Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (627)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(10–11) “Among people are those who say, ‘We believe in Allah,’ but when they suffer harm for Allah’s sake, they regard persecution by people as though it were Allah’s punishment. Yet if victory comes from your Lord, they will surely say, ‘We were with you.’ Does Allah not know best what lies within the hearts of all beings? Allah will surely make evident those who believe, and He will surely make evident the hypocrites.”

Having stated that those who claim faith must inevitably be tested so that the truthful may be distinguished from the liar, Allah Most High explains that some people have no patience in the face of tribulation and no steadfastness when shaken by trials. He says: “Among people are those who say, ‘We believe in Allah,’ but when they suffer harm for Allah’s sake”—whether through beating, confiscation of wealth, or ridicule, intended to make them renounce their religion and return to falsehood—“they regard persecution by people as though it were Allah’s punishment.” That is, they allow such persecution to turn them away from faith and steadfastness upon it, just as punishment turns a person away from whatever brings it about.

“Yet if victory comes from your Lord, they will surely say, ‘We were with you,’” because victory accords with their desires. This class of people is among those of whom Allah says: “Among people are those who worship Allah on the very edge: if good comes to them, they are reassured by it; but if a trial befalls them, they turn back headlong, losing both this world and the Hereafter. That is truly the manifest loss.”

“Does Allah not know best what lies within the hearts of all beings?” He has informed you about this group, whose condition is exactly as He has described it to you, so that through this you may recognize the perfection of His knowledge and the vastness of His wisdom.

“Allah will surely make evident those who believe, and He will surely make evident the hypocrites.” For this reason, He decrees trials and tests so that His knowledge concerning them becomes manifest, and He recompenses them according to what they actually reveal—not merely according to what He knows—for otherwise they might contend before Allah that, had they been tested, they would have remained steadfast.

﴿١٠-١١﴾ ﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ وَلَئِنْ جَاءَ نَصْرٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَعَكُمْ أَوَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِمَا فِي صُدُورِ الْعَالَمِينَ * وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ﴾ . لما ذكر تعالى أنه لا بد أن يمتحن من ادَّعى الإيمان، ليظهر الصادق من الكاذب، بيَّن تعالى أن من الناس فريقا لا صبر لهم على المحن، ولا ثبات لهم على بعض الزلازل فقال: ﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ﴾ بضرب، أو أخذ مال، أو تعيير، ليرتد عن دينه، وليراجع الباطل، ﴿جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِ﴾ أي: يجعلها صادَّة له عن الإيمان والثبات عليه، كما أن العذاب صادٌّ عما هو سببه. ﴿وَلَئِنْ جَاءَ نَصْرٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَعَكُمْ﴾ لأنه موافق للهوى، فهذا الصنف من الناس من الذين قال الله فيهم: ﴿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﴾ . ﴿أَوَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِمَا فِي صُدُورِ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ حيث أخبركم بهذا الفريق، الذي حاله كما وصف لكم، فتعرفون بذلك كمال علمه وسعة حكمته. ﴿وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ﴾ أي: فلذلك قَدَّرَ مِحَنًا وابتلاء، ليظهر علمه فيهم، فيجازيهم بما ظهر منهم، لا بما يعلمه بمجرده، لأنهم قد يحتجون على الله، أنهم لو ابتُلُوا لَثَبَتُوا.