Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/261)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

That is, “Have We not made clear to those who inherit the land after its former inhabitants have perished”—the inhabitants who lived there before them—“that, if We willed, We could strike them,” meaning seize and punish them, “for their sins,” just as We punished those before them, “and seal their hearts, so that they would not hear”—that is, they would neither hear the call to faith nor accept admonition? Al-Zajjaj said: His saying, “and seal their hearts,” is independent of what precedes it, because “We could strike them” is in the past tense, whereas “We seal” is in the future tense.

“These towns: We relate to you some of their accounts. Their messengers certainly came to them with clear proofs, but they would not believe in what they had previously denied. Thus does Allah seal the hearts of the disbelievers. (101) We found no fidelity to a covenant in most of them; indeed, We found most of them to be defiantly disobedient. (102)”

“These towns” means these towns whose affair, and the affair of their people, I have mentioned to you: the towns of the people of Noah, ‘Ad, Thamud, the people of Lot, and Shu‘ayb. “We relate to you some of their accounts”—their reports, because they contain lessons. “Their messengers certainly came to them with clear proofs”—with signs, miracles, and wondrous matters. “But they would not believe in what they had previously denied”: that is, after seeing the miracles and wonders, they would not believe in what they had denied before seeing those wonders. Its parallel is His saying: “A people before you had asked for it, then came to disbelieve in it.” (al-Ma’idah 102)

Ibn ‘Abbas and al-Suddi said: This means that these disbelievers whom We destroyed would not, when the messengers were sent, believe in what they had denied previously on the Day their covenant was taken, when He brought them forth from Adam’s back. They affirmed it verbally while concealing denial within themselves. Mujahid said: Its meaning is that, if We were to bring them back to life after destroying them, they would not believe in what they had denied before their destruction, as indicated by His saying: “Even if they were returned, they would surely return to what they had been forbidden from.” (al-An‘am 28)

Yaman ibn Rabab said: This is according to the meaning that every prophet warned his people of the punishment, but they denied him. He says: They would not believe in that which their predecessors among the former nations had denied; rather, they denied what their predecessors had denied. Its parallel is His saying: “Likewise, no messenger came to those before them but they said, ‘A sorcerer or a madman!’” (al-Dhariyat 52). “Thus does Allah seal the hearts of the disbelievers”: that is, just as Allah sealed the hearts of the former nations whom He destroyed, so He seals the hearts of those disbelievers among your people of whom He decreed that they would not believe.

“We found no fidelity to a covenant in most of them”: that is, no fulfillment of the covenant He made with them on the Day of the Covenant, when He brought them forth from Adam’s loins. “Indeed, We found most of them to be defiantly disobedient”: that is, We found most of them only as defiantly disobedient people who broke the covenant.

