Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (7/245)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Have you considered the one who takes his own desires as his god? Allah has caused him to stray knowingly, sealed his hearing and his heart, and placed a covering over his sight. Who, then, can guide him after Allah? Will you not take heed? (23) They say, ‘There is nothing but our worldly life: we die and we live, and nothing destroys us but Time.’ Yet they have no knowledge of this; they do nothing but speculate. (24)”

“Have you considered the one who takes his own desires as his god?” Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Qatadah said: This is the disbeliever who makes whatever he desires his religion. He does not desire anything without pursuing it, because he neither believes in Allah nor fears Him, and he does not deem forbidden what Allah has forbidden. Others said: It means that he takes his desire as the object of his worship, worshipping whatever his soul desires.

Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: The Arabs used to worship stones, gold, and silver. Whenever they found something better than the first, they would cast it aside or break it and worship the other. (1)

Al-Sha'bi said: Desire was only called hawa because it casts its possessor down into the Fire. (2)

“And Allah has caused him to stray knowingly”: knowing the outcome of his affair. It was also said: according to what had preceded in His knowledge—that he was astray before Allah created him. “And He has sealed”—that is, stamped—“his hearing,” so that he does not hear guidance, “and his heart,” so that he does not comprehend guidance, “and placed a covering over his sight.” Hamzah and al-Kisa'i recited it as “a covering,” with the letter ghayn open and the shin unvowelled. The rest recited it as “a veil”: a darkness, such that he does not perceive guidance. “Who, then, can guide him after Allah?” That is, who can guide him after Allah has caused him to stray? “Will you not take heed?”

“They say”—meaning, those who deny the Resurrection—“There is nothing but our worldly life”: that is, there is no life except our life in this world. “We die and we live”: that is, the fathers die and the sons live. Al-Zajjaj said: It means, “We die and we live”; the conjunction denotes that both occur together. “Nothing destroys us but Time”: that is, nothing brings us to an end except the passing of time, long life, and the alternation of night and day. “Yet they have no knowledge of this”—of what they said; that is, they did not say it based on knowledge they possessed—“they do nothing but speculate.”

Abu Ali Hassan ibn Sa'id al-Mani'i informed us; Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Muhammash al-Ziyadi informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan informed us; Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami related to us; Abd al-Razzaq related to us; Ma'mar informed us from Hammam ibn Munabbih, who said: Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, related to us that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah Most High said, “Let not the son of Adam say, ‘What a disappointment Time is!’ For I am Time: I send the night and the day, and when I wish, I take them both away.” (5)

(1) Cited by al-Qurtubi, 16:167. (2) See al-Qurtubi, 16:167. (3) The text within the parentheses is an addition from manuscript B. (4) The text within the parentheses is an addition from manuscript B. (5) Reported by al-Tabari, 25:153; and by Abd al-Razzaq in the Book of al-Jami of Imam Mamar, al-Musannaf, 11:346. It was also reported by al-Bukhari, through the route of Mamar from Abu Hurayrah, in al-Adab, chapter: “Do Not Revile Time,” 10:564; by Muslim in al-Alfaz min al-Adab wa Ghayriha, chapter: “The Dislike of Calling Grapes Karam,” no. 2247, 4:1763; and in al-Musannaf fi Sharh al-Sunnah, 12:355.

﴿أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ (٢٣) وَقَالُوا مَا هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ وَمَا لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ (٢٤) ﴾ ﴿أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ﴾ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَالْحَسَنُ وَقَتَادَةُ: ذَلِكَ الْكَافِرُ اتَّخَذَ دِينَهُ مَا يَهْوَاهُ، فَلَا يَهْوَى شَيْئًا إِلَّا رَكِبَهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُهُ، وَلَا يُحَرِّمُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ. وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ: مَعْنَاهُ اتَّخَذَ مَعْبُودَهُ هَوَاهُ فَيَعْبُدُ مَا تَهْوَاهُ نَفْسُهُ. قَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ: كَانَتِ الْعَرَبُ يَعْبُدُونَ الْحِجَارَةَ وَالذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ، فَإِذَا وَجَدُوا شَيْئًا أَحْسَنَ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِ رَمَوْهُ أَوْ كَسَرُوهُ، وَعَبَدُوا الْآخَرَ (١) . قَالَ الشِّعْبِيُّ: إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ الْهَوَى لِأَنَّهُ يَهْوِي بِصَاحِبِهِ فِي النَّارِ (٢) . ﴿وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ﴾ مِنْهُ بِعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِهِ، وَقِيلَ عَلَى مَا سَبَقَ فِي عِلْمِهِ أَنَّهُ ضَالٌّ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَهُ، ﴿وَخَتَمَ﴾ طَبَعَ، ﴿عَلَى سَمْعِهِ﴾ فَلَمْ يَسْمَعِ الْهُدَى، ﴿وَقَلْبِهِ﴾ فَلَمْ يَعْقِلِ الْهُدَى، ﴿وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً﴾ قَرَأَ حَمْزَةُ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ "غَشْوَةً" بِفَتْحِ الْغَيْنِ وَسُكُونِ الشِّينِ، وَالْبَاقُونَ "غِشَاوَةً" ظُلْمَةً فَهُوَ لَا يُبْصِرُ الْهُدَى، ﴿فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ﴾ [أَيْ فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ] (٣) بَعْدَ أَنْ أَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ، ﴿أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾ . ﴿وَقَالُوا﴾ يَعْنِي مُنْكِرِي الْبَعْثِ، ﴿مَا هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا﴾ أَيْ مَا الْحَيَاةُ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا، ﴿نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا﴾ أَيْ يَمُوتُ الْآبَاءُ وَيَحْيَا الْأَبْنَاءُ، وَقَالَ الزُّجَاجُ: يَعْنِي نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا، فَالْوَاوُ لِلِاجْتِمَاعِ، ﴿وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ﴾ أَيْ وَمَا يُفْنِينَا إِلَّا مَرُّ الزَّمَانِ وَطُولُ الْعُمْرِ وَاخْتِلَافُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ. ﴿وَمَا لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ﴾ الَّذِي قَالُوهُ، ﴿مِنْ عِلْمٍ﴾ أَيْ لَمْ يَقُولُوهُ عَنْ عِلْمٍ [عَلِمُوهُ] (٤) ﴿إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ﴾ . أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَلِيٍّ حَسَّانُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْمَنِيعِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو طَاهِرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ مُحَمَّشٌ الزِّيَادِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الْقَطَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْحَسَنِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ السُّلَمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ ﵁، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: لَا يَقُلِ ابْنُ آدَمَ يَا خَيْبَةَ الدَّهْرِ، فَإِنِّي أَنَا الدَّهْرُ، أُرْسِلُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ، فَإِذَا شِئْتُ قَبْضَتُهُمَا" (٥) .

(١) ذكره القرطبي: ١٦ / ١٦٧. (٢) انظر: القرطبي: ١٦ / ١٦٧. (٣) ما بين القوسين زيادة من "ب". (٤) ما بين القوسين زيادة من "ب". (٥) أخرجه الطبري: ٢٥ / ١٥٣، وعبد الرزاق في كتاب الجامع للإمام معمر، المصنف: ١١ / ٣٤٦. وأخرجه البخاري من طريق معمر عن أبي هريرة في الأدب، باب: لا تسبوا الدهر: ١٠ / ٥٦٤، ومسلم في الألفاظ من الأدب وغيرها، باب كراهة تسمية العنب كرمًا برقم: (٢٢٤٧) : ٤ / ١٧٦٣، والمصنف في شرح السنة: ١٢ / ٣٥٥.