Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/9)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Her praise and commendation will be mentioned again in the story of Mary, daughter of ʿImrān, and it will be stated that on the Day of Resurrection the two of them will be among the wives of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in Paradise.

When she opened the casket and drew back its covering she saw his face shining with prophetic light and Mosaic majesty. The moment her gaze fell upon him she loved him with a profound and intense love.

When Pharaoh arrived he asked, “What is this?” and ordered that he be slaughtered. She sought him as a gift, shielding him and saying, “…a comfort to my eye and yours.” Pharaoh replied, “To you—yes; to me—no,” meaning, “I have no need of him.” Tribulation, however, is tied to the tongue. (1)

Her words, “Perhaps he may benefit us,” were fully realized: in this world Allah guided her through him, and in the Hereafter He lodged her in His Garden because of him. As for her saying, “or we may adopt him as a son,” they adopted him because she had borne no children. (2)

Allah the Exalted says, “while they were unaware,” that is, they did not perceive what Allah intended for them when He caused them to pick him up—namely, the great vengeance that would befall Pharaoh and his troops. (3)

Allah says:

“The heart of Moses’ mother became vacant; she was on the verge of revealing him had We not strengthened her heart so that she might be of those who believe. She said to his sister, ‘Follow him,’ so she watched him from a distance while they were unaware. We had already forbidden him wet nurses, so she said, ‘Shall I direct you to a household who will nurse him for you and be sincere toward him?’ Thus We returned him to his mother so that her eye might be comforted, that she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true—yet most of them do not know.” (al-Qasas 10–13)

Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah (4), Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Abū ʿUbaydah, al-Ḥasan (5), and Qatādah

(1) A proverb-like hadith, mentioned by Al-Sakhāwī in Al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah (pp. 147–148), where he devotes extensive discussion to it, and by Al-Suyūṭī in Al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr (vol. 1, p. 435). Abū ʿUbayd records it (no. 75) in the wording “calamity is entrusted to speech.” It also appears in al-Fākhir (p. 235), Jumharat al-Amthāl (vol. 1, p. 207), Fuṣūl al-Maqāl (p. 95), Al-Mustaqṣā (vol. 1, p. 305), Majmaʿ al-Amthāl (vol. 1, p. 17), Nihāyat al-Arb (vol. 16, p. 308), and Timthāl al-Amthāl (p. 263). The proverb refers to a single uttered word by a man that brings about a calamity. Its opening formula is “There is no disaster but that another disaster lies above it…” followed by “and calamity ….” The hadith is weak. Opinions differ as to its originator: the author of al-Fākhir—echoed by al-Maydānī—attributes it to Abū Bakr, said to have first voiced it when the Prophet ﷺ presented him to the Rabīʿah delegation and Abū Bakr inquired into their genealogies, tracing his own lineage in Jumharah back to the Messenger ﷺ. Some later versified it in a couplet: “Guard your tongue lest you be tried, For calamity is entrusted to speech.” (2) This reading appears in manuscripts A and B; the Ṭ edition reads “for both.” (3) The B manuscript adds: “And according to the People of the Scripture, it was Pharaoh’s daughter who picked up and nursed Moses; his wife is not mentioned at all. This is their error concerning the Book of Allah.” (4) This refers to Ikrimah al-Barbarī. (5) Whenever simply “al-Ḥasan” is mentioned, the reference is to al-Ḥasan ibn Yasar al-Basrī.

وسيأتي مدحُها والثناءُ عليها في قصّة مريمَ بنتِ عمران، وأنّهما يكونان يوم القيامة من أزواجِ رسولِ الله ﷺ في الجنَّة. فلما فتحتِ الباب، وكشفت الحجاب، رأت وجهه يتلألأ بتلك الأنوار النبويّة، والجلالة الموسويّة، فلمّا رأته ووقع نظرها عليه أحبَّته حبًّا شديدًا جدًا، فلما جاء فرعونُ قال: ما هذا؟ وأمَرَ بذبحه، فاستوهبته منه، ودفعت عنه ﴿وَقَالَتِ … قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ﴾، فقال لها فرعون: أمّا لكِ فنعم، وأمَّا لي فلا، أي: لا حاجة لي به. والبلاءُ مُوَكَّلٌ بالمنطِقِ (١) . وقولها: ﴿عَسَى أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا﴾، وقد أنالها الله ما رَجَت منه من النفع، أَمّا في الدُّنيا فهداها الله به، وأمّا في الآخرة فأسكنها جنته بسببه، ﴿أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا﴾؛ وذلك أنّهما تبنّياه لأنه لم يكن يولد لها (٢) ولد. قال الله تعالى: ﴿وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾؛ أي: لا يدرون ماذا يريد الله بهم أَنْ قيّضهم لالتقاطه من النقمة العظيمة بفرعون وجنوده (٣) . ﴿وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَى فَارِغًا إِنْ كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَنْ رَبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (١٠) وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ (١١) وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَقَالَتْ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَاصِحُونَ (١٢) فَرَدَدْنَاهُ إِلَى أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ وَلِتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ [القصص: ١٠ - ١٣] . قال ابن عبَّاس، ومجاهد، وعكرمه (٤) ، وسعيد بن جُبيرِ، وأبو عُبيدة، والحسن (٥) ، وقتادة،

(١) قطعة من حديث جرى مجرى المثل، ذكره السخاوي في "المقاصد الحسنة" ص (١٤٧ - ١٤٨) وأطال الكلام عليه، والسيوطي في الجامع الصغير (١/ ٤٣٥). وأورده أبو عبيد (٧٥) بلفظ: "البلاء موكل بالقول". وهو في: الفاخر (٢٣٥) وجمهرة الأمثال (١/ ٢٠٧) وفصل المقال (٩٥) والمستقصى (١/ ٣٠٥) ومجمع الأمثال (١/ ١٧) ونهاية الأرب (١٦/ ٣٠٨) وتمثال الأمثال (١/ ٢٦٣). - وهو يضرب فى كلمة يتكلم بها الرجل فتكون باعثة للبلاء. وأوله: "ما من طامة إلا وفوقها طامة. والبلاء .. " وهو حديث ضعيف. - وقد اختلف فيمن هو قائله، فذكر صاحب الفاخر، وعنه أخذ الميداني أن أبا بكر ﵁ أول من قاله، عندما عرض النبي ﷺ نفسه على وفد ربيعة، وأخذ أبو بكر يسألهم عن أنسابهم، ونسبه في الجمهرة إلى الرسول ﷺ . وقد نظمه بعضهم في بيت شعر فقال: احفظ لسانك أن تقول فتُبتلى … إن البلاء موكل بالمنطق (٢) كذا في أ. وفي ب، وط: لهما. (٣) زاد في ب: وعند أهل الكتاب أن التي التقطت موسى وربته ابنة فرعون. وليس لامرأته ذكر بالكلية. وهذا في غلطهم على كتاب الله ﷿ . (٤) هو عكرمة البربري. (٥) إذا أطلق الحسن فهو الحسن بن يسار البصري.