Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:41
And those who emigrated for [the cause of] Allah after they had been wronged - We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know.
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.
His word وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً — Allah the Exalted says: those who, for the sake of Allah, left their fellow tribesmen, their dwellings, and their homelands on account of the latter's hostility toward them because of their unbelief (kufr), and departed to others who differed from them, مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا — He says: after they had been wronged in their own persons with suffering for the sake of Allah, لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً — He says: We shall surely settle them in this worldly life in a dwelling that is pleasing and good to them.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes of Scripture also spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ: he said: "These are the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of Muḥammad ﷺ; the people of Mecca wronged them and drove them out of their houses, until groups of them fled to Abyssinia. Then Allah settled them in Medina and made that city their abode of the hijra, and granted them helpers (Anṣār) from among the believers."
It was related to me from al-Qāsim ibn Salām, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Dāwud ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً — he said: "Medina."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً: he said: "They are the people who emigrated to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from among the people of Mecca after the wrong that had been done to them — and the polytheists wronged them."
Others said concerning His word لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً: "We shall grant them a good provision in this worldly life."
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfah informed us, saying: Shibil related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ — "We shall grant them a good provision in this worldly life."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — to the same effect.
Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of someone who told him: "When ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb gave a man from among the Emigrants (muhājirīn) his stipend, he would say: Take it, may Allah bless you in it. This is what Allah has promised you in this worldly life; and what He has stored up for you in the next life is more excellent. Then he recited this verse: لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَلأَجْرُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ."
The more correct of the two statements, in my view, is that of those who say that لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ means: "We shall settle them and We shall cause them to dwell" — for tabbawwuʾ in Arabic means: to abide somewhere and alight there. Compare the word of Allah the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ بَوَّأْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مُبَوَّأَ صِدْقٍ. It was said that this verse came down concerning Abū Jandal ibn Suhayl.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of Dāwud ibn Abī Hind, who said: The verse وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا ... up to His word وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ came down concerning Abū Jandal ibn Suhayl.
His word وَلأَجْرُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ — He says: and Allah's reward for them, on account of their emigration, in the next life is greater, for His reward for them there is the Garden (janna), whose delight is eternal and does not perish.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes of Scripture also spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: Allah said وَلأَجْرُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ — by Allah, what Allah rewards them with of His Garden (janna) is greater. لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ.
