Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (812)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(54–55) “So turn away from them, for you are not to blame. And remind, for the reminder benefits the believers.”

Allah Most High commands His Messenger to turn away from those who reject the truth and deny it: “So turn away from them”—that is, pay them no heed, do not take them to task, and attend to your own affair.

You are not to blame for their sin. Your duty is only to convey the message, and you have discharged what was entrusted to you and conveyed that with which you were sent.

“And remind, for the reminder benefits the believers.” There are two kinds of reminder. The first is to remind people of matters whose details they do not know, though their general principles are known through innate disposition and reason (1). Allah has fashioned minds with a natural love of good and a preference for it, and with an aversion to evil and a disinclination toward it; His revealed law accords with this. Thus, every command and prohibition in the revealed law is a form of reminder. A complete reminder includes mentioning the goodness, beauty, and benefits found in what is commanded, and the harms found in what is prohibited.

The second kind is to remind believers of what they already know (2), but which heedlessness and forgetfulness have obscured. They are reminded of it repeatedly so that it may become firmly rooted in their minds, awaken them, and lead them to act upon what they have been reminded of. It also gives rise in them to renewed vigor and resolve, enabling them to benefit and advance.

Allah states that the reminder benefits the believers because the faith, fear, penitence, and pursuit of Allah’s pleasure that they possess ensure that the reminder benefits them and that admonition has its proper effect upon them. As the Most High says: “So remind, if the reminder will benefit. The one who fears will take heed, but the most wretched will avoid it.” ⦗813⦘

As for one who has neither faith nor any readiness to accept the reminder, reminding him is of no benefit. He is like saline soil that gains nothing from the rain. Even if every sign were to come to people of this sort, they would not believe until they saw the painful punishment.

(1) Thus in B; A reads: “of matters whose general import is known through innate disposition and reason.” (2) Thus in B; A reads: “what.”

﴿٥٤-٥٥﴾ ﴿فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ فَمَا أَنْتَ بِمَلُومٍ * وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنْفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ . يقول تعالى آمرًا رسوله بالإعراض عن المعرضين المكذبين: ﴿فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ﴾ أي: لا تبال بهم ولا تؤاخذهم، وأقبل على شأنك. فليس عليك لوم في ذنبهم، وإنما عليك البلاغ، وقد أديت ما حملت، وبلغت ما أرسلت به. ﴿وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنْفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ والتذكير نوعان: تذكير بما لم يعرف تفصيله، مما عرف مجمله بالفطر والعقول (١) فإن الله فطر العقول على محبة الخير وإيثاره، وكراهة الشر والزهد فيه، وشرعه موافق لذلك، فكل أمر ونهي من الشرع، فإنه من التذكير، وتمام التذكير، أن يذكر ما في المأمور به، من الخير والحسن والمصالح، وما في المنهي عنه، من المضار. والنوع الثاني من التذكير: تذكير بما هو (٢) معلوم للمؤمنين، ولكن انسحبت عليه الغفلة والذهول، فيذكرون بذلك، ويكرر عليهم ليرسخ في أذهانهم، وينتبهوا ويعملوا بما تذكروه، من ذلك، وليحدث لهم نشاطًا وهمة، توجب لهم الانتفاع والارتفاع. وأخبر الله أن الذكرى تنفع المؤمنين، لأن ما معهم من الإيمان والخشية والإنابة، واتباع رضوان الله، يوجب لهم أن تنفع فيهم الذكرى، وتقع الموعظة منهم موقعها كما قال تعالى: ﴿فَذَكِّرْ إِنْ نَفَعَتِ الذِّكْرَى سَيَذَّكَّرُ مَنْ يَخْشَى وَيَتَجَنَّبُهَا الأشْقَى﴾ ⦗٨١٣⦘ وأما من ليس له معه إيمان ولا استعداد لقبول التذكير، فهذا لا ينفع تذكيره، بمنزلة الأرض السبخة، التي لا يفيدها المطر شيئًا، وهؤلاء الصنف، لو جاءتهم كل آية، لم يؤمنوا حتى يروا العذاب الأليم.

(١) كذا في ب، وفي أ: مما عرف بالفطر والعقول مجمله. (٢) كذا في ب، وفي أ: ما.