Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (534)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(11–13) “Among mankind are those who worship Allah on the edge: if good befalls one of them, he is content with it; but if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face, losing this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss. He calls upon, besides Allah, that which can neither harm nor benefit him. That is far-reaching misguidance. He calls upon one whose harm is closer than his benefit. What a wretched patron, and what a wretched companion!”

That is, among mankind are those whose faith is weak. Faith has not entered their hearts, nor has its sweetness permeated them. Rather, they have embraced it either out of fear or merely from habit, in a manner that cannot withstand trials. “If good befalls one of them, he is content with it”; that is, if he continues to enjoy abundant provision and nothing unpleasant happens to him, he feels secure because of that good, not because of his faith. Allah may spare such a person and not subject him to trials that would turn him away from his religion. “But if a trial befalls him”—whether something unpleasant occurs or something beloved is lost—“he turns back on his face”; that is, he apostatizes from his religion, “losing this world and the Hereafter.” As for ⦗535⦘ this world, his apostasy does not bring him what he had hoped to attain when he made it his stock-in-trade and the means of obtaining what he imagined was within his reach. Thus, his efforts come to nothing, and he receives only what was decreed for him. As for the Hereafter, the matter is clear: he is deprived of Paradise, whose breadth is that of the heavens and earth, and becomes deserving of the Fire. “That is the evident loss”; that is, the clear and manifest loss.

This man who has turned back “calls upon, besides Allah, that which can neither harm nor benefit him.” This describes everything called upon and worshipped besides Allah: it possesses neither benefit nor harm for itself or anyone else. “That is far-reaching misguidance”—misguidance that has reached the furthest extreme, for he has turned away from worshipping the One who has power to benefit and harm, the Self-Sufficient who enriches others, and has instead taken to worshipping a created being like himself or even beneath him. Such a being has no control whatsoever; indeed, worshipping it is more likely to produce the opposite of what he seeks. Hence Allah says: “He calls upon one whose harm is closer than his benefit,” for the harm it causes to the mind and body, in this world and the Hereafter, is well known. “What a wretched patron”; that is, this object of worship, “and what a wretched companion”; that is, the constant companion who remains by his side. A patron and companion are sought in order to secure benefit and ward off harm. If neither is attained, then such a patron and companion are blameworthy and deserving of condemnation.

﴿١١ - ١٣﴾ ﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ انْقَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ * يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لا يَنْفَعُهُ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلالُ الْبَعِيدُ * يَدْعُو لَمَنْ ضَرُّهُ أَقْرَبُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِ لَبِئْسَ الْمَوْلَى وَلَبِئْسَ الْعَشِيرُ﴾ . أي: ومن الناس من هو ضعيف الإيمان، لم يدخل الإيمان قلبه، ولم تخالطه بشاشته، بل دخل فيه، إما خوفا، وإما عادة على وجه لا يثبت عند المحن، ﴿فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ﴾ أي: إن استمر رزقه رغدا، ولم يحصل له من المكاره شيء، اطمأن بذلك الخير، لا بإيمانه. فهذا، ربما أن الله يعافيه، ولا يقيض له من الفتن ما ينصرف به عن دينه، ﴿وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ﴾ من حصول مكروه، أو زوال محبوب ﴿انْقَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ﴾ أي: ارتد عن دينه، ﴿خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةَ﴾ أما في ⦗٥٣٥⦘ الدنيا، فإنه لا يحصل له بالردة ما أمله الذي جعل الردة رأسا لماله، وعوضا عما يظن إدراكه، فخاب سعيه، ولم يحصل له إلا ما قسم له، وأما الآخرة، فظاهر، حرم الجنة التي عرضها السماوات والأرض، واستحق النار، ﴿ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ﴾ أي: الواضح البين. ﴿يَدْعُو﴾ هذا الراجع على وجهه ﴿مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لا يَنْفَعُهُ﴾ وهذا صفة كل مدعو ومعبود من دون الله، فإنه لا يملك لنفسه ولا لغيره نفعا ولا ضرا، ﴿ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلالُ الْبَعِيدُ﴾ الذي قد بلغ في البعد إلى حد النهاية، حيث أعرض عن عبادة النافع الضار، الغني المغني، وأقبل على عبادة مخلوق مثله أو دونه، ليس بيده من الأمر شيء بل هو إلى حصول ضد مقصوده أقرب، ولهذا قال: ﴿يَدْعُو لَمَنْ ضَرُّهُ أَقْرَبُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِ﴾ فإن ضرره في العقل والبدن والدنيا والآخرة معلوم ﴿لَبِئْسَ الْمَوْلَى﴾ أي: هذا المعبود ﴿وَلَبِئْسَ الْعَشِيرُ﴾ أي: القرين الملازم على صحبته، فإن المقصود من المولى والعشير، حصول النفع، ودفع الضرر، فإذا لم يحصل شيء من هذا، فإنه مذموم ملوم.