Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:90
Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
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 mention, says: Allah commands in this Book which He has sent down upon you, O Muḥammad — justice (al-ʿadl). And justice is fairness. Among fairness is: acknowledgment of the One who has favored us with His grace, gratitude to Him for His beneficence, and ascribing praise to its rightful owner. And since that is justice, and since the idols and graven images have no claim to praise with us — inasmuch as they bestow no favor that one should thank them, nor bring any benefit that one should worship them — it was folly on our part to praise and worship them. Therefore it was obligatory upon us to bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner. For this reason whoever said it said: al-ʿadl in this place is the testimony that there is no god but Allah.
Mention of the one who said that: Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His words إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ — he said: "The testimony that there is no god but Allah."
As for His words concerning al-iḥsān (beneficence): the beneficence which Allah, exalted is His mention, has commanded alongside the justice which we have described, is: patience for the sake of Allah in obedience to Him regarding what He commanded and forbade — in prosperity and adversity, in the disagreeable and the agreeable. That is the fulfillment of His obligatory duties (farāʾiḍ).
As Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَالإِحْسَانِ — he said: "The fulfillment of the obligatory duties."
As for His words وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى (And the giving to kinsfolk): that is to say, giving to the kinsfolk the due that Allah has imposed upon you on account of the tie of kinship (raḥim).
As Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى — he said: "The blood relatives."
As for His words وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ (And He forbids the indecent): al-faḥshāʾ in this place is fornication (zinā).
Mention of the one who said that:
Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ — he said: "Fornication (zinā)." We have previously expounded the meaning of al-faḥshāʾ with attestations.
As for His words وَالْبَغْيِ (And transgression): it has been said that al-baghī in this place means pride (kibr) and wrongdoing (ẓulm).
Mention of the one who said that:
Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَالْبَغْيِ — he said: "Pride and wrongdoing." The basis of al-baghī is transgression and exceeding the measure and the limit in everything. That we have explained previously.
As for His words يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ (He admonishes you that you may take heed): that is to say, your Lord reminds you, O people, that you may take heed and turn to His commands and prohibitions, and acknowledge the due of whoever is entitled to it.
As Al-Muthannā and ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me — both of them said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning يَعِظُكُمْ — he said: "He commands you" — لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
It has been mentioned that Ibn ʿUyayna used to say, regarding the interpretation of this verse: the meaning of al-ʿadl in this place is that the hidden and the manifest of everyone who performs a deed for Allah are equal; and the meaning of al-iḥsān is that his hidden is better than his manifest; and that al-faḥshāʾ and al-munkar are that his manifest is better than his hidden.
It has also been mentioned that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd used to say concerning this verse — as Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, he said: Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, he said: I heard Manṣūr ibn al-Nuʿmān, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Shatayr ibn Shakal — he said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh say: "The most comprehensive verse in the Qurʾān is the verse in Sūrat al-Naḥl: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى ... to the end of the verse."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Sutayr ibn Shakal — he said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh say: "The most comprehensive verse in the Qurʾān for good and evil is the verse in Sūrat al-Naḥl: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ ... the verse."
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning His words إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى — the verse: "There is no good trait that the people of the pre-Islamic age (jāhiliyya) used to practice and regard as good, but that Allah has commanded it; and there is no evil trait that they used to abhor among themselves, but that Allah has forbidden it and dealt with it beforehand. Allah forbids only the basest of traits and their disgrace."
