Topic: Nations

2:191; 4:85.

Commentary:

The clause, and fight in the cause of Allah, is addressed to Muslims, who are warned of the fate which overtook the Israelites when they refused to fight the enemy when called upon to do so by Moses. God tells Muslims that a people who fear death do not deserve to live. This is the first secret of national progress which the Quran inculcates, viz. that a people can live and prosper only if they shed the fear of death, and that those who are afraid of death die ignobly.

It is hardly necessary to point out here how well Muslims took this lesson to heart. When the well-equipped force of the Quraish came forth from Mecca to destroy the small and ill-equipped Muslim community of Medina, and the Holy Prophet consulted his followers as to whether they were prepared to face and fight the enemy, they told him that they would not behave like the companions of Moses who said to him, Go thou and thy Lord and fight, and here we sit (5:25) but that they would willingly fight on his right and on his left and in his front and at his back, and the enemy would not reach him except over their corpses, and that they would unhesitatingly plunge their horses even into the raging sea, if he only wished them to do so. The tradition says that when the Holy Prophet heard these words from his Companions, his face beamed with joy and he said to them, "Then go forth and trust in Allah Who will be with you" (Tabari & Hisham).

The words "All-Hearing" and "All-Knowing" point out that though Muslims were weak and without equipment, yet the help of their Lord was with them, Who heard their prayers and knew their condition.

2:266; 30:40.

Commentary:

In the foregoing verses, it was pointed out that it is a law of God that He gives new life to deserving nations after they have become dead, and the case of the Israelites was mentioned as an instance. It was further indicated that the progeny of Abraham would rise four times, the Israelites and the Ishmaelites each rising twice. Now, in order to prepare Muslims for the promised rise, God reverts to the means of national progress and exhorts the Faithful to spend freely in the cause of God, pointing out that their case is like that of a seed which is multiplied 700 times and even more. Thus 700 times is the least reward that will be given to Muslims, and there is no limit to what God will bestow over and above this. History shows that this promise was fulfilled to the very letter; for the reward which God gave to the early Muslims in this world was not only 700 times of what they spent in the cause of Allah but immeasurably greater; and the reward in the world to come will certainly be greater still.

17:40.

Commentary:

The verse points out that the injunction regarding spending wealth in charity, which is the secret of national advancement, is based on wisdom. The word حکمة (wisdom) also alludes to the fulfilment of the prayer which Abraham had offered to God for the raising of a Prophet among the Meccans, who should teach them the Book and Wisdom (2:130).

The people who receive wisdom receive "an abundant good" and are thus sure to thrive and prosper if they act on it.

2:285; 5:19, 41; 35:14; 40:17; 48:15.

See under next verse.

7:55; 13:4; 22:62; 35:14; 39:6; 57:7.

6:96; 10:32; 30:20.

Commentary:

This and the preceding verse point to the immutable divine law that nations rise and fall as they conform to, or defy, the will of God, Who is the source of all power and glory. They also refer to the fulfilment of a great prophecy. A nation which had enjoyed temporal and spiritual sovereignty for a long time was going to be abased, because it had persistently violated the divine law and had become spiritually dead; and in place of it another nation, till now very low in the scale of humanity, was going to be raised to the highest pinnacle of temporal and spiritual power. The sovereignty or kingdom mentioned in the preceding verse refers to both the temporal and spiritual kingdom which was promised to the progeny of Abraham and which the Israelites had enjoyed for a long time. That kingdom was now going to be transferred to the House of Ishmael to find its completest manifestation in Islam. A living nation had suffered death and another, as good as dead, had arisen into life.

The word النھار (day) represents prosperity and power, and اللیل (night) signifies the loss of power combined with decline and decadence. By using this simile, the Quran draws attention to the fact that a people who wish that the night of woes and miseries should never overtake them and that they should ever continue to enjoy the day of prosperity and glory, should so place themselves in front of the Divine Sun as to continue to be illuminated by its ever-effulgent light. In this connection it may also be noted that the Quranic expression, Thou makest the night pass into the day and makest the day pass into the night, does not merely signify "the" alternate ending and beginning of day and: night, but also the conversion of part of the day into night and vice versa, thus hinting at the lengthening of the one at the cost of the other.

