Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/281)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

the Torah. It is reported in a hadith: “They were from the lote tree of Paradise; each tablet was twelve cubits long.” (1) In the hadiths concerning Allah’s creation of Adam with His Hand, it is stated: “He wrote the Torah with His Hand and planted the Tree of Tuba with His Hand.” (2)

Al-Hasan said: The Tablets were made of wood. Al-Kalbi said, 137/b: They were made of green chrysolite. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: They were made of red ruby. Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas said: The Tablets were of hailstone. Ibn Jurayj said: They were made of emerald. Allah commanded Gabriel, who brought them from Aden; He wrote them with the pen by which the Reminder was written, supplied from the River of Light. Wahb said: Allah commanded him to cut the Tablets from a solid rock, which Allah softened for him. He cut them with his hand and then split them with his finger. Moses heard the scratching of the pen as it wrote the Ten Words. This took place on the first day of Dhu al-Qa‘dah, and the Tablets were ten cubits long, according to Moses’s height.

Muqatil and Wahb said concerning His words, “And We wrote for him upon the Tablets”: It was like the engraving of a seal. Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas said: The Torah descended weighing seventy camel-loads. A single portion of it would take a year to read. Only four men read it: Moses, Joshua, Ezra, and Jesus.

Al-Hasan said: This verse in the Torah comprises one thousand verses—that is, “And We wrote for him upon the Tablets”—“an admonition concerning all things,” meaning all that they were commanded to do and forbidden to do; “an admonition,” meaning a prohibition against ignorance. The true meaning of admonition is remembrance and warning against that whose consequence is feared. “And a detailed explanation of all things,” that is, an explanation of everything relating to commands and prohibitions, what is lawful and unlawful, prescribed punishments, and rulings.

“Take hold of them firmly,” that is, with seriousness and diligence. It was also said: with strength of heart and firmness of resolve, for taking hold of them with weak intention leads to slackness. “And command your people to uphold the best of them.” ‘Ata’ narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: They should regard what it declares lawful as lawful, what it declares unlawful as unlawful, reflect upon its parables, act upon its clear passages, and refrain from making assertions concerning its ambiguous passages. Moses, peace be upon him, was more devoted in worship than his people, and so he was commanded to do what they were not commanded to do.

Qutrub said: “The best of them” means their goodness; all of them are good. It was also said: Their best consists of the obligatory and voluntary acts, for these are deeds for which one deserves reward; below them are the permissible matters, for no reward is deserved for them. It was also said: “The best of them” means choosing the better of two courses in every matter: pardon is better than retaliation, and patience is better than seeking retribution.

“I will show you the abode of the defiantly disobedient.” Mujahid said: It means their final destination in the Hereafter. Al-Hasan and ‘Ata’ said: meaning:

(1) Al-Suyuti attributed it to Ibn Abi Hatim, Abu al-Shaykh, and Ibn Mardawayh, on the authority of Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father, from his grandfather. See al-Durr al-Manthur, 3:548. (2) Al-Suyuti attributed it to Ibn Abi al-Dunya in Sifat Ahl al-Jannah and to Abu al-Shaykh in al-Azamah. Al-Bayhaqi also transmitted it in al-Asma' wa al-Sifat, 2:47: “Allah created three things with His Hand: He created Adam with His Hand, wrote the Torah with His Hand, and planted Paradise with His Hand.” He said: “This is mursal (a report with a missing link in its chain).”

