Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (632)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

They said:

It is established in the Sahīh, on the authority of Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, that “Gabriel came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: ‘O Muhammad, are you unwell?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ Gabriel said: ‘In the name of Allah, I recite over you for healing, against everything that harms you, against the evil of every soul or envious eye. May Allah heal you. In the name of Allah, I recite over you for healing.’”

Thus, when he was unwell, Gabriel sought protection for him against the evil of every soul and envious eye. This indicates that this invocation would remove his ailment, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Otherwise, Gabriel would not have sought protection for him against one thing when his ailment arose from something else.

They said: As for the verses you have cited as evidence, they do not support your case.

Regarding Allah’s statement that the disbelievers said, “You follow none but a bewitched man,” and the words addressed by the peoples of Sālih and Shu‘ayb to their respective prophets, “You are only one of those bewitched,” it has been said that what is meant is someone who possesses a sahr, meaning a lung: in other words, he is a human being like them, who eats and drinks, not an angel. According to this explanation, sorcery is not intended.

This answer is unsatisfactory and extremely far-fetched. The disbelievers did not use “bewitched” to mean a human being, nor is such usage known in any language. When they intended this meaning, they explicitly used the word “human,” saying: 36:15 “You are only human beings like us”; 23:48 “Should we believe in two human beings like ourselves?”; and 17:94 “Has Allah sent a human being as a messenger?” As for “bewitched,” they did not mean someone possessing a sahr—that is, a lung. What relevance would mentioning a lung have here?

Moreover, how could Pharaoh say to Moses, “Indeed, I think you, O Moses, are bewitched”? Do you suppose he did not know that Moses possessed a lung and was a human being?

And how, then, could Moses answer him by saying: 17:102 “Indeed, I think you, O Pharaoh, are doomed”? Had Pharaoh meant by “bewitched” that he was a human being, Moses would have agreed with him and said: “Yes, I am a human being whom Allah has sent to you.” This is just as the messengers answered their peoples when they said to them, 14:10 “You are only human beings like us.” They replied: 14:11 “We are only human beings like you,” and did not deny it.

قالوا: وقد ثبت في الصحيح عن أبي سعيد الخدري «أن جبريل أتى النبي ﷺ فقال: يا محمد اشتكيت؟ فقال: نعم. فقال: باسم الله أرقيك، من كل شيء يؤذيك، من شر كل نفس، أو عين حاسد، الله يشفيك، بسم الله أرقيك» فعوّذه جبريل من شر كل نفس وعين حاسد، لما اشتكى. فدل على أن هذا التعويذ مزيل لشاكيته ﷺ، وإلّا فلا يعوذه من شيء وشكايته من غيره. وقالوا: وأما الآيات التي استدللتم بها فلا حجة لكم فيها. أما قوله تعالى عن الكفار: إنهم قالوا: إِنْ تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا رَجُلًا مَسْحُوراً وقول قوم صالح وشعيب لهما إِنَّما أَنْتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ فقيل: المراد به من له سحر، وهي الرّثة، أي إنه بشر مثلهم، يأكل ويشرب، ليس بملك، وليس المراد به السحر. وهذا جواب غير مرض. وهو في غاية البعد. فإن الكفار لم يكونوا يعبرون عن البشر بمسحور، ولا يعرف هذا في لغة من اللغات. وحيث أرادوا هذا المعنى أتوا بصريح لفظ البشر، فقالوا: ٣٦: ١٥ ما أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنا و ٢٣: ٤٨ أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنا و ١٧: ٩٤ أَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ بَشَراً رَسُولًا. وأما المسحور فلم يريدوا به ذا السّحر، وهي الرئة. وأيّ مناسبة لذكر الرئة في هذا الموضع؟. ثم كيف يقول فرعون لموسى إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يا مُوسى مَسْحُوراً؟ أفتراه ما علم أن له سحرا، وأنه بشر؟. ثم كيف يجيبه موسى بقوله: ١٧: ١٠٢ إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يا فِرْعَوْنُ مَثْبُوراً ولو أراد بالمسحور: أنه بشر لصدّقه موسى، وقال: نعم، أنا بشر أرسلني الله إليك، كما قالت الرسل لقومهم لما قالوا لهم ١٤: ١٠ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنا فقالوا: ١٤: ١١ إِنْ نَحْنُ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ ولم ينكروا ذلك.