Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (652)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

your hands have earned.”

And He said to the best of creation apart from His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), namely his Companions:

3: 165 “When a calamity befell you, although you had inflicted twice as much, you said, ‘How has this happened?’ Say, ‘It is from yourselves.’”

No one who harms a servant is given power over him except because of a sin, whether he knows of it or not. The sins of which the servant is unaware far outnumber those he knows, and the deeds he forgets far outnumber those he remembers.

The well-known supplication says: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anything with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.”

Thus, the sins for which the servant needs to seek forgiveness without knowing of them are many times more numerous than those he knows. No one who harms him is given power over him except because of a sin.

A man once encountered one of the early Muslims, spoke harshly to him, and insulted him. He told the man, “Wait until I go inside the house, then I will come back out to you.” He went inside, prostrated to Allah, entreated Him humbly, repented, and turned back to his Lord. When he came back out, the man asked him, “What did you do?” He replied, “I repented to Allah of the sin through which He gave you power over me.”

We shall explain, if Allah Most High wills, that no evil exists except sins and their consequences. When the servant is spared sins, he is spared their consequences. Thus, when he is wronged, harmed, and overpowered by his adversaries, no remedy is more effective for him than sincere repentance.

A sign of his blessedness is that he turns his thoughts and attention back upon himself, his sins, and his faults, occupying himself with them, correcting them, and repenting of them. He then has no attention left to dwell on what has befallen him. Rather, he attends to repentance and the correction of his faults, while Allah unfailingly undertakes to support, protect, and defend him. How blessed a servant he is! How blessed the affliction that has befallen him, and how beneficial its effect upon him!

Yet success and right guidance are in Allah’s hand. None can withhold what He gives, and none can give what He withholds. Not everyone is granted success in this—in understanding it, desiring it, or being able to carry it out. There is no power and no strength except through Allah.

كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وقال لخير الخلق، وهم أصحاب نبيه دونه ﷺ: ٣: ١٦٥ أَوَلَمَّا أَصابَتْكُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَدْ أَصَبْتُمْ مِثْلَيْها قُلْتُمْ: أَنَّى هذا؟ قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ. فما سلط على العبد من يؤذيه إلا بذنب يعلمه أو لا يعلمه، وما لا يعلمه العبد من ذنوبه أضعاف ما يعلمه منها. وما ينساه مما عمله أضعاف ما يذكره. وفي الدعاء المشهور «اللهم إني أعوذ بك أن أشرك بك وأنا أعلم. واستغفرك لما لا أعلم» . فما يحتاج العبد إلى الاستغفار منه مما لا يعلمه أضعاف أضعاف ما يعلمه. فما سلط عليه مؤذ إلا بذنب. ولقي بعض السلف رجل فأغلظ له ونال منه، فقال له: قف حتى أدخل البيت، ثم أخرج إليك. فدخل فسجد لله وتضرع إليه وتاب، وأناب إلى ربه. ثم خرج إليه فقال له: ما صنعت؟ فقال: تبت إلى الله من الذنب الذي سلطك به عليّ. وسنذكر إن شاء الله تعالى أنه ليس في الوجود شر إلّا الذنوب وموجباتها. فإذا عوفي العبد من الذنوب عوفي من موجباتها. فليس للعبد إذا بغي عليه وأوذي وتسلط عليه خصومه شيء أنقع له من التوبة النصوح. وعلامة سعادته: أن يعكس فكره ونظره على نفسه وذنوبه وعيوبه، فيشتغل بها وبإصلاحها وبالتوبة منها. فلا يبقى فيه فراغ لتدبر ما نزل به، بل يتولى هو التوبة وإصلاح عيوبه. والله يتولى نصرته وحفظه، والدفع عنه ولا بد. فما أسعده من عبد، وما أبركها من نازلة نزلت به. وما أحسن أثرها عليه، ولكن التوفيق والرشد بيد الله. لا مانع لما أعطى، ولا معطي لما منع. فما كل أحد يوفق لهذا. لا معرفة به، ولا إرادة له، ولا قدرة عليه، ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.