Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:72
And Allah has made for you from yourselves mates and has made for you from your mates sons and grandchildren and has provided for you from the good things. Then in falsehood do they believe and in the favor of Allah they disbelieve?
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 remembrance, says: وَاللَّهُ — Allah is the One Who جَعَلَ لَكُمْ made for you, O people, مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا — that is to say: He created from Ādam his wife Ḥawwāʾ. وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً .
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا : that is to say: Allah created Ādam, and then created his wife from him; then He gave you sons and ḥafada.
The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of the ḥafada. Some said: they are the sons-in-law (akhtān), the sons-in-law of the man through his daughters.
Those who said this:
Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: Abān ibn Taghlub related to us, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Ibn Ḥubaysh, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: the sons-in-law (akhtān).
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Warqāʾ: "I asked ʿAbdullāh: What do you say about the ḥafada — are they the servants of the man, O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān?" He said: "No, they are the sons-in-law."
Muhammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us; and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us — both said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdala, on the authority of Zirr ibn Ḥubaysh, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: The ḥafada are the sons-in-law (akhtān).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, through his chain of transmission (isnād), on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — the like of the above.
Ibn Bashshār, Aḥmad ibn al-Walīd al-Qurashī, Ibn Wakīʿ, Sawwār ibn ʿAbdullāh al-ʿAnbarī, Muhammad ibn Khalaf ibn Kharrāsh, and al-Ḥasan ibn Khalaf al-Wāsiṭī related to us, they said: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, who said: The ḥafada are the sons-in-law.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The ḥafada are the sons-in-law.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The ḥafada are the sons-in-law.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The ḥafada are the son-in-law (al-khatan).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: The sons-in-law (akhtān).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The sons-in-law.
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَحَفَدَةً : he said: the relatives by marriage (aṣhār).
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: The ḥafada are the sons-in-law.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd, on the authority of Zirr ibn Ḥubaysh, who said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd asked me: "What are the ḥafada, O Zirr?" I answered: "They are the grandchildren of the man, the sons of his sons and the sons of his daughters." He said: "No, they are the relatives by marriage (aṣhār)."
And others said: They are the helpers and servants of the man.
Those who said this:
Muhammad ibn Khālid ibn Khidāsh related to me, saying: Sulaym ibn Qutayba related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Ḥabīb al-Asadī, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he was asked about His word بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً , and he said: "Whoever helps you, he ḥafada for you" — have you not heard the word of the poet:
"The slave-girls hastened around them, and were relayed, with their hands the reins of the camels."
Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The ḥafada are the servants (khuddām).
Muhammad ibn Khālid ibn Khidāsh related to me, saying: Salm ibn Qutayba related to me, on the authority of Ḥāzim ibn Ibrāhīm al-Bajalī, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: The ḥafada are the servants.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: They are those who help the man from among his children and his servants.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn Abān, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The ḥafada are whoever serves you from among your children.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Salām ibn Sulaym and Qays, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: They are the servants.
Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Salām Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima — the like of the above.
Muhammad ibn Khālid related to me, saying: Salama related to me, on the authority of Abū Hilāl, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The sons and the sons of the sons — whoever helps you from among his family and his servant, he ḥafada for you.
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: They are the servants.
Muhammad ibn Khālid, Ibn Wakīʿ, and Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, they said: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: The ḥafada are the servants.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us; and Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us — all on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: his son and his servant.
Muhammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, 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-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: helpers, assistants, and servants.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Zamʿa related to us, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, who said: The ḥafada are the servants.
Ibn Bashshār related to us once more: his son and his servant.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said concerning وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : they serve you and attend upon you from among your children — an honor with which Allah has honored you.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik: The ḥafada are the helpers.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Those who help him.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn Abān, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The ḥafada are whoever serves you from among your children and the sons of your children.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn al-Taymī informed us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: The ḥafada are the servants.
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: his children who help him.
And others said: They are the sons of the man and the sons of his sons.
Those who said this:
Muhammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning وَحَفَدَةً : he said: They are the children and the grandchildren.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Mujāhid and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, regarding this verse بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: The ḥafada are the sons.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the like of the above.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Bakr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Your sons when they serve you, support you, help you, and attend upon you. Ḥumayd said:
"The slave-girls hastened around them, and were relayed, with their hands the reins of the camels."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: "The ḥafada are the servants from among the sons of the man — they are his children and they serve him. Slaves (ʿabīd) cannot come forth from wives — how can a slave come forth from my wife? The ḥafada are the sons of the man and his servants."
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : that is to say: the sons of the man who serve him and attend upon him; and the Arabs used to be served only by their male offspring.
And others said: They are the sons of the man's wife by another man.
Those who said this:
Muhammad 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 وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً : he said: the sons of the man's wife who are not his. And it is said: The ḥafid is the man who works for the man — one says: So-and-so ḥafada for us. And men claim that the ḥafada are the sons-in-law (akhtān) of the man.
The correct position concerning this, in my view, is the following: Allah, exalted is His remembrance, informed His servants of His favors upon them in what He ordained for them of wives and sons. So He said: وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً . He thus made known to them that He made for them out of their wives sons and ḥafada. The ḥafada in Arabic usage is the plural of ḥāfid, just as kadhaba is the plural of kādhib, and fasaqa the plural of fāsiq. The ḥāfid in their usage is one who moves nimbly in service and work. Al-ḥafd is the lightness of work — one says: the camel went forth ḥafadānan: when it hurries forth in haste. From this also comes their expression: "To You we hasten and ḥafada we": that is to say, we hasten to act in obedience to You. One says of this: ḥafada lahu yaḥfidu ḥafdan wa-ḥufūdan wa-ḥafadānan. From this also comes the word of al-Rāʿī:
"I loaded her unknown path with Yemeni camels, when the drivers at their hindquarters hastened."
Since the meaning of ḥafada is as we have mentioned — namely those who serve the man swiftly and move nimbly therein — and since Allah, exalted is His remembrance, has informed us that among His favors upon us is that He ordained for us ḥafada who ḥafada for us, and since our children and our wives who are fit for service — whether they are ours or another's — and our sons-in-law who are the husbands of our daughters from our wives, and our servants from among our slaves (mamālik) when they ḥafada for us, all deserve the name ḥafada, and since Allah, exalted is His remembrance, has not indicated through the outward wording of His revelation, nor through the tongue of His Prophet ﷺ, nor through a rational proof, that He intended thereby a specific kind of ḥafada to the exclusion of another kind — while He has endowed us with all of this — it is not permissible for us to restrict this to a particular category of ḥafada to the exclusion of the general, except for what the community has unanimously agreed is not included. If that is so, then all the opinions that we have reported from those whom we have mentioned have a valid interpretation and a way out in the exegesis. And although the opinion that we have chosen is the most fitting, in view of the proof that we have set forth.
And His word وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ — He says: And He has provided you with lawful provision, sustenance, and foodstuffs. أَفَبِالْبَاطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ — Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: The allies of the Devil have forbidden for them the flesh of al-baḥāʾir, al-sawāʾib, and al-waṣāʾil, and these polytheists believe this. وَبِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ — He says: And what Allah has permitted for them and shown them grace by permitting it, that they deny — that is to say: they deny its lawfulness and reject that Allah has declared it lawful.