfiʿī in fiqh→
Ibn ʿAbbās: it came down in Makkah. Recorded by Ibn Mardawayh.
أخْرَجَ اِبْنُ مَرْدُويَهْ عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُما قالَ: نَزَلَتْ سُورَةُ النَّحْلِ بِمَكَّةَ
A report he gathers; its chain is not graded here.
- al-ShawkānīFatḥ al-qadīr→
Makkan, all of it, in the saying of al-Ḥasan, ʿIkrimah, ʿAṭāʾ and Jābir; Ibn Mardawayh relates it from Ibn ʿAbbās.
هي مَكِّيَّةٌ كُلُّها في قَوْلِ الحَسَنِ، وعِكْرِمَةَ، وعَطاءٍ، وجابِرٍ، ورَواهُ ابْنُ مَرْدَوَيْهِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبّاسٍ
- al-RāzīMafātīḥ al-ghaybAshʿarī in creedShāfiʿī in fiqh→
Makkan, with the exception he names.
مَكِّيَّةٌ، إلّا الآياتِ الثَّلاثَ الأخِيرَةَ فَمَدَنِيَّةٌ
- Abū al-SuʿūdIrshād al-ʿaql al-salīmMāturīdī in creedḤanafī in fiqh→
Makkan, with the exception he names.
سُورَةُ النَّحْلِ مَكِّيَّةٌ، إلّا وَإنْ عاقَبْتُمْ ... إلى آخِرِها. وهي مِائَةٌ وثَمانٍ وعِشْرُونَ آيَةً
Each line of English says what the Arabic beneath it says.
What was happening
Quraysh used to taunt the Prophet ﷺ about the punishment he warned of: let it come, then. The surah’s first words answer them — “The command of Allah has come; so do not seek to hasten it” — and then it changes the subject entirely. It does not describe the punishment. It describes what they already have.
The first inventory runs from the largest things to the nearest. The heavens and the earth. Man himself, made from a drop, “and there he is, an open disputant.” The cattle: warmth, and food, “and there is beauty in them for you, when you bring them home in the evening and when you drive them out to pasture.” Horses, mules and donkeys, to ride and for show — “and He creates what you do not know.” Rain, and what it grows. The night and the day. The sea, giving fresh meat and ornaments to wear, with the ships ploughing through it. Mountains, rivers, roads, landmarks — “and by the stars they find their way.” Then the question: “Is He who creates like one who does not create?”
The second inventory comes closer still. Milk, “pure and pleasant to those who drink.” The bee: “Your Lord inspired the bee: make houses in the mountains, in the trees, and in what people build; then eat of every fruit, and follow the paths of your Lord made smooth” — and from its belly comes a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people. Wives, children and grandchildren. Birds held in the sky. Houses to rest in, and tents of hide that are light to carry on the day of travel. Shade, shelter, and clothing against the heat. The list ends with one of the saddest lines in the Qurʾan: “They recognise the favour of Allah; then they deny it.”
Having established what is owed, the surah says what to do about it, in an ayah Ibn Masʿūd called the most comprehensive in the Qurʾan: “Allah commands justice, and the doing of good, and giving to kinsfolk; and He forbids indecency, wrong and oppression.”
It does not pretend the believers’ situation was easy. It speaks of those who emigrated after being wronged; of the one who is forced to utter disbelief while his heart is at rest in faith; of a town that was secure and at ease, and was ungrateful, and tasted hunger and fear. And its last three ayat, which came down after the bodies of Ḥamzah and the dead of Uḥud had been mutilated, hold the community to a limit in the moment it would be hardest to keep: “If you punish, then punish with the like of what you were made to suffer. But if you are patient — that is better for the patient.”
What came down about what
After Uḥud
“On the day of Uḥud, sixty-four of the Helpers were struck down, and six of the Emigrants, among them Ḥamzah; and they were mutilated. The Helpers said: ‘If we have a day like this against them, we shall outdo them.’ When the day of the conquest of Makkah came, Allah sent down: ‘If you punish, then punish with the like of what you were made to suffer; but if you are patient, that is better for the patient.’ A man said: ‘No Quraysh after today!’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Hold back from the people, except four.’”
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb: al-Tirmidhī (3129); a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ chain according to al-Albānī.
Graded ṣaḥīḥ
التذكير بالنعم الدالة على المنعم، إلزامًا بعبوديته وتحذيرًا من جحود نعمته.
To recall the favours that point to the One who gives them — binding people to worship Him, and warning against the denial of His favour.
The surah’s aim, as al-Mukhtaṣar fī al-Tafsīr states it
- The cattle, the sea and the stars
- “Is He who creates like one who does not?”
- The bee
- Favours recognised, then denied
- Daughters, and the darkened face
- Justice and the doing of good
- The good life
- Faith under compulsion
- Calling with wisdom
- Patience after Uḥud
Its aims, as Ibn ʿĀshūr sets them out
معظم ما اشتملت عليه السورة إكثار متنوع الأدلة على تفرد الله تعالى بالإلهية، والأدلة على فساد دين الشرك وإظهار شناعته.
