Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (4/302)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

a handspan, but Allah the Exalted restrained it from him, and he was unable to draw it further. Amir began gesturing to him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, turned and saw Arbad and what he had done with his sword. He said: “O Allah, suffice me against them both in whatever way You will.”

Allah sent a thunderbolt upon Arbad on a clear, scorching day, and it burned him. Amir fled, saying, “O Muhammad, you called upon your Lord, and He killed Arbad. By Allah, I shall bring against you sleek horses and beardless young men in great numbers.”

The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Allah the Exalted—and the descendants of Qaylah,” meaning the Aws and the Khazraj, “will prevent you from doing that.”

Amir then lodged at the house of a woman from Sulul. When morning came, he girded himself with his weapons, though his color had changed. He began racing about in the desert, crying, “Come forth, O Angel of Death!” He recited poetry and said, “By al-Lat and al-Uzza, if I see Muhammad and his companion”—meaning the Angel of Death—“I shall pierce them both with my spear.” Allah then sent an angel to him, who struck him with his wing and cast him to the ground. At once, a great swelling appeared upon his knees. He returned to the house of the Sululi woman, saying, “A swelling like that of a camel—and death in the house of a Sululi woman!” Then he called for his horse, mounted it, and rode it hard until he died upon its back.

Thus Allah answered the supplication of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him: He killed Amir ibn al-Tufayl by a fatal piercing, and Arbad by the thunderbolt. Concerning this incident, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, revealed: “It is all the same whether any of you conceals his speech or speaks it openly, whether he hides himself by night or moves about by day. He has successive angels before him...” Meaning: the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, has successive angels who protect him from before him and behind him by Allah’s command (1). [That is, those successive angels are by Allah’s command.] (2) The wording involves inversion.

And concerning these two, He said: “Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people”—that is, their well-being and blessing—“until they change what is within themselves.”

(1) See: Tafsir al-Tabari, 16:379-381; Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 9:296; al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul, pp. 314-315; Ibn Kathir, 2:507. Al-Haythami states in Majma al-Zawa'id, 7:42: “Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat and al-Kabir, and both chains contain Abd al-Aziz ibn Imran, who is weak.” The transmission of al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn Abbas is also weak. Al-Tabari said: “The interpretation of this verse advanced by Ibn Zayd is far-fetched and contrary to the views of the exegetes whose statements we have cited. This is because he made the pronoun in the phrase lahu mu'aqqibat (‘for him are successive guardians’) refer to the Messenger of Allah, although he is not mentioned in either the immediately preceding verse or the one before it—unless he intended to connect it to the words, ‘You are only a warner, and every people has a guide’; but even then, this is remote, given the intervening verses in which the Messenger of Allah is not mentioned. Since this is so, it is more likely that the pronoun refers back to the ‘who’ in the words, ‘and he who conceals himself by night,’ since it immediately precedes it and the subsequent statement concerns him. Thus, the meaning is: It is the same before your Lord, O people, whether one conceals his speech or speaks it openly; whether one hides, because of his wickedness and suspicion, in the darkness of night, or moves about openly in the light of day, protected by his troops and guards who follow him, preventing those who obey Allah from restraining him from such conduct and enforcing Allah’s prescribed punishment upon him. This is the meaning of His words: ‘They protect him from Allah’s command.’” Ibn Atiyya likewise states in al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, 8:137: “Although the wording of this verse accords with the meaning of the narrative, the view is weakened by the fact that the Prophet is not previously mentioned, such that the pronoun in lahu would refer to him.” (2) Omitted in manuscript B.

