Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (6/425)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Did We not grant you a life long enough for whoever would take heed to do so?” It was said: this is puberty. ‘Ata’, Qatada, and al-Kalbi said: eighteen years. Al-Hasan said: forty years. Ibn ‘Abbas said: sixty years; he related this from ‘Ali, and it is the age by which Allah, exalted is He, has left the son of Adam with no excuse.

‘Abd al-Wahid al-Malihi informed us; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il informed us; ‘Abd al-Salam ibn Mutahhar informed us; ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali narrated to us, from Ma‘n ibn Muhammad al-Ghifari, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah, exalted is He, has left no excuse for a man whose appointed term He has deferred until he reaches sixty years of age.” (1)

Abu Sa‘id al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labi informed us; al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Fanjawayh informed us; Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn Himdan narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn Sahawayh narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn ‘Arafah narrated to us; al-Muharibi informed us, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The lifespans of my Ummah are generally between sixty and seventy years, and few of them exceed that.” (2)

“And the warner came to you”: that is, Muhammad ﷺ. This is the view of most exegetes. It was also said: the Quran. ‘Ikrimah, Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, and Waki‘ said: it is grey hair. Its meaning is: Did We not grant you a life long enough for you to grow old? It is said: grey hair is the herald of death. A report states: “No hair turns white except that it says to its sister: ‘Prepare yourself, for death has drawn near.’”

“So taste the punishment, for the wrongdoers will have no helper.”

“Indeed, Allah is the Knower of the unseen of the heavens and the earth. Surely He is All-Knowing of what is within the breasts.” (38)

(1) Reported by al-Bukhari in the Book of Heart-Softening Narrations, chapter: “Whoever reaches sixty years of age, Allah has left him no excuse because of his lifespan,” 11:238. (2) Reported by al-Tirmidhi in the Book of Asceticism, chapter: “What has been narrated concerning the lifespans of this Ummah,” 6:6. He said: “This is a hasan gharib hadith (fair and uncommon),” narrated by Abu Salih from Abu Hurayrah; it has also been transmitted from Abu Hurayrah through other routes. It was also reported by Ibn Majah in the Book of Asceticism, chapter: “Hope and the Appointed Term,” 2:1415; authenticated by al-Hakim, 2:427, according to Muslim’s criteria, and al-Dhahabi concurred; by Ibn Hibban in Mawarid al-Zam'an, no. 2467, p. 611; and by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan, 3:370. Al-Hafiz graded its chain as hasan (fair) in Fath al-Bari, 11:240. See al-Manawi, Fayd al-Qadir, 2:11; and al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 2:397.

﴿أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ مَا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَنْ تَذَكَّرَ﴾ قِيلَ: هُوَ الْبُلُوغُ. وَقَالَ عَطَاءٌ وَقَتَادَةُ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ: ثَمَانِ عَشَرَةَ سَنَةً. وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: أَرْبَعُونَ سَنَةً. وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: سِتُّونَ سَنَةً، يَرْوِي ذَلِكَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، وَهُوَ الْعُمُرُ الَّذِي أَعْذَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى ابْنِ آدَمَ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ الْمَلِيحِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النَّعِيمِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ السَّلَامِ بْنُ مُطَهَّرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، عَنْ مَعْنِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْغِفَارِيِّ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: "أَعْذَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَى امْرِئٍ أَخَّرَ أَجَلَهُ حَتَّى بَلَّغَهُ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً". (١) أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الشُّرَيْحِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الثَّعْلَبِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ فَنْجُوَيْهِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ حِمْدَانَ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ سَهَاوَيْهِ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَرَفَةَ، أَخْبَرَنَا الْمُحَارِبِيُّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ﵁ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "أَعْمَارُ أُمَّتِي مَا بَيْنَ السِّتِّينَ إِلَى السَّبْعِينَ، وَأَقَلُّهُمْ مَنْ يَجُوزُ ذَلِكَ". (٢) ﴿وَجَاءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ﴾ يَعْنِي: مُحَمَّدًا ﷺ، هَذَا قَوْلُ أَكْثَرِ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ. وَقِيلَ: الْقُرْآنُ. وَقَالَ عِكْرِمَةُ، وَسُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، وَوَكِيعٌ: هُوَ الشَّيْبُ. مَعْنَاهُ أَوَ لَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ حَتَّى شِبْتُمْ. وَيُقَالُ: الشَّيْبُ نَذِيرُ الْمَوْتِ. وَفِي الْأَثَرِ: مَا مِنْ شَعَرَةٍ تَبْيَضُّ إِلَّا قَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهَا: اسْتَعِدِّي فَقَدْ قَرُبَ الْمَوْتُ. ﴿فَذُوقُوا فَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ نَصِيرٍ﴾ ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَالِمُ غَيْبِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ (٣٨) ﴾

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الرقاق، باب: من بلغ ستين سنة فقد أعذر الله إليه في العمر: ١١ / ٢٣٨. (٢) أخرجه الترمذي في الزهد، باب: ما جاء في أعمار هذه الأمة ... ٦ / ٦، وقال: (هذا حديث حسن غريب) من حديث أبي صالح عن أبي هريرة، وقد روي من غير وجه عن أبي هريرة. وابن ماجه في الزهد، باب: الأمل والأجل: ٢ / ١٤١٥، وصححه الحاكم: ٢ / ٤٢٧ على شرط مسلم، ووافقه الذهبي، وابن حبان في موارد الظمآن برقم (٢٤٦٧) ص ٦١١، والبيهقي في السنن: ٣ / ٣٧٠، وحسن الحافظ إسناده في الفتح: ١١ / ٢٤٠، انظر: فيض القدير للمناوي: ٢ / ١١، سلسلة الأحاديث الصحيحة: ٢ / ٣٩٧.