Surah Nahl ayat 1 Tafsir Quran 16:1

﴿أَتَىٰ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ﴾
[ النحل: 1]

16:1 The command of Allah is coming, so be not impatient for it. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him.

When the idolaters found chastisement slow in coming the following was revealed God’s commandment has come that is the Hour has come this verb atā is in the past tense because it means that the event therein described will come to pass in other words it God’s commandment is close at hand so do not seek to hasten it do not demand it before its due time for it will come to pass without doubt. Glory be to Him — an affirmation of His transcendence — and exalted be He above what they associate with Him in the way of others.

Allahs decree is inevitably coming to pass and so you Pagans need not reproach the Messenger for divine visitation in a sarcastic and insulting way. How foolish of you to cut off your last hope of forgiveness by wishing scornfully that it, be hastened on; glory be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes; He is infinitely far beyond those whom they incorporate with Him

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Warning about the approach of the Hour Allah is informing about the approach of the Hour in the past tense in Arabic in order to confirm that it will undoubtedly come to pass.
This is like the following Ayat, in which the verbs appear in the past tense in Arabic: اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ ( Mankind's reckoning has drawn near them, while they turn away in heedlessness. )21:1 اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ ( The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft. ) 54:1 فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ( so do not seek to hasten it. ) means, what was far is now near, so do not try to rush it.
As Allah said, وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَوْلاَ أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى لَّجَآءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - يَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَـفِرِينَ ( And they ask you to hasten the torment (for them ), and had it not been for a term appointed, the torment would certainly have come to them.
And surely, it will come upon them suddenly while they are unaware! They ask you to hasten on the torment.
And verily! Hell, of a surety, will encompass the disbelievers) ( 29:53-54 ).
Ibn Abi Hatim reported from `Uqbah bin `Amir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«تَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ عِنْدَ السَّاعَةِ سَحَابَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ مِثْلَ التُّرْسِ، فَمَا تَزَالُ تَرْتَفِعُ فِي السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ يُنَادِي مُنَادٍ فِيهَا: يَا أَيُّهَاالنَّاسُ فَيُقْبِلُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: نَعَمْ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَشُكُّ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّانِيَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَيَقُولُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَيَقُولُونَ: نَعَمْ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّالِثَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَتَى أَمْرُ اللهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوه»
( When the Hour approaches, a black cloud resembling a shield will emerge upon from the west.
It will continue rising in the sky, then a voice will call out, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' Some will say, `yes', but others will doubt it.
Then a second call will come, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' And they will say, `Yes.' Then a third call will come, `O mankind!' The Event ordained by Allah has indeed come, so do not seek to hasten it.' ) The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«فَوَ الَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّ الرَّجُلَيْنِ لَيَنْشُرَانِ الثَّوبَ فَمَا يَطْوِيَانِهِ أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَمُدَّنَّ حَوْضَهُ فَمَا يَسْقِي فِيهِ شَيْئًا أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَحْلُبُ نَاقَتَهُ فَمَا يَشْرِبُهُ أَبَدًا قَالَ وَيَشْتَغِلُ النَّاس»
( By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, two men will spread out a cloth, but will never refold it; a man will prepare his trough, but will never water his animals from it; and a man will milk his camel, but will never drink the milk." Then he said, "The people will be distracted." ) Then Allah tells us that He is free from their allegations of partners to their worship of idols, and making equals for Him.
Glorified and exalted be He far above that.
These are the people who deny the Hour, so He says: سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ( Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him.
)

(16:1) Allah's "Judgment" has come: *1 so do not clamour for hastening it; He is free from every defect, and exalted high above the shirk that they are practising. *2

The command of Allah is coming, so meaning

*1) That is, " The time for final `Judgment' has come near. " As regards the use of the past tense in the original, this may be to show certainty of its occurrence in the near future or to emphasize the fact that the rebellion and the wrong deeds of the Quraish had become so unbearable that they warranted that the time for decisive action had come.

Here question arises as to what that " Judgment " was and how it came.
We are of the opinion ( and true knowledge is with Allah alone ) that that " Judgment " was Hijrat ( the Migration ) of the Holy Prophet from Makkah.
For a short time after this Revelation he was bidden to emigrate from there.
And according to the Qur'an, a Prophet is bidden to leave his place only at that time when the rebellion and antagonism of his people reaches the extreme limit.
Then their doom is sealed, for after this Allah's punishment comes on them either as a direct scourge from Him, or they are destroyed by the Prophet and his followers.
And this did take place actually.
At the occasion of the Migration, the people of Makkah regarded it as a victory for themselves, but in fact it turned out to be a defeat for shirk and disbelief which were totally uprooted within a decade or so after the Migration not only from Makkah but from the rest of Arabia as well.

