Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (583)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

183 “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you,” and similar verses, just as the Companions were included in their address—as is necessarily known in the religion.

Thus, His words, “Rivalry in accumulating more has distracted you,” address everyone who fits this description. Their degrees of distraction and rivalry are known only to Allah.

If it is said, “But the believers have not been distracted by rivalry in accumulating more, and therefore they are not included in the warning directed at those whom it has distracted,” the answer is: This is precisely what led the proponents of this view to restrict the address to the disbelievers. They could not understand it as applying generally, and they considered the disbelievers more deserving of the warning, so they restricted it to them.

The response is that the address is directed at man as such, in keeping with the Quran’s manner of censuring man as such. For example, Allah says:

17:11 “And man is ever hasty.”
17:67 “And man is ever ungrateful.”
100:6 “Indeed, man is ungrateful to his Lord.”
33:73 “Yet man undertook it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.”
22:66 “Indeed, man is ever ungrateful.”

There are many similar verses.

Man, considered in himself, is devoid of all good, whether beneficial knowledge or righteous deeds. It is Allah, glorified be He, who perfects him through these and grants them to him; he does not possess them of himself. Rather, of himself he possesses only ignorance, which is the opposite of knowledge, and injustice, which is the opposite of justice. Whatever knowledge, justice, or goodness he possesses comes from his Lord, not from himself. Being distracted by rivalry in accumulating more is thus his own inherent nature and disposition. He can escape this only if Allah purifies him and makes him desire the Hereafter, preferring it to rivalry in accumulating worldly possessions. If Allah grants him this, he escapes; otherwise, he will inevitably remain distracted by worldly rivalry.

As for their citing the warning as evidence that the address is restricted to the disbelievers, the answer is: The warning mentioned applies to all—namely, the knowledge that comes upon beholding the Hereafter. This is something

١٨٣ يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيامُ ونظائره، كما دخل تحته الصحابة بالضرورة المعلومة من الدين. فقوله: أَلْهاكُمُ التَّكاثُرُ خطاب لكل من اتصف بهذا الوصف. وهم في الإلهاء والتكاثر درجات لا يحصيها إلا الله. فإن قيل: فالمؤمنون لم يلههم التكاثر. ولهذا لم يدخلوا في الوعيد المذكور لمن ألهاه. قيل: هذا هو الذي أوجب لأرباب هذا القول تخصيصه بالكفار، لأنه لم يمكنهم حمله على العموم، ورأوا أن الكفار أحق بالوعيد، فخصوهم به. وجواب هذا: أن الخطاب للإنسان من حيث هو إنسان، على طريقة القرآن في تناول الذم له من حيث هو إنسان. كقوله: ١٧: ١١ وَكانَ الْإِنْسانُ عَجُولًا ١٧: ٦٧ وَكانَ الْإِنْسانُ كَفُوراً ١٠٠: ٦ إِنَّ الْإِنْسانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ ٣٣: ٧٣ وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنْسانُ إِنَّهُ كانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولًا ٢٢: ٦٦ إِنَّ الْإِنْسانَ لَكَفُورٌ ونظائره كثيرة. فالإنسان من حيث هو عار عن كل خير من العلم النافع، والعمل الصالح، وإنما الله سبحانه هو الذي يكمله بذلك، ويعطيه إياه. وليس له ذلك من نفسه. بل ليس له من نفسه إلا الجهل المضاد للعلم، والظلم المضاد للعدل، وكل علم وعدل وخير فيه فمن ربه، لا من نفسه. فإلهاء التكاثر طبيعته وسجيته، التي هي له من نفسه. ولا خروج له عن ذلك إلا بتزكية الله له، وجعله مريدا للآخرة، مؤثرا لها على التكاثر بالدنيا. فإن أعطاه ذلك وإلا فهو ملته بالتكاثر في الدنيا ولا بد. أما احتجاجهم بالوعيد على اختصاص الخطاب بالكفار. فيقال: الوعيد المذكور مشترك، وهو العلم عند معاينة الآخرة. فهذا أمر