Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (8/416)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

and they differed regarding the even and the odd. It was said: “The even is creation, for Allah, Most High, says: ‘And We created you in pairs’; and the odd is Allah, exalted is He.” This was narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud and Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri. (1) It was also the view of ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfi.

Mujahid and Masruq said: “The even is all creation, as Allah, Most High, says: ‘And of everything We created pairs’ (al-Dhariyat 51:49): disbelief and faith, guidance and misguidance, happiness and misery, night and day, heaven and earth, land and sea, the sun and the moon, the jinn and humankind. The odd is Allah, exalted is He.” Allah, Most High, says: “Say, He is Allah, the One” (al-Ikhlas 112:1).

Al-Hasan and Ibn Zayd said: “The even and the odd are all creation: some of it is even, and some of it is odd.”

Qatadah narrated from al-Hasan that he said: It refers to numbers: some are even and some are odd. Qatadah said: They are the prayers: some of them are even-numbered and some are odd-numbered. He also narrated this from ‘Imran ibn Husayn in a report traced back to the Prophet. ‘Atiyyah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas: The even is the dawn prayer, and the odd is the Maghrib prayer.

It is narrated from ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr that he said: “The even is the Day of the First Departure, and the odd is the Day of the Final Departure.” It is related that a man asked him about the even, the odd, and the ten nights. He replied: “As for the even and the odd, they are indicated by the saying of Allah, exalted is He: ‘Whoever hastens on in two days incurs no sin, and whoever delays incurs no sin’ (al-Baqarah 2:203). These are the even and the odd. As for the ten nights, they are the first eight, the Day of ‘Arafah, and the Day of Sacrifice.”

Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: “The even is the days and nights, while the odd is the day after which there is no night: the Day of Resurrection.”

Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl said: “The even is the levels of Paradise, because they are eight; and the odd is the levels of Hell, because they are seven”—as though He had sworn by Paradise and Hell.

Abu Bakr al-Warraq was asked about the even and the odd, and he said: “The even is the opposing [qualities] (2) of created beings: might and humiliation, ability and incapacity, strength and weakness, knowledge and ignorance, sight and blindness. The odd is the uniqueness of Allah’s attributes: might without humiliation, ability without incapacity, strength without weakness, knowledge without ignorance, and life without death. (3)

(1) Added from manuscript “A.” (2) Manuscript “B” reads: “descriptions.” (3) Al-Tabari mentioned some of these views, 30:169–172, then said: “The correct view is that Allah, exalted be He, swore by the even and the odd, without specifying one particular kind of even or odd over another by any textual evidence or rational proof. Thus, every even and odd number is included in that by which He swore, and everything the exegetes have said is included in this oath because of its general wording.”

وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ. قِيلَ: "الشَّفْعُ: الْخَلْقُ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا" وَ"الْوَتْرُ" هُوَ اللَّهُ ﷿. رُوِيَ ذَلِكَ عَنِ [ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَعَنْ] (١) أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، وَهُوَ قَوْلُ عَطِيَّةَ الْعَوْفِيِّ. وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ وَمَسْرُوقٌ: "الشَّفْعُ" الْخَلْقُ كُلُّهُ، كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ" (الذَّارِيَاتِ-٤٩) الْكَفْرَ وَالْإِيمَانَ، وَالْهُدَى وَالضَّلَالَةَ، وَالسَّعَادَةَ وَالشَّقَاوَةَ، وَاللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ، وَالسَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ، وَالْبَرَّ وَالْبَحْرَ، وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ، وَالْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ، وَالْوَتْرُ هُوَ اللَّهُ ﷿، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ" (الْإِخْلَاصِ-١) . قَالَ الْحَسَنُ وَابْنُ زَيْدٍ: "الشَّفْعُ وَالْوَتْرُ" الْخَلْقُ كُلُّهُ، مِنْهُ شَفْعٌ، وَمِنْهُ وَتْرٌ. وَرَوَى قَتَادَةُ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ: هُوَ الْعَدَدُ مِنْهُ شَفْعٌ وَمِنْهُ وَتْرٌ. وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: هَمَا الصَّلَوَاتُ مِنْهَا شَفْعٌ وَمِنْهَا وَتْرٌ. وَرَوَى ذَلِكَ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ مَرْفُوعًا، وَرَوَى عَطِيَّةُ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: الشَّفْعُ صَلَاةُ الْغَدَاةِ، وَالْوَتْرُ صَلَاةُ الْمَغْرِبِ. وعن عبد الله بن الزُّبَيْرِ قَالَ: "الشَّفْعُ" يَوْمُ النَّفْرِ الْأَوَّلِ، وَ"الْوَتَرُ" يَوْمُ النَّفْرِ الْأَخِيرِ. رُوِيَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَهُ عَنِ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَاللَّيَالِيَ الْعَشْرَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَمَّا الشَّفْعُ وَالْوَتْرُ: فَقَوْلُ اللَّهِ ﷿: "فَمَنْ تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ" (الْبَقَرَةِ-٢٠٣) فَهُمَا الشَّفْعُ وَالْوَتْرُ، وَأَمَّا اللَّيَالِي الْعَشْرُ: فَالثَّمَانِ وَعَرَفَةُ وَالنَّحْرُ. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ: "الشَّفْعُ" الْأَيْامُ وَاللَّيَالِي، وَ"الْوَتَرُ" الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي لَا لَيْلَةَ بَعْدَهُ وَهُوَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَقَالَ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ: "الشَّفْعُ" دَرَجَاتُ الْجَنَّةِ لِأَنَّهَا ثَمَانٍ، وَ"الْوَتَرُ" دِرْكَاتُ النَّارِ لِأَنَّهَا سَبْعٌ، كَأَنَّهُ أَقْسَمَ بِالْجَنَّةِ والنار. وسئل أبو بكر الْوَرَّاقُ عَنِ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ فَقَالَ: "الشَّفْعُ" تَضَادُّ [أَخْلَاقِ] (٢) الْمَخْلُوقِينَ مِنَ الْعِزِّ وَالذُّلِّ، وَالْقُدْرَةِ وَالْعَجْزِ، وَالْقُوَّةِ وَالضَّعْفِ، وَالْعِلْمِ وَالْجَهْلِ، وَالْبَصَرِ وَالْعَمَى، وَ"الْوَتْرُ" انْفِرَادُ صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ عِزٌ بِلَا ذُلٍّ، وَقُدْرَةٌ بِلَا عَجْزٍ، وَقُوَّةٌ بِلَا ضَعْفٍ، وَعِلْمٌ بِلَا جَهْلٍ، وَحَيَاةٌ بِلَا مَمَاتٍ (٣) .

(١) زيادة من "أ". (٢) في "ب" أوصاف. (٣) ذكر الطبري بعض هذه الأقوال: ٣٠ / ١٦٩-١٧٢ ثم قال: "والصواب من القول في ذلك أن يقال: إن الله تعالى ذكره أقسم بالشفع والوتر، ولم يخصص نوعا من الشفع ولا من الوتر دون نوع بخبر ولا عقل، وكل شفع ووتر فهو مما أقسم به مما قال أهل التأويل أنه داخل في قسمه هذا لعموم قسمه بذلك".