Sūrat an-Naḥl
Section 14 of 17 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Ask the People of Knowledge
There are several other things, and a few other verses worth marking out and dwelling upon before the last verse is read to end this tafsīr. There are the verses of niʿmah already mentioned, and the notion of the bushrā that was discussed.** The point of niʿmah returns a good many times.
Allah (swt) then says, in verse 43, which is a prominent and important verse:
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“We did not send (messengers) before you other than men whom We inspired with revelation. So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the Reminder (the earlier Scriptures), if you do not know.” (16:43)
Wa mā arsalnā min qablika illā rijālan nūḥī ilayhim. It speaks of those whom Allah sent before the Prophet (peace be upon him), and whom He would inspire. And the command for us is fa-sʾalū ahla al-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn — fa-sʾalū ahla al-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn: ask the people of knowledge if you do not know. This is a great command: that when you do not know something, go and ask. Do not suffer in silence, and do not remain ignorant, but go and ask. That is the origin of the notion of taking classes; it is the basis of all the education that takes place.
مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ ۖ وَمَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ بَاقٍ ۗ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُوٓا۟ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“What is with you shall perish and what is with Allah shall last. And certainly, We shall bless those who observed patience, with their reward for the best of what they used to do.” (16:96)
Wa mā ʿinda Allāhi bāq: whatever you have will end, but whatever is with Allah will remain for ever. Which means that our good deeds will remain, and the Qur'an we read, and the Qur'an we study; all of it, in shāʾ Allāh, will be counted among what remains. Wa la-najziyanna alladhīna ṣabarū ajrahum bi-aḥsani mā kānū yaʿmalūn.