*2) In order to understand the interconnection between the first and the second sentences, one should keep in view the background.
The challenge of the disbelievers to the Prophet, `to hasten Divine Judgment',was really based on their assumption that their own religion of shirk was true and the religion of Tauhid presented by Muhammad ( Allah's peace be on him ) was false; otherwise, they argued, the Divine scourge with which he threatened them would have come upon them long before because of their disbelief and rebellion, if there had been the authority of Allah behind it.
That is why after the declaration of the " Judgment, " their misunderstanding about the cause of delay in the punishment was removed, as if to say, " You arc absolutely wrong to assume that punishment has not been inflicted on you because your creed of shirk is true, for AIlah is fret from and far above shirk and has no partner " .

 

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Warning about the approach of the Hour Allah is informing about the approach of the Hour in the past tense in Arabic in order to confirm that it will undoubtedly come to pass.
This is like the following Ayat, in which the verbs appear in the past tense in Arabic: اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ ( Mankind's reckoning has drawn near them, while they turn away in heedlessness. )21:1 اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ ( The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft. ) 54:1 فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ( so do not seek to hasten it. ) means, what was far is now near, so do not try to rush it.
As Allah said, وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَوْلاَ أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى لَّجَآءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - يَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَـفِرِينَ ( And they ask you to hasten the torment (for them ), and had it not been for a term appointed, the torment would certainly have come to them.
And surely, it will come upon them suddenly while they are unaware! They ask you to hasten on the torment.
And verily! Hell, of a surety, will encompass the disbelievers) ( 29:53-54 ).
Ibn Abi Hatim reported from `Uqbah bin `Amir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «تَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ عِنْدَ السَّاعَةِ سَحَابَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ مِثْلَ التُّرْسِ، فَمَا تَزَالُ تَرْتَفِعُ فِي السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ يُنَادِي مُنَادٍ فِيهَا: يَا أَيُّهَاالنَّاسُ فَيُقْبِلُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: نَعَمْ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَشُكُّ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّانِيَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَيَقُولُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَيَقُولُونَ: نَعَمْ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّالِثَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَتَى أَمْرُ اللهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوه» ( When the Hour approaches, a black cloud resembling a shield will emerge upon from the west.
It will continue rising in the sky, then a voice will call out, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' Some will say, `yes', but others will doubt it.
Then a second call will come, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' And they will say, `Yes.' Then a third call will come, `O mankind!' The Event ordained by Allah has indeed come, so do not seek to hasten it.' ) The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «فَوَ الَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّ الرَّجُلَيْنِ لَيَنْشُرَانِ الثَّوبَ فَمَا يَطْوِيَانِهِ أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَمُدَّنَّ حَوْضَهُ فَمَا يَسْقِي فِيهِ شَيْئًا أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَحْلُبُ نَاقَتَهُ فَمَا يَشْرِبُهُ أَبَدًا قَالَ وَيَشْتَغِلُ النَّاس» ( By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, two men will spread out a cloth, but will never refold it; a man will prepare his trough, but will never water his animals from it; and a man will milk his camel, but will never drink the milk." Then he said, "The people will be distracted." ) Then Allah tells us that He is free from their allegations of partners to their worship of idols, and making equals for Him.
Glorified and exalted be He far above that.
These are the people who deny the Hour, so He says: سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ( Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him.
)

And from his chain of transmitters on the authority of Ibn ’Abbas that he said: ’When the words of Allah ( The reckoning draws near for mankind ) [ 21:1 ] and ( The hour drew near ) [ 54:1 ], people waited whatever time Allah willed them to wait, but nothing happened. So they said: O Muhammad! When will the torment which you promised us happen? As a response, Allah revealed: ( The commandment of Allah will come to pass ) the chastisement of Allah has come. The Prophet ( pbuh ) was sitting at that point and he suddenly stood, having no doubt in his mind that the chastisement had come. But immediately after that, Allah said: ( so seek not ye to hasten it ) i.e. the chastisement, at which the Prophet ( pbuh ) sat down. ( Glorified ) Allah exonerated Himself from having a son or partner ( and Exalted be He ) He is too elevated and absolves Himself ( above all that they associate (with Him )) of idols.

The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments), ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it. Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him.

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