Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (552)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

his Lord. Rather, he was forbidden to resemble him in what led him to make this call: his departure in anger, which led to his confinement in the belly of the fish and the severe distress that made him call upon his Lord while overwhelmed with anguish. Both kazīm and kāzim describe someone filled with rage and anger, or anxiety and grief, who holds it within and does not give vent to it.

If it is asked, “On that understanding, what governs the temporal phrase?”

The answer is: the verbal meaning implicit in “the companion of the fish.”

If it is asked, “The question still stands. When the action being prohibited is qualified by a condition or a time, that qualification falls within the scope of the prohibition. If the meaning is, ‘Do not be like the companion of the fish in this state or at this time,’ then that state itself is being prohibited.”

The answer is: his call resulted from his becoming the companion of the fish. Thus, the prohibition was against resembling him in the state that led him to become the fish’s companion and compelled him to call out: weakness of resolve and lack of patience with Allah’s decree. Allah, Most High, did not say, “Do not be like the companion of the fish when he went away in anger, then the fish swallowed him, and he called out.” Rather, He condensed and abridged the account, referring the reader to its telling elsewhere and mentioning only its culmination and outcome.

If it is asked, “What, then, prevents you from relating the temporal phrase to the very action being prohibited? That is: do not be like him in calling out while filled with anger, anxiety and sorrow. Rather, let your call be that of someone content with what his Lord has decreed for him, receiving it with acceptance, submission and an open heart—not the call of someone choked with distress.”

The answer is: although this meaning is correct, the prohibition against resembling him was not directed at this alone. Rather, it concerned resembling him in the state that prompted him to depart in anger, until he was imprisoned in the belly of the fish.

This is indicated by Allah’s words, “So be patient with your Lord’s decree.” Then He said, “And do not

ربه. وإنما نهى عن التشبه به في السبب الذي أفضى به إلى هذه المناداة، وهي مغاضبته التي أفضت به الى حبسه في بطن الحوت، وشدة ذلك عليه حتى نادى ربه وهو مكظوم. والكظيم والكاظم الذي قد امتلأ غيظا وغضبا، أو هما وحزنا، وكظم عليه فلم يخرجه. فإن قيل: وعلى ذلك فما العامل في الظرف؟ قيل: ما في «صاحب الحوت» من معنى الفعل. فإن قيل: فالسؤال بعد قائم، فإنه إذا قيد المنهي بقيد أو زمن كان داخلا في حين النهي فإن كان المعنى: لا تكن مثل صاحب الحوت في هذه الحال، أو هذا الوقت. كان نهيا عن تلك الحالة. قيل: لما كان نداؤه مسببا عن كونه صاحب الحوت، فنهى أن يشبه به في الحال التي أفضت به إلى صحبته الحوت وألجأته إلى النداء، وهو ضعف العزيمة وعدم الصبر لحكمه تعالى، ولم يقل تعالى: ولا تكن كصاحب الحوت إذ ذهب مغاضبا فالتقمه الحوت، فنادى، بل طوى القصة واختصرها، وأحال بها على ذكرها في الموضع الآخر، واكتفى بغايتها وما انتهت إليه. فإن قيل: فما منعك بتعويض الظرف بنفس الفعل المنهي عنه؟ أي لا تكن مثله في ندائه وهو ممتلئ غيظا وهما وغما، بل يكون نداؤك نداء راض بما قضى ربه عليه، قد تلقاه بالرضى والتسليم وسعة الصدر، لا نداء كظيم. قيل: هذا المعنى، وإن كان صحيحا، فلم يقع النهي عن التشبه به في مجرده. وإنما نهي عن التشبه به في الحال التي حملته على ذهابه مغاضبا، حتى سجن في بطن الحوت. ويدل عليه قوله تعالى: فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ ثم قال: وَلا