Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (31)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

Important Points Pertaining to Quranic Exegesis, from Ibn al-Qayyim’s Badā’i al-Fawā’id

By Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah Most High have mercy on him (1)

[He said: Section]

An indefinite noun used in the context of negation has universal scope. This is established by the words of Allah Most High: “Your Lord wrongs no one,” and: “No soul knows what delight has been kept hidden for them.” In an interrogative context, this is established by His words: “Do you know of anyone equal to Him?”; in a conditional context, by His words: “If you should see any human being,” and: “If any one of the polytheists seeks your protection”; and in the context of a prohibition, by His words: “Let none of you look back.”

In an affirmative context, an indefinite noun may convey generality because the underlying reason and what it entails are general, as in: “Every soul will know what it has brought forth.”

It also conveys generality when “every” is placed before it, as in: “Every soul will come, accompanied by a driver and a witness.” Another instance in which its generality derives from the general scope of what the context entails is: “By the soul and Him Who proportioned it.”

Section

The universal scope of a singular noun preceded by the definite article is established by His words: “Indeed, mankind is in loss,” and: “And the disbeliever will say.” The universal scope of a singular noun in a possessive construction is established by His words: “And she affirmed the words of her Lord and His Books” (and His Book) (2).

Likewise, He says: “This record of Ours speaks against you with the truth.” What is intended is all the records in which their deeds were recorded. The universal scope of a plural preceded by the definite article is established by His words: “And when the messengers are brought to their appointed time”; “And when We took from the prophets their covenant”; and: “Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women,” to the end of the verse. The same applies to a plural in a possessive construction, as in His words: “Each has believed in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers.”

The universal scope of conditional expressions is established by the words of Allah Most High: “Whoever performs righteous deeds while being a believer will fear neither injustice nor deprivation”; and: “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.” [And He said]: “Whatever good you do, Allah knows it”; “Wherever you may be, death will overtake you”; “Wherever you are, turn your faces toward it”; “When you see those who engage in discourse concerning Our verses, turn away from them”; and: “When those who believe in Our verses come to you, say: ‘Peace be upon you. Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself.’” This applies when the consequent is an injunction, as in these latter two verses.

If the consequent is a past-tense report, however, universality does not necessarily follow, as in His words: “When they saw some commerce or amusement, they dispersed toward it,” and: “When the hypocrites came to you, they said: ‘We bear witness that you are truly the Messenger of Allah.’”

If it is expressed in the future tense, they consistently rejected universality, as in the words of Allah Most High: “When they measure or weigh for others, they give less”; “When they pass by them, they wink at one another”; and: “Whenever it was said to them, ‘There is no deity but Allah,’ they acted arrogantly.”

Yet it may not have universal scope, as in the words of Allah Most High: “When you see them, their physical appearance impresses you.”

(1) In manuscript A, these points appear after the exegesis of Sūrat al-Fātiha. The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote in the margin of the manuscript: “This introduction ought to precede al-Fātiha.” (2) The word was written twice: once in the singular and once in the plural. The margin of manuscript A contains the following note: “The reciters of Basra and Hafs read wa-kutubihi (‘and His Books’), while the others read wa-kitābihi (‘and His Book’) in the singular.”

فوائد مهمة تتعلق بتفسير القرآن من بدائع الفوائد لابن القيم رحمه الله تعالى (١) [قال: فصل] النكرة في سياق النفي تعم، مستفاد من قوله تعالى: ﴿وَلا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا﴾ ﴿فَلا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ﴾ وفي الاستفهام من قوله تعالى: ﴿هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا﴾ وفي الشرط من قوله: ﴿فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ أَحَدًا﴾ ﴿وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ﴾ وفي النهي من قوله تعالى: ﴿وَلا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنْكُمْ أَحَدٌ﴾ وفي سياق الإثبات، بعموم العلة والمقتضى كقوله: ﴿عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا أَحْضَرَتْ﴾ وإذا أضيف إليها "كل" نحو ﴿وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ﴾ ومن عمومها بعموم المقتضى ﴿وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا﴾ فصل ويستفاد عموم المفرد المحلى باللام من قوله: ﴿إِنَّ الإنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ﴾ وقوله: ﴿وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ﴾ وعموم المفرد المضاف من قوله: ﴿وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ﴾ (وكتابه) (٢) . وقوله: ﴿هَذَا كِتَابُنَا يَنْطِقُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْحَقِّ﴾ والمراد جميع الكتب التي أحصيت فيها أعمالهم، وعموم الجمع المحلى باللام من قوله: ﴿وَإِذَا الرُّسُلُ أُقِّتَتْ﴾ وقوله: ﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ﴾ وقوله تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ﴾ إلى آخرها. والمضاف من قوله: ﴿كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ﴾ وعموم أدوات الشرط من قوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا﴾ وقوله: ﴿فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ﴾ [وقال] ﴿وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ﴾ وقوله ﴿أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِكُكُمُ الْمَوْتُ﴾ وقوله: ﴿وَحَيْثُمَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ﴾ وقوله: ﴿وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ﴾ وقوله: ﴿وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ﴾ هذا إذا كان الجواب طلبا مثل هاتين الآيتين. فإن كان خبرا ماضيا، لم يلزم العموم، كقوله: ﴿وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا﴾ ﴿إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَالُوا نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ﴾ . وإن كان مستقبلا فالتزموا رد العموم، كقوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَوْ وَزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ﴾ . وقوله: ﴿وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ﴾ وقوله: ﴿إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لا إِلَهَ إِلا اللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ﴾ . وقد لا يعم، كقوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ﴾ .

(١) جاءت هذه الفوائد في: أبعد تفسير سورة الفاتحة، وقد كتب الشيخ ﵀ في هامش النسخة: (حق هذه المقدمة أن تتقدم على الفاتحة) . (٢) كتبت الكلمة مرتين مرة بالإفراد، ومرة بالجمع، وجاء في هامش أما نصه: (قرأ أهل البصرة وحفص (وكتبه) . وقرأ الآخرون (وكتابه) على التوحيد) .