Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/288)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with him—, Qatadah, and Ibn Jurayj said: When the verse, “My mercy encompasses all things,” was revealed, Iblis said, “I am one of those things.” Thereupon Allah, Exalted is He, said: “So I shall decree it for those who are mindful of Allah, give zakah, and believe in Our signs.” The Jews and Christians then hoped for it and said, “We are mindful of Allah, we believe, and we give zakah.” So Allah assigned it to this community, saying: “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet”—to the end of the verse.

Nauf al-Bikali al-Himyari said: When Moses selected seventy men from among his people, Allah Most High said to Moses, “I shall make the earth a place of prayer and a means of purification for you. You may pray wherever the time for prayer comes upon you, except at a latrine, a bathhouse, or a grave. I shall place tranquillity in your hearts, and I shall enable you to recite the Torah from memory: man and woman, free person and slave, young and old alike.” Moses conveyed this to his people, but they said, “We do not wish to pray except in churches. We cannot bear tranquillity in our hearts, nor can we recite the Torah from memory. We do not wish to read it except by looking at it.”

Allah Most High then said: “So I shall decree it for those who are mindful of Allah and give zakah,” up to His words, “It is they who will prosper.” Thus Allah assigned it to this community. Moses, peace be upon him, said, “My Lord, make me their Prophet.” He said, “Their Prophet will be from among them.” Moses said, “My Lord, then make me one of them.” He said, “You will not live to reach them.” Moses, peace be upon him, said, “My Lord, I have come to You with a delegation from the Children of Israel, yet You have granted the privilege of our delegation to others.” So Allah Most High revealed: “And among the people of Moses is a community who guide by the truth and thereby establish justice” [al-Araf 159]. Moses was then satisfied. (1)

His saying, Exalted is He: “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet”—he is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with him—said: He is your Prophet. He was unlettered: he neither wrote, nor read, nor calculated. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “We are an unlettered nation: we neither write nor calculate.” (2) The term is derived from the word for mother, meaning that he remained as his mother gave birth to him. It has also been said that it is derived from his ummah, or community; its original form was ummati, with the final t omitted in forming the adjective, just as it is omitted in Makki and Madani. It has likewise been said that it is derived from Umm al-Qura (the Mother of Cities), namely Mecca.

“Whom they find”: that is, they find his description, his qualities, and his prophethood “written with them in the Torah and the Gospel.”

Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us that Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nuaymi informed him; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismail related to us; Muhammad ibn Sinan related to us; Fulayh related to us; Hilal related from Ata ibn Yasar, who said: I met Abdullah ibn

(1) This report of Nawf al-Bikali is among the Israiliyyat (reports derived from Jewish and Christian sources). Nawf was a narrator of tales and was the stepson of Kab al-Ahbar. A biographical entry on him appears in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib. See the following discussion on the occasion of revelation of the verse in this surah, p. 291. (2) Recorded by al-Bukhari in the Book of Fasting, chapter: “The Prophet’s statement: ‘We neither write nor calculate,’” 4/126; and by Muslim in the Book of Fasting, chapter: “The obligation of fasting Ramadan upon sighting the crescent,” no. 1080, 2/761. The author also recorded it in Sharh al-Sunnah, 6/228, on the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both.

