Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (54)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(62) Then Allah, the Exalted, rendered judgment among the scriptural communities:

“Indeed, those who believed, and the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians—whoever believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteous deeds—will have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve.”

This ruling specifically concerns the People of the Scripture, since the correct view is that the Sabians were one of the Christian sects. Allah states that the believers of this Muslim nation, as well as those among the Jews, Christians, and Sabians who believed in Allah and the Last Day and affirmed their messengers, will have the immense reward and security: no fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve. As for those among them who disbelieved in Allah, His messengers, and the Last Day, their condition is the opposite: they will be subject to fear and grief.

The correct view is that this ruling concerns these communities as such, not their belief in Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It describes their condition before Muhammad was sent and explains what their circumstances entailed. This is the Quran’s method: whenever the context of its verses might give rise to a misconception in some minds, one will inevitably find something that removes it, for it is a revelation from One who knows all things before they come into existence and whose mercy encompasses all things.

The reason—and Allah knows best—is that after mentioning the Children of Israel, censuring them, and recounting their sins and shameful deeds, it might occur to some that the censure encompassed every one of them. The Creator, Exalted is He, therefore wished to identify, by their defining qualities, those among them to whom the censure did not apply. Moreover, because specifically mentioning the Children of Israel might suggest that the matter applied exclusively to them, He, the Exalted, stated a general ruling encompassing all these communities, so that the truth would become clear and all misconception and confusion would be dispelled. Glory be to the One who has placed within His Book that which astounds the minds of all people.

Then He—blessed and exalted is He—returned to rebuking the Children of Israel for what their forebears had done:

﴿٦٢﴾ ثم قال تعالى حاكما بين الفرق الكتابية: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ﴾ . وهذا الحكم على أهل الكتاب خاصة، لأن الصابئين، الصحيح أنهم من جملة فرق النصارى، فأخبر الله أن المؤمنين من هذه الأمة، واليهود والنصارى، والصابئين من آمن بالله واليوم الآخر، وصدقوا رسلهم، فإن لهم الأجر العظيم والأمن، ولا خوف عليهم ولا هم يحزنون، وأما من كفر منهم بالله ورسله واليوم الآخر، فهو بضد هذه الحال، فعليه الخوف والحزن. والصحيح أن هذا الحكم بين هذه الطوائف، من حيث هم، لا بالنسبة إلى الإيمان بمحمد، فإن هذا إخبار عنهم قبل بعثة محمد ﷺ وأن هذا مضمون أحوالهم، وهذه طريقة القرآن إذا وقع في بعض النفوس عند سياق الآيات بعض الأوهام، فلا بد أن تجد ما يزيل ذلك الوهم، لأنه تنزيل مَنْ يعلم الأشياء قبل وجودها، ومَنْ رحمته وسعت كل شيء. وذلك والله أعلم - أنه لما ذكر بني إسرائيل وذمهم، وذكر معاصيهم وقبائحهم، ربما وقع في بعض النفوس أنهم كلهم يشملهم الذم، فأراد الباري تعالى أن يبين من لم يلحقه الذم منهم بوصفه، ولما كان أيضا ذكر بني إسرائيل خاصة يوهم الاختصاص بهم. ذكر تعالى حكما عاما يشمل الطوائف كلها، ليتضح الحق، ويزول التوهم والإشكال، فسبحان من أودع في كتابه ما يبهر عقول العالمين. ثم عاد ﵎ يوبخ بني إسرائيل بما فعل سلفهم: