يَتَوَٰرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْمِ مِن سُوٓءِ مَا بُشِّرَ بِهِۦٓ ۚ أَيُمْسِكُهُۥ عَلَىٰ هُونٍ أَمْ يَدُسُّهُۥ فِى ٱلتُّرَابِ ۗ أَلَا سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ 59
Translations
He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.
Transliteration
Yatawara mina al-qawmi min su'i ma bushira bihi, ayumsikuhu 'ala hawnin am yaduSSuhu fi al-turab, ala sa'a ma yahkumun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of burying newborn daughters alive due to shame and fear of poverty, depicting the internal conflict of a father upon receiving news of a daughter's birth. He hides himself from people in distress, then faces the dilemma of whether to keep the child in humiliation or bury her in the earth—both options representing grave injustice. The concluding phrase condemns their judgment as evil, highlighting Islam's revolutionary protection of women's rights and dignity.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah An-Nahl's broader condemnation of pre-Islamic Arabian practices and customs. It appears in a section addressing the foolish beliefs and immoral deeds of the Jāhiliyyah period, particularly practices rooted in ignorance and economic anxiety. The context illustrates how Islam elevated the status of women and children in Arabian society.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever supports two daughters until they reach maturity, he and I will come on the Day of Resurrection like this'—joining his fingers together (Sunan Ibn Majah). Additionally, the Prophet condemned female infanticide as one of the great sins and emphasized the reward for raising daughters righteously.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah powerfully reminds modern believers that protection of vulnerable populations—especially women and children—is a core Islamic principle. The passage teaches that fear and shame cannot justify the abandonment of moral and spiritual responsibility, and that societal progress is measured by how we treat the weakest members.
Related Ayahs
ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا۟ ٱلسُّوٓءَ بِجَهَـٰلَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوٓا۟ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Then, indeed your Lord, to those who have done wrong out of ignorance and then repent after that and correct themselves - indeed, your Lord, thereafter, is Forgiving and Merciful.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا۟ فِى ٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا۟ لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً ۖ وَلَأَجْرُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
And those who emigrated for [the cause of] Allāh after they had been wronged - We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know.
وَأَلْقَىٰ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ رَوَٰسِىَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَأَنْهَـٰرًا وَسُبُلًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided,
وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا عَـٰهَدتُّمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا۟ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ
And fulfill the covenant of Allāh when you have taken it, [O believers], and do not break oaths after their confirmation while you have made Allāh, over you, a security [i.e., witness]. Indeed, Allāh knows what you do.