Surah An-Nahl 16:71

There is a Sign and a Blessing in Matters of People's Livelihood

Allah explains to the idolators the ignorance and disbelief involved in their claim that Allah has partners while also admitting that these partners are His servants. In their Talbiyah for Hajj, they used to say, "Here I am, there are no partners for You except Your own partner, You own him and everything he owns." Allah says, denouncing them: `You would not accept for your servant to have an equal share in your wealth, so how is it that Allah would accept His servant to be His equal in divinity and glory As Allah says elsewhere:

(He sets forth a parable for you from yourselves: Do you have partners among those whom your right hands possess (i.e. your servant) to share as equals in the wealth We have granted you, those whom you fear as you fear each other) (30:28) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas mentioned this Ayah, saying, "Allah is saying - `If they did not want their servant to have a share with them in their wealth and wives, how can My servant have a share with Me in My power' Thus Allah says:

(Do they then deny the favor of Allah)" According to another report, Ibn `Abbas said: "How can they accept for Me that which they do not accept for themselves"

(Do they then deny the favor of Allah) meaning, they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created. They denied His blessings and associated others in worship with Him. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "Umar bin Al-Khattab wrote this letter to Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari: `Be content with your provision in this world, for the Most Merciful has honored some of His servants over others in terms of provision as a test of both. The one who has been given plenty is being tested to see if he will give thanks to Allah and fulfill the duties which are his by virtue of his wealth..."' It was reported by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Setelah Allah menjelaskan perbedaan usia manusia dalam ayat ini, Ia menyebutkan perbedaan rezeki mereka. Allah swt menjelaskan bahwa Allah melebihkan rezeki sebagian manusia dari sebagian yang lain. Ada manusia yang kaya, ada pula yang fakir, ada manusia yang menguasai sumber-sumber rezeki, dan ada manusia yang tidak memperoleh rezeki yang memadai bagi kehidupannya. Semuanya bertujuan agar satu sama lain saling menolong karena saling membutuhkan.

Kemudian Allah swt menjelaskan bahwa di antara orang-orang yang diberi rezeki lebih, ada yang tidak mau memberikan sedikit pun rezekinya kepada orang-orang yang bekerja padanya yang semestinya mendapat bagian dari mereka. Padahal di antara orang-orang yang menguasai dan dikuasai, di antara tuan dan budak sama-sama berhak atas rezeki itu. Oleh karenanya, sepantasnyalah rezeki itu didistribusikan secara adil dan merata kepada semua pihak. Apabila pemilik modal merasa berhak mendapat keuntungan karena modal yang dimilikinya, pekerja hendaknya diberi penghasilan sesuai dengan kemampuannya, supaya pemilik modal dan pekerja sama-sama menikmati sumber-sumber penghasilan itu.

Allah swt berfirman:

Dia membuat perumpamaan bagimu dari dirimu sendiri. Apakah (kamu rela jika) ada di antara hamba-sahaya yang kamu miliki, menjadi sekutu bagimu dalam (memiliki) rezeki yang telah Kami berikan kepadamu, sehingga kamu menjadi setara dengan mereka dalam hal ini, lalu kamu takut kepada mereka sebagaimana kamu takut kepada sesamamu. Demikianlah Kami jelaskan ayat-ayat itu bagi kaum yang mengerti. (ar-Rum/30: 28)

Di akhir ayat, Allah mengingatkan bahwa semua itu adalah nikmat-Nya. Oleh karena itu, mereka seharusnya mensyukuri nikmat itu dengan tidak memonopoli sumber-sumber penghasilan itu untuk kepentingan kelompok atau golongan tertentu.