شِبْرًا، ثُمَّ حَبَسَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ، فَلَمْ يَقْدِرْ عَلَى سَلِّهِ، وَجَعَلَ عَامِرٌ يُومِئُ إِلَيْهِ، فَالْتَفَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَرَأَى أَرْبَدَ وَمَا صَنَعَ بِسَيْفِهِ، فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ اكْفِنِيهِمَا بِمَا شِئْتَ. فَأَرْسَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى أَرْبَدَ صَاعِقَةً فِي يَوْمٍ صَحْوٍ قَائِظٍ فَأَحْرَقَتْهُ، وَوَلَّى عَامِرٌ هَارِبًا وَقَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ دَعَوْتَ رَبَّكَ فَقَتَلَ أَرْبَدَ وَاللَّهِ لَأَمْلَأَنَّهَا عَلَيْكَ خَيْلًا جُرْدًا وَفِتْيَانًا مُرْدًا. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: يَمْنَعُكَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَأَبْنَاءُ قَيْلَةَ يُرِيدُ: الْأَوْسَ وَالْخَزْرَجَ. فَنَزَلَ عَامِرٌ بَيْتَ امْرَأَةٍ سَلُولِيَّةٍ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ ضَمَّ عَلَيْهِ سِلَاحَهُ وَقَدْ تَغَيَّرَ لَوْنُهُ، فَجَعَلَ يَرْكُضُ فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ، وَيَقُولُ: ابْرُزْ يَا مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ، وَيَقُولُ الشِّعْرَ، وَيَقُولُ: وَاللَّاتِ وَالْعُزَّى لَئِنْ أَبْصَرْتُ مُحَمَّدًا وَصَاحِبَهُ يَعْنِي مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ لِأُنَفِذَنَّهُمَا بِرُمْحِي، فَأَرْسَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكًا فَلَطَمَهُ بِجَنَاحِهِ فَأَرْدَاهُ فِي التُّرَابِ وَخَرَجَتْ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ فِي الْوَقْتِ غُدَّةٌ عَظِيمَةٌ، فَعَادَ إِلَى بَيْتِ السَّلُولِيَّةِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: غُدَّةٌ كَغُدَّةِ الْبَعِيرِ وَمَوْتٌ فِي بَيْتِ سَلُولِيَّةٍ. ثُمَّ دَعَا بِفَرَسِهِ فَرَكِبَهُ ثُمَّ أَجْرَاهُ حَتَّى مَاتَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ فَأَجَابَ اللَّهُ دُعَاءَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَقَتَلَ عَامِرَ بْنَ الطُّفَيْلِ بِالطَّعْنِ وَأَرْبَدَ بِالصَّاعِقَةِ، وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ﷿ فِي هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ قَوْلَهُ: ﴿سَوَاءٌ مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ﴾ يَعْنِي لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ (١) . [يَعْنِي تِلْكَ الْمُعَقِّبَاتِ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ] (٢) . وَفِيهِ تَقْدِيمٌ وَتَأْخِيرٌ. وَقَالَ لِهَذَيْنَ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ﴾ مِنَ الْعَافِيَةِ وَالنِّعْمَةِ، ﴿حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ﴾

(١) انظر: تفسير الطبري: ١٦ / ٣٧٩-٣٨١، تفسير القرطبي: ٩ / ٢٩٦، أسباب النزول للواحدي ص (٣١٤-٣١٥) ، ابن كثير: ٢ / ٥٠٧. قال الهيثمي في مجمع الزوائد: (٧ / ٤٢) : "رواه الطبراني في الأوسط والكبير، وفي إسنادهما عبد العزيز بن عمران: ضعيف". ورواية الكلبي عن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس ضعيفة. قال الطبري: وهذا القول الذي قاله ابن زيد في تأويل هذه الآية، قول بعيد من تأويل الآية، مع خلافه أقوال من ذكرنا قوله من أهل التأويل. وذلك أنه جعل "الهاء" في قوله: "له معقبات" من ذكر رسول الله ﷺ، ولم يجر له في الآية التي قبلها، ولا في التي قبل الأخرى ذكر، إلا أن يكون أراد أن يردها على قوله: "إنما أنت منذر ولكل قوم هاد"، "وله معقبات" فإن كان ذلك، فذلك بعيد، لما بينهما من الآيات بغير ذكر الخبر عن رسول الله ﷺ. وإذا كان ذلك كذلك، فكونها عائدة على "من" التي في قوله: "ومن هو مستخف بالليل" أقرب، لأنه قبلها، والخبر بعدها عنه. فإذا كان ذلك كذلك، فتأويل الكلام: سواء منكم -أيها الناس- من أسر القول ومن جهر به عند ربكم، ومن هو مستخف بفسقه وريبته في ظلمة الليل، وسارب يذهب ويجيء في ضوء النهار ممتنعا بجنده وحرسه الذين يتعقبونه من أهل طاعة الله أن يحولوا بينه وبين ما يأتي من ذلك، وأن يقيموا حد الله عليه، وذلك قوله: يحفظونه من أمر الله". وكذلك قال ابن عطية في المحرر الوجيز: (٨ / ١٣٧) : "وهذه الآية وإن كانت ألفاظها تنطبق على معنى القصة، فيضعف القول أن النبي ﷺ لم يتقدم له ذكر فيعود الضمير في "له" عليه". (٢) ساقط من "ب".