The clause, And Thou givest to whomsoever thou pleasest without measure, holds out a promise to Muslims that the glory of Islam will be unparalleled and will last forever. Islam will never be displaced as a religion and Muslims will always continue to be one of the most exalted peoples of the earth till the end of time. The appearance of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, at a time when the temporal power of Islam was at its lowest ebb and Muslims had also become morally and spiritually degenerate, was in fulfilment of this very promise. Through him Islam has found a new life. It will now bloom and blossom till whole nations shall come under its spiritual sway, and Muslims shall regain their pristine glory and shall become the most dominant people on the face of the earth.

4:105; 47:36.

Important Words:

ان (if) is a common Arabic word giving a number of meanings: (1) if, (2) not, (3) verily, (4) because, (5) when, etc. (Lane).

Commentary:

The expression, Slacken not, nor grieve, embodies a very important principle of national or for that matter, personal strength, the words "slacken not" pertaining to future danger and the words "grieve not" to past errors and misfortunes. Nations fall only when, either through lack of true realization of their respon-sibilities they begin to slacken, or through brooding over the past, they give way to despair. The words warn against both these dangers.

The clause, you shall certainly have the upper hand, means that if Muslims follow the above advice, they will certainly be victorious in the end. Intervening failures are indeed no failures if the final triumph is assured. Muslims had apparently met with a reverse at Uhud, so God exhorts the Faithful to let no sort of weakness get hold of them on account of that reverse, either in body or in actions or in faith.

The Arabic clause rendered as, if you are believers, may also be rendered as "because you are believers". In this case the verse would embody a more positive promise of victory.

10:50; 15:6; 16:62; 35:46.

Important Words:

یستقدمون (get ahead) is derived from قدم i.e. he preceded; or he came before; or he headed (someone else). استقدم القوم means, he preceded the people, or he went ahead of the people, or he went before them (Lane & Aqrab). As one who gets ahead of a thing virtually leaves it behind, therefore, the idea in یستقدمون (get ahead) is that of escaping.

یستأخرون (remain behind) is derived from اخر. They say استأخرالقوم i.e. he remained behind the people. استأخر also means, he or it was put behind or put off or delayed (Lane & Aqrab). As one who remains behind a thing virtually puts the thing off, therefore, the idea in یستأخرون (remain behind) is that of putting off.

Commentary:

The verse means that when the time fixed for the punishment of a people comes, it cannot be averted. Disbelievers, who have incurred it, can neither escape it nor put it off by a single moment.

18:46.

3:118.

11:69.

Important Words:

حصیدا (a field that is mown down) is derived from حصد meaning, he reaped or cut with the scythe seed-produce or plants or herbage. They say حصدھم بالسیف i.e. he mowed them down with the sword; he slew them; he exerted his utmost power or exceeded ordinary bounds in slaying them; he exterminated them with the sword. The Arab proverb من زرع الشر حصد الندامةmeans, he who sows evil reaps regret. حصید means, reaped seed-produce; grain that is reaped; seed-produce torn up and carried away by the wind; slain or mown down with the sword, like seed-produce when reaped. حصاد means, time or season of reaping; what remains on the ground after the crop has been reaped; what falls off and becomes scattered of the seed-produce (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The life of this world has been likened here to rainwater. The verse purports to say that when rain descends from heaven, it causes various kinds of vegetation to grow. Some of them are useful for man and others for animals. But man, instead of ascribing this to the favour of God, looks upon it as the fruit of his own industry and skill. When, however, in consequence of his pride and vanity, a sudden visitation from God destroys all the produce of the earth, he cannot prevent or delay its destruction, let alone possess the power to produce it which he so vaingloriously claimed to have. The moral of the parable is that when nations become proud and vain, i.e. when they take life lightly, their decline sets in and they come to grief.

Water in this verse may also be taken to stand for the word of God. In this sense, the verse would mean that the word of God brings about mighty changes in the life of those who accept and follow it and various new sciences come into existence as a result of its study and new discoveries are made in the material as well as in the spiritual world. The revelation of the Quran gave birth not only to highly spiritual and righteous men but also to eminent philosophers and scientists. But when Muslims became vain and refused to acknowledge their debt to the word of God and began to look upon themselves as the real originators and creators of all these sciences, they fell from the high pedestal of material and spiritual glory to the depths of degradation and degeneration.

