Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/42)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Another Qur’ānic reading states: “He was barred from the path—and Pharaoh’s stratagem ended in sheer ruin.”

Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid said: that means “in loss,” that is, a futile effort that gains none of the objective he pursued. Human beings, by their own power, can never reach the sky—meaning even the lowest heaven—let alone the higher heavens and the unimaginable heights beyond, whose reality is known only to Allah, Exalted is He.

More than one commentator reports that this “tower”—the palace Pharaoh’s minister Hāmān built for him—surpassed every structure then known, though it was fashioned merely from bricks fired in a kiln. Hence Pharaoh’s words: “Kindle for me, Hāmān, a fire upon clay and build for me a lofty tower.”

According to the People of the Book, the Children of Israel were conscripted to make those bricks. One of the burdens Pharaoh imposed upon them was that they received no help at all: they themselves had to gather the clay, the straw, and the water, and each day a fixed quota was demanded of them. Should they fail, they were beaten, humiliated to the utmost, and subjected to extreme abuse. It was on account of this that they said to Moses:

“We were harmed before you came to us and after you came.” He replied, “It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, then see how you act.”

He assured them that the final outcome would be theirs over the Copts—and so it happened. This stands as a sign of prophethood.

Let us now return to the counsel, admonition, and argument of the believing man. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“He who had believed said, ‘My people, follow me and I will guide you to the path of rectitude. My people, the life of this world is but a fleeting enjoyment, whereas the Hereafter is the abode of permanence. Whoever commits an evil deed will be requited only with its like; but whoever does righteous deeds—male or female—and is a believer, such people shall enter the Garden and be provided therein without measure.’” (Ghāfir 40:38–40)

He was inviting them to the way of guidance and truth: to follow Allah’s prophet Moses and believe what he had brought from his Lord. He then made them disdain this lowly, passing world that must inevitably come to an end, and urged them to seek reward with Allah—the One with whom no deed is ever lost, the All-Powerful in whose hand lies the dominion of all things, who grants abundant recompense for little effort and, out of His justice, requites an evil only with its equal. He told them that the Hereafter is the abode of permanence: whoever reaches it as a believer who has done good works will receive the highest gardens, secure chambers, abundant and surpassing bounties, and everlasting provisions that never cease—goodness that only multiplies.

He next set about proving the falsity of their present course and warning them of the fate awaiting them, saying:

“My people, why is it that I call you to salvation while you call me to the Fire? You call me to disbelieve in Allah and to associate with Him that of which I have no knowledge, whereas I call you to the Almighty, the All-Forgiving. There is no doubt that whatever you are calling me to has no claim—neither in this world nor in the Hereafter—whereas our return is to Allah, and it is the transgressors who are…”

(1) The verb ṣadda is read with the active inflection (bina’ al-ma‘lūm), which is the reading of the majority of reciters; ʿĀṣim, Hamza, and al-Kisāʾī, however, read it with the passive inflection (bina’ al-majhūl). See Hujjat al-Qirāʾāt, p. 632; al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, vol. 24, p. 43. (2) al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, vol. 24, pp. 43–44.

وقُرئ (١) : ﴿وَصُدَّ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا كَيْدُ فِرْعَوْنَ إِلَّا فِي تَبَابٍ﴾. قال ابن عباس ومجاهد: يقول: إلّا في خسار، أي: باطل لا يحصل له شيء من مقصوده الذي رامه، فإنّه لا سبيل للبشر أن يتوصّلوا بقواهم إلى نيل السماء أبدًا، أعني السماء الدنيا، فكيف بما بعدها من السماوات العُلى وما فوق ذلك من الارتفاع الذي لا يعلمه إلا الله – Exalté soit-Il – (٢) . وذكر غير واحد من المفسّرين أن هذا الصرح، وهو القصر الذي بناه وزيره هامان له، لم يُرَ بناءٌ أعلى منه، وإن كان مبنيًا من الآجرِّ المشويِّ بالنار، ولهذا قال: ﴿فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَاهَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ فَاجْعَلْ لِي صَرْحًا﴾. وعند أهل الكتاب أن بني إسرائيل كانوا يُسَخَّرون في ضرب اللَّبِن، وكان مما حملوا من التكاليف الفرعونية أنهم لا يُساعدون على شيء مما يحتاجون إليه فيه، بل كانوا هم الذين يجمعون تُرابه وتِبنه ومَاءه، ويُطلب منهم في كلِّ يوم قسط معين، إنْ لم يفعلوه وإلَّا ضُربوا وأُهينوا غاية الإهانة، وأُوذوا غاية الأَذِيَّةِ. ولهذا قالوا لموسى: ﴿قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ﴾، فوعدهم بأن العاقبة لهم على القبط وكذلك وقع، وهذا من دلائل النبوة. ولنرجع إلى نصيحة المؤمن، وموعظته، واحتجاجه قال الله تعالى: ﴿وَقَالَ الَّذِي آمَنَ يَاقَوْمِ اتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ (٣٨) يَاقَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ (٣٩) مَنْ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ يُرْزَقُونَ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾ [غافر: ٣٨ - ٤٠] يدعوهم (رضي الله عنه) إلى طريق الرشاد والحق، وهي متابعة نبي الله موسى وتصديقه فيما جاء به من ربه، ثم زهَّدهم في الدنيا الدنيَّة الفانية المنقضية لا محالة، ورغّبهم في طلب الثواب عند الله الذي لا يضيع عمل عامل لديه، القدير الذي ملكوت كل شيء بيديه، الذي يعطي على القليل كثيرًا، ومِن عدله لا يجازي على السيئة إلا مثلها. وأخبرهم أن الآخرة هي دار القرار؛ التي مَن وافاها مؤمنًا قد عمل الصالحات فلهم الجنات العاليات والغرف الآمنات، والخيرات الكثيرة الفائقات، والأرزاق الدائمة التي لا تبيد. والخير الذي كل ما لهم منه في مزيد. ثم شرع في بيان إبطال ما هم عليه، وتخويفهم مما يصيرون إليه فقال: ﴿وَيَاقَوْمِ مَا لِي أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى النَّجَاةِ وَتَدْعُونَنِي إِلَى النَّارِ (٤١) تَدْعُونَنِي لِأَكْفُرَ بِاللَّهِ وَأُشْرِكَ بِهِ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَأَنَا أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى الْعَزِيزِ الْغَفَّارِ (٤٢) لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّمَا تَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ لَيْسَ لَهُ دَعْوَةٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَأَنَّ مَرَدَّنَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَنَّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ هُمْ

(١) قرئ ﴿صَدَّ﴾ بالبناء للمعلوم، وهي قراءة الجمهور إلا عاصمًا وحمزة والكسائي، فقد قرؤوها بالبناء للمجهول. حجة القراءات (٦٣٢) وتفسير الطبري (٢٤/ ٤٣). (٢) تفسير الطبري: (٢٤/ ٤٣ - ٤٤).