سُورَةُ النَّحۡلِ
Reading Tafsir al-Tustari by Sahl al-Tustari
Ayahs 51–60 of 128
۞ وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ لَا تَتَّخِذُوٓا۟ إِلَٰهَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ ۖ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۖ فَإِيَّٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ
And Allah has said, "Do not take for yourselves two deities. He is but one God, so fear only Me."
Explained together with ayah 36
وَلَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ ٱلدِّينُ وَاصِبًا ۚ أَفَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ تَتَّقُونَ
And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him is [due] worship constantly. Then is it other than Allah that you fear?
Explained together with ayah 36
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍۢ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ ٱلضُّرُّ فَإِلَيْهِ تَجْـَٔرُونَ
And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah. Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help.
Whatever grace you have, it is from God. Then when misfortune befalls you, to Him you cry for help.Sahl said:If God put to task the bearers of the Throne, and the angels below them [in rank], along with the prophets and messengers, concerning something they had disregarded among the blessingsthat He had bestowed upon them, He would punish [even] them for that, for God is not unjust.Sahl was asked: �What does God do with His servant when He loves him?� He said:He inspires him to seek forgiveness for his shortcomings and show gratitude for blessings he has received. Truly, they desired with a [wholehearted] intention that they should come to know of the blessings that God, Exalted is He, had bestowed on them, that [their state of] gratitude might endure, and the increase [resulting from that gratitude] might continue.�Then when misfortune befalls you, to Him you cry for help.That is, to Him alone do you call in times of deprivation (faqr) and affliction (balāʾ). [Moreover] this may [itself] be a blessing from God upon you, for if He so wished He could have afflicted you with something severer than that, so in comparison to a severer affliction, it is a blessing, for [under a severer affliction] they would recoil in fear from it, and neither exercise patience (ṣabr) nor show gratitude.It came to our knowledge that God, Exalted is He, revealed to David the words: �Be patient with the provisions (maʾūna) you have [from Me], and you will be granted help (maʿūna) from Me�. His words, Exalted is He:
ثُمَّ إِذَا كَشَفَ ٱلضُّرَّ عَنكُمْ إِذَا فَرِيقٌۭ مِّنكُم بِرَبِّهِمْ يُشْرِكُونَ
Then when He removes the adversity from you, at once a party of you associates others with their Lord
Explained together with ayah 53
لِيَكْفُرُوا۟ بِمَآ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمْ ۚ فَتَمَتَّعُوا۟ ۖ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
So they will deny what We have given them. Then enjoy yourselves, for you are going to know.
�So enjoy, for soon you will know.He said:This is a promise from God, Exalted is He, to the disbelievers of Mecca that for their denial, in spite of the blessings that God had bestowed upon them in this world, they will come to know the penalty for that [disbelief] in the Hereafter. This verse is also a severe warning to those who are heedless (ghāfilūn), in accordance with the saying of the Messenger : �Whoever gratifies his insatiable desire (nahma) in this world, will, in the Hereafter, be separated from [the objectof] his desire. For that which was legitimate, there will be an accounting (ḥisāb), and for that which was forbidden, there will be punishment (ʿiqāb).� Indeed, the believers are made to account for what they enjoyed legitimately in excess of their needs. Whoever takes of what is legitimate [only] that which suffices him, falls under the category mentioned by the Prophet when he said, �Worldliness is not in the consumption of a piece of dry bread by which a person abates his hunger, a garment by which he covers his private parts and carries out what is legally binding upon him, or a house which shelters him from the sun and cold in winter.� His words, Exalted is He:
وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ نَصِيبًۭا مِّمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ ۗ تَٱللَّهِ لَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنتُمْ تَفْتَرُونَ
And they assign to what they do not know a portion of that which We have provided them. By Allah, you will surely be questioned about what you used to invent.
Explained together with ayah 55
وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ ٱلْبَنَٰتِ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And they attribute to Allah daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire.
Explained together with ayah 55
وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُۥ مُسْوَدًّۭا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌۭ
And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief.
Explained together with ayah 55
يَتَوَٰرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْمِ مِن سُوٓءِ مَا بُشِّرَ بِهِۦٓ ۚ أَيُمْسِكُهُۥ عَلَىٰ هُونٍ أَمْ يَدُسُّهُۥ فِى ٱلتُّرَابِ ۗ أَلَا سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.
Explained together with ayah 55
لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ مَثَلُ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۖ وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
For those who do not believe in the Hereafter is the description of evil; and for Allah is the highest attribute. And He is Exalted in Might, the Wise.
Explained together with ayah 55
Commentary: Tafsir al-Tustari by Sahl al-Tustari. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
