Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (184)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(64–65) “We sent no messenger except to be obeyed by Allah’s permission. If only, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, sought Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had sought forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah ever accepting of repentance, Most Merciful. * But no—by your Lord—they will not believe until they appoint you as judge in their disputes, then find within themselves no discomfort over your decision and submit completely.”

Allah, the Exalted, conveys a report that implicitly commands and urges obedience and submission to the Messenger. The purpose of sending messengers is that they should be obeyed: those to whom they are sent must submit to everything they command and forbid, and the messengers must be accorded the reverence that an obedient person (1) accords to the one obeyed.

This establishes that the messengers are protected from error in what they convey from Allah and in what they command and forbid. Allah commanded absolute obedience to them; had they not been protected from prescribing what is wrong, He would not have commanded this without qualification.

His words, “by Allah’s permission,” mean that the obedience of anyone who obeys occurs by Allah’s decree and predestination. This affirms the divine decree and predestination, encourages seeking Allah’s aid, and makes clear that no one can obey the Messenger unless Allah aids him.

He then speaks of His immense generosity and munificence and invites those who have committed evil deeds to acknowledge them, repent, and seek Allah’s forgiveness. He says: “If only, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you”—that is, confessing their sins and fully acknowledging them. ⦗185⦘

“They sought Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger sought forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah ever accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.” That is, He would have turned to them by forgiving their wrongdoing and shown them mercy by accepting their repentance, enabling them to repent, and rewarding them for it. This coming to the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was specific to his lifetime, as the context indicates, because the Messenger could seek forgiveness for them only during his lifetime. After his death, nothing is to be requested from him; rather, doing so is shirk.

Allah, the Exalted, then swears by His noble Self that they will not believe until they appoint His Messenger as judge in every dispute that arises among them. This is in contrast to matters of consensus, which are invariably based upon the Book and the Sunnah. Yet appointing him as judge is not enough until all unease and constraint vanish from their hearts, together with any tendency to appoint him only grudgingly. Even that (2) is not enough until they submit completely to his judgment, with open hearts, tranquil souls, and both outward and inward compliance.

Thus, referring judgment to him pertains to the station of Islam; the absence of unease pertains to the station of faith; and complete submission pertains to the station of excellence. Whoever fully and perfectly attains these levels has attained all the levels of religion. Whoever abandons the aforementioned recourse to his judgment without acknowledging it as binding is a disbeliever, while whoever abandons it despite acknowledging it as binding is subject to the same ruling as other sinners of his kind.

(1) Both copies read: “the one obeyed venerating the obedient,” which is a slip of the pen. In B, the Salafi Press corrected this to: “the one obeyed being venerated by the obedient.” (2) B reads: “this appointing him as judge.”

﴿٦٤، ٦٥﴾ ﴿وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا * فَلا وَرَبِّكَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا﴾ . يخبر تعالى خبرا في ضمنه الأمر والحث على طاعة الرسول والانقياد له. وأن الغاية من إرسال الرسل أن يكونوا مطاعين ينقاد لهم المرسلُ إليهم في جميع ما أمروا به ونهوا عنه، وأن يكونوا معظمين تعظيم المطيع (١) للمطاع. وفي هذا إثبات عصمة الرسل فيما يبلغونه عن الله، وفيما يأمرون به وينهون عنه؛ لأن الله أمر بطاعتهم مطلقا، فلولا أنهم معصومون لا يشرعون ما هو خطأ، لما أمر بذلك مطلقا. وقوله: ﴿بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ﴾ أي: الطاعة من المطيع صادرة بقضاء الله وقدره. ففيه إثبات القضاء والقدر، والحث على الاستعانة بالله، وبيان أنه لا يمكن الإنسان -إن لم يعنه الله- أن يطيع الرسول. ثم أخبر عن كرمه العظيم وجوده، ودعوته لمن اقترفوا السيئات أن يعترفوا ويتوبوا ويستغفروا الله فقال: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ﴾ أي: معترفين بذنوبهم باخعين بها. ⦗١٨٥⦘ ﴿فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا﴾ أي: لتاب عليهم بمغفرته ظلْمَهم، ورحمهم بقبول التوبة والتوفيق لها والثواب عليها، وهذا المجيء إلى الرسول ﷺ مختص بحياته؛ لأن السياق يدل على ذلك لكون الاستغفار من الرسول لا يكون إلا في حياته، وأما بعد موته فإنه لا يطلب منه شيء بل ذلك شرك. ثم أقسم تعالى بنفسه الكريمة أنهم لا يؤمنون حتى يحكموا رسوله فيما شجر بينهم، أي: في كل شيء يحصل فيه اختلاف، بخلاف مسائل الإجماع، فإنها لا تكون إلا مستندة للكتاب والسنة، ثم لا يكفي هذا التحكيم حتى ينتفي الحرج من قلوبهم والضيق، وكونهم يحكمونه على وجه الإغماض، ثم لا يكفي ذلك (٢) حتى يسلموا لحكمه تسليمًا بانشراح صدر، وطمأنينة نفس، وانقياد بالظاهر والباطن. فالتحكيم في مقام الإسلام، وانتفاء الحرج في مقام الإيمان، والتسليم في مقام الإحسان. فمَن استكمل هذه المراتب وكملها، فقد استكمل مراتب الدين كلها. فمَن ترك هذا التحكيم المذكور غير ملتزم له فهو كافر، ومَن تركه، مع التزامه فله حكم أمثاله من العاصين.

(١) في النسختين: تعظيم المطاع للمطيع، وهو سبق قلم، وقد عدلت في ب عن طريق المطبعة السلفية إلى تعظيم المطاع من المطيع. (٢) في ب: هذا التحكيم.