Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (1/165)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Yet for all of this, his efforts bore no fruit with them. The majority persisted in error and arrogance, worshipping idols and images, and they set themselves against him at every turn. They belittled him and those who believed in him, threatening them with stoning and expulsion, persecuting them relentlessly and with extreme hostility.

Allah, Exalted is He, recounts:
“The leaders of his people said, ‘We truly see you in blatant error.’ He replied, ‘My people, there is no error in me; rather, I am a messenger from the Lord of all realms. I convey to you the messages of my Lord, give you sincere counsel, and I know from Allah what you do not know.’” (al-Aʿrāf 60–62)

That is, “I am not—as you allege—astray; I am upon the straight path, a messenger from the Lord of all creation, He who says to a thing, ‘Be!’ and it is. My duty is simply to deliver my Lord’s messages, to advise you sincerely, and to inform you of what Allah has taught me and of which you remain ignorant.” Such is the hallmark of a prophet: eloquent, articulate, full of sincere counsel, and the most knowledgeable of people concerning Allah, exalted is He.

They also said to him:
“ ‘We see you as nothing but a human being like ourselves; we see that only the lowliest among us—those of immature judgment—follow you; nor do we perceive any superiority in you over us. Rather, we think you are liars.’” (Hūd 27)

They were astonished that a human could be sent as a messenger, disparaged his followers, and regarded them as the most contemptible of society. It has been said that these followers were the “afnād” of the people—that is, their weak and downtrodden. As Heraclius observed, they are the very people who follow the messengers; nothing stands in their way of embracing the truth.

Their charge, “at first impulse,” means that the moment he called them they responded without lengthy thought or deliberation. Yet the reproach they leveled against them is precisely that for which they are to be praised, may Allah be pleased with them, for manifest truth requires neither protracted reflection nor complex reasoning—once it becomes evident, it must be followed and submitted to at once.

For this reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ praised al-Ṣiddīq, saying, “I never invited anyone to Islam without some hesitation, except Abū Bakr—he never wavered.” Consequently his pledge of allegiance on the Day of the Saqīfah was likewise immediate, without hesitation or lengthy consultation, because his superiority over everyone else was clear and obvious to the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Thus, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to write a document explicitly designating him as successor, he refrained and said, “Allah and the believers will accept none but Abū Bakr,” may Allah be pleased with him.

As for the disbelievers among Noah’s people, their words to him and to those who believed with him—“We see no merit in you over us” (Hūd 27)—mean: “Even though you claim faith, we detect no advantage you hold over us.” They went on: “Rather, we believe you are liars.” Noah answered:
“My people, have you considered: if I stand upon clear proof from my Lord and He has granted me mercy from Himself which has been concealed from you, shall we force it upon you while you are averse to it?” (Hūd 27–28).

(1) In manuscript B: mimma qalū (from what they said). (2) afnād: people of poor judgment. (3) “kabwah”: a pause and hesitation. (4) Narrated by al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws (no. 6286) from Ibn Masud; mentioned by Razīn in Jami‘ al-Usul (vol. 8, p. 585), by al-Shawkani (p. 142) in Durr al-Sahaba, and by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (vol. 11, p. 555) in Kanz al-‘Ummal. (5) Narrated by Ahmad in Musnad (vol. 6, p. 106) and by Muslim in Sahih (no. 2387) in the chapter on the virtues of the Companions.

أخرى، وكلُّ هذا، فلم ينجحْ فيهم، بل استمرَّ أكثرُهم على الضلالة والطغيان وعبادة الأصنام والأوثان، ونَصَبُوا له العداوةَ في كلِّ وقتٍ وأوان، وتَنقَّصُوه وتنقَّصُوا منْ آمنَ به، وتوعَّدوهم بالرجم والإخراج، ونالوا منهم وبالغوا في أمرهم: ﴿قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ﴾ أي: السادة الكبراء منهم ﴿إِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ (٦٠) قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِي ضَلَالَةٌ وَلَكِنِّي رَسُولٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ [الأعراف: ٦٠ - ٦١] أي: لست كما تزعمونُ من أني ضالٌّ، بل على الهدي المستقيم رسولٌ من رب العالمين، أي: الذي يقول للشيء كن فيكون ﴿أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّي وَأَنْصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ [الأعراف: ٦٢] . وهذا شأنُ الرسول أن يكونَ بليغًا، أي: فصيحًا ناصحًا، أعلم الناس باللَّه – Exalté soit-Il – . وقالوا له فيما (١) قالوا: ﴿مَا نَرَاكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَاذِبِينَ﴾ [هود: ٢٧] تعجَّبُوا أن يكونَ بشرًا رسولًا، وتنقَّصُوا بمن اتَّبعه، ورأوْهم أراذلَهم. وقد قيل: إنهم كانوا من أفناد (٢) النَّاس وهم ضعفاؤهم، كما قال هرقل: وهم أتباعُ الرسل. وما ذاك إلا لأنه لا مانعَ لهم من اتباع الحقِّ. وقولهم: ﴿بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ﴾ [هود: ٢٧] أي: بمجرد ما دعوتُهم استجابوا لكَ من غير نظر ولا رويَّة، وهذا الذي رموهم به هو عين ما يُمدحون بسببه (رضي الله عنها) ، فإن الحقَّ الظاهرَ لا يحتاجُ إلى رويَّةٍ ولا فكر ولا نظر، بل يجبُ اتِّباعه والانقياد له متى ظهرَ. ولهذا قال رسول اللَّه ﷺ مادحًا للصدِّيق: "ما دعوتُ أحدًا إلى الإسلام إلا كانت كبوة (٣) ، غير أبي بكر فإنه لم يتلعثمْ" (٤) ولهذا كانت بيعتُه يوم السقيفة أيضًا سريعةً، من غير نظرٍ ولا رويَّة، لأن أفضليتَه على من عداه ظاهرةٌ جليَّةٌ عند الصحابة (رضي الله عنها) ، ولهذا قال رسول اللَّه ﷺ لما أراد أن يكتبَ الكتابَ الذي أراد أن ينصَّ فيه على خلافته، فتركَه وقال: "يأبى اللَّه والمؤمنون إلا أبا بكر (رضي الله عنه) " (٥) . وقول كَفَرةِ قوم نوحٍ له ولمن آمنَ به: ﴿وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ﴾ [هود: ٢٧] أي: لم يظهرْ لكم أمر بعد اتصافكم بالإيمان ولا مزيَّة علينا ﴿بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَاذِبِينَ (٢٧) قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّي وَآتَانِي رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا وَأَنْتُمْ لَهَا كَارِهُونَ﴾ [هود: ٢٧ - ٢٨] .

(١) في ب: مما قالوا. (٢) أفناد: ضعفاء الرأي من الناس. (٣) "كبوة": وقفة وتردُّد. (٤) أخرجه الديلمي في مسند الفردوس (٦٢٨٦) عن ابن مسعود، وذكره رزين كما في جامع الأصول (٨/ ٥٨٥) والشوكاني (ص ١٤٢) في درِّ السحابة، والمتقي الهندي (١١/ ٥٥٥) في كنز العمال. (٥) أخرجه أحمد في المسند (٦/ ١٠٦) ومسلم في صحيحه (٢٣٨٧) في فضائل الصحابة.