Surah An-Nahl Ayat 72 (16:72 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(16:72) And Allah has given you spouses from your kind, and has granted you through your spouses, sons and grandsons, and has provided you wholesome things as sustenance. (After knowing all this), do they still believe in falsehood^[63] and deny Allah’s bounty,^[64]

63. “Is then in falsehood that they believe”: they have this false and baseless belief that there are certain gods and goddesses, jinns and saints, dead and alive, who possess the power to make or mar their fates, fulfill their desires and answer their prayers, give them children, cure their diseases and help them win law suits.

64. “In the bounty of Allah that they disbelieve”: by associating others with Allah in offering gratitude to Him for His favors, though they did not have any proof or authority that their false gods had played any part in regard to those favors. The Quran considers such an association to be the denial of Allah’s favors. It puts forward the fundamental principle: It is the denial of the favor of the real benefactor to offer gratitude for his favor to anyone who has not done that favor, or to presume without any proof or reason that the real benefactor has nor granted that favor of his own accord but because of the mediation or regard or recommendation or intercession of this or that person.

Ibn-Kathir

72. And Allah has made for you mates of your own kind, and has made for you, from your mates, sons and grandsons, and has granted you good provisions. Do they then believe in false deities and deny favor of Allah

Allah mentions the blessing He has bestowed upon His servant by giving them mates from among themselves, mates of their own kind. If He had given them mates of another kind, there would be no harmony, love and mercy between them. But out of His mercy He has made the Children of Adam male and female, and has made the females wives or mates for the males. Then Allah mentions that from these wives He creates children and grandchildren, one’s children’s children. This was the opinion of Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak and Ibn Zayd. Shu`bah said, narrating from Abu Bishr from Sa`id bin Jubayr from Ibn `Abbas: “Children and grandchildren, who are one’s children and one’s children’s children.” It was also said that this means servants and helpers, or it means sons-in-law or in-laws. I say: if we understand

(grandsons) to refer back to wives, then it must mean children, children’s children, and sons-in-law, because they are the husbands of one’s daughter or the children of one’s wife.

(and has granted you good provisions.) meaning your food and drink. Then Allah denounces those who associate others in worship with the One Who bestows blessings on them:

(Do they then believe in false deities), meaning idols and rivals to Allah

(and deny the favor of Allah) meaning, by concealing the blessings that Allah has given them and attributing them to others. According to a Sahih Hadith, the Prophet said:

(Allah will say to His servant on the Day of Resurrection, reminding him of His blessings: “Did I not give you a wife Did I not honor you Did I not subject horses and camels to your use, and cause you to occupy a position of leadership and honor”)