Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (345)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(75–78) “Among them are those who pledged to Allah, ‘If He gives us of His bounty, we will surely give in charity and surely be among the righteous.’ * But when He gave them of His bounty, they became miserly with it and turned away in aversion. * So He caused hypocrisy to remain in their hearts until the Day they meet Him, because they broke the promise they had made to Allah and because they persisted in lying. * Do they not know that Allah knows their secrets and their private conversations, and that Allah is the perfect Knower of all that is unseen?”

That is, among these hypocrites are those who gave Allah their solemn pledge and covenant: “If He gives us of His bounty”—of worldly wealth, expanding and increasing it for us—“we will surely give in charity and surely be among the righteous.” We will maintain ties of kinship, show hospitality to guests, assist others in times of adversity, and perform good and righteous deeds.

“But when He gave them of His bounty,” they did not fulfill what they had said. Instead, “they became miserly with it and turned away” from obedience and submission, “in aversion”—that is, paying no heed to goodness.

When they failed to fulfill their covenant with Allah, He punished them: “So He caused hypocrisy to remain in their hearts” continuously “until the Day they meet Him, because they broke the promise they had made to Allah and because they persisted in lying.”

The believer should therefore beware of this reprehensible trait: pledging to his Lord that if he attains a particular objective, he will surely do such-and-such, only then to fail to fulfill his pledge. Allah may punish him with hypocrisy, just as He punished these people.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in a hadith authentically recorded in the two Sahīh collections: “There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a covenant, he betrays it; and when he makes a promise, he breaks it.”

Thus, this hypocrite—who promised Allah and made a covenant with Him that if Allah gave him of His bounty, he would surely give in charity and be among the righteous—spoke and lied, made a covenant and betrayed it, and made a promise and broke it.

For this reason, Allah threatened those among them who acted in this way, saying: “Do they not know that Allah knows their secrets and their private conversations, and that Allah is the perfect Knower of all that is unseen?” He will recompense them for the deeds they committed, all of which Allah Most High knows.

These verses were revealed concerning a hypocrite named Thalaba. He came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and asked him to supplicate Allah to grant him of His bounty, promising that if Allah gave to him, he would surely give in charity, maintain ties of kinship, and assist others in times of adversity. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) supplicated for him, and he came to own a flock of sheep. The flock continued to multiply until he took it outside Medina. He then began attending only some of the five daily prayers. Later, he moved farther away and attended only the Friday prayer. His flock then grew still larger, so he moved it even farther away and attended neither the Friday prayer nor the congregational prayers.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) noticed his absence and was informed of his circumstances. He sent collectors to take zakat from those liable to pay it. When they passed by Thalaba, he said, “This is nothing but jizya; this is merely the sister of jizya.” When he refused to give them anything, they returned and informed the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, “Alas for Thalaba! Alas for Thalaba!” three times.

When this verse was revealed concerning him and others like him, one of his relatives took it to him and conveyed it to him. He came with his zakat, but the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would not accept it. After the Prophet’s death, he brought it to Abū Bakr, but he would not accept it. After Abū Bakr, he brought it to Umar, but he would not accept it. It is said that he died during the time of Uthmān (1).

(1) This account concerning Thalaba was cited by many Quran commentators. Leading hadith scholars—including Ibn Hazm, al-Bayhaqī, al-Qurtubī, al-Haythamī, al-Irāqī, Ibn Hajar, al-Suyūtī, al-Munāwī, and others, may Allah have mercy on them—judged it weak. They explained that its chain of transmission contains Alī ibn Yazīd, who is weak, and that its transmitters also include Mu‘ān ibn Rifā‘a and al-Qāsim ibn Abd al-Rahmān, both of whom are weak. Ibn Hazm also deemed it weak on account of its text. See al-Muhallā, 11/208; al-Isāba, entry on Thalaba; Majma al-Zawāid, 7/32; al-Jāmi li-Ahkām al-Qurān, 8/210; Fayd al-Qadīr, 4/257; Fath al-Bārī, 3/8; al-Suyūtī, Lubāb al-Nuqūl, p. 121; and al-Irāqī, Takhrīj al-Ihyā, 3/338.

