Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/243)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

in the land after the people of Noah,” that is, after they had been destroyed. “And increased you greatly in stature,” that is, in height and strength. Al-Kalbi and al-Suddi said: “The tallest among them was one hundred cubits tall, while the shortest was sixty cubits tall.” Abu Hamzah al-Thumali said: “Seventy cubits.” Ibn Abbas said: “Eighty cubits.” Muqatil said: “Each man was twelve cubits tall.” Wahb said: “The head of one of them was like a great dome, and hyenas would breed in a man’s eye, as they would in their nostrils.”

“So remember Allah’s favors”: that is, Allah’s blessings. Its singular form is ilā, and ālāʾ follows the pattern of miʿan (an intestine), plural amʿāʾ, and qafan (the nape), plural aqfāʾ. A comparable example is “the hours of the night” (al-Zumar 39:9), whose singular is anan and plural ānāʾ. “So that you may prosper.”

“They said, ‘Have you come to us so that we may worship Allah alone and abandon what our forefathers used to worship’”—that is, idols—“‘Then bring upon us what you promise us’”—namely, punishment—“‘if you are truthful.’”

“He said”—Hud—“‘Punishment and wrath from your Lord have already fallen upon you.’” That is, they have become binding and descended upon you. “Punishment” means torment; the letter s in the word is substituted for z. “And wrath,” that is, anger. “Do you dispute with me about names that you and your forefathers have invented?” That is, names which you yourselves devised. The scholars of exegesis said: They had idols which they worshipped and to which they gave different names. “For which Allah has sent down no authority,” meaning no proof or evidence. “Then wait” for the punishment to descend; “indeed, I too am waiting with you.”

“So We saved him”—that is, Hud, when the punishment descended—“and those with him by a mercy from Us, and We destroyed the last remnant of those who denied Our signs”: that is, We eradicated and destroyed them completely. “They were not believers.”

The account of Aad, according to what Muhammad ibn Ishaq and others mentioned, is as follows: (1) They were a people who lived in Yemen, and their dwellings were in al-Ahqaf, a region of sand dunes between Oman and Hadramawt. They had spread throughout the land and subdued its people by virtue of the strength Allah had granted them. They had idols which they worshipped: an idol called Sada, another called Samud, and another called al-Haba. Allah therefore sent Hud to them as a prophet. He was of moderate lineage among them and of the most excellent standing. He commanded them to affirm Allah’s oneness and to refrain from wronging people; he commanded them with nothing besides this. But they denied him and said, “Who is stronger than we are?” They built fortresses and struck with the force of tyrants. When they did this, Allah withheld rain from them for three years, until they were severely afflicted by it.

(1) Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir relates this account in his Tafsir, 2:226-227, and in Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, 1:126-127. He also referred to a hadith resembling this account, narrated by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad, 3:482, and by al-Tirmidhi in the section of Tafsir, under the commentary on Surat al-Dhariyat, 9:159-162. It was also narrated by al-Nasai through Salam ibn Abi al-Mundhir, from Asim ibn Bahdalah; and Ibn Majah likewise narrated it through this route, from Abu Wail, from al-Harith ibn Hassan al-Bakri. See: Ibn Kathir, cited above; Al-Durr al-Manthur, 7:622; Majma al-Zawaid, 6:9-12.

