An-Nahl 16:1 · SocialQuran

سُورَةُ النَّحۡلِ · 16:1

MeccanRevelation order ٧٠Juzʾ ١٤Page ٢٦٧

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ أَتَىٰٓ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

Saheeh International · EN

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

Introduction Revelation Tafsir Transmission Debate

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Introduction

This is āyah 1 of Sūrat An-Nahl (The Bee), the 70th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 14. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl

Period: Meccan
Order revealed: 70 of 114
Surah: An-Nahl (16)

Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

The command of God is coming, so do not seek to hurry it. God's command is many-colored, and obeying Him is many-hued. The servant's outwardness was commanded one thing, his inwardness something else. The outwardness was commanded to stay with tightened belt on the threshold of worship in the way station of service. The inwardness was commanded to stay quiet on the carpet of recognition with the quality of veneration. The heart was commanded to be constant in watchfulness. The secret core was commanded to seek limpidness in the station of recognition. And the spirit was commanded to cling to the Presence in contempla- tion itself. So do not seek to hurry it. Do not hurry to find what is desired and do not go beyond the measure of the command, for everyone truthful will one day reach what he desires, and everyone obedient to the Real has the promise of vision.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. أَتَىٰ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (1. The Event ordained by Allah has indeed come, so do not seek to hasten it. Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him.) 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 حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِي 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] فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوه…

Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

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Provenance

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