3:118; 16:34.

Commentary:

The Quran repeatedly emphasizes the fact that God never punishes a people unjustly and that it is their own misdeeds that bring down punishment upon them. It denies the theory of predestination or of man’s being the victim of a blind fate. It also contradicts the view that God makes nations rise and fall arbitrarily, without just or real cause. This is why, wherever the Quran speaks of punishment, it does not fail to add that punishments or rewards are the results of men’s own doing. This is what is hinted at in the words, And We did not wrong them but they wronged themselves.

The verse also points out that of all things it is their idols that are of absolutely no use to idolaters. All other things in nature such as fire, snakes, poisons, etc. have their uses. The swords of disbelievers were also of some service to them, because with them they killed some Muslims, but what proved of entirely no use to the idolaters were their gods, upon whom they had staked their whole future.

The words, and they added to them naught but perdition, do not contradict the well-known Quranic dictum that idols can do disbelievers neither good nor evil, for where the Quran denies that idols can do harm, it is intentional harm that is meant; but where it says that idols do serious harm to their votaries, as in the present verse, it means involuntary or unintentional harm, for what greater sin there can be than committing shirk, (idol-worship) of which idols are the unconscious cause.

The words "but perdition" also point to the moral that shirk generally renders idolaters lax in their efforts to better their condition and thus is indirectly instrumental in bringing about their eventual destruction. When at the Fall of Mecca, some of the idolaters who, on account of their most atrocious crimes against Muslims were proscribed from the general amnesty, took shelter in the Ka‘bah, thinking that the idols therein would protect them, they were ordered by the Holy Prophet to be slain. Had they known that their idols could render them no help whatsoever, they would have sought safety in flight. Thus the words "but perdition" hint that شرك (idol-worship) renders its votaries lax and negligent.

22:46; 28:59.

Important Words:

مترفیھا (its rebellious people). مترفis derived from ترف which means, he led a plentiful and pleasant or an easy life; or a life of ease and plenty; it (a plant or herbage) was or became luxuriant, flourishing and fresh by reason of plentiful irrigation. اترف means, he persevered or persisted in, or resolved upon transgression, wrongdoing, or deviation from the right way. They say اترفته النعمة i.e. wealth, or what God bestowed upon him, made him excessively disobedient or rebellious; or extravagant in acts of disobedience and in wrongdoing; or made him lead a life of ease and plenty. مترفtherefore means, one left to do what he wills; one enjoying a life of ease and plenty; luxurious or indulging himself largely in the pleasures or delights of the present life; one who is not prevented from enjoying himself; one whose means of subsistence are made ample or plentiful; one whom a life of ease and plenty or wealth causes to exult, or to exult excessively, and to behave insolently and ungratefully; one who magnifies himself; or behaves proudly, haughtily or insolently. The Quranic expression مترفیھا means, the worst of its chiefs; and the leaders in evil (Lane & Aqrab). See also 11:117.

Commentary:

Some critics of Islam have first translated this verse as "We command its rebellious inhabitants and they transgress therein" and then have made it a target for objection, saying that God Himself first commands the people to transgress and then punishes them for their transgression. The words of the verse do not justify this objection. The verse clearly states that disbelievers defied the commandments of God and as a result of their defiance and transgression they were destroyed. Elsewhere the Quran expressly says that it is only good deeds that God commands men to do. See 7:29 & 16:91.

The expression, We address our commandment to its rebellious people, should not be understood to mean that the command to obey was given only to one section of the people. It was given to all the people as the word مترف (lit. one who does what he pleases and is rebellious) comprises all sorts of disobedient and rebellious people, whether rich or poor. Even if the expression may appear to refer to only one class of people, according to Quranic style and diction, it applies to all peoples. Analogous expressions have been used in the Quran where a command intended for all people seems to have been addressed to one person only. In 38:76 the command to obey Adam was given to all the angels but it seems to have been addressed to Iblis only. See also 2:35.

By قریة (a township) is here meant the mother-town, a town which serves as a metropolis or centre of culture and politics for other towns.

18:95.

