Surah an-Nahl (The Bee ) 16 : 51

Overview (Verses 51 - 55)
 
This third passage of the sūrah is again devoted to the major issue of God’s oneness. The first three verses make it clear that God is one without partners, and that to Him alone the entire universe and all that it contains belong, and that He is the One who bestows all bounty and grace. The passage concludes with two comparisons between a master who owns and provides, and a slave who is able to do nothing of his own accord. Can these two be equal? How is it, then, that God, the Master of all and the Provider for all, is assigned equals who have no power and provide nothing? How can it be said that He is God and they are gods like Him?
 
In this passage a picture is painted of people suffering affliction and turning to God alone for help. When their affliction is removed, they associate partners with Him.
 
The passage also portrays some aspects of the superstitious nature of pagan beliefs, in that their followers attribute some of what God has provided for them to their false deities, while they themselves do not share with their slaves anything they own. They attribute females to God as His daughters while they hate to have daughters born to themselves: “When any of them is given the happy news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom.” (Verse 58) Yet at the same time they boast that they will have all the good things, and that they will be rewarded handsomely for their deeds. All these misconceptions they have inherited from earlier communities that held idolatrous beliefs. In this passage the sūrah portrays a few examples of God’s creation, showing how only God is able to produce such things and sustain them. In itself, this constitutes a great evidence of God’s control of the whole universe. It is God who sends down water from the skies to bring life to the earth after it has been lifeless. It is He who produces pure milk from the bellies of cattle, so that people may have a wholesome drink. He it is who brings out the fruits of the date-palms and the vines, from which people make their intoxicating drinks and derive good sustenance. Through His inspiration, the bees take up their homes in hills, trees and in wooden trellises people put up, and then produce honey which provides a cure for many ailments. It is God also who creates people and then gathers them in death. Some of them He leaves to old age, when they forget what they had learnt in life and become naïve. He it is who provides for some in abundance while He gives less to others. And it is God who gives them spouses and enables them to have children and grandchildren. Yet despite all these favours, people take to worshipping beside God things that can give them no sustenance, and which are themselves powerless, claiming that such things are equal to Him. All such fabrications are indeed false.
 
All these aspects are within people’s own environment and even within themselves. They are directed to them so that they will appreciate God’s power and its work in the world around them. The conclusion depicts the two clear examples we have already referred to. Thus, the whole passage addresses the human mind and conscience, striking powerful notes that are certain to influence any human being.
 
All Grace Comes from God
 
God has said: Do not take [for worship] two deities, for He is but one God. Hence, of Me alone stand in awe. His is all that is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him alone submission is always due. Will you then fear anyone but God? Whatever blessing you have comes from God; and whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help. Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord, [as if] to show their ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth]. (Verses 51-55) God has commanded that people do not worship two deities, for there is only one God, without partner or equal. The style here relies on the repetition of numbers for emphasis. This is not easily reflected in translation. Arabic, the language of the original text of the Qur’ān, admits a repetition of the number two to the dual form of deity in the first sentence. If we were to give a literal translation, the sentence would read: “Do not take for worship two deities in doubles.” Again repetition is employed in the next sentence to emphasize God’s oneness. This is re-emphasized in the use of ‘alone’ in the last part of the verse: “Of Me alone stand in awe.” There is a sense of reiterated warning in this verse. This added emphasis reminds us that the issue in question is that of faith. God’s oneness must be a concept of complete and perfect clarity in the mind of every believer. God, the only deity, is also the One to whom everything belongs: “His is all that is in the heavens and the earth.” (Verse 52) All true faith also belongs to Him: “To Him alone submission is always due.” (Verse 52) It is a continuous process, ever since there was a faith and people to believe in it. Such belief means submission, and no faith is true unless it is based on submission to Him. He alone gives blessings and bestows grace: “Whatever blessing you have comes from God.” (Verse 53) It is also ingrained in human nature that whenever people experience hardship and difficulty, they turn to God, seeking His help. At such times, there is no room for the superstitions of idolatry or pagan beliefs. To Him alone people turn with their appeals to remove their hardship: “Whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help.” (Verse 53)
 
Thus we see that Godhead and dominion in the universe belong to God alone. All submission is addressed to Him, and all grace is bestowed by Him, and to Him alone everyone should turn in all situations. Human nature is a witness to this. When it experiences affliction, harm or hardship, it returns to its purity and turns to God alone. Yet despite all this, no sooner does God save people from some type of harm that could destroy them than some of them associate partners with Him. This leads them to disbelief in God’s guidance and to denying His grace. Such people should think clearly about what will happen to them after their brief enjoyment: “Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth].” (Verse 55)
 
The sūrah portrays here a picture of a certain type of human being which is found across every generation. When harm and affliction strikes, people’s hearts turn to God for help. By nature, they know that He is the only One to protect them when no one else can. In times of comfort and pleasure, they are preoccupied with enjoyment, weakening their relationship with God: “whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help. Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord.” (Verses 53-54) They deviate from His path, following diverse ways which may lead to outright idolatry, or may take the form of ascribing divinity to values and situations, even though they may not describe these as deities.
 
Indeed deviation may be even more extreme so as to prevent people from turning to God in times of hardship. Instead they may turn to some other creature, appealing to them to save their skins. They may do so under the pretext that such creatures enjoy a special position with God, or they may have some other excuse. For example, when people appeal to ‘saints’ to cure their illnesses or remove their afflictions. Such people are thus even more deviant than the pagan Arabs.