Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (374)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(98) “Why was there no town that believed and benefited from its faith, except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and granted them enjoyment for a time.”

Allah Most High says: “Why was there no town”—among the towns of the deniers—“that believed” when it saw the punishment “and benefited from its faith?” That is, none of them benefited from believing once they had seen the punishment. This is as Allah Most High said concerning Pharaoh in the passage shortly before this. When Pharaoh said, “I believe that there is no god except the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims,” it was said to him, “Now? When you had disobeyed before and were one of the corrupters?”

Allah Most High likewise says: “When they saw Our punishment, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and reject what we used to associate with Him.’ * But their faith did not benefit them once they saw Our punishment. Such has always been Allah’s way with His servants.”

Allah Most High also says: “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back, so that I may * do righteous deeds in what I left behind.’ No!”

The wisdom behind this is evident: faith born of compulsion is not true faith. If the punishment and the circumstance that compelled a person to believe were removed from him, he would revert to disbelief.

As for His words, “except the people of Jonah. When they believed”—after they had seen the punishment—“We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and granted them enjoyment for a time,” they are excepted from the preceding general rule.

There must be a wisdom behind this, known to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, but knowledge of it has not reached us and our minds have not grasped it.

Allah Most High says, “Jonah was indeed one of the messengers,” through to His words, “We sent him to a hundred thousand people, or even more. * They believed, so We granted them enjoyment for a time.” Perhaps the wisdom in this is that, had the other peoples who were destroyed been returned, they would have gone back to what they had been forbidden to do.

As for the people of Jonah, Allah knew that their faith would endure; indeed, it did endure, and they remained steadfast upon it. And Allah knows best.

﴿٩٨﴾ ﴿فَلَوْلا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ﴾ . يقول تعالى: ﴿فَلَوْلا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ﴾ من قرى المكذبين ﴿آمَنَتْ﴾ حين رأت العذاب ﴿فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا﴾ أي: لم يكن منهم أحد انتفع بإيمانه، حين رأى العذاب، كما قال تعالى عن فرعون ما تقدم قريبًا، لما قال: ﴿آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ﴾ فقيل له ﴿آلآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ﴾ وكما قال تعالى: ﴿فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ * فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنْفَعُهُمْ إِيمَانُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْا بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ فِي عِبَادِهِ﴾ وقال تعالى ﴿حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ لَعَلِّي * أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلا﴾ والحكمة في هذا ظاهرة فإن الإيمان الاضطراري ليس بإيمان حقيقة ولو صرف عنه العذاب والأمر الذي اضطره إلى الإيمان لرجع إلى الكفران وقوله ﴿إِلا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا﴾ بعدما رأوا العذاب ﴿كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ﴾ فهم مستثنون من العموم السابق ولا بد لذلك من حكمة لعالم الغيب والشهادة لم تصل إلينا ولم تدركها أفهامنا قال الله تعالى ﴿وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ﴾ إلى قوله ﴿وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ * فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ﴾ ولعل الحكمة في ذلك أن غيرهم من المهلكين لو ردوا لعادوا لما نهوا عنه وأما قوم يونس فإن الله علم أن إيمانهم سيستمر بل قد استمر فعلا وثبتوا عليه والله أعلم