Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/226)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Say, ‘My Lord has only forbidden indecent acts, whether committed openly or in secret; sin; wrongful transgression; associating with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority; and saying about Allah what you do not know.’ (33) For every community there is an appointed term. When their term comes, they can neither delay it by a single hour nor bring it forward. (34) O children of Adam, whenever messengers from among you come to you, reciting My verses to you, whoever is mindful of Allah and reforms himself shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. (35)”

His saying, exalted is He: “Say, ‘My Lord has only forbidden indecent acts, whether committed openly or in secret’” refers to circumambulating naked: “what is committed openly” was the circumambulation of men by day, while “what is committed in secret” was the circumambulation of women by night. It was also said that it refers to fornication, whether done secretly or openly.

Abd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nu'aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma'il related to us; Sulayman ibn Harb related to us; Shu'bah related to us, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Abu Wa'il, from Abd Allah, who said: I said, “Did you hear this from Abd Allah?” He replied, “Yes,” and traced it back to the Prophet, who said: “No one is more protective of His honor than Allah; therefore, He has forbidden indecent acts, whether committed openly or in secret. And no one loves praise more than Allah; therefore, He has praised Himself.” (1)

His saying, exalted is He: “and sin” means wrongdoing and disobedience. Al-Dahhak said: It is a sin for which there is no prescribed legal punishment. Al-Hasan said: Sin here means wine. The poet said:

“I drank wine until my reason went astray;\nThus does wine carry minds away.”

“And wrongful transgression” means injustice and arrogance. “Associating with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority” means no proof or evidence. “And saying about Allah what you do not know” refers, according to Muqatil, to declaring crops and livestock unlawful. Others said that it is general in meaning, prohibiting speaking about matters of religion without certainty.

“For every community there is an appointed term”: that is, a fixed period of eating and drinking. Ibn Abbas, Ata, and al-Hasan said: It means a time appointed for the punishment to descend upon them. “When their term comes,” and their eating ceases, “they can neither delay it by a single hour nor bring it forward”—that is, nor can they precede it. This was when they asked for the punishment, so Allah revealed this verse.

His saying, Most High: “O children of Adam, whenever messengers from among you come to you” means: whenever they come to you. It was said that this refers to all the messengers.

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Tafsir, Surat al-Anam, chapter “Do not approach indecencies,” 8:296; also in Kitab al-Tawhid and Kitab al-Nikah; and by Muslim in Kitab al-Tawbah, chapter “Allah Most High's protective jealousy and the prohibition of indecencies,” no. 2760, 4:2113-2114.

﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالْإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ (٣٣) وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ (٣٤) يَا بَنِي آدَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِي فَمَنِ اتَّقَى وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (٣٥) ﴾ ﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ﴾ يَعْنِي: الطَّوَافُ عُرَاةً ﴿مَا ظَهَرَ﴾ طَوَافُ الرِّجَالِ بِالنَّهَارِ ﴿وَمَا بَطَنَ﴾ طَوَافُ النِّسَاءِ بِاللَّيْلِ. وَقِيلَ: هُوَ الزِّنَا سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ الْمُلَيْحِيُّ أَنْبَأَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النَّعِيمِيُّ أَنْبَأَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مَرَّةَ عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ قُلْتُ: أَنْتَ سَمِعْتَ هَذَا مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، فَرَفَعَهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "لَا أَحَدَ أَغْيَرُ مِنَ اللَّهِ، فَلِذَلِكَ حَرَّمَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، وَلَا أَحَدَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ الْمَدْحُ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَلِذَلِكَ مَدَحَ نَفْسَهُ" (١) . قَوْلُهُ ﷿: ﴿وَالْإِثْمَ﴾ يَعْنِي: الذَّنْبَ وَالْمَعْصِيَةَ. وَقَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ: الذَّنْبُ الَّذِي لَا حَدَّ فِيهِ. قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: الْإِثْمُ: الْخَمْرُ. قَالَ الشَّاعِرُ: شَرِبْتُ الْإِثْمَ حَتَّى ضَلَّ عَقْلِي ... كَذَاكَ الْإِثْمُ تَذْهَبُ بِالْعُقُولِ ﴿وَالْبَغْيَ﴾ الظُّلْمَ وَالْكِبْرَ، ﴿بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا﴾ حُجَّةً وَبُرْهَانًا، ﴿وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ فِي تَحْرِيمِ الْحَرْثِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ، فِي قَوْلِ مُقَاتِلٍ. وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ: هُوَ عَامٌّ فِي تَحْرِيمِ الْقَوْلِ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ غَيْرِ يَقِينٍ. ﴿وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ﴾ مُدَّةٌ، وَأَكْلٌ وَشُرْبٌ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَعَطَاءٌ وَالْحُسْنُ: يَعْنِي وَقْتًا لِنُزُولِ الْعَذَابِ بِهِمْ، ﴿فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ﴾ وَانْقَطَعَ أَكْلُهُمْ، ﴿لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ﴾ أَيْ: وَلَا يَتَقَدَّمُونَ. وَذَلِكَ حِينَ سَأَلُوا الْعَذَابَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ. قوله تعالى: ﴿يَا بَنِي آدَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ﴾ أَيْ: أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمْ. قِيلَ: أَرَادَ جَمِيعَ الرُّسُلِ.

(١) أخرجه البخاري في التفسير، سورة الأنعام، باب "ولا تقربوا الفواحش": ٨ / ٢٩٦، وفي التوحيد، وفي النكاح، ومسلم في التوبة، باب غيرة الله تعالى وتحريم الفواحش، برقم (٢٧٦٠) : ٤ / ٢١١٣-٢١١٤.