يَعْنِي فِي الْأَرْضِ، ﴿مِنْ بَعْدِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ﴾ أَيْ: مِنْ بَعْدِ إِهْلَاكِهِمْ، ﴿وَزَادَكُمْ فِي الْخَلْقِ بَسْطَةً﴾ أَيْ: طُولًا وَقُوَّةً. قَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ وَالسُّدِّيُّ: كَانَتْ قَامَةُ الطَّوِيلِ مِنْهُمْ مِائَةَ ذِرَاعٍ، وَقَامَةُ الْقَصِيرِ مِنْهُمْ سِتُّونَ ذِرَاعًا. وَقَالَ أَبُو حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيُّ: سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا. وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄: ثَمَانُونَ ذِرَاعًا. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ: كَانَ طُولُ كُلِّ رَجُلٍ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ ذِرَاعًا. وَقَالَ وَهْبٌ: كَانَ رَأْسُ أَحَدِهِمْ مِثْلَ الْقُبَّةِ الْعَظِيمَةِ وَكَانَ عَيْنُ الرَّجُلِ تُفْرِخُ فِيهَا الضِّبَاعُ، وَكَذَلِكَ مَنَاخِرُهُمْ. ﴿فَاذْكُرُوا آلَاءَ اللَّهِ﴾ نِعَمَ اللَّهِ، وَاحِدُهَا إِلًى وَآلَاءُ مِثْلَ مِعًى وَأَمْعَاءٍ، وَقَفًا وَأَقْفَاءٍ، وَنَظِيرُهَا: (آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ) (الزُّمَرُ-٩) ، وَاحِدُهَا أَنَا وَآنَاءٌ، ﴿لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾ ﴿قَالُوا أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ وَنَذَرَ مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا﴾ مِنَ الْأَصْنَامِ، فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا، مِنَ الْعَذَابِ، ﴿إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ﴾ ﴿قَالَ﴾ هُودٌ، ﴿قَدْ وَقَعَ﴾ وَجَبَ وَنَزَلَ، ﴿عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ رِجْسٌ﴾ أَيْ عَذَابٌ، وَالسِّينُ مُبْدَلَةٌ مِنَ الزَّايِ، ﴿وَغَضَبٌ﴾ أَيْ: سَخَطٌ، ﴿أَتُجَادِلُونَنِي فِي أَسْمَاءٍ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا﴾ وَضَعْتُمُوهَا، ﴿أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمْ﴾ قَالَ أَهْلُ التَّفْسِيرِ: كَانَتْ لَهُمْ أَصْنَامٌ يَعْبُدُونَهَا سُمَّوْهَا أَسْمَاءَ مُخْتَلِفَةً، ﴿مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ﴾ حُجَّةٍ وَبُرْهَانٍ، ﴿فَانْتَظِرُوا﴾ نُزُولُ الْعَذَابِ، ﴿إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الْمُنْتَظِرِينَ﴾ ﴿فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُ﴾ يَعْنِي هُودًا عِنْدَ نُزُولِ الْعَذَابِ، ﴿وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَّا وَقَطَعْنَا دَابِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا﴾ أَيْ: اسْتَأْصَلْنَاهُمْ وَأَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ عَنْ آخِرِهِمْ، ﴿وَمَا كَانُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ وَكَانَتْ قِصَّةُ عَادٍ عَلَى مَا ذَكَرَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ وَغَيْرُهُ: (١) أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا يَنْزِلُونَ الْيَمَنَ وَكَانَتْ مَسَاكِنُهُمْ بِالْأَحْقَافِ، وَهِيَ رِمَالٌ بَيْنَ عَمَّانَ وَحَضْرَمَوْتَ، وَكَانُوا قَدْ فَشَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ كُلِّهَا وَقَهَرُوا أَهْلَهَا بِفَضْلِ قُوَّتِهِمُ الَّتِي آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ ﷿، وَكَانُوا أَصْحَابَ أَوْثَانٍ يَعْبُدُونَهَا، صَنَمٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ صَدَى، وَصَنَمٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ صَمُودٌ، وَصَنَمٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ الْهَبَاءُ، فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِمْ هُودًا نَبِيًّا، وَهُوَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِهِمْ نَسَبًا وَأَفْضَلِهِمْ حَسَبًا، فَأَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يُوَحِّدُوا اللَّهَ وَيَكُفُّوا عَنْ ظُلْمِ النَّاسِ وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْهُمْ بِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَقَالُوا مِنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً فَبَنَوُا الْمَصَانِعَ وَبَطَشُوا بَطْشَةَ الْجَبَّارِينَ، فَلَمَّا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ أَمْسَكَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمُ الْمَطَرَ ثَلَاثَ سِنِينَ حَتَّى جَهَدَهُمْ ذَلِكَ.

(١) ساق هذه القصة الحافظ ابن كثير في التفسير: ٢ / ٢٢٦-٢٢٧ وفي البداية والنهاية: ١ / ١٢٦-١٢٧. وأشار إلى حديث يشبه هذه القصة، أخرجه الإمام أحمد في المسند: ٣ / ٤٨٢، والترمذي في التفسير، تفسير سورة الذاريات: ٩ / ١٥٩-١٦٢، ورواه أيضا النسائي من حديث سلام بن أبي المنذر عن عاصم بن بهدلة، ومن طريقه ابن ماجه أيضا عن أبي وائل عن الحارث بن حسان البكري، انظر: ابن كثير، الموضع السابق، الدر المنثور: ٧ / ٦٢٢، مجمع الزوائد:٦ / ٩-١٢.