Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/106)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

have people ask the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, mockingly. One man would say, “Who is my father?” Another man, whose camel had gone astray, would say, “Where is my camel?” So Allah revealed concerning them this verse: “O believers! Do not ask about matters which, if disclosed to you, would distress you”—until he completed the entire verse. (1)

It is also narrated from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the verse, “Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all who are able to make their way to it,” was revealed, a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, is it required every year?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, turned away from him, until he repeated the question two or three times. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then said: “What assures you that I will not say, ‘Yes’? By Allah, if I were to say, ‘Yes,’ it would become obligatory; and if it became obligatory, you would not be able to fulfil it. Leave me alone concerning what I leave unaddressed, for those before you were destroyed only because of their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their prophets. When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able; and when I forbid you from something, then avoid it.” So Allah, exalted is He, revealed: “O believers! Do not ask about matters which, if disclosed to you, would distress you.” (2)

That is, if they are made apparent to you, they will distress you. In other words, if you are commanded to act upon them: whoever asked about the pilgrimage was not secure from being commanded to perform it every year, which would distress him; and whoever asked about his lineage was not secure from being affiliated with someone other than his father, and thus being disgraced.

Mujahid (3) said: It was revealed when they asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about the bahirah, the sa'ibah, the wasilah, and the hami—pre-Islamic categories of consecrated animals. Do you not see that He mentioned them afterward? “If you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be made clear to you.” ⦗113⦘ Its meaning is: if you wait until the Quran is revealed with a ruling—whether an obligation, a prohibition, or another legal judgment—whose outward wording does not explain what you need and for which your need has become pressing, then, if you ask about it at that point, it will be made clear to you. “Allah has pardoned you for them. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.”

“People before you asked such questions, then came to disbelieve because of them.” (102)

“People before you asked such questions,” just as Thamud asked Salih for the she-camel, and the people of Jesus asked for the table spread with food; “then came to disbelieve because of them,” and so they were destroyed. Abu Tha'labah al-Khushani said: “Allah has prescribed obligatory duties, so do not neglect them; and He has forbidden”

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Tafsir Surat al-Ma'idah, chapter: “Do not ask about things which, if disclosed to you, would distress you,” 8:280. (2) Narrated by al-Tirmidhi on the authority of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, in Tafsir Surat al-Ma'idah, 8:420. He said: “This is a hasan gharib hadith narrated from Ali.” Ibn Majah also narrated it in al-Manasik (Pilgrimage), no. 2884, 2:963. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi states: “Its chain is disconnected.” The basis of the hadith is found in Sahih Muslim, narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, in Kitab al-Hajj (Book of Pilgrimage), chapter: “The Obligation of Hajj Once in a Lifetime,” no. 1337, 2:975. It is also recorded by the author in Sharh al-Sunnah, 7:3. See also al-Durr al-Manthur, 3:206. (3) Compare al-Suyuti's al-Durr al-Manthur, 3:208, where he reports from Mujahid that it was revealed concerning asking about Hajj, as mentioned above. He attributes this report to Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Mundhir.

قَوْمٌ يَسْأَلُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ اسْتِهْزَاءً، فَيَقُولُ الرَّجُلُ: مَنْ أَبِي؟ وَيَقُولُ الرَّجُلُ تَضِلُّ نَاقَتُهُ: أَيْنَ نَاقَتِي؟ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ﴾ حَتَّى فَرَغَ مِنَ الْآيَةِ كُلِّهَا (١) . وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ﵁ قَالَ: لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ: (وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ) قَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفِي كُلِّ عَامٍ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ حَتَّى عَادَ مَرَّتَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلَاثًا، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: "مَا يُؤَمِّنُكَ أَنْ أَقُولَ نَعَمْ؟ وَاللَّهِ لَوْ قَلْتُ نَعَمْ لَوَجَبَتْ، وَلَوْ وَجَبَتْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ، فَاتْرُكُونِي مَا تَرَكْتُكُمْ فَإِنَّمَا هَلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ بِكَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِهِمْ وَاخْتِلَافِهِمْ عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ، فَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ، وَإِذَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ"، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ﴾ (٢) أَيْ: إِنْ تَظْهَرْ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ، أَيْ: إِنْ أُمِرْتُمْ بِالْعَمَلِ بِهَا فَإِنَّ مَنْ سَأَلَ عَنِ الْحَجِّ لَمْ يَأْمَنْ أَنْ يُؤْمَرَ بِهِ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ فَيَسُوءُهُ، وَمَنْ سَأَلَ عَنْ نَسَبِهِ لَمْ يَأْمَنْ مِنْ أَنْ يُلْحِقَهُ بِغَيْرِهِ فَيُفْتَضَحُ. وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ (٣) نَزَلَتْ حِينَ سَأَلُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَنِ الْبَحِيرَةِ وَالسَّائِبَةِ وَالْوَصِيلَةِ وَالْحَامِ، أَلَا تَرَاهُ ذَكَرَهَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ؟ ﴿وَإِنْ تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ﴾ ١١٣\أمَعْنَاهُ صَبَرْتُمْ حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ الْقُرْآنُ بِحُكْمٍ مِنْ فَرْضٍ أَوْ نَهْيٍ أَوْ حُكْمٍ، وَلَيْسَ فِي ظَاهِرِهِ شَرْحُ مَا بِكُمْ إِلَيْهِ حاجة ومست جاحتكم إِلَيْهِ، فَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمْ عنها حينئذ تبد لَكُمْ، ﴿عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾ ﴿قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ (١٠٢) ﴾ ﴿قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ﴾ كَمَا سَأَلَتْ ثَمُودُ صَالِحًا النَّاقَةَ وَسَأَلَ قَوْمُ عِيسَى الْمَائِدَةَ، ﴿ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ﴾ فَأُهْلِكُوا، قَالَ أَبُو ثَعْلَبَةَ الْخُشَنِيُّ: "إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ فَلَا تُضَيِّعُوهَا وَنَهَى

(١) أخرجه البخاري في تفسير سورة المائدة، باب "لا تسألوا عن أشياء إن تبد لكم تسؤكم": ٨ / ٢٨٠. (٢) أخرجه الترمذي عن علي ﵁ في تفسير سورة المائدة: ٨ / ٤٢٠ وقال هذا حديث حسن غريب من حديث علي. وابن ماجه في المناسك، برقم (٢٨٨٤) : ٢ / ٩٦٣، قال في تحفة الأحوذي: "وهو منقطع". وأصل الحديث في صحيح مسلم من رواية أبي هريرة ﵁، في كتاب الحج، باب فرض الحج مرة في العمر، برقم (١٣٣٧) : ٢ / ٩٧٥، وعند المصنف في شرح السنة: ٧ / ٣، وانظر: الدر المنثور: ٣ / ٢٠٦. (٣) قارن بالدر المنثور للسيوطي: ٣ / ٢٠٨ فقد ذكر عن مجاهد أنها نزلت في السؤال عن الحج، كما سبق، وعزاه لابن أبي شيبة وعبد بن حميد وابن جرير وابن المنذر.