Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (1/277)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

“So how could I grieve for a people who persist in disbelief?” (al-Aʿrāf 7:93)

That is, turn away from them and leave their land once they have been destroyed, saying: “O my people, I have surely conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and given you sincere counsel” (al-Aʿrāf 7:93). In other words, I have fulfilled the duty that was upon me—complete proclamation and perfect advice. I strove for your guidance with every means within my power, yet it availed you nothing, for Allah does not guide those whom He lets go astray and they will find no helpers. After this I shall not sorrow over you, for you never accepted counsel and you did not fear the Day of Exposure.

Hence His words: “So how could I grieve”—that is, feel sorrow—“for a people who persist in disbelief,” a people who will not accept the truth, return to it, or even give it a passing glance. Upon them descended the might of Allah—an onslaught that cannot be repelled, resisted, or fended off. There is no escape for anyone at whom it is directed, nor any refuge (1).

The ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir reports in his History (2), on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that Shuʿayb, peace be upon him, came after Joseph, peace be upon him.

Wahb b. Munabbih relates (3) that Shuʿayb, peace be upon him, died in Mecca along with the believers who were with him; their graves, he says, lie to the west of the Kaʿbah, between the House of Nadwah and the house of Banū Sahm.

Chapter: The Offspring of Abraham (4)

We have already recounted his struggle with his people, what befell them, and how his affair concluded—upon him be peace, greeting, and honour. We also mentioned what occurred in his time concerning the people of Lot, and we followed that with the story of Midian, the people of Shuʿayb, peace be upon him, because it is paired with Lot’s story in several places in the Book of Allah, Exalted is He. After narrating the affair of Lot’s people, Allah immediately brings the story of Midian—who are, as we have clarified, the People of the Thicket. Following the pattern of the Noble Qur’an, we presented that narrative next.

We now commence a discussion of the excellence of the descendants of Abraham, peace be upon him, for Allah placed prophethood and scripture within his progeny, and every prophet sent after him is from among his offspring.

(1) As in al-Usul and in the printed edition it reads wa la manas ‘anhu (“there is no escape from it”); manas itself means “no turning back or return.” (2) It is reported by Ibn Asakir in his Tārīkh, as in al-Mukhtasar, vol. 10, p. 308. (3) It is reported by Ibn Asakir in his Tārīkh, as in the al-Mukhtasar of Ibn Manzur, vol. 10, p. 314. (4) So read in manuscript B; in manuscript A it reads wa-taslim (the salutation).

فَكَيْفَ آسَى عَلَى قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ﴾ [الأعراف: ٩٣] أي: أعرضْ عنهم مُولّيًا عن محلَّتهم بعد هلكتهم قائلًا: ﴿يَاقَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّي وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ﴾ [الأعراف: ٩٣] أي: قد أدَّيْتُ ما كان واجبًا عليّ من البلاغ التامِّ والنُّصْح الكامل، وحرصتُ على هدايتكم بكلِّ ما أقدرُ عليه، وأتوصّل إليه، فلم ينفعْكم ذلك، لأن الله لا يهدي منْ يُضلُّ، وما لهم من ناصرين، فلستُ أتأسَّف بعد هذا عليكم، لأنكم لم تكونوا تقبلونَ النصيحةَ، ولا تخافونَ يومَ الفضيحة، ولهذا قال: ﴿فَكَيْفَ آسَى﴾ أي: أحزن ﴿عَلَى قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ﴾ أي: لا تقبلون الحقَّ ولا ترجعون إليه، ولا تلتفتونَ، فحلَّ بهم من بأسِ اللّه الذي لا يُردُّ ما لا يُدافَعُ ولا يُمانَعُ، ولا محيد لأحدٍ أريد به عنه ولا مناص (١) منه. وقد ذكر الحافظ ابن عساكر في تاريخه (٢) : عن ابن عباس؛ أن شعيبًا (عليه السلام) كان بعد يوسف (عليه السلام) . وعن وَهْب بن مُنَبِّه (٣) أنَّ شُعيبًا (عليه السلام) ماتَ بمكَّة ومنْ معه من المؤمنينَ، وقبورهم غربيّ الكعبة بين دار النَّدْوة ودار بني سَهْم. * * * باب ذكر ذريّة إبراهيم (رحمهم الله) (٤) قد قدَّمنا قصَّته مع قومه وما كان من أمرهم، وما آلَ إليه أمره (عليه السلام) والتحيَّة والإكرام، وذكرنا ما وقعَ في زمانهِ من قصَّة قوم لوط، وأتبعنا ذلك بقصَّة مدينَ قوم شعيب (عليه السلام) ؛ لأنها قرينتها في كتاب اللّه – Exalté soit-Il – في مواضعَ مُتعدِّدة، فذكرَ تعالى بعدَ قِضَة قومِ لوط قصَّة مدينَ، وهم أصحابُ الأيكة على الصحيح، كما قدَّمنا، فذكرناها تبعًا لها اقتداء بالقرآن العظيم. ثم نشرعُ الآن في الكلام على تفضيل ذرِّيَّة إبراهيم (عليه السلام) ، لأنَّ اللّه جعلَ في ذريَّته النبوةَ والكتابَ، فكلُّ نبيٍّ أُرسلَ بعدَه فمن وَلَده.

(١) كذا في الأصول، وفي المطبوع: ولا مناص عنه، ومعنى: لا مناص: لا رجعة ولا عودة. (٢) أخرجه ابن عساكر في تاريخه، كما في المختصر (١٠/ ٣٠٨). (٣) أخرجه ابن عساكر في تاريخه، كما في المختصر؛ لابن منظور (١٠/ ٣١٤). (٤) كذا في ب، وفي أ: والتسليم.