التَّوْرَاةِ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: "كَانَتْ مِنْ سِدْرِ الْجَنَّةِ طُولُ اللَّوْحِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ ذِرَاعًا" (١) . وَجَاءَ فِي أَحَادِيثِ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ آدَمَ بِيَدِهِ: "وَكَتَبَ التَّوْرَاةَ بِيَدِهِ وَغَرَسَ شَجَرَةَ طُوبَى بِيَدِهِ" (٢) . وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: كَانَتِ الْأَلْوَاحُ مِنْ خَشَبٍ. قال الكلبي ١٣٧/ب كَانَتْ مِنْ زَبَرْجَدَةٍ خَضْرَاءَ. وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ: كَانَتْ مِنْ يَاقُوتٍ أَحْمَرَ، وَقَالَ الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ: كَانَتِ الْأَلْوَاحُ مَنْ بَرَدٍ. قَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: كَانَتْ مِنْ زُمُرُّدٍ، أَمَرَ اللَّهُ جِبْرِيلَ حَتَّى جَاءَ بِهَا مَنْ عَدَنٍ، وَكَتَبَهَا بِالْقَلَمِ الَّذِي كُتِبَ بِهِ الذِّكْرُ وَاسْتُمِدَّ مَنْ نَهْرِ النُّورِ وَقَالَ وَهْبٌ: أَمَرَهُ اللَّهُ بِقَطْعِ الْأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ صَخْرَةٍ صَمَّاءَ لَيَّنَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ فَقَطَعَهَا بِيَدِهِ ثُمَّ شَقَّقَهَا بِأُصْبُعِهِ، وَسَمِعَ مُوسَى صَرِيرَ الْقَلَمِ بِالْكَلِمَاتِ الْعَشَرَةِ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ مِنْ ذِي الْقِعْدَةِ، وَكَانَتِ الْأَلْوَاحُ عَشْرَةَ أَذْرُعٍ عَلَى طُولِ مُوسَى. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ وَوَهْبٌ: ﴿وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ﴾ كَنَقْشِ الْخَاتَمِ. وَقَالَ الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ: نَزَلَتِ التَّوْرَاةُ وَهِيَ سَبْعُونَ وِقْرِ بَعِيرٍ، يُقْرَأُ الْجُزْءُ مِنْهُ فِي سَنَةٍ، لَمْ يَقْرَأْهُ إِلَّا أَرْبَعَةُ نَفَرٍ: مُوسَى، وَيُوشَعُ، وَعُزَيْرٌ، وَعِيسَى. وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ أَلْفُ آيَةٍ يَعْنِي "وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ" ﴿مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾ مِمَّا أُمِرُوا بِهِ وَنُهُوا عَنْهُ، ﴿مَوْعِظَةً﴾ نَهْيًا عَنِ الْجَهْلِ، وَحَقِيقَةُ الْمَوْعِظَةِ: التَّذْكِرَةُ وَالتَّحْذِيرُ بما يخاف عاقتبه، ﴿وَتَفْصِيلًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾ أَيْ: تَبْيِينًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ، وَالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، وَالْحُدُودِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ. ﴿فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ﴾ أَيْ: بِجِدٍّ وَاجْتِهَادٍ، وَقِيلَ: بِقُوَّةِ الْقَلْبِ وَصِحَّةِ الْعَزِيمَةِ، لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا أَخَذَهُ بِضَعْفِ النِّيَّةِ أَدَّاهُ إِلَى الْفُتُورِ، ﴿وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا بِأَحْسَنِهَا﴾ قَالَ عَطَاءٌ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄: يُحِلُّوا حَلَالَهَا، وَيُحَرِّمُوا حَرَامَهَا، وَيَتَدَبَّرُوا أَمْثَالَهَا، وَيَعْمَلُوا بِمُحْكَمِهَا، وَيَقِفُوا عِنْدَ مُتَشَابِهِهَا وَكَانَ مُوسَى ﵇ أَشَدُّ عِبَادَةً مِنْ قَوْمِهِ، فَأُمِرَ بِمَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرُوا بِهِ. قَالَ قُطْرُبٌ: بِأَحْسَنِهَا أَيْ بِحُسْنِهَا، وَكُلُّهَا حَسَنٌ. وَقِيلَ: أَحْسَنُهَا الْفَرَائِضُ وَالنَّوَافِلُ، وَهِيَ مَا يُسْتَحَقُّ عَلَيْهَا الثَّوَابُ، وَمَا دُونَهَا الْمُبَاحُ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُسْتَحَقُّ عَلَيْهِ الثَّوَابُ. وَقِيلَ: بِأَحْسَنِهَا بِأَحْسَنِ الْأَمْرَيْنِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ كَالْعَفْوِ أَحْسَنَ مِنَ الْقِصَاصِ، وَالصَّبْرِ أَحْسَنَ مِنَ الِانْتِصَارِ. ﴿سَأُرِيكُمْ دَارَ الْفَاسِقِينَ﴾ قَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: مَصِيرُهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ. قَالَ الْحَسَنُ وَعَطَاءٌ: يَعْنِي

(١) عزاه السيوطي لابن أبي حاتم، وأبي الشيخ، وابن مردويه عن جعفر بن محمد عن أبيه عن جده. انظر: الدر المنثور: ٣ / ٥٤٨. (٢) عزاه السيوطي لابن أبي الدنيا في صفة أهل الجنة وأبي الشيخ في العظمة، وأخرجه البيهقي في الأسماء والصفات: ٢ / ٤٧ "إن الله ﷿ خلق ثلاثة أشياء بيده: خلق آدم بيده، وكتب التوراة بيده وغرس الفردوس بيده" وقال: هذا مرسل.