Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (1/293)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

—to bury them. So they enclosed them within a fenced area, protecting them from wild beasts, and left them there. (1)

They differed over their exact number. ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī said that they were three thousand; Wahb said, four thousand; Muqātil and al-Kalbī said, eight thousand; Abū Rawq said, ten thousand; al-Suddī said, a little over thirty thousand; Ibn Jurayj said, forty thousand; and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ said, seventy thousand. The sounder view is that they numbered more than ten thousand, for Allah Most High says, “and they were thousands.” The form used here denotes a plural of abundance, whereas the other plural form denotes paucity; thus, it is not used for a number below ten thousand.

They said: A period then passed over them, their bodies having decayed and their bones become bare. Then a prophet called Ezekiel son of Buda passed by them. He was the third successor to lead the Children of Israel after Moses, peace be upon him. For after Moses, the one entrusted with the affairs of the Children of Israel was Joshua son of Nun, then Caleb son of Yuqanna, and then Ezekiel. He was called “the son of the old woman,” because his mother was elderly; after she had grown old and become barren, she asked Allah for a child, and Allah Most High granted him to her. [41b] Al-Ḥasan and Muqātil said: He was Dhu al-Kifl. Ezekiel was called Dhu al-Kifl because he took responsibility for seventy prophets and saved them from being killed.

When Ezekiel passed by those dead people, he stopped over them and began to reflect upon them in amazement. Allah Most High then revealed to him, “Would you like Me to show you a sign?” He said, “Yes.” So Allah brought them to life. It is also said that Ezekiel supplicated to his Lord to bring them to life, and so He brought them to life.

Muqātil and al-Kalbī said: They were Ezekiel’s people, and Allah brought them to life after eight days. When this befell them, Ezekiel went out searching for them and found them dead. He wept and said, “My Lord, I had been among a people who praised You, glorified You, declared You holy, proclaimed Your greatness, and affirmed Your oneness; but I have been left alone, with no people of my own.” Allah Most High then revealed to him, “I have placed their lives in your hands.” Ezekiel said, “Live, by Allah’s permission!” and they lived.

Mujāhid said: When they were brought to life, they said, “Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise be to You. There is no god but You.” They then returned to their people and lived for a long time, with the appearance of death upon their faces. Whenever they wore a garment, it would become greasy like a burial shroud, until they died at the appointed terms that had been written for them.

Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him, said: That odor is still found today among that tribe of the Jews. Qatādah said:

(1) Ibn Atiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned some reports concerning this, then said: “All these accounts have weak chains of transmission. The necessary implication of the verse is simply that Allah informed His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by way of admonition and instruction, about people who fled their homes in fear of death. Allah then caused them to die and brought them back to life, so that they, and all who came after them, might realize that causing death lies solely in Allah’s hand, not in anyone else’s. Thus, there is no reason for anyone to fear, nor for anyone to be deluded. Allah made this verse an introduction to His command to the believers of Muhammad’s community to engage in jihad. This is the view of al-Tabari and is apparent from the wording of the verse. Those who relate the accounts of this story add details which I have omitted because of their weakness.” Ibn Atiyyah, al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, 2:345. (2) Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, cited this view from Abd al-Razzaq, from Mamar, from Qatadah, and said: “Ibn Jarir said that this meant Ephraim, son of Joseph, son of Jacob. This view is far-fetched, for this occurred long after Moses, during the time of David, peace be upon him, as is explicitly stated in the account. More than a thousand years elapsed between David and Moses. And Allah knows best.” Ibn Kathir, 1:533, with al-Wadii’s source documentation.

