Surah Nahl Ayat 76 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 76
And Allah presents an example of two men, one of them dumb and unable to do a thing, while he is a burden to his guardian. Wherever he directs him, he brings no good. Is he equal to one who commands justice, while he is on a straight path?
Allah sets forth (another) Parable of two men: one of them dumb, with no power of any sort; a wearisome burden is he to his master; whichever way be directs him, he brings no good: is such a man equal with one who commands Justice, and is on a Straight Way?
Allah sets forth another parable: There are two men, one of whom is dumb and has no power over anything; he is a burden to his master, and wheresoever his master directs him, he fails to bring forth any good. Can such a person be the equal of one who enjoins justice and himself follows the Right Way?
And Allah puts forward (another) example of two men, one of them dumb, who has no power over anything (disbeliever), and he is a burden to his master, whichever way he directs him, he brings no good. Is such a man equal to one (believer in the Islamic Monotheism) who commands justice, and is himself on a Straight Path?
And Allah coineth a similitude: Two men, one of them dumb, having control of nothing, and he is a burden on his owner; whithersoever he directeth him to go, he bringeth no good. Is he equal with one who enjoineth justice and followeth a straight path (of conduct)?
And Allah has struck a similitude: two men, one of them dumb, unable to determine anything, and he is wholly dependent upon his patronizer-wherever he directs him, he comes up with no charitable (acts). Is he equal to him who commands to justice and is on a straight Path?
God presents another illustration: two men, one of them dumb, unable to do anything, a burden to his carer- whatever task he directs him to, he achieves nothing good- can he be considered equal to one who commands justice and is on the straight path?
اللہ تعالیٰ ایک اور مثال بیان فرماتا ہے، دو شخصوں کی، جن میں سے ایک تو گونگا ہے اور کسی چیز پر اختیار نہیں رکھتا بلکہ وه اپنے مالک پر بوجھ ہے کہیں بھی اسے بھیجے وه کوئی بھلائی نہیں ﻻتا، کیا یہ اور وه جو عدل کا حکم دیتا ہے اور ہے بھی سیدھی راه پر، برابر ہوسکتے ہیں؟
Quran 16 Verse 76 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Nahl ayat 76, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(16:76) Allah sets forth another parable: There are two men, one of whom is dumb and has no power over anything; he is a burden to his master, and wheresoever his master directs him, he fails to bring forth any good. Can such a person be the equal[69] of one who enjoins justice and himself follows the Right Way?
69. In the first similitude, distinction between Allah and false gods has been made clear in regard to the possession of powers and the lack of these. In the second one, the emphasis is on the use of those powers. Allah is not only All Powerful, but also hears all the prayers and fulfills all the needs, while the slave is utterly powerless. He does not and cannot hear prayers, nor can make a response to them nor has the power to do anything at all. He is totally dependent on the Master and quite incapable of doing anything by himself. On the other hand, the Master is All-Powerful and All-Wise. He enjoins justice on the world: whatever He does is right and accurate. Ask them: Is it then a point of wisdom to regard such Master and such a slave as equal?
Ibn-Kathir
76. And Allah gives an example of two men, one of them dumb, who has no power over anything, and he is a burden on his master; whichever way he directs him, he brings no good. Is such a man equal to one who commands justice, and is himself on the straight path
Mujahid said, “This also refers to idols and the True God, may He be exalted.” Meaning that the idol is dumb and cannot speak or say anything, good or otherwise. It cannot do anything at all, no words, no action, it is dependent and is a burden on its master.
(whichever way he directs him,) meaning, wherever he sends him
(he brings no good.) meaning, he does not succeed in what he wants.
(Is such a man equal) meaning, a man who has these attributes
(to one who commands justice) meaning fairness, one whose words are true and whose deeds are righteous.
(and is himself on the straight path) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said: “This is also an example of the disbeliever and the believer”, as in the previous Ayah.
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