Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (643)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

They are frequently described as envious in the Quran. Allah Most High says:

4:55 “Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty?”

He also says:

2:109 “Many of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy within themselves, even after the truth has become clear to them.”

Satan associates with the sorcerer and the envier, speaks with them, and keeps their company. Yet the devils help the envier without his having to summon them, because the envier resembles Iblīs and is, in truth, one of his followers. He seeks what Satan loves: the corruption of people and the loss of Allah’s blessings upon them. Iblīs likewise envied Adam for his honour and excellence, and refused to prostrate before him out of envy. The envier thus belongs to the army of Iblīs. The sorcerer, by contrast, asks Satan to assist him and seeks his aid. He may even worship him instead of Allah so that he will fulfil his need, and may prostrate before him.

Books on sorcery and al-Sirr al-maktūm (The Hidden Secret) contain astonishing examples of this. Hence, the greater the sorcerer’s disbelief, wickedness, and hostility towards Allah, His Messenger, and His believing servants, the stronger and more effective his sorcery becomes. The sorcery of idol worshippers was stronger than that of the People of the Book, and the sorcery of the Jews stronger than that of those who profess Islam. It was they who bewitched the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

In al-Muwatta’, Kaʿb is reported to have said:

“There are words I have memorized from the Torah; were it not for them, the Jews would have turned me into a donkey: I seek refuge in the Face of Allah the Magnificent, than whom nothing is greater; in Allah’s perfect words, which neither the righteous nor the wicked can overstep; and in Allah’s most beautiful names, those I know and those I do not know, from the evil of whatever He has created, brought forth, and brought into being.”

The point is that both the sorcerer and the envier intend evil. The envier does so through his nature, his disposition, and his hatred of the person he envies. Satan attaches himself to him and helps him, makes his envy seem attractive to him, and urges him to act upon it. The sorcerer, however, pursues evil through his knowledge, his deliberate efforts, and his seeking the aid of devils.

وأما وصفهم بالحسد فكثير في القرآن. كقوله تعالى: ٤: ٥٥ أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلى ما آتاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وفي قوله: ٢: ١٠٩ وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمانِكُمْ كُفَّاراً حَسَداً مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ما تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ. والشيطان يقارن الساحر والحاسد، ويحادثهما ويصاحبهما. ولكن الحاسد تعينه الشياطين بلا استدعاء منه للشيطان. لأن الحاسد شبيه بإبليس، وهو في الحقيقة من أتباعه. لأنه يطلب ما يحبه الشيطان من فساد الناس، وزوال نعم الله عنهم، كما أن إبليس حسد آدم لشرفه وفضله، وأبى أن يسجد له حسدا. فالحاسد من جند إبليس. وأما الساحر فهو يطلب من الشيطان أن يعينه ويستعينه. وربما يعبده من دون الله، حتى يقضي له حاجته، وربما يسجد له. وفي كتب السحر والسر المكتوم من هذا عجائب. ولهذا كلما كان الساحر أكفر وأخبث وأشد معاداة لله ولرسوله ولعباده المؤمنين كان سحره أقوى وأنفذ. وكان سحر عباد الأصنام أقوى من أهل الكتاب، وسحر اليهود أقوى من سحر المنتسبين إلى الإسلام. وهم الذين سحروا رسول الله ﷺ. وفي الموطأة عن كعب قال: «كلمات أحفظهن من التوراة، لولاها لجعلتني يهود حمارا: أعوذ بوجه الله العظيم، الذي لا شيء أعظم منه، وبكلمات الله التامات التي لا يجاوزهن بر ولا فاجر، وبأسماء الله الحسنى، ما علمت منها وما لم أعلم: من شر ما خلق، وذرأ، وبرأ» . والمقصود: أن الساحر والحاسد كل منهما قصده الشر، لكن الحاسد بطبعه ونفسه وبغضه للمحسود، والشيطان يقترن به ويعينه، ويزين له حسده، ويأمره بموجبه. والساحر بعلمه، وكسبه، واستعانته بالشياطين.