Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (375)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(104–106) “Say, ‘O mankind, if you are in doubt about my religion, then know that I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah. Rather, I worship Allah, who takes your souls at death, and I have been commanded to be one of the believers.’ * And [you have been commanded], ‘Set your face toward the religion in sincere devotion, and never be one of those who associate partners with Allah. * Do not call upon anything besides Allah that can neither benefit nor harm you; for if you do, you will then be one of the wrongdoers.’”

Allah Most High says to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the leader of the messengers, the foremost of the God-fearing, and the best of those endowed with certainty: “Say, ‘O mankind, if you are in doubt about my religion’”—that is, if you harbor uncertainty and misgivings about it—I have no doubt whatsoever about it. Rather, I possess certain knowledge that it is the truth and that whatever you call upon besides Allah is false. I have clear evidence and radiant proofs of this.

Thus He says: “I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah”—whether rivals, idols, or anything else—for they neither create nor provide sustenance, nor do they govern any affair. They are merely created beings under His control, possessing nothing that would warrant their worship.

“Rather, I worship Allah, who takes your souls at death.” That is, He is Allah, who created you and causes you to die, then resurrects you to requite you for your deeds. He alone therefore deserves to be worshipped, prayed to, submitted to, and prostrated before.

“And I have been commanded to be one of the believers. * Set your face toward the religion in sincere devotion.” That is, devote all your outward and inward deeds sincerely to Allah and uphold all the ordinances of the religion, turning toward Allah and away from everything else. “And never be one of those who associate partners with Allah”: do not adopt their condition or be among them.

(106) “Do not call upon anything besides Allah that can neither benefit nor harm you.” This describes every created being: it can neither bring benefit nor cause harm. Allah Most High alone brings benefit and harm.

“For if you do”—by (1) calling upon something besides Allah that can neither benefit nor harm you—“you will then be one of the wrongdoers”; that is, among those who wrong themselves by bringing about their own destruction. This wrongdoing is associating partners with Allah, as He Most High says: “Indeed, associating partners with Allah is a tremendous wrong.” If the best of creation, were he to call upon another alongside Allah, would thereby be among the wrongdoing polytheists, then what of anyone else?!

(1) In manuscript B: “that is.”

﴿١٠٤ - ١٠٦﴾ ﴿قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِنْ دِينِي فَلا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَكِنْ أَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ * وَأَنْ أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا وَلا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ * وَلا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَنْفَعُكَ وَلا يَضُرُّكَ فَإِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ . يقول تعالى لنبيه محمد ﷺ، سيد المرسلين، وإمام المتقين وخير الموقنين: ﴿قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِنْ دِينِي﴾ أي: في ريب واشتباه، فإني لست في شك منه، بل لدي العلم اليقيني أنه الحق، وأن ما تدعون من دون الله باطل، ولي على ذلك، الأدلة الواضحة، والبراهين الساطعة. ولهذا قال: ﴿فَلا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾ من الأنداد، والأصنام وغيرها، لأنها لا تخلق ولا ترزق، ولا تدبر شيئًا من الأمور، وإنما هي مخلوقة مسخرة، ليس فيها ما يقتضي عبادتها. ﴿وَلَكِنْ أَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ﴾ أي: هو الله الذي خلقكم، وهو الذي يميتكم، ثم يبعثكم، ليجازيكم بأعمالكم، فهو الذي يستحق أن يعبد، ويصلى له ويخضع ويسجد. ﴿وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ * وَأَنْ أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا﴾ أي: أخلص أعمالك الظاهرة والباطنة لله، وأقم جميع شرائع الدين حنيفًا، أي: مقبلا على الله، معرضًا عما سواه، ﴿وَلا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ لا في حالهم، ولا تكن معهم. ﴿١٠٦﴾ ﴿وَلا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَنْفَعُكَ وَلا يَضُرُّكَ﴾ وهذا وصف لكل مخلوق، أنه لا ينفع ولا يضر، وإنما النافع الضار، هو الله تعالى. ﴿فَإِنْ فَعَلْتَ﴾ بأن (١) دعوت من دون الله، ما لا ينفعك ولا يضرك ﴿فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ أي: الضارين أنفسهم بإهلاكها، وهذا الظلم هو الشرك كما قال تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾ فإذا كان خير الخلق، لو دعا مع الله غيره، لكان من الظالمين المشركين فكيف بغيره؟!!

(١) في ب: أي.