Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (312)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

“And He protects the righteous”—those whose intentions, deeds, and words are righteous. As Allah Most High says, “Allah is the Protector of those who believe; He brings them out of darkness into light.” Since the righteous believers took their Lord as their Protector through faith and piety, and did not take as protectors others who can neither benefit nor harm, Allah took them under His protection, treated them with kindness, and helped them attain what was good and beneficial for them in their religion and worldly lives. Through their faith, He warded off from them every evil, as Allah Most High says, “Indeed, Allah defends those who believe.”

⦗313⦘

“197, 198” “Those whom you invoke besides Him can neither help you nor help themselves. If you call them to guidance, they do not hear. You see them looking at you, yet they do not see.”

This further demonstrates that these idols which they worship besides Allah are undeserving of any worship. They possess neither the ability nor the power to help themselves or their worshippers, nor do they possess the faculty of reason or the ability to respond.

Were you to call them to guidance, they would not be guided, for they are mere images devoid of life. You see them looking at you, yet in reality they do not see. This is because they fashioned them in the forms of living beings—humans or otherwise—and gave them eyes and limbs. When you first see one, you might say, “This is alive”; but upon examining it, you realize that it is an inanimate object with neither movement nor life. On what rational grounds, then, did the polytheists take them as gods alongside Allah? What benefit or advantage led them to devote themselves to these idols and seek nearness to them through various acts of worship?

Once this is understood, it becomes clear that even if the polytheists and the gods they worshipped were to unite and seek to harm one whom the Creator of the heavens and earth—the One who takes care of His righteous servants—has taken under His protection, they could not inflict even an atom’s weight of harm upon him. This is because of their own utter helplessness and that of their gods, the perfection of Allah’s strength and power, and the strength of one who seeks refuge in His majesty and places his trust in Him.

It has also been said that the words, “You see them looking at you, yet they do not see,” refer to the polytheists who denied the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. You might think, O Messenger of Allah, that they are looking at you with discerning consideration by which the truthful may be distinguished from the liar. Yet they do not perceive your true nature, nor the beauty, perfection, and truthfulness that perceptive people recognize in you.

﴿وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ﴾ الذين صلحت نياتهم وأعمالهم وأقوالهم، كما قال تعالى: ﴿اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ﴾ فالمؤمنون الصالحون - لما تولوا ربهم بالإيمان والتقوى، ولم يتولوا غيره ممن لا ينفع ولا يضر - تولاهم الله ولطف بهم وأعانهم على ما فيه الخير والمصلحة لهم، في دينهم ودنياهم، ودفع عنهم بإيمانهم كل مكروه، كما قال تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾ . ⦗٣١٣⦘ ﴿١٩٧، ١٩٨﴾ ﴿وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ * وَإِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى لا يَسْمَعُوا وَتَرَاهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لا يُبْصِرُونَ﴾ . وهذا أيضا في بيان عدم استحقاق هذه الأصنام التي يعبدونها من دون الله لشيء من العبادة، لأنها ليس لها استطاعة ولا اقتدار في نصر أنفسهم، ولا في نصر عابديها، وليس لها قوة العقل والاستجابة. فلو دعوتها إلى الهدى لم تهتد، وهي صور لا حياة فيها، فتراهم ينظرون إليك، وهم لا يبصرون حقيقة، لأنهم صوروها على صور الحيوانات من الآدميين أو غيرهم، وجعلوا لها أبصارا وأعضاء، فإذا رأيتها قلت: هذه حية، فإذا تأملتها عرفت أنها جمادات لا حراك بها، ولا حياة، فبأي رأي اتخذها المشركون آلهة مع الله؟ ولأي مصلحة أو نفع عكفوا عندها وتقربوا لها بأنواع العبادات؟ فإذا عرف هذا، عرف أن المشركين وآلهتهم التي عبدوها، لو اجتمعوا، وأرادوا أن يكيدوا من تولاه فاطر الأرض والسماوات، متولي أحوال عباده الصالحين، لم يقدروا على كيده بمثقال ذرة من الشر، لكمال عجزهم وعجزها، وكمال قوة الله واقتداره، وقوة من احتمى بجلاله وتوكل عليه. وقيل: إن معنى قوله ﴿وَتَرَاهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لا يُبْصِرُونَ﴾ أن الضمير يعود إلى المشركين المكذبين لرسول الله ﷺ، فتحسبهم ينظرون إليك يا رسول الله نظر اعتبار يتبين به الصادق من الكاذب، ولكنهم لا يبصرون حقيقتك وما يتوسمه المتوسمون فيك من الجمال والكمال والصدق.