Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 112

The Example of Makkah

This example refers to the people of Makkah, which had been secure, peaceful and stable, a secure sanctuary while men were being snatched away from everywhere outside of it. Whoever entered Makkah, he was safe, and he had no need to fear, as Allah said:

وَقَالُواْ إِن نَّتَّبِعِ الْهُدَى مَعَكَ نُتَخَطَّفْ مِنْ أَرْضِنَآ أَوَلَمْ نُمَكِّن لَّهُمْ حَرَماً ءَامِناً يُجْبَى إِلَيْهِ ثَمَرَاتُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ رِّزْقاً مِّن لَّدُنَّا

(And they say: "If we follow the guidance with you, we would be snatched away from our land." Have We not established a secure sanctuary (Makkah) for them, to which are brought fruits of all kinds, a provision from Ourselves.) 28:57 Similarly, Allah says here:

يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا

(its provision coming to it in abundance) meaning, with ease and in plenty,

مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللَّهِ

(from every place, but it (its people) denied the favors of Allah.) meaning, they denied the blessings of Allah towards them, the greatest of which was Muhammad ﷺ being sent to them, as Allah said:

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُواْ نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا وَأَحَلُّواْ قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ الْبَوَارِ - جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَارُ

(Have you not seen those who have changed the favors of Allah into disbelief, and caused their people to dwell in the abode of destruction; Hell, in which they will burn, - and what an evil place to settle in!) (14:28-29). Hence Allah replaced their former blessings with the opposite, and said:

فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ

(So Allah made it taste extreme hunger (famine) and fear,) meaning, He inflicted it and made them taste of hunger after fruits of all kinds and provision in abundance from every place had been brought to it. This was when they defied the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and insisted on opposing him, so he supplicated against them, asking Allah to send them seven years like the seven years of Yusuf (i.e., seven years of famine), and they were stricken with a year in which everything that they had was destroyed, and they ate `Alhaz', which is the hair of the camel mixed with its blood when it is slaughtered.

وَالْخَوْفِ

(and fear). This refers to the fact that their sense of security was replaced with fear of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions after they had migrated to Al-Madinah. They feared the power and the attack of his armies, and they started to lose and face the destruction of everything that belonged to them, until Allah made it possible for His Messenger to conquer Makkah. This happened because of their evil deeds, their wrongdoing and their rejection of the Messenger that Allah sent to them from among themselves. He reminded them of this blessing in the Ayah:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

(Indeed, Allah blessed the believers when He sent Messenger from among themselves to them.) (3:164) and,

فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ يأُوْلِى الأَلْبَـبِ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قَدْ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكُمْ ذِكْراًرَسُولاً

(So have Taqwa of Allah! O men of understanding who have believed, Allah has indeed revealed to you a reminder (this Qur'an). (And has also sent to you) a Messenger.) 65:10-11 and:

كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْكُمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَـتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ

(Similarly (as a blessing), We have sent a Messenger to you from among you, reciting Our Ayat to you, and purifying you, and teaching you the Book (the Qur'an) and the Hikmah (i.e. Sunnah).) Until

وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ

(and do not be ungrateful.) 2:151-152 Allah changed the situation of the disbelievers and made it the opposite of what it had been, so they lived in fear after being secure, they were hungry after having plenty of provisions. After the believers lived in fear, Allah granted them security, giving them ample provisions after they lived in poverty, making them rulers, governors and leaders of mankind. This is what we say about the example that was given of the people of Makkah. It was also the opinion of Al-`Awfi and Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, and Malik narrated it from Az-Zuhri as well. May Allah have mercy on them all.

Commentary

According to leading Tafsir authorities, the similitude mentioned in verse 112 is general and universal. It does not relate to a particular habitation. However, there are others who connect it to what had happened in Makkah al-Mukarramah where people suffered from an acute famine for seven years so much so that they were compelled to eat animal carcass, dead dogs and filth. They were virtually gripped with the awe of Muslims. Then, the chiefs of Makkah came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ with the plea that those who had committed disbelief and disobedience against his call were all grown-up men. Women and children were innocent. Thereupon, the Holy Prophet arranged to have food supplies for them sent from Madinah al-Taiyyibah. (Mazhari)

And Abu Sufyn, while still in his state of kufr, requested the Holy Prophet ﷺ : You teach kindness to relatives and mercy and forgiveness. Here are your people standing on the brink of destruction. Please pray to Allah for the removal of this famine from us. Thereupon, the Holy Prophet ﷺ prayed for them and the famine was gone. (Qurtubi)

As for the use of the word: لِبَاس (libas: garment) to carry the sense of giving a taste of hunger and fear towards the later part of verse 112, it will be noted that a garment is not a thing to be tasted. But, the word 'garment' standing for 'libas' has been used here with the force of a similie denoting something being wide-spread and all-enveloping. The suggestion being conveyed here is that fear and hunger were cast over them in a manner of a garment or dress which becomes an integral part of the body. This was how hunger and fear were released and set all over them. (Mazhari)

Whenever untruth dominates the current atmosphere, one who accepts the Truth faces severely trying circumstances: his surroundings force him to revert to the customary religion. Under these circumstances, if he remains steady in his adherence to the Truth and leaves everything (even his property and his native place), then he is a migrator (muhajir). One who strives and struggles (mujahid) for the cause of God, makes himself deserving of a huge reward. What keeps a man steady on the path of Truth under the trying circumstances of the world is his remembrance of the Hereafter. Every man is soon going to face a Day so terrible that he will forget even his friends and relatives. At that time no one will be able to say anything on behalf of anybody, and no one will come forward in commendation of anybody. If a man fully realizes the meaning of that coming Day, he will be in a condition to bear any type of loss, but he will not abandon the Truth.