Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz Amma - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (215)

Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz AmmaIbn al-'Uthaymin

because they rise above the chest. Allah Most High guided him to them while he was still an unknowing infant. From the moment he emerges from his mother’s womb and she gives birth to him, he seeks the breast—and it was Allah, Glorified and Exalted, who taught him this. Thus, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, makes clear His favor to this human being: from the moment he enters the world, he is guided to the two raised elevations.

While in his mother’s womb, he receives nourishment through the umbilical cord, for he cannot be nourished in any other way. If he were nourished through his mouth, he would need to urinate and defecate—but how could that be? Instead, blood from his mother reaches him through the umbilical cord and circulates through his veins, keeping him alive until Allah Most High permits him to be brought forth.

“Yet he has not braved the steep ascent * And what will make you know what the steep ascent is? * It is freeing a slave * Or giving food on a day of famine * To an orphaned relative * Or to a destitute person in utter poverty * Then becoming one of those who believe, exhort one another to patience, and exhort one another to mercy * Those are the companions of the right * But those who disbelieve in Our signs are the companions of the left * Over them will be a Fire sealed shut.”

“Yet he has not braved the steep ascent”—that is, the man who said, “I have squandered vast wealth.” “Yet he has not braved the steep ascent” means: Why did he not brave the steep ascent? Braving something means surmounting it with difficulty. The “steep ascent” is a path through a rugged mountain. There is no doubt that braving such an ascent is arduous for the soul. No one traverses it—or undertakes it—except a person who sincerely intends to surmount it.

“And what will make you know what the steep ascent is?” This interrogative form serves both to arouse anticipation and to magnify the matter. In other words: What has made known to you the significance of this steep ascent about which Allah said, “Yet he has not braved the steep ascent”? Allah explains it in His words: “It is freeing a slave * Or giving food on a day of famine * To an orphaned relative * Or to a destitute person in utter poverty * Then becoming one of those who believe.” Thus, His words, “freeing a slave,” are

لارتفاعهما فوق الصدر، فهداه الله تعالى وهو رضيع لا يعرف، فمن حين أن يخرج وتضعه أمه يطلب الثدي، والذي أعلمه الله ﷿، فبين الله ﷿ منته على هذا الإنسان من حين أن يخرج يهتدي إلى النجدين. وفي بطن أمه يتغذى عن طريق السرة؛ لأنه لا يستطيع أن يتغذى من غير هذا، فلو تغذى عن طريق الفم لاحتاج إلى بول وغائط، وكيف ذلك؟ لكنه عن طريق السرة يأتيه الدم من دم أمه وينتشر في عروقه حتى يحيا إلى أن يأذن الله تعالى بإخراجه. ﴿فَلَا اقتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ * وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ * فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ * أَوْ إِطْعَامٌ فِى يَوْمٍ ذِى مَسْغَبَةٍ * يَتِيماً ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ * أَوْ مِسْكِيناً ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ * ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَءَامَنُواْ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ * أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَبُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ * وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بَِايَتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَبُ الْمَشئَمَةِ * عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُّؤْصَدَةُ﴾ . ﴿فلا اقتحم العقبة﴾ أي الإنسان الذي كان يقول ﴿أهلكت مالاً لبداً﴾ ﴿فلا اقتحم العقبة﴾ يعني هلا اقتحم العقبة؟ والاقتحام هو التجاوز بمشقة يسمى اقتحاماً. و ﴿العقبة﴾ هي الطريق في الجبل الوعر ولا شك أن اقتحام هذه العقبة شاق على النفوس، لا يتجاوزه أو لا يقوم به إلا من كان عنده نية صادقة في تجاوز هذه العقبة. ﴿وما أدراك ما العقبة﴾ هذا الاستفهام للتشويق والتفخيم أيضاً، يعني: ما الذي أعلمك شأن هذه العقبة التي قال الله عنها ﴿فلا اقتحم العقبة﴾ بينها الله في قوله ﴿فك رقبة. أو إطعام في يوم ذي مسغبة. يتيماً ذا مقربة. أو مسكيناً ذا متربة. ثم كان من الذين آمنوا﴾ فقوله: ﴿فك رقبة﴾ هي