Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (8/216)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

Surah al-Ma‘arij is Makkan. (1)

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

“A petitioner asked for a punishment bound to occur, for the disbelievers, which none can repel.”

In the words, “A petitioner asked,” the scholars of Madinah and Syria recited sāla without a hamzah, while the others recited it with a hamzah. Those who recited it with a hamzah derived it from asking. As for those who recited it without a hamzah, it was said that this is a dialectal form of “asking”: one says sāla yasālu, like khāfa yakhāfu—that is, (2) the hamzah was softened and changed into an alif.

It was also said that it is derived from flowing, and that Sā’il is one of the valleys of Hell. This is narrated from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, but the first view is more correct.

They differed concerning the preposition in the phrase “concerning a punishment.” It was said that it carries the meaning of “about,” as in His saying, “Ask one well-informed about Him” (al-Furqan, 59)—that is, ask one well-informed concerning Him. (3)

The meaning of the verse, then, is: a petitioner asked about a punishment that is bound to occur—that is, one that will descend and certainly befall whomever it descends upon. When he asked for whom this punishment was, Allah clarified in answer to that petitioner: “For the disbelievers.” This is because, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warned the people of Makkah of the punishment, some of them said to others, “Who are the people of this punishment? For whom is it? Ask Muhammad about it.” So they asked him, and Allah revealed: “A petitioner asked for a punishment bound to occur, for the disbelievers”—that is, it is for the disbelievers. This was the view of al-Hasan and Qatadah.

It was also said that the preposition is supplementary, and that the meaning of the verse is: a caller invoked and a petitioner asked for a punishment bound to occur for the disbelievers—that is, upon the disbelievers; the preposition “for” here carries the meaning of “upon.” This petitioner was al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, when he prayed

(1) Ibn al-Durays, al-Nahhas, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqi narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: Surat Sa'ala was revealed in Mecca. See: al-Durr al-Manthur, 8:277. (2) In manuscript A: 'meaning.' (3) The text within the parentheses is an addition from manuscript B.

سُورَةُ الْمَعَارِجِ مَكِّيَّةٌ (١) بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴿سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ (١) لِلْكَافِرينَ لَيْسَ لَهُ دَافِعٌ (٢) ﴾ ﴿سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ﴾ قَرَأَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ وَالشَّامِ: "سَالَ" بِغَيْرِ هَمْزٍ وَقَرَأَ الْآخَرُونَ بِالْهَمْزِ، فَمَنْ هَمَزَ فَهُوَ مِنَ السُّؤَالِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ بِغَيْرِ هَمْزٍ قِيلَ: هُوَ لُغَةٌ فِي السُّؤَالِ، يُقَالُ: سَالَ يَسَالُ مَثَلُ خَافَ يَخَافُ [يَعْنِي] (٢) سَالَ يَسَالُ خَفَّفَ الْهَمْزَةَ وَجَعَلَهَا أَلِفًا. وَقِيلَ: هُوَ مِنَ السَّيْلِ، وَالسَّايِلُ وَادٍ مِنْ أَوْدِيَةِ جَهَنَّمَ، يُرْوَى ذَلِكَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، وَالْأَوَّلُ أَصَحُّ. وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي الْبَاءِ فِي قَوْلِهِ: "بِعَذَابٍ" قِيلَ: هِيَ بِمَعْنَى "عَنْ" كَقَوْلِهِ: "فَاسْأَلْ بِهِ خَبِيرًا" (الْفُرْقَانِ-٥٩) [أَيْ عَنْهُ خَبِيرًا] (٣) وَمَعْنَى الْآيَةِ: سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ عَنْ عَذَابٍ ﴿وَاقِعٍ﴾ نَازِلٍ كَائِنٍ عَلَى مَنْ يُنَزَّلْ وَلِمَنْ ذَلِكَ الْعَذَابُ فَقَالَ اللَّهُ مُبِينًا مُجِيبًا لِذَلِكَ السَّائِلِ: ﴿لِلْكَافِرِينَ﴾ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ أَهْلَ مَكَّةَ لَمَّا خَوَّفَهُمُ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بِالْعَذَابِ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: مَنْ أَهَلُ هَذَا الْعَذَابِ؟ وَلِمَنْ هُوَ؟ سَلُوا عَنْهُ مُحَمَّدًا فَسَأَلُوهُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ: "سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ لِلْكَافِرينَ" أَيْ: هُوَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ، هَذَا قَوْلُ الْحَسَنِ وَقَتَادَةَ. وَقِيلَ: الْبَاءُ صِلَةٌ وَمَعْنَى الْآيَةِ: دَعَا دَاعٍ وَسَأَلَ سَائِلٌ عَذَابًا وَاقِعًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ، أَيْ: عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ، اللَّامُ بِمَعْنَى "عَلَى" وَهُوَ النَّضْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ حَيْثُ دَعَا

(١) أخرج ابن الضريس والنحاس وابن مردويه والبيهقي عن ابن عباس قال: نزلت سورة سأل بمكة. انظر: الدر المنثور: ٨ / ٢٧٧. (٢) في "أ" بمعنى. (٣) ما بين القوسين زيادة من "ب".