Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (260)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

⦗65–67⦘ “Say, ‘He alone has power to send punishment upon you from above or from beneath your feet, or to confound you into factions and make some of you taste the violence of others. See how We present the signs in various ways so that they may understand. * Yet your people have denied it, though it is the truth. Say, “I am not a keeper over you.” * Every report has an appointed time when it will come to pass, and you will come to know.’”

That is, He—exalted is He—is able to send punishment upon you from every direction. “From above or from beneath your feet, or to confound you”—that is, to mix you—“into factions and make some of you taste the violence of others,” through strife and by killing one another.

He is able to do all of this, so beware of persisting in disobedience to Him, lest a punishment overtake you that destroys and annihilates you. He has indeed declared His power to do so. Yet, out of His mercy, He has spared this community punishments from above—such as being stoned, pelted with pebbles, and the like—and punishments from beneath their feet, such as being swallowed by the earth.

He has, however, punished some of them by making them taste one another’s violence and setting some of them against others—an immediate punishment recognized by those who take heed and perceived by those who possess knowledge (1).

“See how We present the signs in various ways”—that is, We diversify them and present them in many forms, all of which point to the truth—“so that they may understand”: so that they may understand the purpose for which they were created and comprehend the truths of revealed law and what Allah requires of them.

“Yet your people have denied it”—that is, the Quran—“though it is the truth,” concerning which there is neither uncertainty nor any cause for doubt. “Say, ‘I am not a keeper over you’”: I have not been entrusted with keeping account of your deeds and recompensing you for them. I am only a warner and a conveyor of the message.

“Every report has an appointed time when it will come to pass”—that is, a fixed time that can be neither brought forward nor delayed—“and you will come to know” the punishment with which you are threatened.

(1) Manuscript B reads: “al-ʿāmilūn” (those who act).

﴿٦٥ - ٦٧﴾ ﴿قُلْ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُمْ بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ * وَكَذَّبَ بِهِ قَوْمُكَ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ قُلْ لَسْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكِيلٍ * لِكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ . أي: هو تعالى قادر على إرسال العذاب إليكم من كل جهة. ﴿مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ﴾ أي: يخلطكم ﴿شِيَعًا وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُمْ بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ﴾ أي: في الفتنة، وقتل بعضكم بعضا. فهو قادر على ذلك كله، فاحذروا من الإقامة على معاصيه، فيصيبكم من العذاب ما يتلفكم ويمحقكم، ومع هذا فقد أخبر أنه قادر على ذلك. ولكن من رحمته، أن رفع عن هذه الأمة العذاب من فوقهم بالرجم والحصب، ونحوه، ومن تحت أرجلهم بالخسف. ولكن عاقب من عاقب منهم، بأن أذاق بعضهم بأس بعض، وسلط بعضهم على بعض، عقوبة عاجلة يراها المعتبرون، ويشعر بها العالمون (١) . ﴿انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الآيَاتِ﴾ أي: ننوعها، ونأتي بها على أوجه كثيرة وكلها دالة على الحق. ﴿لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ﴾ أي: يفهمون ما خلقوا من أجله، ويفقهون الحقائق الشرعية، والمطالب الإلهية. ﴿وَكَذَّبَ بِهِ﴾ أي: بالقرآن ﴿قَوْمُكَ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ﴾ الذي لا مرية فيه، ولا شك يعتريه. ﴿قُلْ لَسْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكِيلٍ﴾ أحفظ أعمالكم، وأجازيكم عليها، وإنما أنا منذر ومبلغ. ﴿لِكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُسْتَقَرٌّ﴾ أي: وقت يستقر فيه، وزمان لا يتقدم عنه ولا يتأخر. ﴿وَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ ما توعدون به من العذاب.

(١) في ب: "العاملون".