Name: The name of this surah is Al-Nahl and it has sixteen sections and one hundred and twenty eight verses. Nahl means honeybee. While this surah highlights how Allah’s power works even in insects to create useful things for humans, the use of the word revelation in relation to the bee is explained, indicating that the real purpose of mentioning the production of honey and milk by insects and animals is to draw attention to revelation. In the case of honey particularly the words that are used فِيهِ شِفَآءٌۭ لِّلنَّاس : in which there is healing for humans (16:69) are identical to what is said about the Quran, as if to show that just as one has a healing for physical illnesses, the other has healing for spiritual illnesses. The innate guidance granted to animals by way of instinct has the significance of a Divine command for them, but the honeybee is particularly selected for the mention of revelation because just as the honeybee sucks the nectar from many different flowers to prepare a high quality sweet and healing beverage, similarly the revelation that is in the Quran is a collection of the best guidance given to mankind throughout history. Just as humans cannot extract sweetness from the flowers to make honey, similarly it is not possible for any person to gather in one place the best of guidance given over hundreds of generations and to present it as a healing for spiritual diseases. This is the reason why three verses before the mention of the honeybee, the Quran is stated to be a revelation sent to judge between all religious disputes and this is not possible unless the best guidance through history worthy of preservation is preserved in a new and excellent form. Flowers bloom today and wilt tomorrow along with their fragrance, but the honey which is produced from those flowers by the honeybee using the instinct revealed to it, never spoils.
Summary: The initial wording of this surah establishes a clear link with the previous surah which ended with a warning to the opponents of Islam. This surah opens with
أَتَىٰٓ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ۚ : Allah’s commandment will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it (16:1). Allah’s commandment referred to here is the one that comes for deriding the truth sent by Allah. Also, it is stated that Allah sends His revelation to whoever He pleases. In the last verse of the section, it is stated that the objective of finding the right path cannot be achieved without Divine revelation. In the middle verses, attention is drawn to the creation of heaven and earth and the birth of humans and animals. All this occurs through the perfect power of Allah, so why is it so strange for humans to conceive that Allah sends His guidance through revelation? The second section provides testimony from nature regarding the Oneness of Allah because the primary purpose of revelation is to establish monotheism and for this purpose, the act of creation is presented as testimony because this is something that no one can do besides Allah. The third section states that nature itself partially guides one towards the Oneness of Allah, but it is only revelation that provides information about life after death. Without belief in life after death, belief in the Oneness of Allah remains imperfect and one who reject the Hereafter is in practice also a denier of the Oneness of Allah. The fourth section explains the result of planning against the truth that revelation brings. The consequence is that such people are unjust to themselves and remain bereft of high morals. The fifth section mentions the erroneous excuses of the polytheists that will not help them in the end. The sixth section lays out the punishment of the enemies of truth and reveals clearly the kind of chastisements they will be inflicted with. The seventh section reveals that human nature cannot accept setting up partners with Allah. The eighth section states that revelation is needed to remove injustice from the world and to resolve the disagreements and dissensions between faiths. The ninth section portrays the need for revelation through similes. The tenth section mentions the excellence of the Holy Prophet who is the recipient of the revelation. The eleventh section talks about his rejection and the twelfth section describes the punishment for this rejection. The thirteenth section gives an example of the perfect teaching of the Quran and stresses the need to adhere to its teachings. The fourteenth section gives religious reasons for why this revelation is not a fabrication. The fifteenth section warns the Meccans that the peace and complacency they have will change soon and in the sixteenth section the example of Prophet Abraham is mentioned and the surah is brought to an end with some advice for the believers.
Relation with previous surahs: This surah should be considered as the last surah of the الرا group although it does not begin with الرا . The characteristic feature of the الرا group is that they generally draw attention to past events to predict the failure of the Holy Prophet’s opponents. This surah does not share this feature with the other surahs of the group and this accounts for why it does not begin with الرا. Instead, this surah presents the testimony of Divine power and human nature to show the genuineness of revelation. However, there is a mention of those who reject this truth, and, in this way, this surah completes the subject matter of the previous six surahs.
Period of revelation: The revelation of this surah also belongs to the last days of the Holy Prophet’s residence in Mecca because there is a clear mention of migration which had begun with the Meccan Muslims moving to Madinah. Those who have been led to believe from the mention of migration to Madinah that such surahs were revealed in Madinah are mistaken because the migration of Muslims had started long before the Holy Prophet migrated to Madinah. Hence this surah is part of the الرا group both by virtue of the subject matter and the period of revelation.
Bayan-ul-Quran 