Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (353)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(115–116) “Allah would never ⦗354⦘ let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they must avoid. Indeed, Allah has full knowledge of all things. * Indeed, to Allah alone belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death, and besides Allah you have neither protector nor helper.”

This means that when Allah Most High blesses a people with guidance and commands them to follow the straight path, He completes His favor upon them and makes clear to them everything they need and everything necessity requires. He does not leave them astray and ignorant of the matters of their religion. This demonstrates the perfection of His mercy and that His law encompasses everything His servants need, both in the fundamentals and subsidiary matters of religion.

It is also possible that the intended meaning of “Allah would never let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they must avoid” is that, once He has made clear to them what they must avoid, if they do not submit to it, He punishes them by causing them to stray as recompense for rejecting the manifest truth. The first interpretation, however, is more likely.

“Indeed, Allah has full knowledge of all things.” Because His knowledge is perfect and all-encompassing, He has taught you what you did not know and made clear to you that which benefits you.

“Indeed, to Allah alone belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death.” That is, He owns all of this and governs His servants by giving life, causing death, and through every form of divine governance. Since He neglects nothing in His governance of creation, how could He neglect His religious governance, which pertains to His divinity, and leave His servants aimless and forsaken, or allow them to remain astray and ignorant, when this is the greatest expression of His care for them?

Thus He says: “Besides Allah you have neither protector nor helper”—that is, no protector to care for you by bringing you benefit, and no “helper” to ward off harm from you.

﴿١١٥ - ١١٦﴾ ﴿وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ ⦗٣٥٤⦘ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْمًا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَاهُمْ حَتَّى يُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ مَا يَتَّقُونَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ * إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا نَصِيرٍ﴾ . يعني أن الله تعالى إذا منَّ على قوم بالهداية، وأمرهم بسلوك الصراط المستقيم، فإنه تعالى يتمم عليهم إحسانه، ويبين لهم جميع ما يحتاجون إليه، وتدعو إليه ضرورتهم، فلا يتركهم ضالين، جاهلين بأمور دينهم، ففي هذا دليل على كمال رحمته، وأن شريعته وافية بجميع ما يحتاجه العباد، في أصول الدين وفروعه. ويحتمل أن المراد بذلك ﴿وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْمًا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَاهُمْ حَتَّى يُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ مَا يَتَّقُونَ﴾ فإذا بين لهم ما يتقون فلم ينقادوا له، عاقبهم بالإضلال جزاء لهم على ردهم الحق المبين، والأول أولى. ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾ فلكمال علمه وعمومه علمكم ما لم تكونوا تعلمون، وبين لكم ما به تنتفعون. ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ﴾ أي: هو المالك لذلك، المدبر لعباده بالإحياء والإماتة وأنواع التدابير الإلهية، فإذا كان لا يخل بتدبيره القدري فكيف يخل بتدبيره الديني المتعلق بإلهيته، ويترك عباده سدى مهملين، أو يدعهم ضالين جاهلين، وهو أعظم توليه لعباده؟ ". فلهذا قال: ﴿وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلا نَصِيرٍ﴾ أي: ولي يتولاكم بجلب المنافع لكم، أو ﴿نَصِيرٍ﴾ يدفع عنكم المضار.