Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl - Verse 96

If Allah had willed, He would have made all of Humanity one Nation

Allah says:

وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ

(And had Allah willed, He would have made you) meaning - O mankind,

أُمَّةً وَحِدَةً

((all) one nation,) This is like the Ayah:

وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لآمَنَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا

(And had your Lord willed, all of those on earth would have believed together.) 10:99, meaning, He could have created harmony among them, and there would not be any differences, conflicts or hatred between them.

وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ

إِلاَّ مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ

(And if your Lord had so willed, He would surely, have made mankind one Ummah nation or community, but they will not cease to disagree. Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His mercy, and for that did He create them.) (11:118-119) Similarly, Allah says here:

وَلـكِن يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ

(but He allows whom He wills to stray and He guides whom He wills. ) Then on the Day of Resurrection, He will ask them all about their deeds, and will reward or punish them even equal to a scalish thread in the long slit of a date stone or the size of a speck on the back of a date stone, or even a thin membrane of the date stone.

The Prohibition on taking an Oath for Purposes of Treachery

Then Allah warns His servant against taking oaths as means of deception, i.e., using them for treacherous purposes, lest a foot should slip after being firmly planted. This is an analogy describing one who was on the right path but then deviated and slipped from the path of guidance because of an unfulfilled oath that involved hindering people from the path of Allah. This is because if a disbeliever were to find that after having agreed to a covenant, then the believer betrayed him, then the believer will have hindered him from entering Islam. Thus Allah says:

وَتَذُوقُواْ الْسُّوءَ بِمَا صَدَدتُّمْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَكُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

(and you taste the evil of having hindered from the path of Allah, and you will suffer a terrible punishment.)

Do not break Oaths for the sake of Worldly Gain

Then Allah says:

وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً

(And do not use an oath by Allah for the purchase of little value.) meaning, do not neglect an oath sworn in the Name of Allah for the sake of this world and its attractions, for they are few, and even if the son of Adam were to gain this world and all that is in it, that which is with Allah is better for him, i.e., the reward of Allah is better for the one who puts his hope in Him, believes in Him, seeks Him and fulfills his oaths in the hope of that which Allah has promised. This is why Allah says:

إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَمَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ

(if you only knew. Whatever you have will be exhausted,) meaning, it will come to an end and will vanish, because it is only there for a certain, limited time.

وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ

(and what is with Allah will remain.) meaning, His reward for you in Paradise will remain, without interruption or end, because it is eternal and will never change nor disappear.

وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(And to those who are patient, We will certainly grant them their rewards in proportion to the best of what they used to do. ) Here the Lord swears, with the Lam of affirmation, that He will reward the patient for the best of their deeds, i.e., He will forgive them for their bad deeds.

All Worldly Gains and States will Perish - Only their Outcome with Allah shall Remain

A casual look at the expression: مَا عِندَكُمْ (ma ` indakum: 'what is with you' meaning world gains) leads one to think of wealth and possessions only. My revered teacher, Maulana Sayyid Asghar Husain of Deoband, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, said that the word: مَا ma (what) is general lexically and there is nothing prohibiting us from taking it in a general sense, therefore, included under it are wealth and possessions of the present world as well as all states and matters that one experiences therein. These could be happiness and sorrow, pain and comfort, sickness and health, gain and loss or someone's friendship or enmity. These form part of it for all these are transitory and must perish. However, the after-effects of all these states and matters which are to bring reward or punishment on the Day of Judgment are destined to remain. So, any reckless pursuit of states and matters that must perish and to stake one's life and its energies on this altar by becoming negligent of the eternal reward and punishment is something no sane person should elect to do.

Supporting a messenger of God amounts to renouncing the customary religious system and becoming attached to a non-customary religion. This type of action is always most difficult for man. This involves ignoring the benefit to be received from human beings and proceeding towards the benefit which will be given by God. The only virtue which is required if this type of decision is to be taken is ‘patience’; that is, a man should be able to bear today’s loss for the sake of tomorrow’s benefit; he should have the ability to give more importance to a thing which is unseen in comparison to that which is seen; he should have the urge to adopt something at the cost of sacrifice, even if it means forfeiting some immediate benefit. The subjects of God who prove to have such high ideals deserve to be blessed by God with the highest type of bounties. Those who support unadulterated pure Truth suffer a loss in the current system, so people think that such individuals are ruined. But there is a promise from God that He will fully compensate them for their sacrifices. In the eternal world after death, He will bless them with an extremely good life. Whatever they have lost temporarily will be restored by God in a better form and forever. This promise of God applies equally to women. Before God in the matter of rewards, there is no distinction between men and women.