Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (537)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(30–31) “Such is the command. Whoever honours the sacred ordinances of Allah, that is better for him with his Lord. All grazing livestock have been made lawful to you except what has been recited to you. So shun the impurity of idols and shun false speech.”

“Such is the command”—namely, the rulings We have mentioned to you and the veneration, reverence, and honour they entail for the sacred ordinances of Allah. Honouring Allah’s sacred ordinances is among the deeds beloved to Him that draw one near to Him. Whoever venerates and reveres them will be granted an abundant reward by Allah, and this will be good for him in his religion, his worldly life, and his Hereafter with his Lord.

Allah’s sacred ordinances comprise everything possessing sanctity that He has commanded to be respected, whether an act of worship or otherwise. This includes all the rites, the Sacred Precinct, the consecrated state, sacrificial offerings, and the acts of worship Allah has commanded His servants to perform. Honouring them means revering and loving them in one’s heart and perfecting one’s servitude to Allah through them, without treating them lightly, growing lazy, or finding them burdensome.

He then mentions His favour and kindness in making grazing livestock—camels, cattle, and sheep—lawful to His servants, and in making their offering one of the rites by which they draw near to Him. His favour concerning them is therefore immense in both respects, “except what has been recited to you” in the Quran as forbidden, in His words: “Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and the flesh of swine,” to the end of the verse. Yet it is out of mercy toward His servants that He forbade these things to them and withheld them from them, thereby purifying them and cleansing them of associating partners with Him and of false speech. Hence He said: “So shun the impurity,” meaning filthy uncleanness, “of idols,” meaning the rivals you have set up as gods alongside Allah, for they are the gravest form of impurity.

The apparent meaning is that the preposition min (of) here does not explain the genus, as many commentators have maintained; rather, it is partitive. Impurity encompasses everything prohibited and forbidden. Thus, ⦗538⦘ all such things are prohibited in general, while idols, which form part of them, are prohibited specifically. “And shun false speech,” meaning every form of prohibited speech, for it falls under false speech, which is lying. False testimony is one such form. Having thus forbidden them polytheism, impurity, and false speech,

﴿٣٠ - ٣١﴾ ﴿ذَلِكَ وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ الأنْعَامُ إِلا مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ﴾ . ﴿ذَلِكَ﴾ الذي ذكرنا لكم من تلكم الأحكام، وما فيها من تعظيم حرمات الله وإجلالها وتكريمها، لأن تعظيم حرمات الله، من الأمور المحبوبة لله، المقربة إليه، التي من عظمها وأجلها، أثابه الله ثوابا جزيلا وكانت خيرا له في دينه، ودنياه وأخراه عند ربه. وحرمات الله: كل ماله حرمة، وأمر باحترامه، بعبادة أو غيرها، كالمناسك كلها، وكالحرم والإحرام، وكالهدايا، وكالعبادات التي أمر الله العباد بالقيام بها، فتعظيمها إجلالها بالقلب، ومحبتها، وتكميل العبودية فيها، غير متهاون، ولا متكاسل، ولا متثاقل، ثم ذكر منته وإحسانه بما أحله لعباده، من بهيمة الأنعام، من إبل وبقر وغنم، وشرعها من جملة المناسك، التي يتقرب بها إليه، فعظمت منته فيها من الوجهين، ﴿إِلا مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ في القرآن تحريمه من قوله: ﴿حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزيرِ﴾ الآية، ولكن الذي من رحمته بعباده، أن حرمه عليهم، ومنعهم منه، تزكية لهم، وتطهيرا من الشرك به وقول الزور، ولهذا قال: ﴿فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ﴾ أي: الخبث القذر ﴿مِنَ الأوْثَانِ﴾ أي: الأنداد، التي جعلتموها آلهة مع الله، فإنها أكبر أنواع الرجس، والظاهر أن ﴿من﴾ هنا ليست لبيان الجنس، كما قاله كثير من المفسرين، وإنما هي للتبعيض، وأن الرجس عام في جميع المنهيات المحرمات، فيكون ⦗٥٣٨⦘ منهيا عنها عموما، وعن الأوثان التي هي بعضها خصوصا، ﴿وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ﴾ أي: جميع الأقوال المحرمات، فإنها من قول الزور الذي هو الكذب، ومن ذلك شهادة الزور فلما نهاهم عن الشرك والرجس وقول الزور.