Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (8/440)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“When the most wretched of them rose up (12), the Messenger of Allah said to them, ‘Beware of the she-camel of Allah and her drinking-share’ (13). But they denied him and hamstrung her; so their Lord brought destruction down upon them for their sin, levelling them all (14). And He does not fear its consequence (15).”

“When the most wretched of them rose up”: that is, he arose. Rising up in this sense means hastening to obey the one who incites one. That is, they denied the punishment and denied Salih when the most wretched among them rose up—namely, Qudar ibn Salif. He was a short, reddish-haired, blue-eyed man (1), and he arose to hamstring the she-camel.

Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Na'imi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma'il narrated to us [Musa ibn Isma'il informed us] (2); Wahb narrated to us; Hisham narrated to us from his father, who said that Abdullah ibn Zam'ah told him that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, delivering a sermon. He mentioned the she-camel and the one who hamstrung her, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said (3):

“When the most wretched of them rose up”: a powerful, fierce man, well protected among his people, rose up against her, like Abu Zam'ah (4) (5).

“The Messenger of Allah” refers to Salih, peace be upon him. “The she-camel of Allah” means: Beware of hamstringing the she-camel of Allah. Al-Zajjaj said: It is in the accusative, with the implied meaning: Leave the she-camel of Allah alone. “And her drinking-share” means her portion of drinking; that is, leave the she-camel of Allah alone, and leave her share of the water; do not interfere with the water on the day of her turn to drink (6). “But they denied him” means Salih, and “they hamstrung her” means the she-camel.

“So their Lord brought destruction down upon them”: Ata' and Muqatil said: Their Lord devastated them and destroyed them. Al-Mu'arrij said: Complete annihilation is meant by this destruction. “For their sin”: for denying the Messenger and hamstringing the she-camel. “Levelling them all”: He made the destruction encompass every one of them, so that none escaped. Al-Farra' said: He made all the people alike, bringing the punishment upon both their young and their old; that is, He made no distinction between them.

“And He does not fear its consequence”: the people of Medina and Syria recited it as fa-lā (“then He does not”), with the letter fā', and this is likewise how it appears in their codices. The rest recited it with the letter wāw, and this is how it appears in their codices. Uqbāhā means its consequence.

(1) Omitted from manuscript “A.” (2) The material within parentheses is omitted from manuscript “B.” (3) Omitted from manuscript “A.” (4) He is the wicked, corrupting, vile person; it is also said: the strong and fierce one. (5) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Tafsir (Book of Exegesis), under the interpretation of Surat al-Shams, 8:705; and by Muslim in Kitab al-Jannah wa Sifat Naimiha wa Ahliha (Paradise and the Description of Its Bliss and Its Inhabitants), no. 2855, 4:2191. (6) In manuscript “B”: “So do not object.”

﴿إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا (١٢) فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقْيَاهَا (١٣) فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا (١٤) وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا (١٥) ﴾ ﴿إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا﴾ أَيْ قَامَ، وَالِانْبِعَاثُ: هُوَ الْإِسْرَاعُ فِي الطَّاعَةِ لِلْبَاعِثِ، أَيْ: كَذَّبُوا بِالْعَذَابِ، وَكَذَّبُوا صَالِحًا لَمَّا انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا وَهُوَ: قُدَارُ، بْنُ سَالِفٍ، وَكَانَ أَشْقَرَ أَزْرَقَ [الْعَيْنَيْنِ] (١) قَصِيرًا قَامَ لِعَقْرِ النَّاقَةِ. أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ الْمَلِيحِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النَّعِيمِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ [أَخْبَرَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ] (٢) ، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا هُشَامٌ عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ زَمْعَةَ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَخْطُبُ وَذَكَرَ النَّاقَةَ وَالَّذِي عَقَرَهَا فَقَالَ [رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ] : (٣) "إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا"، انْبَعَثَ لَهَا رَجُلٌ عَزِيزٌ [عَارِمٌ] (٤) مَنِيعٌ فِي أَهْلِهِ مِثْلُ أَبِي زَمْعَةَ" (٥) . ﴿فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ﴾ صَالِحٌ ﵇، ﴿نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ﴾ أَيِ احْذَرُوا عَقْرَ نَاقَةِ اللَّهِ. وَقَالَ الزَّجَّاجُ: مَنْصُوبٌ عَلَى مَعْنَى: ذَرُوا نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ، ﴿وَسُقْيَاهَا﴾ شُرْبَهَا، أَيْ: ذَرُوا نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا شُرْبَهَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ، [فَلَا تَعْرِضُوا] (٦) لِلْمَاءِ يَوْمَ شُرْبِهَا. ﴿فَكَذَّبُوهُ﴾ يَعْنِي صَالِحًا، ﴿فَعَقَرُوهَا﴾ يَعْنِي النَّاقَةَ. ﴿فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ﴾ قَالَ عَطَاءٌ وَمُقَاتِلٌ: فَدَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَهُمْ. قَالَ الْمُؤَرِّجُ: الدَّمْدَمَةُ إِهْلَاكٌ بِاسْتِئْصَالٍ. ﴿بِذَنْبِهِمْ﴾ بِتَكْذِيبِهِمُ الرَّسُولَ وَعَقْرِهِمُ النَّاقَةَ، ﴿فَسَوَّاهَا﴾ فَسَوَّى الدَّمْدَمَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ جَمِيعًا، وَعَمَّهُمْ بِهَا فَلَمْ يَفْلِتْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ. وَقَالَ الْفَرَّاءُ: سَوَّى الْأُمَّةَ وَأَنْزَلَ الْعَذَابَ بِصَغِيرِهَا وَكَبِيرِهَا، يَعْنِي سَوَّى بَيْنَهُمْ. ﴿وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا﴾ قَرَأَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ وَالشَّامِ: "فَلَا" بِالْفَاءِ وَكَذَلِكَ هُوَ فِي مَصَاحِفِهِمْ، وَقَرَأَ الْبَاقُونَ بِالْوَاوِ، وَهَكَذَا فِي مَصَاحِفِهِمْ ﴿عُقْبَاهَا﴾ عَاقِبَتَهَا.

(١) ساقط من "أ". (٢) ما بين القوسين ساقط من "ب". (٣) ساقط من "أ". (٤) هو الشرير المفسد الخبيث، وقيل: القوي الشرس. (٥) أخرجه البخاري في التفسير - تفسير سورة الشمس -: ٨ / ٧٠٥، ومسلم في الجنة وصفة نعيمها وأهلها برقم: (٢٨٥٥) : ٤ / ٢١٩١. (٦) في "ب" فلا تعترضوا.