Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (5/403)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

the greater jihad.” (1) By the lesser jihad, he meant jihad against the disbelievers; and by the greater jihad, jihad against the self.

“He has chosen you,” that is, He has chosen you for His religion. “And He has not placed upon you any hardship in religion,” that is, any constraint. Its meaning is that whenever a believer is afflicted by any sin, Allah has provided him a way out of it: for some sins, through repentance; for others, through restoring wrongfully taken rights and through legal retribution; and for others, through the various forms of expiation. Thus, in the religion of Islam, there is no sin from whose punishment a servant can find no means of deliverance.

It was also said: There is no constraint regarding the times of your obligatory duties, such as the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan, the fast-breaking festival, and the time of Hajj, when these matters are unclear to you. He has given you latitude in this until you become certain.

Muqatil said: It refers to the legal concessions granted in cases of necessity, such as shortening the prayer while travelling, performing dry ablution, eating carrion in necessity, breaking the fast due to travel or illness, and praying while seated when unable to stand. This was also the view of al-Kalbi.

It is related from Ibn Abbas that he said: Hardship means the burdens that had been imposed upon the Children of Israel; Allah removed them from this Muslim community. (2)

“The creed of your father Abraham,” that is, the creed of your father. It is in the accusative case through the omission of a preposition. It was also said that it is in the accusative as an exhortation, meaning: Follow the creed of your father Abraham. [We have only been commanded to follow the creed of Abraham] (3) because it is encompassed within the creed of Muhammad.

If it is asked: What is the meaning of His saying, “the creed of your father,” when not all Muslims trace their lineage back to Abraham?

The answer is: It addressed the Arabs, who were descendants of Abraham. It was also said that it addressed all Muslims, and that Abraham is a father to them in the sense that he must be honored and his due safeguarded, just as a father must be honored. This is like His saying, exalted is He: “And his wives

(1) Ibn Hajar states in al-Kafi al-Shaf, p. 114: “Al-Tha'labi mentioned it without a chain of transmission. Al-Bayhaqi transmitted it in al-Zuhd from Jabir, who said: ‘A group of warriors came to the Messenger of Allah, and he said: You have come with the best arrival, from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad.’ It was asked, ‘What is the greater jihad?’ He replied: ‘A servant’s striving against his own desires.’” He said: “Its chain contains weakness.” Ibn Hajar added: “It is narrated through Isa ibn Ibrahim, from Yahya ibn Ya'la, from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym; all three are weak narrators.” Al-Nasa'i also cited it in al-Kuna as a statement of Ibrahim ibn Abi Ablah, one of the Successors from Syria. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrated it in al-Tarikh, 13:493. In Takhrij Ahadith al-Ihya, 3:7, al-Iraqi attributed it to al-Bayhaqi and said: “This chain contains weakness.” See Kashf al-Khafa, 1:511; Da'if al-Jami' al-Saghir, 14:118; and al-Asrar al-Marfu'ah fi al-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah by al-Qari, pp. 211-212. (2) In al-Durr al-Manthur, 6:78, al-Suyuti attributed it to Ibn Abi Hatim with the wording: “The burden that was upon the Children of Israel has been lifted from you.” (3) The text within the parentheses is omitted in manuscript “B.”

