Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (245)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(101, 102) “O you who believe, do not ask about matters which, if disclosed to you, would distress you. Yet if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be disclosed to you. Allah has pardoned them, and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing. * A people before you asked such questions, then became disbelievers because of them.”

He forbids His believing servants to ask about matters which, if explained to them, would distress and grieve them. This includes some Muslims asking the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about their fathers or about their fate in Paradise or the Fire, for if such a matter were disclosed to the questioner, there might be no good in it for him. It also includes asking about matters that have not occurred;

questions that might result in stricter religious obligations and thereby cause hardship for the Muslim community; and questions about matters that do not concern a person. These and similar questions are prohibited. As for questioning that entails none of this, such questioning (1) is commanded, as Allah Most High says: “Ask those who possess knowledge if you do not know.” ⦗246⦘

“And if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be disclosed to you.” That is, if your question is asked on the proper occasion and you inquire about such matters while the Quran is being revealed to you—asking about a verse that is unclear or a ruling whose basis is obscure to you, at a time when revelation from heaven can descend—they will be disclosed to you; that is, explained and made manifest. Otherwise, remain silent concerning what Allah has left unaddressed.

“Allah has pardoned them.” That is, He has left them unaddressed, thereby sparing His servants from them. Whatever Allah has left unaddressed is something He has permitted and waived. “And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.” That is, He has always been characterized by forgiveness and known for His forbearance and beneficence. Therefore, seek His forgiveness and beneficence, and ask Him for His mercy and good pleasure.

These matters that you have been forbidden to ask about “were asked by a people before you”—that is, questions of the same kind or similar ones, asked out of obstinacy rather than a desire for guidance. When they were explained and came to them, “they became disbelievers because of them.” As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith: “Whatever I have forbidden you, avoid it; and whatever I have commanded you, do as much of it as you are able. Those before you were destroyed only because of their many questions and their disagreement with their prophets.”

(1) In manuscript ب: “it is.”

﴿١٠١، ١٠٢﴾ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِنْ تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ * قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ﴾ . ينهى عباده المؤمنين عن سؤال الأشياء التي إذا بينت لهم ساءتهم وأحزنتهم، وذلك كسؤال بعض المسلمين لرسول الله ﷺ عن آبائهم، وعن حالهم في الجنة أو النار، فهذا ربما أنه لو بين للسائل لم يكن له فيه خير، وكسؤالهم للأمور غير الواقعة. وكالسؤال الذي يترتب عليه تشديدات في الشرع ربما أحرجت الأمة، وكالسؤال عما لا يعني، فهذه الأسئلة، وما أشبهها هي المنهي عنها، وأما السؤال الذي لا يترتب عليه شيء ⦗٢٤٦⦘ من ذلك فهذا (١) مأمور به، كما قال تعالى: ﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ . ﴿وَإِنْ تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنزلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ﴾ أي: وإذا وافق سؤالكم محله فسألتم عنها حين ينزل عليكم القرآن، فتسألون عن آية أشكلت، أو حكم خفي وجهه عليكم، في وقت يمكن فيه نزول الوحي من السماء، تبد لكم، أي: تبين لكم وتظهر، وإلا فاسكتوا عمّا سكت الله عنه. ﴿عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا﴾ أي: سكت معافيا لعباده منها، فكل ما سكت الله عنه فهو مما أباحه وعفا عنه. ﴿وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾ أي: لم يزل بالمغفرة موصوفا، وبالحلم والإحسان معروفا، فتعرضوا لمغفرته وإحسانه، واطلبوه من رحمته ورضوانه. وهذه المسائل التي نهيتم عنها ﴿قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ﴾ أي: جنسها وشبهها، سؤال تعنت لا استرشاد. فلما بينت لهم وجاءتهم ﴿أَصْبَحُوا بِهَا كَافِرِينَ﴾ كما قال النبي ﷺ في الحديث الصحيح: "ما نهيتكم عنه فاجتنبوه، وما أمرتكم به فأتوا منه ما استطعتم، فإنما أهلك من كان قبلكم كثرة مسائلهم، واختلافهم على أنبيائهم".

(١) في ب: فهو.