Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (634)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(53–55) “They ask you to hasten the punishment. Were it not for an appointed term, the punishment would already have come upon them. It will surely come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware. They ask you to hasten the punishment, but surely Hell will encompass the disbelievers. On the Day when the punishment overwhelms them from above and from beneath their feet, He will say, ‘Taste the consequence of what you used to do.’”

Allah Most High relates the ignorance of those who deny the Messenger and what he brought. Seeking to hasten the punishment and persisting further in denial, they say: “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?”

Allah Most High says: “Were it not for an appointed term” fixed for its coming, which has not yet arrived, “the punishment would already have come upon them” because of their challenge to Us and their denial of the truth. Had We taken them to task for their ignorance, their own words would only have brought calamity and punishment upon them all the sooner. Nevertheless, let them not think it slow in coming (1), for it will come upon them “suddenly, while they are unaware.”

It happened just as Allah Most High had foretold when they came to Badr arrogantly and boastfully, imagining that they could achieve their aim. Allah humiliated them (2), slew their chiefs, and struck down a great host of their evildoers. Not one household among them remained untouched by that calamity. Thus the punishment came upon them from where they had not expected, descending upon them while they were unaware.

Even if worldly punishment does not descend upon them, the punishment of the Hereafter still lies ahead, and none of them will escape it, whether he is swiftly punished in this world or granted respite. “Surely Hell will encompass the disbelievers.” They will have no escape from it and nowhere else to go. It will surround them on every side, just as their sins, evil deeds, and disbelief surround them. That is indeed the severe punishment.

“On the Day when the punishment overwhelms them from above and from beneath their feet, He will say, ‘Taste the consequence of what you used to do.’” Their deeds will have become a punishment for them, and the punishment will envelop them just as disbelief and sins enveloped them.

(1) Thus in B; A reads: *bastaʿjilūn* [sic], apparently meaning “they seek to hasten it.” (2) Both manuscripts read: “Allah destroyed them”; perhaps the reading adopted in the text is correct. Allah knows best.

﴿٥٣ - ٥٥﴾ ﴿وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَوْلا أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى لَجَاءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ * يَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَافِرِينَ * يَوْمَ يَغْشَاهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيَقُولُ ذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ﴾ . يخبر تعالى عن جهل المكذبين للرسول وما جاء به، وأنهم يقولون -استعجالا للعذاب، وزيادة تكذيب- ﴿مَتَى هَذَا الْوَعْدُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴾ ؟ يقول تعالى: ﴿وَلَوْلا أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى﴾ مضروب لنزوله، ولم يأت بعد، ﴿لَجَاءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ﴾ بسبب تعجيزهم لنا وتكذيبهم الحق، فلو آخذناهم بجهلهم، لكان كلامهم أسرع لبلائهم وعقوبتهم، ولكن -مع ذلك- فلا يستبطئون (١) نزوله، فإنه سيأتيهم ﴿بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾ فوقع كما أخبر الله تعالى، لما قدموا لـ "بدر" بطرين مفاخرين، ظانين أنهم قادرون على مقصودهم، فأهانهم (٢) الله، وقتل كبارهم، واستوعب جملة أشرارهم، ولم يبق فيهم بيت إلا أصابته تلك المصيبة، فأتاهم العذاب من حيث لم يحتسبوا، ونزل بهم وهم لا يشعرون. هذا، وإن لم ينزل عليهم العذاب الدنيوي، فإن أمامهم العذاب الأخروي، الذي لا يخلص منهم أحد منه، سواء عوجل بعذاب الدنيا أو أمهل. ﴿وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَافِرِينَ﴾ ليس لهم عنها معدل ولا متصرف، قد أحاطت بهم من كل جانب، كما أحاطت بهم ذنوبهم وسيئاتهم وكفرهم، وذلك العذاب، هو العذاب الشديد. ﴿يَوْمَ يَغْشَاهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيَقُولُ ذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ﴾ فإن أعمالكم انقلبت عليكم عذابا، وشملكم العذاب كما شملكم الكفر والذنوب.

(١) كذا في ب، وفي أ: بستعجلون. (٢) في النسختين: فأحانهم، ولعلها كا أثبت والله أعلم.