Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:30
And it will be said to those who feared Allah, "What did your Lord send down?" They will say, "[That which is] good." For those who do good in this world is good; and the home of the Hereafter is better. And how excellent is the home of the righteous -
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His praise, says: and to the other group — who are believing and God-fearing — it was said: مَاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا خَيْرًا — He says: they said: He revealed good. One of the grammarians of Kūfa said: the Arabic expression differs in the two answers while the question is the same for both answers, namely مَاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ , and this for the following reason: the unbelievers denied the revelation and, when they heard it, said: "asāṭīr al-awwalīn" — that is to say: this which you have brought is the fables of the ancients; Allah has sent down nothing of it. The believers, however, affirmed the revelation and said: "khayran" — meaning: He revealed good; it stands in the accusative because the act of Allah falls upon the good, so that "khayran" is the direct object. For this reason the two answers differed. Then the sentence begins anew: لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ (For those who did good in this worldly life there is a fair reward). We have already expounded the explanation of this previously in a manner that relieves us from repetition.
The words لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: for those who believed in Allah and His messenger in this worldly life and obeyed Him therein, and called the servants of Allah to faith and urged them toward acting according to Allah's commands — for them there is "ḥasana" (a fair reward), that is to say: an honorable state from Allah. وَلَدَارُ الْآخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ — He says: and the world of the hereafter is for them better than the world of this life, and the honor that Allah has prepared for them therein is greater than the honor that He has hastened to them in this life. وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ الْمُتَّقِينَ — He says: truly, how excellent is the abode of those who feared Allah in the worldly life and warded off His punishment by fulfilling His obligations and avoiding acts of disobedience to Him — the world of the hereafter.
This is nearly also what the exegetes said on this question.
Mention of who said this:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words وَقِيلَ لِلَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا مَاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا خَيْرًا لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ : these are believers (muʾminūn); to them it is said: مَاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ and they answer: خَيْرًا لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ — that is to say: they believed in Allah, called to obedience to Allah, and urged the people who obey Allah toward the good and called them to it.
