Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (6/269)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

The meaning of His saying, “yourselves,” is: those like yourselves among free people, as in His saying, “The believing men and believing women thought well of themselves” (al-Nur 12), that is, of others like themselves. “Thus We set forth the signs in detail for a people who understand”: they consider these proofs with their minds.

“But those who wronged followed their desires without knowledge. Then who can guide one whom Allah has led astray? And they will have no helpers. So set your face firmly toward the religion, inclining to the truth—the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created mankind. There is no changing the creation of Allah. That is the upright religion, but most people do not know.” (29–30)

“But those who wronged” associated partners with Allah; “followed their desires” in associating partners with Him, “without knowledge,” out of ignorance of what was obligatory upon them. “Then who can guide one whom Allah has led astray?”—that is, whom Allah has led astray (1). “And they will have no helpers”: no defenders to protect them from the punishment of Allah, exalted is He.

His saying, exalted is He, “So set your face firmly toward the religion,” means: devote your religion sincerely to Allah. This was said by Sa'id ibn Jubayr. Setting one’s face firmly means establishing the religion. Others said: Set your deeds aright. The face is that toward which a person directs himself, and his religion and deeds are among the matters toward which he directs himself in order to set them aright (2). “Inclining to the truth”: turning toward it and remaining steadfast upon it. “The fitrah of Allah”: the religion of Allah. It is in the accusative as an exhortation, meaning: Hold fast to the fitrah of Allah. “Upon which He has created mankind”: that is, He created mankind upon it. This is the view of Ibn Abbas and a group of Qur'an commentators: what is meant by the fitrah is the religion, namely Islam (3).

A group held that the verse applies specifically to the believers: they are those whom Allah created upon Islam. Abu Ali Hassan ibn Sa'id al-Mani'i informed us; Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Mahmish al-Ziyadi informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan informed us; Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami informed us; Abd al-Razzaq informed us; Ma'mar informed us, from Hammam ibn Munabbih, who said: Abu Hurayrah narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Every child is born upon the fitrah; then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian, just as livestock give birth to their young. Do you find any of them maimed, until you yourselves maim them?” They said, ⦗71⦘ “O Messenger of Allah, what of one who dies while still young?” He said: “Allah knows best what they would have done.” (4)

(1) Omitted from manuscript “A.” (2) Zad al-Masir, 6:300; Ibn Kathir, 3:433. (3) See al-Tabari, 21:40; Ibn Kathir, 3:433. (4) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Qadar (The Book of Divine Decree), chapter: “Allah knows best what they would have done,” 7:493. He also narrated part of it in Kitab al-Jana'iz (The Book of Funerals) and in Kitab al-Tafsir. Muslim narrated it in Kitab al-Qadar, chapter: “The meaning of every newborn being born upon the fitrah (natural disposition),” no. 2658, 4:2048; and the author cited it in Sharh al-Sunnah, 1:154. See also Sahifat Hammam ibn Munabbih, ed. Dr. Rif'at Fawzi Abd al-Muttalib, pp. 259-260.

وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: "أَنْفُسَكُمْ"، أَيْ: أَمْثَالَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَحْرَارِ كَقَوْلِهِ: "ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا" (النُّورِ-١٢) ، أَيْ: بِأَمْثَالِهِمْ. ﴿كَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ﴾ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى هَذِهِ الدَّلَائِلِ بِعُقُولِهِمْ. ﴿بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَمَنْ يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ نَاصِرِينَ (٢٩) فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (٣٠) ﴾ ﴿بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا﴾ أَشْرَكُوا بِاللَّهِ، ﴿أَهْوَاءَهُمْ﴾ فِي الشِّرْكِ، ﴿بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ﴾ جَهْلًا بِمَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِمْ، ﴿فَمَنْ يَهْدِي مَنْ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ﴾ [أَيْ: أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ] (١) ﴿وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ نَاصِرِينَ﴾ مَانِعِينَ يَمْنَعُونَهُمْ مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ ﷿. قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ﴾ أَيْ: أَخْلِصْ دِينَكَ لِلَّهِ، قَالَهُ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ، وَإِقَامَةُ الْوَجْهِ: إِقَامَةُ الدِّينِ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ: سَدِّدْ عَمَلَكَ. وَالْوَجْهُ مَا يَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْهِ الْإِنْسَانُ، وَدِينُهُ وَعَمَلُهُ مِمَّا يَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْهِ لِتَسْدِيدِهِ (٢) ، ﴿حَنِيفًا﴾ مَائِلًا مُسْتَقِيمًا عَلَيْهِ، ﴿فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ﴾ دِينَ اللَّهِ، وَهُوَ نُصِبَ عَلَى الْإِغْرَاءِ، أَيْ: إِلْزَمْ فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ، ﴿الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا﴾ أَيْ: خَلَقَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا، وَهَذَا قَوْلُ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَجَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ أَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِالْفِطْرَةِ: الدِّينُ، وَهُوَ الْإِسْلَامُ (٣) . وَذَهَبَ قَوْمٌ إِلَى أَنَّ الْآيَةَ خَاصَّةٌ فِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ فَطَرَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَلِيٍّ حَسَّانُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْمَنِيعِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو طَاهِرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَحْمِشٍ الزِّيَادِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الْقَطَّانُ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ السُّلَمِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "مَنْ يُولَدُ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ كَمَا تُنْتِجُونَ الْبَهِيمَةَ، هَلْ تَجِدُونَ فِيهَا مِنْ جَدْعَاءَ حَتَّى تَكُونُوا أَنْتُمْ تجدعونها؟، قالوا ٧١/أيَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنْ يَمُوتُ وَهُوَ صَغِيرٌ؟ قَالَ: "اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا عَامِلِينَ" (٤) .

(١) ساقط من "أ". (٢) زاد المسير: ٦ / ٣٠٠، ابن كثير: ٣ / ٤٣٣. (٣) انظر: الطبري ٢١ / ٤٠، ابن كثير: ٣ / ٤٣٣. (٤) أخرجه البخاري في القدر، باب الله أعلم بما كانوا عاملين: ٧ / ٤٩٣، وروى جزءا منه في الجنائز وفي التفسير: ومسلم في القدر، باب معنى كل مولود يولد على الفطرة.. برقم (٢٦٥٨) : ٤ / ٢٠٤٨، والمصنف في شرح السنة: ١ / ١٥٤.وانظر: صحيفة همام بن منبه تحقيق د. رفعت فوزي عبد المطلب ص (٢٥٩-٢٦٠) .