وأدلة إثبات رسالة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم.
وإنزال القرآن عليه- عليه الصلاة والسلام-.
وإن شريعة الإسلام قائمة على صول ملة إبراهيم- عليه السلام-.
From its first ayah to its last
- 1–99 ayat · 5% of the surahRead from ayah 1 →
The command has come
The command of Allah has come; so do not seek to hasten it. He sends down the angels with the spirit, by His command, upon whom He wills of His servants. He created man from a drop — and there he is, an open disputant. And the cattle He created for you: in them is warmth and benefit, and of them you eat; and there is beauty in them for you. Horses, mules and donkeys, for you to ride, and as adornment; and He creates what you do not know.
- 10–2314 ayat · 9% of the surahRead from ayah 10 →
The first inventory
He it is who sends down water from the sky: from it you drink, and from it grow the trees. He grows for you crops, olives, palms and vines. He has subjected to you the night and the day, the sun and the moon. He it is who subjected the sea, that you may eat from it fresh meat and bring out of it ornaments to wear. He cast firm mountains into the earth, and rivers and roads, and landmarks; and by the stars they find their way. Is He who creates like one who does not create? If you tried to number the favours of Allah, you could not count them (16:18).
- 24–5027 ayat · 22% of the surahRead from ayah 24 →
Those who refuse, and those who accept
When it is said to them, “What has your Lord sent down?” they say, “Tales of the ancients.” Those before them plotted, and the roof fell upon them from above. And it is said to the mindful, “What has your Lord sent down?” They say, “Good.” We raised in every community a messenger: worship Allah, and shun false gods. Those who emigrated for Allah after being wronged. Ask the people of the Reminder, if you do not know. Do they not see how the shadows of all things turn, right and left, prostrating to Allah?
- 51–6414 ayat · 10% of the surahRead from ayah 51 →
Ingratitude
Allah has said: do not take two gods. Whatever favour you have is from Allah; then when harm touches you, to Him you cry; then when He removes it, a party of you associate others with their Lord. They assign daughters to Allah — and when one of them is given news of a female, his face darkens: shall he keep her in disgrace, or bury her in the dust? Were Allah to take people to task for their wrongdoing, He would not leave on the earth a single creature. We sent down the Book to you only that you may make clear to them what they differ over.
- 65–8319 ayat · 19% of the surahRead from ayah 65 →
The second inventory
Allah sends down water from the sky and gives life to the earth after its death. In the cattle there is a lesson: We give you to drink, from between what is digested and blood, pure milk. Your Lord inspired the bee. Allah created you, then takes you; and some of you are returned to the feeblest age. He gave you spouses, and from them children and grandchildren. Do they not see the birds, held in the air of the sky? He made your houses a place of rest, and garments to protect you from the heat. They recognise the favour of Allah; then they deny it.
- 84–10017 ayat · 15% of the surahRead from ayah 84 →
What He commands
The Day We raise from every community a witness. We sent down to you the Book as a clarification of all things. Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and giving to kinsfolk; and He forbids indecency, wrong and oppression. Fulfil the covenant of Allah; do not be like her who untwists her yarn after it was spun strong. What is with you runs out, and what is with Allah remains. Whoever does right, male or female, and is a believer — We shall give them a good life. When you recite the Qurʾan, seek refuge with Allah from Satan.
- 101–11919 ayat · 16% of the surahRead from ayah 101 →
Under pressure
When We put one ayah in place of another, they say, “You are only inventing.” Say: the Holy Spirit brought it down from your Lord in truth. We know they say, “It is only a human being who teaches him” — the tongue of the one they point to is foreign, and this is clear Arabic speech. Whoever disbelieves after believing — except one who is forced, while his heart is at rest in faith. Those who emigrated after they had been persecuted. A town that was secure and at ease, and was ungrateful for the favours of Allah. Eat of what Allah has provided you, lawful and good.
- 120–1289 ayat · 6% of the surahRead from ayah 120 →
Ibrāhīm, and the last counsel
Ibrāhīm was a community in himself, devoutly obedient to Allah, upright; thankful for His favours. Then We revealed to you: follow the creed of Ibrāhīm. Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel, and argue with them in the best manner. If you punish, then punish with the like of what you were made to suffer; but if you are patient, that is better for the patient. Be patient — and your patience is only through Allah. Allah is with those who are mindful, and those who do good.
The division into passages is a reading aid, written for this page; it is not part of the muṣḥaf. Each passage is drawn as long as its words are.
The sound each ayah closes on
Read aloud, every ayah closes on a sound — its fāṣilah — and the closes answer one another for a stretch, then turn. Each sound this surah closes on is a line of the staff below, and the surah is the gold line stepping along them, an ayah at a time: where it steps to another line, the rhyme turns. The dotted lines are where its passages begin.
Its commonest close carries 98% of its ayat, and the rhyme turns 4 times. None of them comes where a passage begins, as this page divides the surah.
Move along the staff to see what each ayah closes on.
