The Bee — Verse 34
16:34 · an-Nahl
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فَأَصَابَهُمۡ سَیِّءَاتُ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ یَسۡتَهۡزِءُونَ ٣٤
fa-aṣābahum sayyiātu mā ʿamilū waḥāqa bihim mā kānū bihi yastahziūn
The Bee / an-Nahl (16:34)
Connections 1 single-source 1 commentator
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mention (1) cited by only one commentator
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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) 1 verse
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
So the evil they had done hit them and they were surrounded by the very thing they had mocked
fa-aṣābahum sayyiātu mā ʿamilū waḥāqa bihim mā kānū bihi yastahziūn
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Tafsir Commentary
The Disbelievers' Refrain from Faith means that They were simply awaiting Punishment
Threatening the idolators for their persistence in falsehood and their conceited delusions about this world, Allah says: Are these people waiting only for the angels to come and take their souls Qatadah said:
أَوْ يَأْتِىَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ
(Or there comes the command of your Lord) means the Day of Resurrection and the terror that they will go through."
كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ
(Thus did those before them.) means, thus did their predecessors and those who were like them among the idolators persist in their Shirk, until they tasted the wrath of Allah and experienced the punishment and torment that they suffered.
وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ
(And Allah did not wrong them.) because by sending His Messengers and revealing His Books He gave them enough warning and clearly demonstrated His proofs to them.
وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
(but they were wronging themselves.) meaning, by opposing the Messengers and denying what they brought. For this reason Allah's punishment tormented them.
وَحَاقَ بِهِم
(they were surrounded) meaning, they were overwhelmed by the painful torment.
مَا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
(by that which they used to mock.) meaning, they used to make fun of the Messengers when they warned them Allah's punishment, and for this it will be said to them on the Day of Resurrection:
هَـذِهِ النَّارُ الَّتِى كُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ
(This is the Fire which you used to belie.) (52:14).
So that the evils of what they did smote them that is the requital of these evil things smote them and there besieged it was sent down against them that which they used to mock namely the chastisement.
فنزلت بهم عقوبة ذنوبهم التي عملوها، وأحاط بهم العذاب الذي كانوا يسخرون منه.
فلهذا أصابتهم عقوبة الله على ذلك "وحاق بهم" أي أحاط بهم من العذاب الأليم "ما كانوا به يستهزئون" أي يسخرون من الرسل إذا توعدوهم بعقاب الله فلهذا يقال لهم يوم القيامة "هذه النار التي كنتم بها تكذبون".
وقوله - سبحانه - : ( فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا عَمِلُواْ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ) معطوف على قوله ( كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الذين مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ) وما بينهما اعتراض .وحاق : بمعنى أحاط ، من الحيق بمعنى الإِحاطة ، وبابه باع ، يقال : حاق يحيق ، وخص فى الاستعمال بإحاطة الشر ، ومنه قوله - تعالى - : ( وَلاَ يَحِيقُ المكر السيىء إِلاَّ بِأَهْلِهِ ) أى : هكذا تمادى أسلافهم فى الكفر والجحود ، فأصابهم جزاء سيئات أعمالهم ، وأحاط بهم العذاب من كل جانب ، بسبب كفرهم وسخريتهم بالرسل وبما أخبروهم به من حساب وثواب وعقاب فى الآخرة ، وسيقال لهؤلاء المجرمين يوم القيامة وهم يردون النار : ( هذه النار التي كُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ ) وبذلك نرى أن هاتين الآيتين ، قد هددتا الكافرين ودعتهما إلى الدخول فى الحق ، وحذرتاهم من انتهاج نهج الظالمين من قبلهم .
يقول تعالى ذكره: فأصاب هؤلاء الذين فعلوا من الأمم الماضية فعل هؤلاء المشركين من قريش سيئات ما عملوا ، يعني عقوبات ذنوبهم ، ونقم معاصيه التي اكتسبوها( وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ) يقول: وحلّ بهم من عذاب الله ما كانوا يستهزئون منه ، ويسخرون عند إنذارهم ذلك رسلُ الله، ونـزل ذلك بهم دون غيرهم من أهل الإيمان بالله.
