Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (250)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(1, 2) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise is for Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light; yet those who disbelieve set up equals with their Lord. * He is the One who created you from clay, then decreed a term, while another appointed term is with Him; yet you continue to doubt.”

Here Allah speaks of the praise and commendation due to Him for His attributes of perfection and qualities of majesty and grandeur in general, and for the matters mentioned here in particular. Thus He praises Himself for creating the heavens and the earth, which attest to His perfect power, the vastness of His knowledge and mercy, the all-encompassing nature of His wisdom, and the fact that He alone creates and governs all things. He also praises Himself for making darkness and light. This encompasses both their physical forms—such as night and day, and the sun and moon—and their intangible forms, such as the darkness of ignorance, doubt, polytheism, disobedience, and heedlessness, and the light of knowledge, faith, certainty, and obedience.

All of this conclusively demonstrates that He—Exalted is He—alone deserves to be worshipped and that all devotion must be sincerely dedicated to Him. Despite this evidence and the clarity of the proof, “yet those who disbelieve set up equals with their Lord.” That is, they regard others as equal to Him, placing them on a par with Him in worship and veneration, even though those others do not equal Allah in any attribute of perfection. Rather, they are dependent, powerless, and deficient in every respect.

“He is the One who created you from clay.” This was by creating the substance from which you were formed and by creating your father Adam, peace be upon him. “Then He decreed a term”; that is, He set a fixed period for your stay in this abode, during which you enjoy its provisions and are tested and tried by means of what His messengers bring to you from Him: “so that He may test you as to which of you is best in deeds.” He also grants you a lifespan in which whoever would take heed may do so. “While another appointed term is with Him”—namely, the Hereafter, to which His servants pass from this abode, whereupon He recompenses them for their deeds, whether good or evil.

“Yet,” despite this complete clarification and conclusive proof, “you continue to doubt.” That is, you doubt Allah’s promise and threat, and that recompense will take place on the Day of Resurrection.

﴿١، ٢﴾ ﴿بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ * هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلا وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى عِنْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ﴾ . هذا إخبار عن حمده والثناء عليه بصفات الكمال، ونعوت العظمة والجلال عموما، وعلى هذه المذكورات خصوصا. فحمد نفسه على خلقه السماوات والأرض، الدالة على كمال قدرته، وسعة علمه ورحمته، وعموم حكمته، وانفراده بالخلق والتدبير، وعلى جعله الظلمات والنور، وذلك شامل للحسي من ذلك، كالليل والنهار، والشمس والقمر. والمعنوي، كظلمات الجهل، والشك، والشرك، والمعصية، والغفلة، ونور العلم والإيمان، واليقين، والطاعة، وهذا كله، يدل دلالة قاطعة أنه تعالى، هو المستحق للعبادة، وإخلاص الدين له، ومع هذا الدليل ووضوح البرهان ﴿ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ﴾ أي يعدلون به سواه، يسوونهم به في العبادة والتعظيم، مع أنهم لم يساووا الله في شيء من الكمال، وهم فقراء عاجزون ناقصون من كل وجه. ﴿هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ﴾ وذلك بخلق مادتكم وأبيكم آدم ﵇. ﴿ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلا﴾ أي: ضرب لمدة إقامتكم في هذه الدار أجلا تتمتعون به وتمتحنون، وتبتلون بما يرسل إليكم به رسله. ﴿لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلا﴾ ويعمركم ما يتذكر فيه من تذكر. ﴿وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى عِنْدَهُ﴾ وهي: الدار الآخرة، التي ينتقل العباد إليها من هذه الدار، فيجازيهم بأعمالهم من خير وشر. ﴿ثُمَّ﴾ مع هذا البيان التام وقطع الحجة ﴿أَنْتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ﴾ أي: تشكون في وعد اللهو ووعيده، ووقوع الجزاء يوم القيامة.