Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (1/102)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Indeed, those who believe, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians—whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds—shall have their reward with their Lord; no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve. (62) And when We took your covenant and raised the Mount above you: ‘Hold firmly to what We have given you, and remember what is in it, so that you may become mindful of Allah.’ (63) Then you turned away thereafter; and had it not been for Allah’s bounty and mercy upon you, you would surely have been among the losers. (64)”

“Indeed, those who believe, and the Jews”: that is, the Jews. They were so called because of their saying, “Indeed, we have turned to You,” meaning, “We have inclined toward You.” It was also said that they were so called because they repented from worshipping the calf. Another view is that they had turned away from the religion of Islam and from the religion of Moses, peace be upon him. Abu Amr ibn al-Ala said: They were so called because they sway about while reciting the Torah, saying, “The heavens and the earth moved when Allah gave Moses the Torah.”

“And the Christians”: they were so called because the disciples said, “We are Allah’s supporters.” Muqatil said: because they settled in a village called Nazareth. It was also said: because of their association with Nazareth, a village in which Jesus, peace be upon him, used to stay.

“And the Sabians”: the people of Madinah recited it as al-sabin and al-sabun, without the glottal stop, while the rest recited it with the glottal stop. Its original meaning is departure. One says that a person has departed when he leaves one religion for another; the stars are said to emerge when they rise from their places of rising; and a camel’s canine tooth is said to emerge when it comes forth. Thus, they were called by this name because they departed from one religion to another.

Umar and Ibn Abbas said: They are a people from among the People of the Book. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Their slaughtered animals are like those of the People of the Book. Ibn Abbas said: Neither their slaughtered animals nor intermarriage with them is lawful. Mujahid said: They are a tribe in the region of Syria, between the Jews and the Magians. Al-Kalbi said: They are a people between the Jews and the Christians; they shave the middles of their heads and remove their male organs. (1) Qatadah said: They are a people who read the Psalms, worship the angels, pray toward the Kaaba, and affirm Allah, Most High. They took something from every religion. Abd al-Aziz ibn Yahya said: They have died out. (2)

(1) They sever it. (2) In present-day Iraq, there is a small minority of Sabians. They believe in the Creator, believe in the Last Day, and claim to follow the teachings of Adam. They maintain that their prophet, John, came to purify Adam’s religion of the accretions that had attached themselves to it. They have a book which they call the Kanzabra, meaning “the scrolls of Adam.” Among their acts of worship is prayer, which consists solely of standing, bowing, and sitting on the ground, without prostration. They perform it three times daily: before sunrise, at noon, and shortly before sunset; in prayer, they face the Pole Star. Abd al-Karim Zaydan, The Rulings Concerning Dhimmis and Musta'mins in the Abode of Islam, pp. 14-15. See also the jurists’ views concerning the legal status of the Sabians in Ibn Kathir, 1:189-90, and al-Jassas, The Rulings of the Quran, 3:91.

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (٦٢) وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (٦٣) ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَكُنْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (٦٤) ﴾ ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا﴾ يَعْنِي الْيَهُودَ سُمُّوا بِهِ لِقَوْلِهِمْ: إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ أَيْ مِلْنَا إِلَيْكَ، وَقِيلَ: لِأَنَّهُمْ هَادُوا أَيْ تَابُوا عَنْ عِبَادَةِ الْعِجْلِ، وَقِيلَ: لِأَنَّهُمْ مَالُوا عَنْ دِينِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَعَنْ دِينِ مُوسَى ﵇، وَقَالَ أَبُو عَمْرِو بْنُ الْعَلَاءِ: لِأَنَّهُمْ يَتَهَوَّدُونَ أَيْ يَتَحَرَّكُونَ عِنْدَ قِرَاءَةِ التَّوْرَاةِ وَيَقُولُونَ: إِنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ تَحَرَّكَتْ حِينَ آتَى اللَّهُ مُوسَى التَّوْرَاةَ ﴿وَالنَّصَارَى﴾ سُمُّوا بِهِ لِقَوْلِ الْحَوَارِيِّينَ: نَحْنُ أَنْصَارُ اللَّهِ، وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ: لِأَنَّهُمْ نَزَلُوا قَرْيَةً يُقَالُ لَهَا نَاصِرَةُ، وَقِيلَ: لِاعْتِزَائِهِمْ إِلَى نَصِرَةَ وَهِيَ قَرْيَةٌ كَانَ يَنْزِلُهَا عِيسَى ﵇. ﴿وَالصَّابِئِينَ﴾ قَرَأَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ: وَالصَّابِينَ وَالصَّابُونَ بِتَرْكِ الْهَمْزَةِ وَالْبَاقُونَ بِالْهَمْزَةِ، وَأَصْلُهُ: الْخُرُوجُ، يُقَالُ: صَبَأَ فُلَانٌ أَيْ خَرَجَ مِنْ دِينٍ إِلَى دِينٍ آخَرَ، وَصَبَأَتِ النُّجُومُ إِذَا خَرَجَتْ مِنْ مَطَالِعِهَا، وَصَبَأَ نَابُ الْبَعِيرِ إِذَا خَرَجَ، فَهَؤُلَاءِ سُمُّوا بِهِ لِخُرُوجِهِمْ مِنْ دِينٍ إِلَى دِينٍ، قَالَ عُمَرُ وَابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: هُمْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ، قَالَ عُمَرُ ﵁: ذَبَائِحُهُمْ ذَبَائِحُ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: لَا تَحِلُّ ذَبَائِحُهُمْ وَلَا مُنَاكَحَتُهُمْ، وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: هُمْ قَبِيلَةٌ نَحْوَ الشَّامِ بَيْنَ الْيَهُودِ وَالْمَجُوسِ، وَقَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ: هُمْ قَوْمٌ بَيْنَ الْيَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى يَحْلِقُونَ أَوْسَاطَ رُءُوسِهِمْ وَيَجُبُّونَ (١) مَذَاكِيرَهُمْ، وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: قَوْمٌ يَقْرَءُونَ الزَّبُورَ وَيَعْبُدُونَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ، وَيُصَلُّونَ إِلَى الْكَعْبَةِ وَيُقِرُّونَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى، أَخَذُوا مِنْ كُلِّ دِينٍ شَيْئًا، قَالَ عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ يَحْيَى: انْقَرَضُوا (٢) .

(١) يقطعونها. (٢) وفي العراق في الوقت الحاضر أقلية من الصابئة وهم يعتقدون بالخالق ﷿ ويؤمنون باليوم الآخر ويدعون أنهم يتبعون تعاليم آدم ﵇ وأن نبيهم يحيى جاء ينقي دين آدم مما علق به وعندهم كتاب يسمونه (الكانزابرا) أي صحف آدم ومن عباداتهم الصلاة وتقتصر على الوقوف والركوع والجلوس على الأرض دون سجود ويؤدونها في اليوم ثلاث مرات قبل طلوع الشمس وعند زوالها وقبيل غروبها ويتوجهون في صلاتهم إلى النجم القطبي. أحكام الذميين والمستأمنين في دار الإسلام د/ عبد الكريم زيدان ص١٤-١٥ وانظر أقوال الفقهاء في حكم الصابئة في ابن كثير ١ / ١٨٩-١٩٠ أحكام القرآن للجصاص ٣ / ٩١.