الْأَكْبَرِ" (١) وَأَرَادَ بِالْجِهَادِ الْأَصْغَرِ الْجِهَادَ مَعَ الْكُفَّارِ، وَبِالْجِهَادِ الْأَكْبَرِ الْجِهَادَ مَعَ النَّفْسِ. ﴿هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ﴾ أَيِ: اخْتَارَكُمْ لِدِينِهِ، ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ﴾ ضِيقٍ، مَعْنَاهُ: أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لَا يُبْتَلَى بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ إِلَّا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ مِنْهُ مَخْرَجًا، بَعْضُهَا بِالتَّوْبَةِ، وَبَعْضُهَا بِرَدِّ الْمَظَالِمِ وَالْقِصَاصِ، وَبَعْضُهَا بِأَنْوَاعِ الْكَفَّارَاتِ، فَلَيْسَ فِي دِينِ الْإِسْلَامِ ذَنْبٌ لَا يَجِدُ الْعَبْدُ سَبِيلًا إِلَى الْخَلَاصِ مِنَ الْعِقَابِ فِيهِ. وَقِيلَ: مِنْ ضِيقٍ فِي أَوْقَاتِ فُرُوضِكُمْ مِثْلَ هِلَالِ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ وَالْفِطْرِ وَوَقْتِ الْحَجِّ إِذَا الْتَبَسَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْكُمْ، وَسَّعَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَتَّى تَتَيَقَّنُوا. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ: يَعْنِي الرُّخَصَ عِنْدَ الضَّرُورَاتِ، كَقَصْرِ الصَّلَاةِ فِي السَّفَرِ، وَالتَّيَمُّمِ، وَأَكْلِ الْمَيْتَةِ عِنْدَ الضَّرُورَةِ، وَالْإِفْطَارِ بِالسَّفَرِ وَالْمَرَضِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ قَاعِدًا عِنْدَ الْعَجْزِ. وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الْكَلْبِيِّ. وَرُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْحَرَجُ مَا كَانَ عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنَ الْآصَالِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَضَعَهَا اللَّهُ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ (٢) . ﴿مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ﴾ أَيْ كَلِمَةَ أَبِيكُمْ، نُصِبَ بِنَزْعِ حَرْفِ الصِّفَةِ. وَقِيلَ: نُصِبَ عَلَى الْإِغْرَاءِ، أَيِ: اتَّبِعُوا مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، [وَإِنَّمَا أَمَرَنَا بِاتِّبَاعِ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ] (٣) لِأَنَّهَا دَاخِلَةٌ فِي مِلَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ. فَإِنْ قِيلَ: فَمَا وَجْهُ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ﴾ وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَرْجِعُ نَسَبُهُمْ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ؟ . قِيلَ: خَاطَبَ بِهِ الْعَرَبَ وَهُمْ كَانُوا مِنْ نَسْلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ. وَقِيلَ: خَاطَبَ بِهِ جَمِيعَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ أَبٌ لَهُمْ، عَلَى مَعْنَى وُجُوبِ احْتِرَامِهِ وَحِفْظِ حَقِّهِ كَمَا يَجِبُ احْتِرَامُ الْأَبِ، وَهُوَ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَأَزْوَاجُهُ

(١) قال ابن حجر في الكافي الشاف ص ١١٤: "ذكره الثعلبي بغير سند، وأخرجه البيهقي في "الزهد" من حديث جابر، قال: قدم على رسول الله ﷺ قوم غزاة، فقال: قدمتم بخير مقدم من الجهاد الأصغر إلى الجهاد الأكبر، قيل: وما الجهاد الأكبر؟ قال: مجاهدة العبد هواه" قال: فيه ضعف قلت - ابن حجر - هو من رواية عيسى ابن إبراهيم عن يحيى بن يعلى عن ليث ابن أبي سليم، والثلاثة ضعفاء، وأورده النسائي في "الكنى" من قول إبراهيم بن أبي عبلة، أحد التابعين من أهل الشام. ورواه الخطيب البغدادي في التاريخ: ١٣ / ٤٩٣، ونسبه العراقي في تخريج أحاديث الإحياء: ٣ / ٧ للبيهقي وقال: هذا إسناد فيه ضعف انظر كشف الخفاء: ١ / ٥١١، ضعيف الجامع الصغير: ١٤ / ١١٨، الأسرار المرفوعة في الأحاديث الموضوعة للقاري ص ٢١١ - ٢١٢. (٢) عزاه السيوطي في الدر المنثور: ٦ / ٧٨ لابن أبي حاتم بلفظ: (الإصر الذي كان على بني إسرائيل وضع عنكم) . (٣) ما بين القوسين ساقط من "ب".