يَعْنِي أَوَلَمْ نُبَيِّنُ، ﴿لِلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْأَرْضَ مِنْ بَعْدِ﴾ هَلَاكِ ﴿أَهْلِهَا﴾ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا فِيهَا قَبْلَهُمْ ﴿أَنْ لَوْ نَشَاءُ أَصَبْنَاهُمْ﴾ أَيْ: أَخَذْنَاهُمْ وَعَاقَبْنَاهُمْ، ﴿بِذُنُوبِهِمْ﴾ كَمَا عَاقَبْنَا مَنْ قَبْلَهُمْ، ﴿وَنَطْبَعُ﴾ نَخْتِمُ ﴿عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ﴾ الْإِيمَانَ وَلَا يَقْبَلُونَ الْمَوْعِظَةَ، قَالَ الزَّجَّاجُ: قَوْلُهُ ﴿وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَى﴾ مُنْقَطِعٌ عَمَّا قَبْلَهُ لِأَنَّ قَوْلَهُ ﴿أَصَبْنَاهُمْ﴾ مَاضٍ وَ" نَطْبَعُ " مُسْتَقْبَلٌ. ﴿تِلْكَ الْقُرَى نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَائِهَا وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا بِمَا كَذَّبُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْكَافِرِينَ (١٠١) وَمَا وَجَدْنَا لِأَكْثَرِهِمْ مِنْ عَهْدٍ وَإِنْ وَجَدْنَا أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَفَاسِقِينَ (١٠٢) ﴾ ﴿تِلْكَ الْقُرَى﴾ أَيْ: هَذِهِ الْقُرَى الَّتِي ذَكَرْتُ لَكَ أَمْرَهَا وَأَمْرَ أَهْلِهَا، يَعْنِي: قُرَى قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَقَوْمِ لُوطٍ وَشُعَيْبٍ، ﴿نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَائِهَا﴾ أَخْبَارِهَا لِمَا فِيهَا مِنَ الِاعْتِبَارِ، ﴿وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ﴾ بِالْآيَاتِ وَالْمُعْجِزَاتِ وَالْعَجَائِبِ، ﴿فَمَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا بِمَا كَذَّبُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ﴾ أَيْ: فَمَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا بَعْدَ رُؤْيَةِ الْمُعْجِزَاتِ وَالْعَجَائِبِ بِمَا كَذَّبُوا مِنْ قَبْلِ رُؤْيَتِهِمْ تِلْكَ الْعَجَائِبَ، نَظِيرُهُ قَوْلُهُ ﷿: (قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ) (الْمَائِدَةُ-١٠٢) . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَالسُّدِّيُّ: يَعْنِي فَمَا كَانَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكُفَّارُ الَّذِينَ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ لِيُؤْمِنُوا عِنْدَ إِرْسَالِ الرُّسُلِ بِمَا كَذَّبُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ يَوْمَ أُخِذَ مِيثَاقُهُمْ حِينَ أَخْرَجَهُمْ مِنْ ظَهْرِ آدَمَ، فَأَقَرُّوا بِاللِّسَانِ وَأَضْمَرُوا التَّكْذِيبَ. وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: مَعْنَاهُ فَمَا كَانُوا لَوْ أَحْيَيْنَاهُمْ بَعْدَ إِهْلَاكِهِمْ لِيُؤْمِنُوا بِمَا كَذَّبُوا بِهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ هَلَاكِهِمْ، لِقَوْلِهِ ﷿: (وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ) (الْأَنْعَامُ-٢٨) . قَالَ يَمَانُ بْنُ رَبَابٍ: هَذَا عَلَى مَعْنَى أَنَّ كُلَّ نَبِيٍّ أَنْذَرَ قَوْمَهُ بِالْعَذَابِ فَكَذَّبُوهُ، يَقُولُ: مَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا بِمَا كَذَّبَ بِهِ أَوَائِلُهُمْ مِنَ الْأُمَمِ الْخَالِيَةِ، بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِمَا كَذَّبَ أَوَائِلُهُمْ، نَظِيرُهُ قَوْلُهُ ﷿: (كَذَلِكَ مَا أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا قَالُوا سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ) (الذَّارِيَاتُ-٥٢) . ﴿كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْكَافِرِينَ﴾ أَيْ: كَمَا طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْأُمَمِ الْخَالِيَةِ الَّتِي أَهْلَكَهَا، كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِ الْكُفَّارِ الَّذِينَ كَتَبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ لَا يُؤْمِنُوا مَنْ قَوْمِكَ. ﴿وَمَا وَجَدْنَا لِأَكْثَرِهِمْ مِنْ عَهْدٍ﴾ أَيْ: وَفَاءً بِالْعَهْدِ الَّذِي عَاهَدَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْمِيثَاقِ، حِينَ أَخْرَجَهُمْ مِنْ صُلْبِ آدَمَ ﴿وَإِنْ وَجَدْنَا أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَفَاسِقِينَ﴾ أَيْ: مَا وَجَدْنَا أَكْثَرَهُمْ إِلَّا فَاسِقِينَ نَاقِضِينَ لِلْعَهْدِ.