Surah Ar-Rahman Ayat 16 (55:16 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(55:16) Which of the wonders of your Lord’s power^[16] will you twain – you men and jinn – then deny?

16. Here, in view of the context, It is more appropriate to translate alaa as “wonders of power”, but in this the aspect of the blessing is also present. Just as it is a wonderful manifestation of Allah’s power to have brought into existence marvelous creatures like man from the dust and the jinn from the flame of fire, so for both these creatures this is also a great blessing that Allah not only granted them a body but gave each such a structure and endowed each with such powers and capabilities that they became able to perform unique works in the world. Though we do not know much about the jinn, man is present before us. Had he been given the body of a fish or a bird or a monkey along with the human brain, he could not have used, with that body, the mental powers to any advantage. Then, is it not a supreme blessing of Allah that He blessed man with the most suitable body also, so that he may exploit the mental powers granted to him efficiently? Consider the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, the tongue and the erect stature as against the intellect and reason, and the capabilities of workmanship and artistic skill, and one will feel that the Creator has provided a deep relationship and harmony between them without which the human body would have remained useless. Then, the same thing points out Allah’s praiseworthy qualities too. How could the men and jinn of such quality and rank be brought into existence without knowledge, wisdom, mercy and a profound creative power? For such miracles of creation cannot be performed by accidents and automatic blind and deaf laws of nature.

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah Ar-Rahman verse 16 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Rahman ayat 14 which provides the complete commentary from verse 14 through 25.