Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (6/84)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture and appointed with him his brother Aaron as a minister. So We said, ‘Go, both of you, to the people who denied Our signs.’ Then We destroyed them utterly. And when the people of Noah denied the messengers, We drowned them and made them a sign for humankind; and We have prepared a painful punishment for the wrongdoers. And We destroyed 'Ad, Thamud, the people of al-Rass, and many generations in between.” (35–38)

“And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture and appointed with him his brother Aaron as a minister”—that is, as an aide and supporter. “So We said, ‘Go, both of you, to the people who denied Our signs’”—meaning the Copts. “Then We destroyed them utterly.” There is an ellipsis here: that is, they denied them both, so We destroyed them utterly. “Utterly”: We annihilated them completely.

“And when the people of Noah denied the messengers”—that is, the messenger. Whoever denies a single messenger has thereby denied all the messengers; hence they are mentioned in the plural. “We drowned them and made them a sign for humankind”—that is, a lesson for those who came after them. “And We have prepared for the wrongdoers,” in the Hereafter, “a painful punishment,” apart from the immediate punishment that befell them.

“And We destroyed 'Ad and Thamud, and the people of al-Rass.” There are differing views concerning them. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: They were a people who lived around a well and possessed livestock. They worshipped idols, so Allah sent Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, to call them to Islam. Yet they persisted in their tyranny and in harming Shu'ayb. While they were around the well, in their dwellings, the well collapsed, and they and their homes and quarters were swallowed up; thus they all perished.

Al-Rass means a well. Any dug well not lined with stone and fired brick is called a rass.

Qatadah and al-Kalbi said: Al-Rass was a well in Falaj, in al-Yamamah. They killed their prophet, so Allah, may He be exalted, destroyed them.

Others said: They were the remnant of Thamud, the people of Salih. They were the people of the well which Allah Most High mentioned in His words: “And how many an abandoned well and lofty palace!” (al-Hajj 45).

Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: They had a prophet called Hanzalah ibn Safwan, whom they killed; so Allah Most High destroyed them.

Ka'b, Muqatil, and al-Suddi said: Al-Rass was a well in Antioch, in which they killed Habib al-Najjar. They are the people whom Allah mentioned in Surah Ya-Sin.

It was also said that they were the people of the trench; [and al-Rass is the trench] (1) which they dug.

Ikrimah said: They were a people who cast their prophet into a well (2).

It was also said that al-Rass means a mine, its plural being risas.

(1) Omitted from manuscript “A”. (2) No sound evidence establishes any of these views regarding the identity of the people of al-Rass. Al-Tabari regarded them as the people of the trench. Some of the preceding views are contradicted by other texts. And Allah knows best. See: al-Tabari, 19:13-15; al-Durr al-Manthur, 6:256-257; Zad al-Masir, 6:90; al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6:495-498; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3:319-320.

﴿وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا مَعَهُ أَخَاهُ هَارُونَ وَزِيرًا (٣٥) فَقُلْنَا اذْهَبَا إِلَى الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا فَدَمَّرْنَاهُمْ تَدْمِيرًا (٣٦) وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَمَّا كَذَّبُوا الرُّسُلَ أَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ آيَةً وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا (٣٧) وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَأَصْحَابَ الرَّسِّ وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا (٣٨) ﴾ ﴿وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا مَعَهُ أَخَاهُ هَارُونَ وَزِيرًا﴾ مُعِيَنًا وَظَهِيرًا. ﴿فَقُلْنَا اذْهَبَا إِلَى الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا﴾ يَعْنِي الْقِبْطَ، ﴿فَدَمَّرْنَاهُمْ﴾ فِيهِ إِضْمَارٌ، أَيْ: فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَدَمَّرْنَاهُمْ، ﴿تَدْمِيرًا﴾ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِهْلَاكًا. ﴿وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَمَّا كَذَّبُوا الرُّسُلَ﴾ أَيْ: الرَّسُولَ، وَمَنْ كَذَبَ رَسُولًا وَاحِدًا فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ جَمِيعَ الرُّسُلِ، فَلِذَلِكَ ذُكِرَ بِلَفْظِ الْجَمْعِ. ﴿أَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ آيَةً﴾ يَعْنِي: لِمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ عِبْرَةٌ، ﴿وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ﴾ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، ﴿عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا﴾ سِوَى مَا حَلَّ بِهِ مِنْ عَاجِلِ الْعَذَابِ. ﴿وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ﴾ أَيْ: وَأَهْلَكْنَا عَادًا وَثَمُودَ، ﴿وَأَصْحَابَ الرَّسِّ﴾ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِمْ، قَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: كَانُوا أَهْلَ بِئْرٍ قُعُودًا عَلَيْهَا، وَأَصْحَابَ مَوَاشِي، يَعْبُدُونَ الْأَصْنَامَ، فَوَجَّهَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِمْ شُعَيْبًا يَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، فَتَمَادَوْا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ، وَفِي أَذَى شُعَيْبٍ ﵇، فَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ حَوْلَ الْبِئْرِ فِي مَنَازِلِهِمُ انْهَارَتِ الْبِئْرُ، فَخُسِفَ بِهِمْ وَبِدِيَارِهِمْ وَرِبَاعِهِمْ، فَهَلَكُوا جَمِيعًا. وَ"الرَّسُّ": الْبِئْرُ، وَكُلُّ رَكِيَّةٍ لَمْ تُطْوَ بِالْحِجَارَةِ وَالْآجُرِّ فَهُوَ رَسٌّ. وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ: "الرَّسُّ" بِئْرٌ بِفَلَجِ الْيَمَامَةِ، قَتَلُوا نَبِيَّهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَهُمُ اللَّهُ ﷿. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: هُمْ بَقِيَّةُ ثَمُودَ قَوْمِ صَالِحٍ، وَهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْبِئْرِ الَّتِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قَوْلِهِ: "وَبِئْرٍ مُعَطَّلَةٍ وَقَصْرٍ مَشِيدٍ" (الْحَجِّ-٤٥) . وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ: كَانَ لَهُمْ نَبِيٌّ يُقَالُ لَهُ حَنْظَلَةُ بْنُ صَفْوَانَ فَقَتَلُوهُ فَأَهْلَكَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. وَقَالَ كَعْبٌ وَمُقَاتِلٌ وَالسُّدِّيُّ: "الرَّسُّ": بِئْرٌ بِأَنْطَاكِيَةَ قَتَلُوا فِيهَا حَبِيبًا النَّجَّارَ، وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ ذَكَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي سُورَةِ يس. وَقِيلَ: هُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ، [وَالرَّسُّ هُوَ الْأُخْدُودُ] (١) الَّذِي حَفَرُوهُ. وَقَالَ عِكْرِمَةُ: هُمْ قَوْمٌ رَسُّوا نَبِيَّهُمْ فِي بِئْرٍ (٢) . وَقِيلَ: الرَّسُّ الْمَعْدِنُ، وَجَمْعُهُ رِسَاسٌ.

(١) ساقط من "أ". (٢) لم يقم على هذه القوال في المعنى بأصحاب الرس دليل ثابت، ورجح الطبري أنهم أصحاب الأخدود، وبعض الأقوال السابقة مردودة بنصوص أخرى، والله أعلم. انظر: الطبري: ١٩ / ١٣-١٥، الدر المنثور: ٦ / ٢٥٦-٢٥٧، زاد المسير: ٦ / ٩٠، البحر المحيط: ٦ / ٤٩٨-٤٩٥، تفسير ابن كثير: ٣ / ٣١٩-٣٢٠.