Important Words:

حتی (even) is a particle used in several senses. It denotes the end of an extent meaning till, until or to the time of. It is also a conjunction like واو signifying, "and" or rather "even". It is also used as an inceptive article. They say أکلت السمک حتی رأسھا; the word رأس having three readings. According to the first reading it has a kasra (ra’siha), according to the second fatha (ra’saha) and according to the third zamma (ra’soha). The sentence according to these readings respectively means:(1) I ate the fish even to its head; (2) I ate the fish even (and) its head; (3) I ate the fish so that its head was eaten. The particle also denotes a cause or motive signifying, to the end that, or in order that, or so that, as in the saying أسلم حتی تدخل الجنة i.e. be a Muslim so that thou mayest enter Paradise. It is also used in the sense of الا i.e. except (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat).

یأجوج و مأجوج (Gog and Magog) are both derived from أج (ajja). They sayأجت النار i.e. the fire burned or burned fiercely. أج(ajja) means, he hastened or was quick in his pace; he or it became the flaming fire (Lane & Aqrab). The words: یأجوجand مأجوج are both derived from this root. They refer to the Scythians of the furthest East...or as some say, all nations inhabiting the north of Asia and of Europe (see Enc. Brit. and Jewish Encyclopaedia under "Gog" and "Magog", and " Historians’ History of the World" vol. 2, p. 582 and Ezekiel 38: 2-6 & 39: 6). The words may also apply to the Christian nations of the West as they have made much use of the burning fire and boiling water and because all their material progress and great discoveries and inventions are due to the proper use of these things. Or the words may imply the restlessness of these nations as they are always on the lookout restlessly and impatiently to make new conquests. See also 16:18.

حدب (height) is inf. noun from حدب (hadiba) which means, it rose high or grew up high. حدب (hadabun) means, high or elevated ground. حدب من الارض means, rugged or high ground. The word also means a wave; a slope in a declivity. حدب الماءmeans, the elevated waves of water or the rolling water in waves. The Quranic expression من کل حدب ینسلون means, they will occupy every vantage point and will dominate the whole world and excel all nations (Lane & Aqrab).

ینسلون (shall hasten forth) is formed from نسل. They say نسل الولد i.e. he begot a son. نسل الرجل means, his progeny multiplied. نسل فی مشیه means, he hastened in his walk (Aqrab & Mufradat).

فتحت (let loose) signifies that the Christian nations of the West will spread all over the world and dominate it.

Commentary:

The description of Gog and Magog as given in the Bible leaves no doubt about the fact that it applies to some Christian powers of the west: Firstly, because they are represented as very numerous and powerful and mighty and their numbers as further swelling by their allies. Says the Bible:

Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm, Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands and many people with thee (Ezek. 38:9). Gog and Magog... the number of whom is as the sand of the sea (Rev. 20:8). Every feathered fowl, and every beast of the field is thus addressed, ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth (Ezek. 39:18,19).

Secondly, they are shown coming forth from the northern parts of the earth, and from the isles: "And thou (o Gog) shalt come from thy place out of the north, thou, and many people with thee" (Ezek. 38:15). Thirdly, they will spread all over the world: "They went up on the breadth of the earth" (Rev. 20:9). Fourthly, from their home in the north, they will migrate to other lands and settle in all the four corners of the earth and in time of war they will gather together from their distant colonies: "Satan.... shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle" (Rev. 20:8).Fifthly, the very root meaning of the words 'Gog' and 'Magog,' as shown under "Important Words," points to western Christian nations as the nations referred to in the above Biblical prophecies.

The name Gog first occurs in 1 Chr. 5:4, where he is mentioned as a descendant of Joel.

But Ezek. 38:3, and 39: 1, speak of Gog as 'prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal', evidently Rosh standing for Russia, Meshech for Moscow and Tubal for To bolsk. Gog is also spoken of as 'of the land of Magog' (Ezek. 38:2) and Magog, in this verse of the Bible, according to the commentators of the Bible represents the regions which of old went by the name of Scythia (including Russia and Tartary), from which in the past issued many hordes of barbarians. As Russia was included in the land of Magog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal must be taken as standing for Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk.

