Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (5/317)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

between the two mountains. That is, We made roads between the mountains so that they might find their way to their destinations. “As pathways” explains “broad mountain passes,” “so that they might be guided.”

“And We made the sky a protected canopy, yet they turn away from its signs. (32) And He is the One who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon—each floating in an orbit. (33)”

“And We made the sky a protected canopy”: protected from falling down. Evidence for this is His saying, Exalted is He: “He holds the sky back from falling upon the earth except by His permission” (al-Hajj 22:65). It was also said: protected from the devils by meteors, as indicated by His saying, Exalted is He: “And We have protected it from every accursed devil” (al-Hijr 15:17). “Yet they”—that is, the disbelievers—“turn away from its signs”: from what Allah has created in it of the sun, moon, stars, and other things. “They turn away”: they neither reflect upon them nor take heed from them.

“And He is the One who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon—each floating in an orbit”: that is, they move and travel swiftly, like a swimmer in water. He said, “floating,” rather than using the form ordinarily used for inanimate things, because He attributed to them actions of rational beings—movement and swimming—so they were referred to with the form used for rational beings.

An orbit is the course that contains the stars. In Arabic usage, it refers to every circular thing; its plural is orbits. From this is the spindle whorl.

Al-Hasan said: “The orbit is a millstone, like the whorl of a spindle.” He meant that the region in which the stars move is circular, like the rotation of a millstone.

Others said: The orbit is the heaven in which that celestial body is found. Thus, every celestial body moves in the heaven apportioned for it. This is the meaning of Qatadah’s statement.

Al-Kalbi (1) said: The orbit is the circularity of the sky.

Others said: The orbit is a restrained wave beneath the sky, in which the sun, moon, and stars move (2).

(1) In manuscript B: “al-Dahhak.” (2) Al-Tabari mentioned some of these views and others (17/23), then said: “The correct view is to say as Allah says: kullun fi falakin yasbahun (each is swimming in an orbit). It is possible that this falak (orbit) is, as Mujahid said, like the iron ring of a millstone; or, as reported from al-Hasan, like the millstone itself; it may also be a contained wave, or the pole of the sky. For falak in Arabic speech refers to everything that is circular, and its plural is aflak. I have mentioned the poet's line: ‘She spent the night conversing with the revolving falak.’ Since everything circular is called falak in Arabic, yet there is no evidence in the Book of Allah, in a report from the Messenger of Allah, or from one whose statement constitutes decisive proof, to establish which of these it is, we must say only what Allah has said and remain silent concerning that of which we have no knowledge. Thus, according to us, the correct interpretation is: the sun and the moon, all of them, are swimming in a circular course.”

بَيْنَ الْجَبَلَيْنِ، أَيْ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَ الْجِبَالِ طُرُقًا حَتَّى يَهْتَدُوا إِلَى مَقَاصِدِهِمْ، ﴿سُبُلًا﴾ تَفْسِيرٌ لِلْفِجَاجِ، ﴿لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ﴾ ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا السَّمَاءَ سَقْفًا مَحْفُوظًا وَهُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهَا مُعْرِضُونَ (٣٢) وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ (٣٣) ﴾ ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا السَّمَاءَ سَقْفًا مَحْفُوظًا﴾ مِنْ أَنْ تَسْقُطَ، دَلِيلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاءَ أَنْ تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ﴾ (الحَجِّ: ٦٥) ، وَقِيلَ: مَحْفُوظًا مِنَ الشَّيَاطِينِ بِالشُّهُبِ، دَلِيلُهُ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَحَفِظْنَاهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ﴾ (الحِجْرِ: ١٧) ، ﴿وَهُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي الْكُفَّارَ، ﴿عَنْ آيَاتِهَا﴾ مَا خَلْقَ اللَّهُ فِيهَا مِنَ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ وَالنُّجُومِ وَغَيْرِهَا، ﴿مُعْرِضُونَ﴾ لَا يَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِيهَا وَلَا يَعْتَبِرُونَ بِهَا. ﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ﴾ يَجْرُونَ وَيَسِيرُونَ بِسُرْعَةٍ كَالسَّابِحِ فِي الْمَاءِ، وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ: ﴿يَسْبَحُونَ﴾ وَلَمْ يَقُلْ يَسْبَحُ عَلَى مَا يُقَالُ لِمَا لَا يَعْقِلُ، لِأَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ عَنْهَا فِعْلَ الْعُقَلَاءِ مِنَ الْجَرْيِ وَالسَّبْحِ، فَذُكِرَ عَلَى مَا يَعْقِلُ. وَالْفَلَكُ: مَدَارُ النُّجُومِ الَّذِي يَضُمُّهَا، وَالْفَلَكُ فِي كَلَامِ الْعَرَبِ: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مُسْتَدِيرٍ، وَجَمْعُهُ أَفْلَاكٌ، وَمِنْهُ فَلَكُ الْمِغْزَلِ. وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: الْفَلَكُ طَاحُونَةٌ كَهَيْئَةِ فَلَكَةِ الْمِغْزَلِ: يُرِيدُ أَنَّ الَّذِي يَجْرِي فِيهِ النُّجُومُ مُسْتَدِيرٌ كَاسْتِدَارَةِ الطَّاحُونَةِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: الْفَلَكُ السَّمَاءُ الَّذِي فِيهِ ذَلِكَ الْكَوْكَبُ، فَكُلُّ كَوْكَبٍ يَجْرِي فِي السَّمَاءِ الَّذِي قُدِّرَ فِيهِ، وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ قَتَادَةَ. وَقَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ (١) الْفَلَكُ اسْتِدَارَةُ السَّمَاءِ. وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ: الْفَلَكُ مَوْجٌ مَكْفُوفٌ دُونَ السَّمَاءِ يَجْرِي فِيهِ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ (٢) .

(١) في "ب" الضحاك. (٢) ذكر بعض هذه الأقوال وغيرها الطبري: ١٧ / ٢٣، ثم قال: والصواب من القول في ذلك أن يقال: كما قال الله ﷿ (كل في فلك يسبحون) وجائز أن يكون ذلك الفلك كما قال مجاهد كحديد الرحى، وكما ذكر عن الحسن كطاحونة الرحى، وجائز أن يكون موجا مكفوفا، وأن يكون قطب السماء، وذلك أن الفلك في كلام العرب هو كل شيء دائر، فجمعه أفلاك، وقد ذكرت قول الراجز: باتت تناجي الفلك الدوارا وإن كان كل ما دار في كلامها، ولم يكن في كتاب الله، ولا في خبر عن رسول الله ﷺ، ولا عمن يقطع بقوله العذر، دليل يدل على أي ذلك هو من أي كان الواجب أن نقول فيه ما قاله، ونسكت عما لا علم لنا به. فإذا كان الصواب في ذلك من القول عندنا ما ذكرنا، فتأويل الكلام: والشمس والقمر، كل ذلك في دائر يسبحون.