Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (1/221)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

He found the meal she had prepared and asked, “Where did this come from?” She replied, “From whatever you brought with you.” He then realized it was provision Allah had granted them.

Zayd ibn Aslam said: Allah sent an angel to that tyrannical king and commanded him to believe in Allah, but he refused. The angel summoned him a second time, and he refused; then a third time, and he still refused. The angel declared, “Gather your forces, and I shall gather Mine.” So Nimrod mustered his army at sunrise. Allah then unleashed a swarm of gnats so dense they could not see the sun. Empowered by Allah, the insects devoured their flesh and blood, leaving only exposed bones. One gnat entered the king’s nostril and stayed there for four hundred years, by which Allah tormented him; throughout that entire time he struck his own head with hammers (1) until Allah destroyed him by means of it (2).

Account of the Friend’s (peace be upon him) migration to Greater Syria, his entry into Egypt, and his settlement in the Holy Land

Allah the Exalted says:
“So Lot believed in him, and [Abraham] said, ‘I am migrating to my Lord; indeed, He is the Almighty, the Wise.’ And We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and placed prophethood and the Scripture among his descendants; We gave him his reward in this world, and in the Hereafter he will surely be among the righteous.” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:26–27)

He also says: “And We delivered him and Lot to the land We had blessed for all beings, and We granted him Isaac and Jacob as an additional gift; each of them We made righteous. And We made them leaders guiding by Our command; We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, the establishment of prayer, and the giving of zakāt, and they were devoted worshippers of Us.” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:71–73)

When he left his people for Allah’s sake and emigrated from their midst—while his wife was barren and he had no child save his nephew Lot son of Hārān son of Āzar—Allah later bestowed upon him righteous offspring and placed prophethood and the Book within his lineage. Every prophet sent after him was from his descendants, and every scripture revealed from heaven came through one of his progeny. This was an honor robe (3) and a special favor from Allah, granted because he forsook his land, family, and relatives and migrated to a place where he could worship his Lord, exalted is He, and call people to Him. The land he sought through that migration was Greater Syria, of which Allah said, “to the land We had blessed for all beings” (21:71). This was the view of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (4), Abū al-ʿĀliyah, Qatādah, and others. Al-ʿAwfī narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said (5):

(1) “Marāzib” is the plural of mirzaba, meaning a large hammer; it is also called irzabba (with a hamza and a shadda). (2) Narrated by Ibn Jarir in his Tafsir (vol. 3, p. 27) and mentioned by al-Suyuti in Al-Dur al-Manthur (vol. 2, pp. 24–25). (3) “Khil‘ah”: gift. (4) See al-Suyuti, Al-Dur al-Manthur (vol. 5, pp. 642–643). (5) Narrated by Ibn Jarir in his Tafsir (vol. 9, p. 46).

وجدَ الذي قد أصلحُوه، فقال: أنَّى لكم هذا؟ قالت: من الذي جئتَ به، فعرفَ أنَّه رزقٌ رزَقَهموه اللّه (عز وجل) . فال زيدُ بن أسلم: وبعثَ اللّه إلى ذلك المَلِك الجبَّار ملَكا فأمره بالإيمان باللّه، فأبى عليه، ثم دعاه الثانية، فأبى عليه، ثم الثالثة، فأبى. وقال: اجمعْ جموعَك وأجمعُ جموعي، فجمعَ النمرودُ جيشَه وجنودَه وقتَ طُلوع الشمس، فأرسلَ اللّه عليه ذبابًا من البَعوض، بحيثُ لم يرَوا عينَ الشمسَ، وسلَّطها الله عليهم، فأكلتْ لحومَهم ودماءَهم، وتركتْهم عظامًا باديةً، ودخلتْ واحدةٌ منها في مِنْخر المَلكِ، فمكثتْ في منخريه أربعمئة سنة، عذَّبه اللّه تعالى بها، فكان يضربُ رأسه بالمرازب (١) في هذه المدة كلها حتى أهلكَه اللّه (عز وجل) بها (٢) . * * * ذكرُ هجرة الخليل (عليه السلام) إلى بلاد الشام ودخوله الديار المصرية، واستقرارِه بالأرض المقدَّسة قال اللّه تعالى: ﴿فَآمَنَ لَهُ لُوطٌ وَقَالَ إِنِّي مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّي إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (٢٦) وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِ النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَجْرَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ﴾ [العنكبوت: ٢٦، ٢٧] وقال تعالى: ﴿وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ (٧١) وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً وَكُلًّا جَعَلْنَا صَالِحِينَ (٧٢) وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَاتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءَ الزَّكَاةِ وَكَانُوا لَنَا عَابِدِينَ﴾ [الأنبياء: ٧١ - ٧٣] لما هجرَ قومَه في اللّه، وهاجرَ من بينِ أظهرهم، وكانت امرأتُه عاقرًا لا يُولد لها، ولم يكنْ له من الولد أحدٌ، بل معه ابنُ أخيه لوطُ بن هاران بن آزر، هبَه اللّه تعالى بعد ذلك الأولادَ الصالحينَ، وجعلَ في ذُريَّتهِ النبوة والكتاب، فكل نبيٍّ بُعِثَ بعدَه من ذُريَّته، وكلُّ كتابٍ نزلَ من السماء على نبيٍّ من الأنبياء منْ بعدِه، فعلى أحد نسلِه وعَقبه خِلعة (٣) من اللّه وكرامةً له حين تركَ بلادَه وأهلَه وأقرباءَه وهاجرَ إلى بلد يتمكَّن فيها من عبادة ربِّه (عز وجل) ، ودعوةِ الخلق إليه، والأرضُ التي قصدَها بالهجرة أرضُ الشام، وهي التي قال اللّه (عز وجل) : ﴿إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ﴾ [الأنبياء: ٧١] قاله أُبيُّ بن كعب (٤) ، وأبو العالية، وقتادة وغيرهم. وروى (٥) العوفي عن ابن عباس قوله:

(١) "المرازب": جمع مِرْزبة: وهي المطرقة الكبيرة، ويقال له: الإرزبَّة: بالهمز والتشديد. (٢) أخرجه ابن جرير في تفسيره (٣/ ٢٧) وذكره السيوطي في الدر المنثور (٢/ ٢٤ - ٢٥). (٣) "خِلْعةً": عطيَّة. (٤) انظر الدر المنثور؛ للسيوطي (٥/ ٦٤٢ - ٦٤٣). (٥) أخرجه ابن جرير في تفسيره (٩/ ٤٦).