Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (151)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(149–151) “O you who believe, if you obey those who disbelieve, they will turn you back on your heels, and you will become losers. Rather, Allah is your Protector, and He is the best of helpers. We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve because they associated with Allah things for which He sent down no authority. Their abode is the Fire—what a wretched dwelling for the wrongdoers!”

This is a prohibition from Allah to the believers against obeying the disbelievers among the hypocrites and polytheists. If the believers obey them, they will desire nothing but evil for them, and [their aim] (1) is to return them to disbelief, whose outcome is failure and loss.

He then informed them that He is their Protector and Helper. This both assures them of that and gives them the glad tidings that He will graciously take care of their affairs and protect them from every kind of evil.

Implicit in this is an exhortation to take Him alone as their Protector and Helper to the exclusion of everyone else. Part of His protection and support for them is His promise to cast terror into the hearts of their disbelieving enemies—a tremendous fear that prevents them from pursuing many of their aims. And Allah Most High did indeed do so.

After the polytheists had withdrawn from the Battle of Uhud, they consulted one another and said, “How can we turn back after killing those we killed and routing them, without having annihilated them?” They resolved to do so, but Allah cast terror into their hearts, and they withdrew in failure. There is no doubt that this was one of the greatest forms of victory, for it was stated earlier that Allah’s victory for His believing servants takes one of two forms: either He cuts off ⦗152⦘ a faction of those who disbelieve, or He humiliates them so that they return in failure. This was the second.

He then mentioned the reason terror was cast into the hearts of the disbelievers, saying: “Because they associated with Allah things for which He sent down no authority.” That is, it was because they had taken rivals and idols besides Him in accordance with their whims and corrupt desires, without any proof or evidence, and had cut themselves off from the protection of the One, the Most Merciful. Consequently, the polytheist is terrified of the believers: he has no secure support upon which to rely and no refuge in times of hardship and distress. This is his condition in this world; in the Hereafter, it will be even more severe and terrible. Hence He said: “Their abode is the Fire”—that is, the dwelling to which they will resort, with no escape from it—“what a wretched dwelling for the wrongdoers!” Because of their wrongdoing and aggression, the Fire became their dwelling.

(1) Added from the margin of manuscript B.

﴿١٤٩ - ١٥١﴾ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تُطِيعُوا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ فَتَنْقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ * بَلِ اللَّهُ مَوْلاكُمْ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ النَّاصِرِينَ * سَنُلْقِي فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الرُّعْبَ بِمَا أَشْرَكُوا بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَمَأْوَاهُمُ النَّارُ وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ . وهذا نهي من الله للمؤمنين أن يطيعوا الكافرين من المنافقين والمشركين، فإنهم إن أطاعوهم لم يريدوا لهم إلا الشر، وهم [قصدهم] (١) ردهم إلى الكفر الذي عاقبته الخيبة والخسران. ثم أخبر أنه مولاهم وناصرهم، ففيه إخبار لهم بذلك، وبشارة بأنه سيتولى أمورهم بلطفه، ويعصمهم من أنواع الشرور. وفي ضمن ذلك الحث لهم على اتخاذه وحده وليا وناصرا من دون كل أحد، فمن ولايته ونصره لهم أنه وعدهم أنه سيلقي في قلوب أعدائهم من الكافرين الرعب، وهو الخوف العظيم الذي يمنعهم من كثير من مقاصدهم، وقد فعل تعالى. وذلك أن المشركين -بعدما انصرفوا من وقعة "أحد" - تشاوروا بينهم، وقالوا: كيف ننصرف، بعد أن قتلنا منهم من قتلنا، وهزمناهم ولما نستأصلهم؟ فهموا بذلك، فألقى الله الرعب في قلوبهم، فانصرفوا خائبين، ولا شك أن هذا من أعظم النصر، لأنه قد تقدم أن نصر الله لعباده المؤمنين لا يخرج عن أحد أمرين: إما أن يقطع ⦗١٥٢⦘ طرفا من الذين كفروا، أو يكبتهم فينقلبوا خائبين، وهذا من الثاني. ثم ذكر السبب الموجب لإلقاء الرعب في قلوب الكافرين، فقال: ﴿بما أشركوا بالله ما لم ينزل به سلطانا﴾ أي: ذلك بسبب ما اتخذوا من دونه من الأنداد والأصنام، التي اتخذوها على حسب أهوائهم وإرادتهم الفاسدة، من غير حجة ولا برهان، وانقطعوا من ولاية الواحد الرحمن، فمن ثم كان المشرك مرعوبا من المؤمنين، لا يعتمد على ركن وثيق، وليس له ملجأ عند كل شدة وضيق، هذا حاله في الدنيا، وأما في الآخرة فأشد وأعظم، ولهذا قال: ﴿ومأواهم النار﴾ أي: مستقرهم الذي يأوون إليه وليس لهم عنها خروج، ﴿وبئس مثوى الظالمين﴾ بسبب ظلمهم وعدوانهم صارت النار مثواهم.

(١) زيادة من هامش ب.