Magog was the second of Japheth’s sons (Gen. 10:2) and his descendants seem to have given their name to the land referred to in Ezek. 38:2. But Magog has also been spoken of as the name of a people in Ezek. 39:6 and in Rev. 20:8. In the former, Magog has been mentioned along with those 'that dwell carelessly in the isles.' These passages also show that Gog and Magog represent some of the great Powers of Europe, including Russia.

Gog and Magog have also been mentioned elsewhere in the Quran (18:95). There they have been spoken of as making raids into territories on the northern border of Iran, which means that they were the tribes generally known as Scythians. It is a known historical fact that in olden times the Scythians continued to move in large bodies from Asia into Europe, their route lying north of the Caucasus. (Enc. Brit. vol. 12, p. 263. 14th edit.). As one horde settled down in Europe new hordes came forth from the east, pushing their predecessors further and further West. Thus the nations of Europe have been legitimately called Gog and Magog in the Biblical prophecy. It is curious that the memory of two heroes named Gog and Magog is preserved to this day in Guild Hall (London) in the form of two statues. The original effigies which were destroyed in the Great Fire in the sixteenth century are known to have existed in the time of Henry V. These heroes seem to have been connected with Britain from very ancient times.

Again, from "Ezekiel" and "Revelation" it appears that Gog and Magog will make their appearance in the Latter Days i.e. in the time just before the second coming of the Messiah: "After many years thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword" (Ezek. 38:8). "It shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land" (Ezek. 38:16). See also Rev. 20:7-10. These verses show that the prophecy refers to a people who were to have appeared in the distant future. That distant future is the time through which we are now passing and the mighty people of whom the prophecy speaks are the great Christian powers of the west. The following prophecy in Ezekiel shows that the age in which Gog and Magog were to make their appearance was to be marked by wars, earthquakes, pestilences and terrible catastrophes:

And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, (by Israel is here meant the true Israel—the followers of Islam) saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother (And on that day We shall leave some of them to surge against others—Quran, 18:100). And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord" (38:18-23). See also 18:84, 100 & 102.

The present verse when read in conjunction with its predecessor purports to say that the law of nature works in this way that once a people after the heyday of their grandeur and glory, fall a victim to death and destruction they never regain their lost glory. But it further says that a new phenomenon will take place in the time of Gog and Magog. After their power and might will have gone to pieces and their glory departed the followers of Islam will again come into their own and regain their former greatness, grandeur and glory after they had lost all hope of regeneration. Gog and Magog or the Christian nations of the west have now scaled all the heights of political power and have spread over the whole world which has become divided into two opposite armed camps, viz. Western democracies and their allies on one side and communism and its satellites on the other. One part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, the other part about the complete and utter destruction of Gog and Magog is awaiting fulfilment. The signs of its fulfilment are already apparent on the horizon.

The verse may also signify that the nations that had been subjugated by western Christian powers and had groaned under their cruel exploitation and heartless tyranny will rise to new life again when Christian Powers will begin to deteriorate and fall, after having attained to the highest pinnacles of material glory.

39:68.

20:56; 29:20; 30:12.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that at that time the great empires will be rolled up like the rolling up of written scrolls by a scribe i.e. they shall be destroyed. But taken in a metaphorical sense it may signify that through the Holy Prophet a complete transformation will come about and the old heaven will be rolled up and in its place a new heaven and a new earth will be created. And so it came to pass. The old order died and with the Holy Prophet a new and better order came into being. Never had heaven witnessed such a complete transformation in the lives of a people as it did in the Holy Prophet’s time.

The expression نعیدہ (so shall We repeat it) implies that the order brought into being by the Holy Prophet will receive a setback through the material outlook on life created by the godless and mechanistic Western civilization. But this setback will be temporary and a new spiritual awakening will be brought about by the selfless efforts of a great follower of the Holy Prophet (the Promised Messiah) and his devoted followers, and Islam will again emerge triumphant. The verse may also mean that at the time to which reference has been made in the preceding verses, great empires will be reduced to ashes and powerful nations will be destroyed and other nations will rise to power in their place.

