Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (2/155)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

‘Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd Allah informed us; Sulayman ibn Bilal informed us, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, from ‘Ubayd ibn Hunayn, who heard Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, say: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

“I came and found the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in an upper chamber, lying on a mat with nothing between him and it. Beneath his head was a leather cushion stuffed with palm fibre; at his feet was a pile of acacia leaves, and by his head hung some hides. I saw the marks of the mat upon his side, and I wept. He said, ‘What makes you weep?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Chosroes and Caesar live in the luxury that they do, while you are the Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Would you not be content that this world should be theirs, while the Hereafter is ours?’” (1)

“And indeed, among the People of the Scripture are those who believe in Allah, in what has been sent down to you, and in what was sent down to them, humbly submissive to Allah. They do not exchange Allah’s verses for a paltry price. They will have their reward with their Lord. Indeed, Allah is swift in reckoning. (199)”

Concerning His saying, Most High, “And indeed, among the People of the Scripture are those who believe in Allah,” to the end of the verse: Ibn ‘Abbas, Jabir, Anas, and Qatadah said: It was revealed concerning the Negus, the king of Abyssinia. His name was Ashamah, which in Arabic means “Gift.” When he died, Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, of his death on the very day that he died. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then said to his Companions, “Go out and offer the funeral prayer for a brother of yours who has died in a land other than yours: the Negus.”

He went out to al-Baqi‘, and the land of Abyssinia was uncovered for him. He saw the Negus’s bier, offered the funeral prayer over him with four takbirs, and sought forgiveness for him. The hypocrites said, “Look at this man: he is praying over a lowly Abyssinian Christian whom he has never even seen and who is not of his religion!” Thereupon Allah Most High revealed this verse. (3)

‘Ata’ said: It was revealed concerning forty men of the people of Najran [from Banu Harith ibn Ka‘b] (4): thirty-two from Abyssinia and eight from the Romans. They had been upon the religion of Jesus, peace be upon him, and then believed in the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Ibn Jurayj said: It was revealed concerning ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam and his companions. (5)

(1) A portion of a hadith reported by al-Bukhari in Tafsir, in his commentary on Surat al-Tahrim, under the chapter heading: “Why do you seek the pleasure of your wives?” 8:657. (2) Added from manuscript (B). (3) Ibn Hajar said: Al-Tha'labi cited it as a statement of Ibn Abbas and Qatada, while al-Wahidi mentioned it without a chain of transmission. Al-Tabari and Ibn Adi, in the biographical entry on Abu Bakr al-Hudhali, whose name was Salma and who was weak, narrated it from Qatada, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, from Jabir, but without the words: “and he looked toward the land of Abyssinia.” Al-Tabarani also reported it in al-Awsat through Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father. See al-Kafi al-Shaf, p. 37. Anas also reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, performed the funeral prayer over the Negus and said four takbirs. It was reported by al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in al-Awsat; the narrators in al-Tabarani's chain are narrators of the Sahih. See Majma al-Zawa'id, 3:38-39; 9:419; and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 1:440. The Prophet's funeral prayer over the Negus is established in the two Sahihs. See al-Bukhari, 2:116; and Muslim, 2:656-657. (4) Added from manuscript (B). (5) See al-Bahr al-Muhit, 3:148.

أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ الْمُلَيْحِيُّ، أَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النُّعَيْمِيُّ، أَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، أَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ بِلَالٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ حُنَيْنٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ ﵄ قَالَ: قَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ﵁: جِئْتُ فَإِذَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي مَشْرُبَةٍ وَإِنَّهُ لَعَلَى حَصِيرٍ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ شَيْءٌ وَتَحْتَ رَأْسِهِ وِسَادَةٌ مِنْ أَدَمٍ حَشْوُهَا لِيفٌ وَإِنَّ عِنْدَ رِجْلَيْهِ قَرَظًا مَصْبُورًا، وَعِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ أُهُبٌ مُعَلَّقَةٌ فَرَأَيْتُ أَثَرَ الْحَصِيرِ فِي جَنْبِهِ، فَبَكَيْتُ فَقَالَ: مَا يُبْكِيكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ كِسْرَى وَقَيْصَرَ فِيمَا هُمَا فِيهِ وَأَنْتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ؟ فَقَالَ: "أَمَا تَرْضَى أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَنَا الْآخِرَةُ" (١) ؟ . ﴿وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَاشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ لَا يَشْتَرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ (١٩٩) ﴾ قَوْلُهُ ﷿: ﴿وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ﴾ الْآيَةَ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَجَابِرٌ وَأَنَسٌ وَقَتَادَةُ: نَزَلَتْ فِي النَّجَاشِيِّ مَلِكِ الْحَبَشَةِ، وَاسْمُهُ أَصْحَمَةُ وَهُوَ بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ عَطِيَّةُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ لَمَّا مَاتَ نَعَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ ﵇ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي الْيَوْمِ الَّذِي مَاتَ فِيهِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِأَصْحَابِهِ اخْرُجُوا فَصَلُّوا عَلَى أَخٍ لَكُمْ مَاتَ بِغَيْرِ أَرْضِكُمُ النَّجَاشِيِّ، فَخَرَجَ إِلَى الْبَقِيعِ وَكُشِفَ لَهُ إِلَى أَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ فَأَبْصَرَ سَرِيرَ النَّجَاشِيِّ وَصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ وَكَبَّرَ أَرْبَعَ تَكْبِيرَاتٍ، وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُ فَقَالَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ: انْظُرُوا إِلَى هَذَا يُصَلِّي عَلَى عِلْجٍ حَبَشِيٍّ نَصْرَانِيٍّ (٢) لَمْ يَرَهُ قَطُّ وَلَيْسَ عَلَى دِينِهِ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ (٣) . وَقَالَ عَطَاءٌ: نَزَلَتْ فِي أَهْلِ نَجْرَانَ أَرْبَعِينَ رَجُلًا [مِنْ بَنِي حَارِثِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ] (٤) اثْنَيْنِ وَثَلَاثِينَ مِنْ أَرْضِ الْحَبَشَةِ وَثَمَانِيَةٍ مِنَ الرُّومِ كَانُوا عَلَى دِينِ عِيسَى ﵇ فَآمَنُوا بِالنَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَقَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: نَزَلَتْ فِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ سَلَامٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ (٥) .

(١) قطعة من حديث أخرجه البخاري في التفسير تفسير سورة التحريم باب: تبتغي مرضاة أزواجك" ٨ / ٦٥٧. (٢) زايدة من (ب) . (٣) قال ابن حجر: ذكره الثعلبي من قول ابن عباس وقتادة وذكره الواحدي بلا إسناد ورواه الطبري وابن عدي في ترجمة أبي بكر الهذلي واسمه سلمى وهو ضعيف عن قتادة عن سعيد ابن المسيب عن جابر دون قوله: ونظر إلى أرض الحبشة. وأخرجه الطبراني في الأوسط من رواية عبد الرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم عن أبيه. انظر الكافي الشاف ص (٣٧) . وعن أنس أن النبي ﷺ صلى على النجاشي فكبر عليه أربعا" رواه البزار والطبراني في الأوسط ورجال الطبراني رجال الصحيح. انظر مجمع الزوائد: ٣ / ٣٨ - ٣٩ ٩ / ٤١٩. تفسير ابن كثير: ١ / ٤٤٠. وصلاة النبي ﷺ على النجاشي ثابتة في الصحيحين. انظر البخاري: ٢ / ١١٦ ومسلم: ٢ / ٦٥٦ - ٦٥٧. (٤) زيادة من (ب) . (٥) انظر: البحر المحيط: ٣ / ١٤٨.