Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz Amma - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (125)

Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz AmmaIbn al-'Uthaymin

and His attributes. We do not swear by any created thing, because the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Whoever wishes to swear should swear by Allah or remain silent.” (1) He also said: “Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed disbelief or associated partners with Him.” (2)

Concerning His words, ﴿And by the promised Day﴾: the promised Day is the Day of Resurrection. Allah Most High has promised it, explained it in His Book, and set forth rational proofs demonstrating that it will inevitably occur. Allah Most High says: ﴿Just as We began the first creation, We shall repeat it—a promise binding upon Us. We will surely do so﴾ [al-Anbiyā: 104].

﴿And by a witness and what is witnessed﴾: The scholars of exegesis have mentioned several views concerning the witness and what is witnessed. They may all be encompassed by saying that Allah swears by every witness and everything witnessed. The witnesses are many. Among them is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who is a witness over us, as Allah Most High says: (And We bring you as a witness over these) (al-Nisā: part of verse 41). This nation is also among the witnesses over humanity: (an upright community, so that you may be witnesses over humanity) (al-Baqara: part of verse 143). On the Day of Resurrection, a person’s limbs will testify against him concerning the good and evil he committed, as Allah Most High says: (On the Day their tongues, hands, and feet will testify against them concerning what they used to do). The angels are also among those who will testify on the Day of Resurrection. Thus, everyone who bears truthful witness is included in His words, ﴿And by a witness﴾.

As for ﴿what is witnessed﴾, it is the Day of Resurrection and the tremendous horrors that will unfold therein, as Allah Most High says: ﴿That is a Day for which humanity will be gathered, and that is a Day that will be witnessed﴾ [Hūd: 103]. Allah therefore swears by every witness and everything witnessed.

﴿Cursed were the people of the trench﴾: This sentence is the response to the oath. The word qutila means “they were destroyed.” It has also been said that qatl here means being cursed—that is, being cast out and banished from Allah’s mercy. The people of the trench were disbelievers who burned the believers in fire. Several accounts concerning these people have been related, some pertaining to Greater Syria and others to Yemen. The point is that these disbelievers tried to force the believers to renounce their religion, but they failed, so they dug a trench consisting of pits.

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhārī, *Book of Testimonies*, “How an Oath Is to Be Administered” (2679); and Muslim, *Book of Faith*, “The Prohibition of Swearing by Other than Allah Most High” (1646), no. 4. (2) Narrated by Imam Ahmad in *al-Musnad*, 2/34; and by al-Tirmidhī, *Chapters on Vows and Oaths*, “Reports Concerning That Whoever Swears by Other than Allah Has Committed Shirk” (1535). He said: “This is a *hasan sahīh* hadith.”

وصفاته، ولا نقسم بشيء من المخلوقات لقول النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم: «من كان حالفاً فليحلف بالله أو ليصمت» (١) ولقوله ﵊: «من حلف بغير الله فقد كفر أو أشرك» (٢)، قوله تعالى: ﴿واليوم الموعود﴾ اليوم الموعود هو يوم القيامة، وعد الله تعالى به وبينه في كتابه، ونصب عليه الأدلة العقلية التي تدل على أنه واقع حتماً، كما قال تعالى: ﴿كما بدأنا أول خلق نعيده وعداً علينا إنَّا كنا فاعلين﴾ [الأنبياء: ١٠٤]. ﴿وشاهد ومشهود﴾ ذكر علماء التفسير في الشاهد والمشهود عدة أقوال يجمعها أن الله أقسم بكل شاهد وبكل مشهود، والشهود كثيرون منهم محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم شهيداً علينا، كما قال الله تعالى: (وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَؤُلاءِ شَهِيداً) (النساء: من الآية ٤١) ومنهم هذه الأمة شهداء على الناس، (وَسَطاً لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ) (البقرة: من الآية ١٤٣) وأعضاء الإنسان يوم القيامة تشهد عليه بما عمل من خير وشر كما قال تعالى: (يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ) ومنهم الملائكة يشهدون يوم القيامة، فكل من شهد بحق فهو داخل في قوله ﴿وشاهد﴾ وأما ﴿المشهود﴾ فهو يوم القيامة وما يعرض فيه من الأهوال العظيمة كما قال تعالى: ﴿ذلك يوم مجموع له الناس وذلك يوم مشهود﴾ [هود: ١٠٣]. فأقسم الله بكل شاهد وبكل مشهود. ﴿قتل أصحاب الأخدود﴾ هذه الجملة جواب القسم ﴿قتل﴾ يعني أهلك، وقيل: القتل هنا بمعنى اللعن، وهو الطرد والإبعاد عن رحمة الله، و ﴿أصحاب الأخدود﴾ هم قوم كفار أحرقوا المؤمنين بالنار، وقد وردت قصص متعددة في هؤلاء القوم منها شيء في الشام، ومنها شيء في اليمن، والمقصود أن هؤلاء الكفار حاولوا بالمؤمنين أن يرتدوا عن دينهم، ولكنهم عجزوا فحفروا أخدوداً حُفراً

(١) أخرجه البخاري كتاب الشهادات، باب كيف يستحلف (٢٦٧٩)، ومسلم كتاب الإيمان باب النهي عن الحلف بغير الله تعالى (١٦٤٦) (٤). (٢) أخرجه الإمام أحمد في المسند ٢/ ٣٤، والترمزي، أبواب النذور والإيمان باب ما جاء في أن من حلف بغير الله فقد أشرك (١٥٣٥) وقال: حديث حسن صحيح.