Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (8/351)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

chest and said, “Muhammad, do not be afraid. How then would you fare if you saw Israfil, whose head is beneath the Throne and whose feet are in the depths of the seventh earth, while the Throne rests upon his shoulder? At times, out of fear of Allah, he diminishes until he becomes like a sa‘w (1)—that is, a sparrow—so that nothing bears the Throne of your Lord except His greatness.” (2)

“And he is not withholding concerning the unseen (24), nor is it the word of an accursed devil (25). So where are you going? (26) It is nothing but a reminder to all worlds (27), for whoever among you wills to go straight. (28) Yet you do not will unless Allah, Lord of all worlds, wills.” (29)

“And he”—meaning Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“is not withholding concerning the unseen”: that is, revelation, the news of heaven, and the reports and narratives that had been hidden from him, to which he was given access.

In the reading of the people of Mecca and Basra, as well as al-Kisa’i, bi-ẓanīn is read with ẓā’, meaning “one accused.” It is said, “So-and-so is yaẓunnu or yazinnu concerning some property,” meaning that he is accused in connection with it; and ẓinnah means accusation. The others read it with ḍād, meaning that he is not miserly. That is, knowledge of the unseen comes to him, yet he does not withhold it from you; rather, he teaches you and informs you of it. Nor does he conceal it as a soothsayer conceals what he has, until he receives payment for it. The Arabs say: “I was miserly with a thing”—with the letter nūn vowelled with kasrah—“I am miserly with it,” and “miserliness”; thus, “I am miserly with it,” meaning stingy.

“And it”—meaning the Quran—“is not the word of an accursed devil.” Al-Kalbi said: This means that the Quran is neither poetry nor soothsaying, as Quraysh alleged.

“So where are you going?” That is: where are you turning away to from this Quran, in which there is healing and clear exposition? Al-Zajjaj said: What path could be clearer than this path which I have made clear to you?

He then explained, saying: “It is nothing but a reminder to all worlds”: an admonition for all created beings. “For whoever among you wills to go straight”: that is, to follow the truth and remain steadfast upon it. “Yet you do not will unless Allah, Lord of all worlds, wills”: He thereby informed them that the will to attain divine enablement belongs to Him, and that they are unable to do so except by Allah’s will. This also makes clear that no one does any good except through Allah’s enabling grace, nor any evil except through His forsaking him.

(1) In manuscript B: “al-wadag.” Perhaps both manuscripts contain a scribal corruption; the correct name for the small sparrow is “al-wasaʿ,” with two unpointed letters, as recorded in al-Misbah. (2) Ibn al-Mubarak narrated it in al-Zuhd, on the authority of Ibn Shihab, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Gabriel ... This chain is disconnected. Al-Suyuti also mentioned it in al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik, p. 22. Its chain includes Isma'il ibn Isa, who is weak, as is Ishaq ibn Bishr. Ibn Hibban said of him: “It is not permissible to relate his hadith except by way of astonishment.” Al-Daraqutni said: “Abandoned,” and al-Dhahabi said: “He narrates grave reports from Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Jurayj.” See Ibn Hibban, al-Du'afa', 1:37; al-Mizan, 1:184.

