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His saying, “and Israel”: that is, from the descendants of Israel; namely Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John, and Jesus.
His saying, “and from those whom We guided and chose”: these were among those whom We guided and selected. “Whenever the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell down in prostration and weeping.” “In prostration” is the plural of “prostrating,” and “weeping” is the plural of “weeping person.” Allah informs us that whenever the prophets heard the verses of Allah, they prostrated and wept.
“Then there succeeded them generations who neglected the prayer and followed their desires; so they will meet with ruin (59).”
His saying—exalted is He—“Then there succeeded them generations”: that is, after the prophets mentioned above came succeeding generations, who were an evil people. Khalaf, with the vowel a, denotes righteous successors, whereas with the vowel i, it denotes wicked successors (1).
Al-Suddi said: He meant the Jews and those who followed them.
Mujahid and Qatadah said: They are among this ummah (2).
(1) This is the view of Ibn al-Arabi. They cited in support the verse of Labid: “Those in whose protection one lived have gone, and I remain among a corrupt successor-generation, like the hide of a mangy camel.” Hence poor speech is called khalf. The well-known proverb likewise says: “He remained silent for a thousand [words], then spoke something worthless.” Thus, khalf, with a sukūn on the lam, is used in blame, while khalaf, with a fathah on the lam, is used in praise; this is the common and well-known usage. The Prophet said: “This knowledge shall be carried by the trustworthy people of every succeeding generation.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi; Imam Ahmad said: “There is nothing wrong with it.”) Either term may, however, be used in the place of the other. Hassan ibn Thabit said: “We have precedence before you, and successors; our latter generations follow our former ones in obedience to Allah.” Another poet said: “Indeed, we found a successor-generation—what an evil successor-generation! He shut his door against us and swore that the doorkeeper would admit only one whom he knew, a servant who, when burdened, stands still.” See Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 7:310-311; and see above, the commentary on Surah al-Araf, verse 169.
(2) See Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 11:122; Zad al-Masir, 5:245. Al-Suyuti also cited a number of reports on this matter, 5:526. According to Shaykh al-Shanqiti, the view that they belong to the community of Muhammad is untenable, because Allah's statement, “Then there succeeded after them successors,” is phrased in a manner indicating something that occurred in the past. It cannot be interpreted as referring to the future except on the basis of evidence that must be followed. Apparently, they are the Jews, Christians, and other disbelievers who succeeded their prophets and righteous predecessors before this verse was revealed, then neglected the prayer and followed their desires. In any case, what matters is the generality of the wording, not the particularity of the cause. Thus, every successor-generation that neglects the prayer and follows desires falls under the blame and warning mentioned in this verse. The following of desires mentioned in the verse is general, encompassing pursuit of every desire that distracts one from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. See Adwa al-Bayan, 4:308.
قَوْلُهُ: ﴿وَإِسْرَائِيلَ﴾ أَيْ: وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ إِسْرَائِيلَ وَهُمْ مُوسَى وَهَارُونُ وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَى وَعِيسَى.
قَوْلُهُ: ﴿وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا﴾ هَؤُلَاءِ كَانُوا مِمَّنْ أَرْشَدْنَا وَاصْطَفَيْنَا ﴿إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ الرَّحْمَنِ خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا﴾ "سُجَّدًا": جَمْعُ سَاجِدٍ "وَبُكِيًّا": جَمْعُ بَاكٍ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ أَنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ كَانُوا إِذَا سَمِعُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ سَجَدُوا وَبَكَوْا.
﴿فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا (٥٩) ﴾
قَوْلُهُ ﷿: ﴿فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ﴾ ٨/ب أَيْ: مِنْ بَعْدِ النَّبِيِّينَ الْمَذْكُورِينَ خَلْفٌ وَهُمْ قَوْمُ سُوءٍ، "وَالْخَلَفُ" -بِالْفَتْحِ-الصَّالِحُ، وَبِالْجَزْمِ الطَّالِحُ (١) .
قَالَ السُّدِّيُّ: أَرَادَ بِهِمُ الْيَهُودَ وَمَنْ لَحِقَ بِهِمْ.
وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ وَقَتَادَةُ: هُمْ فِي هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ (٢) .
(١) وهو قول ابن الأعرابي واستشهدوا له بقول لبيد: ذهب الذين يعاشر في أكنافهم ... وبقيت في خلف كجلد الأجرب
ومنه قيل للردي من الكلام: خلف. ومنه المثل السائِر: "سكت ألفا ونطق خلفا". فخلف في الذم بالإسكان وخلف بالفتح في المدح هذا هو المستعمل المشهور. قال ﷺ: "يحمل هذا العلم من كل خلف عدو له". (رواه البيهقي، وقال الإمام أحمد: لا بأس به) . وقد يستعمل كل واحد منهما موضع الآخر، قال حسان بن ثابت: لنا القدم الأولى إليك وخلف ... لأولنا في طاعة الله تاب
وقال آخر: إنا وجدنا خلفا بئس الخلف ... أغلق عنا بابه ثم حلف
لا يدخل البواب إلا من عرف ... عبدا إذا ما ناء بالحمل وقف
انظر: "تفسير القرطبي": ٧ / ٣١٠-٣١١، وراجع فيما سبق، تفسير سورة الأعراف، الآية (١٦٩) .
(٢) انظر: "تفسير القرطبي": ١١ / ١٢٢، "زاد المسير": ٥ / ٢٤٥، وساق السيوط جملة روايات في ذلك: ٥ / ٥٢٦. وكونهم من أمة محمد ﷺ ليس بوجيه -عند الشيخ الشنقيطي- لأن قوله تعالى: "فخلف من بعدهم" صيغة تدل على الوقوع في الزمن الماضي، ولا يمكن صرفها إلى المستقبل إلا بدليل يجب الرجوع إليه كما ترى والظاهر أنهم اليهود والنصارى وغيرهم من الكفار الذين خلفوا أنبياءهم وصالحيهم قبل نزول الآية فأضاعوا الصلاة واتبعوا الشهولت. وعلى كل حال فالعبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب، فكل خلف أضاعوا الصلاة واتبعوا الشهوات يدخلون في الذم والوعيد المذكور في هذه الآية واتباع الشهوات المذكور في الآية عام في اتباع كل مشتهى يشغل عن ذكر الله وعن الصلاة. انظر: "أضواء البيان" ٤ / ٣٠٨.