عَنْ دَفْنِهِمْ، فَحَظَرُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَظِيرَةً دُونَ السِّبَاعِ وَتَرَكُوهُمْ فِيهَا (١) . وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي مَبْلَغِ عَدَدِهِمْ، قَالَ عَطَاءٌ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ: كَانُوا ثَلَاثَةَ آلَافٍ، وَقَالَ وَهْبٌ: أَرْبَعَةُ آلَافٍ وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ: ثَمَانِيَةُ آلَافٍ، وَقَالَ أَبُو رَوْقٍ: عَشَرَةُ آلَافٍ، وَقَالَ السُّدِّيُّ: بِضْعَةٌ وَثَلَاثُونَ أَلْفًا، وَقَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: أَرْبَعُونَ أَلْفًا، وَقَالَ عَطَاءُ بْنُ أَبِي رَبَاحٍ: سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا، وَأَوْلَى الْأَقَاوِيلِ: قَوْلُ مَنْ قَالَ كَانُوا زِيَادَةً عَلَى عَشَرَةِ آلَافٍ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ "وَهُمْ أُلُوفٌ" وَالْأُلُوفُ جَمْعُ الْكَثِيرِ وَجَمْعُهُ الْقَلِيلُ آلَافٌ، وَلَا يُقَالُ لِمَا دُونَ عَشَرَةِ آلَافٍ أُلُوفٌ، قَالُوا: فَأَتَتْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ مُدَّةٌ وَقَدْ بَلِيَتْ أَجْسَادُهُمْ وَعَرِيَتْ عِظَامُهُمْ فَمَرَّ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبِيٌّ يُقَالُ لَهُ حِزْقِيلُ بْنُ بُودَى ثَالِثُ خُلَفَاءِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى ﵇، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْقَيِّمَ بِأَمْرِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَانَ بَعْدَ مُوسَى يُوشَعَ بْنَ نُونٍ (٢) ثُمَّ كَالِبَ بْنَ يُوقَنَّا ثُمَّ حِزْقِيلَ وَكَانَ يُقَالُ لَهُ ابْنُ الْعَجُوزِ لِأَنَّ أُمَّهُ كَانَتْ عَجُوزًا فَسَأَلَتِ اللَّهَ الْوَلَدَ بَعْدَ مَا كَبِرَتْ وَعَقِمَتْ فَوَهَبَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لها، قال ٤١/ب الْحَسَنُ وَمُقَاتِلٌ: هُوَ ذُو الْكِفْلِ وَسُمِّيَ حِزْقِيلُ ذَا الْكِفْلِ لِأَنَّهُ تَكَفَّلَ بِسَبْعِينَ نَبِيًّا وَأَنْجَاهُمْ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ، فَلَمَّا مَرَّ حِزْقِيلُ عَلَى أُولَئِكَ الْمَوْتَى وَقَفَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَجَعَلَ يَتَفَكَّرُ فِيهِمْ مُتَعَجِّبًا فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ تُرِيدُ أَنْ أُرِيَكَ آيَةً؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ: فَأَحْيَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَقِيلَ: دَعَا حِزْقِيلُ رَبَّهُ أَنْ يُحْيِيَهُمْ فَأَحْيَاهُمْ. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ: هُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمُ حِزْقِيلَ أَحْيَاهُمُ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ ثَمَانِيَةِ أَيَّامٍ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ لَمَّا أَصَابَهُمْ ذَلِكَ خَرَجَ حِزْقِيلُ فِي طَلَبِهِمْ فَوَجَدَهُمْ مَوْتَى فَبَكَى وَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ كُنْتُ فِي قَوْمٍ يَحْمَدُونَكَ وَيُسَبِّحُونَكَ وَيُقَدِّسُونَكَ وَيُكَبِّرُونَكَ وَيُهَلِّلُونَكَ فَبَقِيتُ وَحِيدًا لَا قَوْمَ لِي، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِلَيْهِ: أَنِّي جَعَلْتُ حَيَاتَهُمْ إِلَيْكَ، قَالَ حِزْقِيلُ: احْيَوْا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ فَعَاشُوا. قَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: إِنَّهُمْ قَالُوا حِينَ أُحْيَوْا، سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا وَبِحَمْدِكَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ فَرَجَعُوا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ وَعَاشُوا دَهْرًا طَوِيلًا وَسَحْنَةُ الْمَوْتِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ، لَا يَلْبَسُونَ ثَوْبًا إِلَّا عَادَ دَسَمًا مِثْلَ الْكَفَنِ حَتَّى مَاتُوا لِآجَالِهِمُ الَّتِي كُتِبَتْ لَهُمْ. قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄: وَإِنَّهَا لَتُوجَدُ الْيَوْمَ فِي ذَلِكَ السِّبْطِ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ تِلْكَ الرِّيحُ، قَالَ قَتَادَةُ:

(١) ذكر ابن عطية ﵀ بعض الروايات في ذلك ثم قال: وهذا القصص كله لين الأسانيد، وإنما اللازم من الآية أن الله تعالى أخبر نبيه محمدا ﷺ أخبارا في عبارة التنبيه والتوقيف عن قوم من البشر خرجوا من ديارهم فرارا من الموت فأماتهم الله تعالى ثم أحياهم ليروا هم وكل من خلف بعدهم: أن الإماتة إنما هي بيد الله لا بيد غيره، فلا معنى لخوف خائف، ولا اغترار مغتر. وجعل الله تعالى هذه الآية مقدمة بين يدي أمره المؤمنين، من أمة محمد ﷺ، بالجهاد، هذا قول الطبري، وهو ظاهر وصف الآية، ولموردي القصص في هذه القصة زيادات اختصرتها لضعفها" المحرر الوجيز لابن عطية: ٢ / ٣٤٥. (٢) ذكر ابن كثير ﵀ هذا القول عن عبد الرزاق عن معمر عن قتادة وقال: قال: ابن جرير يعني أفرايم بن يوسف بن يعقوب وهذا القول بعيد لأن هذا كان بعد موسى بدهر طويل، وكان ذلك في زمان داود ﵇ كما هو مصرح به في القصة، وقد كان بين داود وموسى ماينيف على ألف سنة والله أعلم. ابن كثير: ١ / ٥٣٣ بتخريج الوادعي.