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄ -وَقَتَادَةُ، وَابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ: "وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ" قَالَ إِبْلِيسُ: أَنَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءِ، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ ﷾: ﴿فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾ فَتَمَنَّاهَا الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى، وَقَالُوا: نَحْنُ نَتَّقِي وَنُؤْمِنُ، وَنُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ، فَجَعَلَهَا اللَّهُ لِهَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ فَقَالَ: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ﴾ الْآيَةَ. قَالَ نَوْفٌ الْبِكَالِيُّ الْحِمْيَرِيُّ: لَمَّا اخْتَارَ مُوسَى قَوْمَهُ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِمُوسَى: أَجْعَلُ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، تصلون حيث أردكتكم الصَّلَاةُ إِلَّا عِنْدَ مِرْحَاضٍ أَوْ حَمَّامٍ أَوْ قَبْرٍ، وَأَجْعَلُ السَّكِينَةَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ، وَأَجْعَلُكُمْ تَقْرَأُونَ التَّوْرَاةَ عَنْ ظَهْرِ قُلُوبِكُمْ، يَقْرَؤُهَا الرَّجُلُ وَالْمَرْأَةُ، وَالْحُرُّ وَالْعَبْدُ، وَالصَّغِيرُ وَالْكَبِيرُ، فَقَالَ ذَلِكَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ، فَقَالُوا: لَا نُرِيدُ أَنْ نُصَلِّيَ إِلَّا فِي الْكَنَائِسِ، وَلَا نَسْتَطِيعُ حَمْلَ السَّكِينَةِ فِي قُلُوبِنَا، وَلَا نَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ نَقْرَأَ التَّوْرَاةَ عَنْ ظُهُورِ قُلُوبِنَا، وَلَا نُرِيدُ أَنْ نَقْرَأَهَا إِلَّا نَظَرًا، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ" إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: "أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ"، فَجَعَلَهَا اللَّهُ لِهَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ. فَقَالَ مُوسَى ﵇: يَا رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي نَبِيَّهُمْ، فَقَالَ: نَبِيُّهُمْ مِنْهُمْ، قَالَ: رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنْهُمْ فَقَالَ: إِنَّكَ لَنْ تُدْرِكَهُمْ، فَقَالَ مُوسَى ﵇: يَا رَبِّ إِنِّي أَتَيْتُكَ بِوَفْدِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَجَعَلْتَ وِفَادَتَنَا لِغَيْرِنَا، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (وَمِنْ قَوْمِ مُوسَى أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ) [الْأَعْرَافُ-١٥٩] ، فَرَضِيَ مُوسَى (١) . قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ﴾ وَهُوَ مُحَمَّدٌ ﷺ. قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄ هُوَ نَبِيُّكُمْ كَانَ أُمِّيًّا لَا يَكْتُبُ وَلَا يَقْرَأُ وَلَا يَحْسِبُ. وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: "إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسِبُ" (٢) وَهُوَ مَنْسُوبٌ إِلَى الْأُمِّ، أَيْ هُوَ عَلَى مَا وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ. وَقِيلَ هُوَ مَنْسُوبٌ إِلَى أُمَّتِهِ، أَصْلُهُ أُمَّتِي فَسَقَطَتِ التَّاءُ فِي النِّسْبَةِ كَمَا سَقَطَتْ فِي الْمَكِّيِّ وَالْمَدَنِيِّ وَقِيلَ: هُوَ مَنْسُوبٌ إِلَى أُمِّ الْقُرَى وَهِيَ مَكَّةُ. ﴿الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ﴾ أَيْ: يَجِدُونَ صِفَتَهُ وَنَعْتَهُ وَنُبُوَّتَهُ، ﴿مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ﴾ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ الْمَلِيحِيُّ أَنَّ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النَّعِيمِيَّ أَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِنَانٍ حَدَّثَنَا فُلَيْحٌ حَدَّثَنَا هِلَالٌ عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ قَالَ لَقِيتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ

(١) رواية نوف البكالي هذه من الأخبار الإسرائيلية، فقد كان نوف راويا للقصص، وهو ابن زوجة كعب الأحبار، وله ترجمة في "تهذيب التهذيب". وانظر فيما يأتي التعليق على سبب نزول الآية من السورة. ص (٢٩١) . (٢) أخرجه البخاري في الصوم، باب قول النبي ﷺ: "لا نكتب ولا نحسب" ٤ / ١٢٦، ومسلم في الصيام باب وجوب صوم رمضان لرؤية الهلال.... برقم (١٠٨٠) ٢ / ٧٦١. والمصنف في شرح السنة: ٦ / ٢٢٨ عن ابن عمر ﵄.