صَدْرِهِ، وَقَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ لَا تَخَفْ فَكَيْفَ لَكَ لَوْ رَأَيْتَ إِسْرَافِيلَ وَرَأْسُهُ مِنْ تَحْتِ الْعَرْشِ وَرِجْلَاهُ فِي تُخُومِ الْأَرْضِ السَّابِعَةِ، وَإِنَّ الْعَرْشَ لَعَلَى كَاهِلِهِ، وَإِنَّهُ لَيَتَضَاءَلُ أَحْيَانًا مِنْ مَخَافَةِ اللَّهِ ﷿ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ مِثْلَ [الصَّعْوِ] (١) يَعْنِي الْعُصْفُورَ، حَتَّى مَا يَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا عَظَمَتُهُ (٢) . ﴿وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ (٢٤) وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ (٢٥) فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ (٢٦) إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ (٢٧) لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ (٢٨) وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ (٢٩) ﴾ ﴿وَمَا هُوَ﴾ يَعْنِي مُحَمَّدًا ﷺ ﴿عَلَى الْغَيْبِ﴾ أَيِ الْوَحْيِ، وَخَبَرِ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا اطَّلَعَ عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا كَانَ غَائِبًا عَنْهُ مِنَ الْأَنْبَاءِ وَالْقَصَصِ، ﴿بِضَنِينٍ﴾ قَرَأَ أَهْلُ مَكَّةَ وَالْبَصْرَةِ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ بِالظَّاءِ أَيْ بِمُتَّهَمٍ، يُقَالُ: فُلَانٌ يَظِنُّ بِمَالٍ وَيَزِنُّ أَيْ يُتَّهَمُ بِهِ: وَالظِّنَّةُ: التُّهْمَةُ، وَقَرَأَ الْآخَرُونَ بِالضَّادِ أَيْ يَبْخَلُ، يَقُولُ إِنَّهُ يَأْتِيهِ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يَبْخَلُ بِهِ عَلَيْكُمْ بَلْ يُعَلِّمُكُمْ وَيُخْبِرُكُمْ بِهِ، وَلَا يَكْتُمُهُ كَمَا يَكْتُمُ الْكَاهِنُ مَا عِنْدَهُ حَتَّى يَأْخُذَ عَلَيْهِ حُلْوَانًا، تَقُولُ الْعَرَبُ: ضَنِنْتُ بِالشَّيْءِ بِكَسْرِ النُّونِ أَضِنُّ بِهِ ضَنًّا وَضِنَانَةً فَأَنَا بِهِ ضَنِينٌ أَيْ بَخِيلٌ. ﴿وَمَا هُوَ﴾ يَعْنِي الْقُرْآنَ ﴿بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ﴾ قَالَ الْكَلْبِيُّ: يَقُولُ إِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ لَيْسَ بِشِعْرٍ وَلَا كَهَانَةٍ كَمَا قَالَتْ قُرَيْشٌ. ﴿فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ﴾ أَيْ أَيْنَ تَعْدِلُونَ عَنْ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ، وَفِيهِ الشِّفَاءُ وَالْبَيَانُ؟ قَالَ الزَّجَّاجُ: أَيُّ طَرِيقٍ تَسْلُكُونَ أَبْيَنُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الطَّرِيقَةِ الَّتِي قَدْ بَيَّنْتُ لَكُمْ. ثُمَّ بَيَّنَ فَقَالَ: ﴿إِنْ هُوَ﴾ أَيْ مَا الْقُرْآنُ ﴿إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ﴾ مَوْعِظَةٌ لِلْخَلْقِ أَجْمَعِينَ. ﴿لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ﴾ أَيْ يَتْبَعَ الْحَقَّ وَيُقِيمَ عَلَيْهِ. ﴿وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ أَيْ أَعْلَمَهُمْ أَنَّ الْمَشِيئَةَ فِي التَّوْفِيقِ إِلَيْهِ وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِمَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ، وَفِيهِ إِعْلَامٌ أَنَّ أَحَدًا لَا يَعْمَلُ خَيْرًا إِلَّا بِتَوْفِيقِ اللَّهِ وَلَا شَرًّا إِلَّا بِخِذْلَانِهِ.

(١) في "ب" الوضغ ولعله وقع تصحيف في النسختين للا سم الصحيح للعصفور الصغير (الوصع) بمهملتين كما في المصباح. (٢) أخرجه ابن المبارك في الزهد: عن ابن شهاب أن رسول الله ﷺ سأل جبريل.. وهذا منقطع. وذكره السيوطي في "الحبائك في أخبار الملائك" صفحة (٢٢) . وفيه إسماعيل بن عيسى ضعيف، وكذلك إسحاق بن بشر. قال فيه ابن حبان: لا يحل حديثه إلا على جهة التعجب، وقال الدارقطني: متروك، وقال الذهبي: يروي العظائم عن ابن إسحاق وابن جريج انظر: الضعفاء لابن حبان: ١ / ٣٧، الميزان ١ / ١٨٤.