Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (610)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(82) “When the decree falls upon them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth, speaking to them, saying that people had no certainty in Our signs.”

That is, when the decree whose occurrence Allah has made inevitable and whose time He has appointed falls upon the people. “We shall bring forth for them a creature” emerging “from the earth”; or, a creature belonging to the creatures of the earth, not one from heaven. This creature will “speak to them”; that is, it will tell Allah’s servants that people had no certainty in Our signs. In other words, because people’s knowledge of and certainty in Allah’s signs had grown weak, Allah’s bringing forth this creature—one of His wondrous signs—will make clear to them the truth of that concerning which they had harbored doubts.

This is the well-known creature that will emerge at the end of time and will be one of the signs of the Hour, as reported in numerous hadiths. [No evidence has come establishing its form or what kind of creature it is. The noble verse indicates only that Allah will bring it forth for the people, that its speaking to them will be contrary to ordinary experience, and that it will constitute evidence of the truth of what Allah has stated in His Book. Allah knows best.] (1)

(1) The passage enclosed in square brackets is an addition from the margin of manuscript A, in the Shaykh’s own hand—may Allah have mercy on him. Manuscript B contains another addition, apparently also in his hand—may Allah have mercy on him—which reads: “Allah and His Messenger did not explain the nature of this Beast; they mentioned only its effect and intended purpose. It is one of Allah’s signs: it will address people in a manner that transcends the ordinary course of events when the decree falls upon them and they doubt Allah’s signs. It will thereby constitute proof and evidence for the believers, and proof against the obstinate rejectors.”

﴿٨٢﴾ ﴿وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِنَ الأرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا لا يُوقِنُونَ﴾ . أي: إذا وقع على الناس القول الذي حتمه الله وفرض وقته. ﴿أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً﴾ خارجة ﴿مِنَ الأرْضِ﴾ أو دابة من دواب الأرض ليست من السماء. وهذه الدابة ﴿تُكَلِّمُهُمْ﴾ أي: تكلم العباد أن الناس كانوا بآياتنا لا يوقنون، أي: لأجل أن الناس ضعف علمهم ويقينهم بآيات الله، فإظهار الله هذه الدابة من آيات الله العجيبة ليبين للناس ما كانوا فيه يمترون. وهذه الدابة هي الدابة المشهورة التي تخرج في آخر الزمان وتكون من أشراط الساعة كما تكاثرت بذلك الأحاديث [ولم يأت دليل يدل على كيفيتها ولا من أي: نوع هي وإنما دلت الآية الكريمة على أن الله يخرجها للناس وأن هذا التكليم منها خارق للعوائد المألوفة وأنه من الأدلة على صدق ما أخبر الله به في كتابه والله أعلم] (١)

(١) ما بين القوسين المركنين زيادة من هامش أبخط الشيخ ﵀ وفي ب زيادة أخرى، يبدو أنها بخطه ﵀ هي: (لم يذكر الله ورسوله كيفية هذه الدابة، وإنما ذكر أثرها، والمقصود منها، وأنها من آيات الله تكلم الناس كلاما خارقا للعادة حين يقع القول على الناس، وحين يمترون بآيات الله فتكون حجة وبرهانا للمؤمنين وحجة على المعاندين) .