Commentary:

This verse embodies another argument in support of the theme touched in the preceding verse. It alludes to the phenomenon of the rise and fall of nations. At one time a people rise to power and eminence and the sun of progress and prosperity shines upon them, at another time decadence and death overtake them as a consequence of their evil deeds. The verse under comment seems to convey a warning to disbelievers that the sun of their power and grandeur is about to set and another people—the Muslims, who are now weak and powerless, are destined to rise to greatness. The coming to pass of this apparently impossible phenomenon, will prove the truth of another phenomenon viz. that there is a life after the present life.

10:5; 30:28.

Commentary:

The theme of the preceding verse has further been developed in this verse and the disbelievers are told just to have a glance over the histories of the nations that lived in the past and see that when God intended to create a new order and a new nation, He raised a new Prophet, and when his people rejected him they were destroyed and another people took their place. The Holy Prophet’s rejecters are thus warned that if they did not take a lesson from the fate of the rejecters of former Prophets they will also come to history of all religions that rejection of the Divine Message always has landed the disbelievers into ruin.

The expressions سیروا فی الارض (travel in the land) and أولم یسیروا فی الارض (have they not travelled in the land) have been used at several places in the Quran (6:12; 12:110; 30:10; 35:45; 40:83), and almost everywhere they have been followed by a sentence which points to the terrible fate which the rejecters of the Divine Message had met. This shows that in the present case also where this expression has been followed by the words "then see how He originated the creation, then will Allah create the latter creation," it points to the destruction of one people and the creation of another in their place. Thus the verse does not refer to the Resurrection after death. It only draws attention to the phenomenon of the rise and decline of nations and their rise after their decline.

21:69; 37:98.

Commentary:

Abraham’s account began with the 17th verse and in the 18th verse he gave strong arguments in refutation of Shirk. From the 19th to 24th verse, in consonance with the Quranic style and practice which adds to its elegance and beauty, a digression intervened and a great religious principle was briefly discussed in relation to the Holy Prophet. The principle discussed was that when one nation, as the result of its rejection of the Divine Message, falls a victim to decay and decadence another people takes its place. From this verse the thread is taken up of Abraham’s story.

22:62; 35:14; 57:7.

7:55; 13:3; 35:14; 39:6.

Commentary:

The verse under comment further develops the theme of its predecessor and says that nations and individuals advance and decay as they observe or ignore the laws that govern their rise and fall. Uniform prosperity or unrelieved misery has never been the lot of a people for all time. The condition of a people or individual changes with a corresponding change in their or his attitude and behaviour. The natural law of the day following the night, and vice versa operates with equal force in regard to the fate of nations as well as individuals.

22:7; 57:18.

Important Words:

نشور (Resurrection) is an infinitive noun from نشر. They say نشر الخبر i.e. he spread or spread out or published the news. نشرت الارض means, the land, being rained upon, its herbage or pasturage became green after it had dried up. نشر الله الموتیmeans, God raised the dead to life. نشور means, raising the dead: Resurrection. The word has also been used in the sense of spiritual resurrection in this life (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the Quran the plural form ریاح (winds) is generally used in good sense as in the present verse and in vv. 7:58; 25:49; etc. while the singular has been used to denote Divine punishment as in 17:70; 33:10; 41:17; 46:25; 51:42; 54:20 & 69:7. The word النشور (Resurrection) if taken to mean the resurrection of a people from a state of spiritual decline and degradation, the verse would mean that just as dead and dry land blossoms into new life when rain falls upon it, so will a people, morally and spiritually dead and steeped in sin and wickedness as the Arabs are, rise to a new life by means of the heavenly water of Divine revelation—the Quran.

16:71.

Important Words:

ننکسه (We revert him) is derived from نکس. They say نکسه i.e. he turned it upside down; نکس الرجل (nukisa) means, the man became weak and powerless. نکسه (nakkasa) means, he reversed or reverted it (Aqrab). See also 20:66.

Commentary:

The verse points to a very important law of nature, viz. that everything that has life is subject to decay and deterioration. The law applies as well to nations as to individuals. Like individuals, nations also develop, grow and find their full stature, and then fall a victim to decay, decrepitude and death. The verse means to say that peoples who had received new life through Divine revelation have now fallen a prey to spiritual decay and decadence. God has, therefore, decreed that another nation, the Arabs, should rise and grow on the ruins of their grandeur and glory. For that purpose He has raised a Messenger among them.