( فأصابهم سيئات ما عملوا ) عقوبات كفرهم وأعمالهم الخبيثة ، ( وحاق بهم ) [ نزل بهم ] ( ما كانوا به يستهزئون )
وإصابة السيئات إما بتقدير مضاف ، أي أصابهم جزاؤها ، أو جعلت أعمالهم السيئة كأنها هي التي أصابتهم لأنها سبب ما أصابهم ، فهو مجاز عقلي .و { حاق } : أحاط . والحَيْق : الإحاطة . ثم خصّ الاستعمالُ الحيقَ بإحاطة الشرّ . وقد تقدّم الكلام على ذلك عند قوله تعالى : { فحاق بالذين سخروا منهم ما كانوا به يستهزئون } في أوائل سورة الأنعام ( 10 ).و { ما } موصولة ، ما صْدقها العذاب المتوعدون به . والباء في { به } للسببية . وهو ظرف مستقِرّ هو صفة لمفعول مطلق . والتقدير : الذي يستهزئون استهزاء بسببه ، أي بسبب تكذيبهم وقوعَه . وهذا استعمال في مثله . وقد تكرّر في القرآن ، من ذلك ما في سورة الأحقاف ، وليست الباء لتعدية فعل { يستهزءون } وقدّم المجرور على عامل موصوفه للرّعاية على الفاصلة .
{ فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا عَمِلُوا ْ} أي: عقوبات أعمالهم وآثارها، { وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ ْ} أي: نزل { مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ْ} فإنهم كانوا إذا أخبرتهم رسلهم بالعذاب استهزأوا به، وسخروا ممن أخبر به فحل بهم ذلك الأمر الذي سخروا منه.
قوله تعالى : فأصابهم سيئات ما عملوا وحاق بهم ما كانوا به يستهزئون قوله تعالى : فأصابهم سيئات ما عملوا قيل : فيه تقديم وتأخير ; التقدير : كذلك فعل الذين من قبلهم فأصابهم سيئات ما عملوا ، وما ظلمهم الله ولكن كانوا أنفسهم يظلمون ، فأصابهم عقوبات كفرهم وجزاء الخبيث من أعمالهم .وحاق بهم أي أحاط بهم ودار .ما كانوا به يستهزئون أي عقاب استهزائهم .
Initially, arguments are used to explain the discourse about God. If man does not accept the Truth despite these arguments, a time will come when it is brought home to him—individually at the time of death and collectively on Doomsday. If the facts about God are explained to a man rationally and he still ignores them, it is as if he is waiting for God and his angels to manifest themselves at some later stage. Then, of course, he would be compelled to accept the Truth. But accepting it at that time will gain him no credit, whereas if he had accepted it when he had the opportunity, prior to God’s appearance, that would have been to his own great credit.
Commentary
It will be recalled that, after describing the blessings of Allah and proving that He was unique in the creation of the universe, the text made a pointed reference to how the polytheists chose to stick to their own ways of error. In the present verses, the text describes how they, not content with their own straying, tried that others should also go astray like them. The punishment they would get for doing that has also been stated here. Earlier to that (24), there is a question about the Qur’ an, and the addressees of the question, at this place, are the polytheists. It is their haughty and ignorant answer which has been mentioned here along with a warning of consequences for this attitude. Then, after five verses (30), the same question has been addressed to believers who fear Allah which is followed by their answer, and where a promise of reward for it has been mentioned.
The Holy Qur'an does not explicitly say as to who asked the question. Therefore, commentators have expressed different views in this matter. Some say that the question was asked by disbelievers. Others say that it was asked by Muslims. Still others take one question to have been asked by the polytheists while the other by Muslims. But, the Holy Qur’ an has kept it ambiguous. This is to indicate that there is no need to are as to where the question came from. What has to be seen is the answer and, more importantly, its ultimate consequence - which, the Qur’ an has it-self chosen to describe.
The essence of the answer given by the polytheists is that they simply refused to acknowledge that there was any word of Allah really revealed from Him. In fact, they dismissed the Qur'an as nothing but tales of people from early ages. Thereupon, the Qur’ an admonished those unjust people for disinforming people about the Qur'an by telling them that it was nothing but the tales of the ancient whereby they make others too go astray like them. As for the consequences, these they shall have to face. It means that the total curse of their sins has to fall on them anyway on the Day of Judgment, but part of the curse of the evil consequences of their role in misguiding others will also fall on them. Then it was said that the burden of sins which these people are piling up on their shoulders is a terribly evil burden.
(So that the evil of what they did) so the punishment for what they did and said of transgressions (smote them, and that which they used to mock surrounded them) the punishment for mocking the prophets was decreed and inflicted upon them; it is also said that this means: the punishment which they were mocking descended upon them.