Computed from the text, each ayah as it is said when the reciter stops on it: the last vowel falls away, tanwīn on alif is said as a long ā, and tāʾ marbūṭah as h. Closes the ear hears as one rhyme share a line — -ūn, -īn and -īm; -ān and -ām — and an ayah that is only the opening letters closes on the name of its last letter.
From the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions
Ibn Masʿūd said: “The most comprehensive ayah in the Qurʾan is in Sūrat al-Naḥl: ‘Allah commands justice and the doing of good…’”A Companion’s sayingThe words of a Companion, not a statement of the Prophet ﷺ.
سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ أَجْمَعَ آيَةٍ فِي الْقُرْآنِ فِي سُورَةِ النَّحْلِ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإحْسَانِصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَكَذَبَ بَطْنُ أَخِيكَ اسْقِهِ عَسَلاً
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “My brother has a complaint of the stomach.” He said: “Give him honey to drink.” He came a second time, and a third, and was told the same. Then he came and said: “I have done so.” He ﷺ said: “Allah has spoken the truth, and your brother’s stomach has lied. Give him honey to drink.” He did, and he was cured.The names it is known by
After the bee to which Allah gave its instructions (16:68–69): where to make its houses, what to eat, and how to keep to the paths of its Lord.
So it was also called, al-Qurṭubī says, because of the number of His favours upon His servants that Allah counts out in it.
Its place in the muṣḥaf
Ayat you will hear named
- 16:5–8The cattle and the mounts
- 16:14The sea, and its ships
- 16:18Favours beyond counting
- 16:43Ask the people of the Reminder
- 16:50An ayah of prostration
- 16:58–59The news of a daughter
- 16:66Pure milk
- 16:68–69The bee
- 16:90Justice and the doing of good
- 16:97A good life
- 16:98Seek refuge before reciting
- 16:106Forced, with a heart at rest in faith
- 16:125Call with wisdom and good counsel
- 16:126–128The like of what you suffered — or patience
Where this comes from
The figures at the head of the page are counted from the text. The Arabic quotations are taken letter for letter from the copies of the classical works held on this site, and each links to the passage it stands in. The rest was written for Mishkāt from the works below. It is an introduction, not a tafsir: where it matters, read the scholars themselves.
Works quoted on this page
- تفسير البغويMaʿālim al-tanzīlal-Ḥusayn al-Baghawī (d. 516 AH)
- تفسير ابن الجوزيZād al-masīrAbū al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH)
- تفسير القرطبيal-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-QurʾānShams al-Dīn al-Qurṭubī (d. 671 AH)
- تفسير ابن كثيرTafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīmIsmāʿīl ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH)
- الدر المنثورal-Durr al-manthūrJalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH)
- فتح القدير للشوكانيFatḥ al-qadīrMuḥammad al-Shawkānī (d. 1250 AH)
- تفسير الرازيMafātīḥ al-ghaybFakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606 AH)
- تفسير أبي السعودIrshād al-ʿaql al-salīmAbū al-Suʿūd al-ʿImādī (d. 982 AH)
- التحرير والتنويرal-Taḥrīr wa-l-tanwīrMuḥammad al-Ṭāhir ibn ʿĀshūr (d. 1393 AH)
- المختصر في التفسيرal-Mukhtaṣar fī al-tafsīrMarkaz Tafsīr, a committee of scholars
Beside each scholar quoted stand his creed and his school of fiqh, so that he can be read with discernment. The site’s library holds other commentaries as well; the introductions do not draw on them.
al-Qurṭubī is quoted on these pages only for what he transmits: who said a surah is Makkan or Madinan, and what it has been called. On the attributes of Allah his commentary interprets, in places, in the way of the Ashʿarīs rather than the way of the Salaf, and nothing of that is taken from him here.
al-Rāzī and Abū al-Suʿūd are quoted on these pages only for where a surah came down, and Ibn ʿĀshūr only for the aims of the surah. Nothing on the attributes of Allah is taken from them, and no report comes by way of them. Ibn ʿĀshūr’s statement of the aims is not in the site’s copy of his book: it is read from the Shamela typing as OpenITI holds it, with reports and al-Zamakhsharī’s words left out, and it links to its page there.
Every hadith here says where it is recorded and how it is graded. What is in al-Bukhārī or Muslim is marked ṣaḥīḥ. Outside the two, the grading followed is al-Albānī’s; where none of his was found, the scholar who graded it is named. A report known to be weak or fabricated is not given here at all. A report that is ḥasan, or a Companion’s own saying, or related by the commentators without a graded chain, says so beside it. In the account of what was happening, a small sign after a sentence says the same of the report that sentence tells, and a question mark stands where a date or a figure is not certain, or beside a grading — underlined — that has something to say about its own source: rest on it, or touch it, and it gives the reason. What is drawn from the sīrah — the campaigns, the dates, who was present — is history as its scholars transmit it, and is not graded here.
Also drawn on
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim; Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī
The order of revelation is the one printed at the head of each surah in the Egyptian muṣḥaf, which rests on lists transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās and Jābir ibn Zayd. It places a surah by where it began. Many surahs came down in parts, over years, and the scholars treat the list as a guide, not a certainty.