Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz Amma - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (245)

Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz AmmaIbn al-'Uthaymin

—both past and future—is established by the Quran and the sunnah. This is one of the distinctions exclusive to the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. No one else is forgiven his past and future sins as the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was. As for anyone else, he needs to repent of his sin, although Allah—Mighty and Majestic—may forgive him without repentance for anything short of associating partners with Him. But we affirm with certainty that the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was forgiven his past and future sins. Hence, He said:

“And We removed your burden from you, which weighed down your back.”

If someone were to say, “This verse, together with the evidence we cited in support of it, indicates that the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—could commit sins. Can the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then commit sins?” The answer is yes. We cannot reject the texts merely because we consider it unlikely that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would commit a sin. We do not say that what matters is for a person never to sin; rather, what matters is for him to be forgiven. That is what is important. As for never committing any sin, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Every child of Adam is prone to sin, and the best of those who sin are those who constantly repent.” (1) Some sin is inevitable. There are, however, things that prophets can never commit, such as lying and betrayal. These can never occur on their part, for if they were assumed to occur, that would impugn their message, which is impossible. Vile immoral acts, such as fornication and the like, are also impossible for them, because they are incompatible with the very foundation of the prophetic mission. The prophetic mission exists to perfect noble character, as he—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—said, “I was sent only to perfect noble character.” (2)

In sum, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—removed Muhammad’s burden from him—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—and explained that this burden had weighed down his back; that is, it had distressed and wearied him. If this was the burden of the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then what of the burdens of others—

(1) Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, *Book of the Description of the Resurrection*, chapter “The Believer’s Regard for His Sins as Grave” (2449). He said, “This is a *gharīb* hadith.” (2) Narrated with this wording by al-Bukhārī in *al-Adab al-Mufrad* (273).

المتقدمة والمتأخرة ثابتة بالقرآن والسنة، وهذا من خصائص الرسول ﵊، لا أحد من الناس يغفر له ما تقدم وما تأخر إلا الرسول ﷺ، أما غيره فيحتاج إلى توبة من الذنب، وقد يغفر الله له ﷾ بدون توبة ما دون الشرك، لكن الرسول ﵊ نجزم بأنه قد غُفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه وما تأخر ولهذا قال: ﴿ووضعنا عنك وزرك الذي أنقض ظهرك﴾ . فإن قال قائل: هذه الآية وما سقناه شاهداً لها يدل على أن الرسول ﷺ قد يذنب فهل النبي ﷺ يذنب؟ فالجواب: نعم، ولا يمكن أن نرد النصوص لمجرد أن نستبعد وقوع الذنب منه ﵌، ونحن لا نقول الشأن ألا يذنب الإنسان بل الشأن أن يغفر للإنسان، هذا هو المهم أن يغفر له، أما أن لا يقع منه الذنب فقد قال النبي ﵊: «كل بني آدم خطاء، وخير الخطائين التوابون» (١) ، لابد من خطيئة لكن هناك أشياء لا يمكن أن تقع من الأنبياء مثل الكذب والخيانة، فإن هذا لا يمكن أن يقع منهم إطلاقاً، لأن هذا لو فرض وقوعه لكان طعناً في رسالتهم وهذا شيء مستحيل، وسفاسف الأخلاق من الزنا وشبهه هذا أيضاً ممتنع، لأنه ينافي أصل الرسالة، فالرسالة إنما وجدت لتتميم مكارم الأخلاق كما قال صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم: «إنما بعثت لأتمم مكارم الأخلاق» (٢) ، فالحاصل أن الله ﷾ وضع عن محمد صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم وزره، وبين أن هذا الوزر قد أنقض ظهره أي أقضه وأتعبه، وإذا كان هذا وزر الرسول ﵊ فكيف بأوزار غيره،

(١) أخرجه الترمزي كتاب صفة القيامة، باب استعظام المؤمن ذنوبه (٢٤٤٩) وقال: حديث غريب (٢) أخرجه بهذا اللفظ البخاري في "الأدب المفرد" (٢٧٣) .