﴿٧٥ - ٧٨﴾ ﴿وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ * فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ * أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ﴾ . أي: ومن هؤلاء المنافقين من أعطى الله عهده وميثاقه ﴿لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ﴾ من الدنيا فبسطها لنا ووسعها ﴿لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ﴾ فنصل الرحم، ونقري الضيف، ونعين على نوائب الحق، ونفعل الأفعال الحسنة الصالحة. ﴿فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ﴾ لم يفوا بما قالوا، بل ﴿بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا﴾ عن الطاعة والانقياد ﴿وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ﴾ أي: غير ملتفتين إلى الخير. فلما لم يفوا بما عاهدوا الله عليه، عاقبهم ﴿فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ﴾ مستمرا ﴿إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ﴾ فليحذر المؤمن من هذا الوصف الشنيع، أن يعاهد ربه، إن حصل مقصوده الفلاني ليفعلن كذا وكذا، ثم لا يفي بذلك، فإنه ربما عاقبه الله بالنفاق كما عاقب هؤلاء. وقد قال النبي ﷺ في الحديث الثابت في الصحيحين: "آية المنافق ثلاث: إذا حدث كذب، وإذا عاهد غدر، وإذا وعد أخلف" فهذا المنافق الذي وعد الله وعاهده، لئن أعطاه الله من فضله، ليصدقن وليكونن من الصالحين، حدث فكذب، وعاهد فغدر، ووعد فأخلف. ولهذا توعد من صدر منهم هذا الصنيع، بقوله: ﴿أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ﴾ وسيجازيهم على ما عملوا من الأعمال التي يعلمها الله تعالى، وهذه الآيات نزلت في رجل من المنافقين يقال له "ثعلبة" جاء إلى النبي ﷺ، وسأله أن يدعو الله له، أن يعطيه الله من فضله، وأنه إن أعطاه، ليتصدقن، ويصل الرحم، ويعين على النوائب، فدعا له النبي ﷺ، فكان له غنم، فلم تزل تتنامى، حتى خرج بها عن المدينة، فكان لا يحضر إلا بعض الصلوات الخمس، ثم أبعد، فكان لا يحضر إلا صلاة الجمعة، ثم كثرت فأبعد بها، فكان لا يحضر جمعة ولا جماعة. ففقده النبي ﷺ، فأخبر بحاله، فبعث من يأخذ الصدقات من أهلها، فمروا على ثعلبة، فقال: ما هذه إلا جزية، ما هذه إلا أخت الجزية، فلما لم يعطهم جاءوا فأخبروا بذلك النبي ﷺ فقال: "يا ويح ثعلبة يا ويح ثعلبة" ثلاثا. فلما نزلت هذه الآية فيه، وفي أمثاله، ذهب بها بعض أهله فبلغه إياها، فجاء بزكاته، فلم يقبلها النبي ﷺ، ثم جاء بها لأبي بكر بعد وفاة النبي ﷺ فلم يقبلها، ثم جاء بها بعد أبي بكر لعمر فلم يقبلها، فيقال: إنه هلك في زمن عثمان (١) .

(١) قصة ثعلبة هذه ذكرها كثير من المفسرين، وقد ضعفها جهابذة أهل الحديث كابن حزم، والبيهقي، والقرطبي، والهيثمي، والعراقي، وابن حجر، والسيوطي والمناوي وغيرهم ﵏ وبينوا أن في إسنادها علي بن يزيد، وهو ضعيف كما أن من رواتها: معان بن رفاعة، والقاسم بن عبد الرحمن وهما ضعيفان، وذكر ابن حزم تضعيفها من جهة متنها أيضا. ينظر المحلى: (١١/٢٠٨) والإصابة: ترجمة ثعلبة، ومجمع الزوائد (٧/٣٢) ، والجامع لأحكام القرآن (٨/٢١٠) ، وفيض القدير (٤/٢٥٧) ، وفتح الباري (٣/٨) ، ولباب النقول للسيوطي (١٢١) وتخريج الإحياء للعراقي (٣/٣٣٨) .