Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/87)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

your cousin, and I have submitted to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I have sent you my son Azha; and if you wish, I shall come to you in person. Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah.”

They embarked upon a ship in the wake of Ja'far and his companions, but when they reached the middle of the sea, they were drowned. Ja'far and his companions then came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with seventy men clad in woolen garments: sixty-two of them were from Abyssinia, and eight were from [the people of] Syria (1). The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited Surah Ya-Sin to them in its entirety. They wept when they heard the Quran and believed, declaring, “How similar this is to what used to be sent down to Jesus, peace be upon him!” Thereupon Allah, Exalted is He, revealed this verse (2):

“And you will surely find that the nearest of them in affection to the believers are those who say, ‘We are Christians.’”

110/b That is, the delegation of the Negus who arrived with Ja'far—the seventy men—who were dwellers in hermitages.

Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: They were forty men: thirty-two from Abyssinia and eight Romans from the people of Syria.

[Ata' said: They were eighty men: forty from the people of Najran, from Banu al-Harith ibn Ka'b; thirty-two from Abyssinia; and eight Romans from the people of Syria.] (3)

Qatadah said: It was revealed concerning people from among the People of the Book who adhered to a true religious law from what Jesus, peace be upon him, had brought. When Allah sent Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, they affirmed his truth and believed in him, so Allah praised them for this (4).

“That is because among them are priests”—that is, scholars. Qutrub said: The terms qass and qissis mean “scholar” in the Roman language. “And monks”: monks are worshippers who dwell in hermitages. The singular is rahib (monk), like faris (horseman), whose plural is fursan (horsemen), and rakib (rider), whose plural is rukban (riders). The word ruhbān may also be singular, its plural being rahabin, just as qurban (offering) has the plural qarabin (offerings). “And because they are not arrogant”: they do not consider themselves too great to believe and submit to the truth.

“You will surely find that the most hostile of people toward the believers are the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will surely find that the nearest of them in affection to the believers are those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ That is because among them are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant.” (82)

(1) Added from manuscript “B.” (2) See: Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, 1:321 ff.; al-Tabari, 7:1-3 (al-Halabi edition); al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul, pp. 235-236. (3) The text within the parentheses is omitted in manuscript “B.” (4) Reported by Abd ibn Humayd and Abu al-Shaykh, on the authority of Qatadah. (Al-Durr al-Manthur, 3:132.)

ابن عمك وأسملت لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَقَدْ بَعَثْتُ إِلَيْكَ ابْنِي أَزْهَى، وَإِنْ شِئْتَ أَنْ آتِيَكَ بِنَفْسِي فَعَلْتُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَرَكِبُوا سَفِينَةً فِي أَثَرِ جَعْفَرٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانُوا فِي وَسَطِ الْبَحْرِ غَرِقُوا، وَوَافَى جَعْفَرُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا عَلَيْهِمْ ثِيَابُ الصُّوفِ، مِنْهُمُ اثْنَانِ وَسِتُّونَ مِنَ الْحَبَشَةِ وَثَمَانِيَةٌ مِنْ [أَهْلِ] (١) الشَّامِ، فَقَرَأَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ سُورَةَ يس إِلَى آخِرِهَا، فَبَكَوْا حِينَ سَمِعُوا الْقُرْآنَ وَآمَنُوا، وَقَالَ: آمَنُوا، وَقَالُوا: مَا أَشْبَهَ هَذَا بِمَا كَانَ يَنْزِلُ عَلَى عِيسَى ﵇، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ﷾ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ (٢) ﴿وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَوَدَّةً لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصَارَى﴾ ١١٠/ب يَعْنِي: وَفْدَ النَّجَاشِيِّ الَّذِينَ قَدِمُوا مَعَ جَعْفَرٍ وَهُمُ السَّبْعُونَ، وَكَانُوا أَصْحَابَ الصَّوَامِعِ. وَقَالَ مُقَاتِلٌ وَالْكَلْبِيُّ كَانُوا أَرْبَعِينَ رَجُلًا اثْنَانِ وَثَلَاثُونَ مِنَ الحبشة، وثمانية روميون مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ. [وَقَالَ عَطَاءٌ: كَانُوا ثَمَانِينَ رَجُلًا أَرْبَعُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ نَجْرَانَ مِنْ بَنِي الْحَرِثِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ، وَاثْنَانِ وَثَلَاثُونَ مِنَ الحبشة وثمانية روميون مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ] (٣) . وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: نَزَلَتْ فِي نَاسٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ كَانُوا عَلَى شَرِيعَةٍ مِنَ الْحَقِّ مِمَّا جَاءَ بِهِ عِيسَى ﵇، فَلَمَّا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدًا ﷺ صَدَّقُوهُ وَآمَنُوا بِهِ فَأَثْنَى اللَّهُ ﷿ بِذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ (٤) . ﴿ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ﴾ أَيْ عُلَمَاءَ، قَالَ قُطْرُبٌ: الْقَسُّ وَالْقِسِّيسُ الْعَالِمُ بِلُغَةِ الرُّومِ، ﴿وَرُهْبَانًا﴾ الرُّهْبَانُ الْعُبَّادُ أَصْحَابُ الصَّوَامِعِ، وَاحِدُهُمْ رَاهِبٌ، مِثْلُ فَارِسٍ وَفُرْسَانٍ، وَرَاكِبٍ وَرُكْبَانٍ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ وَاحِدًا وَجَمْعُهُ رَهَابِينُ، مِثْلُ قُرْبَانٍ وَقَرَابِينٍ، ﴿وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ﴾ لَا يَتَعَظَّمُونَ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِذْعَانِ لِلْحَقِّ. ﴿لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَدَاوَةً لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَوَدَّةً لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصَارَى ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًا وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ (٨٢) ﴾

(١) زيادة من "ب". (٢) انظر: سيرة ابن هشام: ١ / ٣٢١ وما بعدها، الطبري: ٧ / ١-٣ (الحلبي) ، أسباب النزول للواحدي، ص (٢٣٥-٢٣٦) . (٣) ما بين القوسين ساقط من "ب". (٤) أخرجه عبد بن حميد وأبو الشيخ عن قتادة. (الدر المنثور: ٣ / ١٣٢) .