Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/190)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

And His words, “And among the jinn were those who worked before him by permission of his Lord; and whoever among them swerved from Our command, We made him taste the punishment of the blazing Fire” (Sabaʾ 34:12), mean that Allah subjected to Solomon a host of jinn as tireless laborers who carried out whatever he wished, never flagging and never disobeying him. If any of them did rebel, he would punish him and make an example of him.

“They made for him whatever he desired—lofty sanctuaries, statues, basins as wide as reservoirs…” (Sabaʾ 34:13). The word maḥārīb refers to fine structures and the foremost places of assemblies, while the tamāthīl are images set into walls; such imagery was permissible under the dispensation granted to them at that time. As for “basins as wide as reservoirs,” Ibn ʿAbbās said: “A basin (jafna) the size of a ground-hollow,” and in another report: “like large watering-troughs.”(1) The same explanation was given by Mujāhid, al-Ḥasan, Qatādah, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and others.(2) According to this reading, jawāb is the plural of jābiyah, a cistern into which water is collected, as the poet al-Aʿshā said:

A bowl is borne to the family of al-Muḥallaq—
like the cistern of the flowing Iraqi canal, brimming over.(3)

Concerning the “firmly anchored cauldrons,” ʿIkrimah said, “Their tripods were part of them,” meaning they were fixed in place and never removed; the same was stated by Mujāhid and many others.(4)

Since all of this pertained to feeding people and showing kindness to both humans and jinn, Allah said, “Work, O family of David, in gratitude; yet few of My servants are truly grateful” (Sabaʾ 34:13).

And He also said, “And We subjected to him the devils—every builder and diver, and others bound together in chains” (Ṣād 38:37–38). That is, among them were those whom he employed in construction, and others whom he sent to dive into the sea to bring forth the jewels, pearls, and the like that can be found only there.

“As for others bound together in fetters,” this refers to those who had disobeyed; they were shackled, paired two by two, in chains—that is, restraints. All this formed part of the manifold favors Allah prepared and subjected to him, completing the dominion “that should belong to no one after me,” a kingdom unmatched by anyone before him as well.

Al-Bukhārī recorded:(5) Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, Shuʿbah related to us from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Last night an ifrīt from the jinn suddenly appeared, trying to disrupt my prayer. Allah enabled me to overpower him, and I seized him, intending to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that all of you could see him. But I remembered the supplication of my brother Solomon: ‘My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me’ (Sād 38:35). So I let him go, disgraced.”

(1) Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 22, p. 49. (2) Ibid. (3) Diwan al-Aʿsha, variant Q 33/B 57, p. 275. It contains the line: “nafā adh-dhimma ʿan āl al-muhalliq jafnah … ka-jābiyyat as-sayḥ al-ʿirāqī tafhaq.” In al-Shaykh’s edition, as-sayḥ is amended to “river” and tafhaq to “to gush forth.” (4) Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 22, p. 49. (5) Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3423, in the Book of Prophets, chapter “The Saying of Allah, Exalted: ‘Wa wahabnā li-Dāwūd Sulaymān’” (And We bestowed upon David, Solomon).

وقوله: ﴿وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ﴾ أي: وسخر الله له من الجِنّ عُمّالاً يعملون له ما يشاء لا يفترون ولا يخرجون عن طاعته، ومن خرج منهم عن الأمر عذّبه ونكلّ به. ﴿يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاءُ مِنْ مَحَارِيبَ﴾ وهي الأماكن الحسنة وصدور المجالس ﴿وَتَمَاثِيلَ﴾ وهي الصور في الجدران، وكان هذا سائغاً في شريعتهم ومفَتهم ﴿وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ﴾. قال ابن عباس: الجفنة كالجوبة من الأرض، وعنه: كالحياض (١) . وكذا قال مجاهد والحسن وقتادة والضحاك وغيرهم (٢) . وعلى هذه الرواية يكون الجواب جمع جابية، وهي الحوض الذي يجبى فيه الماء كما قال الأعشى: [من الطويل] تَرُوْحُ على آلِ المُحَلَّقِ جَفنةٌ … كَجابِيةِ السَّيْحِ العِراقيَّ يَفْهَقُ (٣) وأما القدور الراسيات، فقال عكرمة: أثافيها منها، يعني أنهن ثوابت لا يزلن عن أماكنهن. وهكذا قال مجاهد وغير واحد (٤) . ولما كان هذا بصدد إطعام الطعام والإحسان إلى الخلق من إنسان وجان قال تعالى: ﴿اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ﴾. وقال تعالى: ﴿وَالشَّيَاطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّاءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ (٣٧) وَآخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِي الْأَصْفَادِ﴾ يَعني أن منهم من قد سَخّره في البناء، ومنهم من يأمره بالغوص في الماء لا ستخراج ما هنالك من الجواهر واللآلئ وغير ذلك مما لا يوجد إلا هنالك. وقوله: ﴿وَآخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِي الْأَصْفَادِ﴾ أي قد عصوا فقُيَّدوا مقرنين اثنين اثنين في الأصفاد، وهي: القيود. وهذا كلّه من جملة ماهيأ الله وسخر له من الأشياء التي هي من تمام الملك الذي لا ينبغي لأحد من بعده، ولم يكن أيضاً لمن كان قبله. وقد قال البخاري (٥) : حدّثنا محمد بن بشار، حدّثنا محمد بن جعفر، حدّثنا شعبة، عن محمد بن زياد، عن أبي هريرة، عن النبي ﷺ قال: "إنَّ عِفْرِيْتاً مِنَ الجِنِّ تَفَلَّتَ عليّ البارِحَةَ لِيَقْطَعَ علَيّ صَلاتي فأمْكَنَني اللهُ مِنْهُ، فاخَذْتُهُ فأرَدْتُ أنْ أَرْبِطَهُ إلى سَارِيَةٍ مِنْ سَوارِى المَسْجِد حَتّى تَنْظُروا إليَه كُلَّكُم، فَذَكَرْتُ دَعْوَةَ أخي سُلَيْمانَ ﴿رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِي﴾ فَرَدَدْتُهُ خاسِئاً" .

(١) تفسير الطبري (٢٢/ ٤٩). (٢) المصدر السابق. (٣) ديوان الأعشى: (ق ٣٣/ ب ٥٧، ص ٢٧٥). وفيه: [من الطويل]. نفى الذم عن آل المحلق جفنة … كجابية السيح العراقي تفهق وفي ط: الشيخ. والسيح: النهر. ويفهق: يتصبب. (٤) تفسير الطبري (٢٢/ ٤٩). (٥) أخرجه البخاري رقم (٣٤٢٣) في الأنبياء، باب قول الله تعالى: ﴿وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُودَ سُلَيْمَانَ﴾.