Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (391)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

“116” “If only there had been, among the generations before you, people of virtue who forbade corruption in the land—except for a few of those whom We saved from among them. But those who did wrong pursued the luxuries in which they had been indulged, and they were criminals.”

After Allah Most High mentioned the destruction of the nations that rejected the messengers, and that most of them had deviated—even the people who possessed divinely revealed scriptures—which would have caused religions to vanish and die out, He stated that, were it not for His having placed among past generations remnants of virtuous people who called to guidance and forbade corruption and ruin, their beneficial efforts would not have preserved the religions. Yet such people were exceedingly few.

Ultimately, they were saved because they followed the messengers and upheld the duties of their religion, and because Allah caused His proof to be established at their hands, “so that those who perished might perish after clear proof, and those who lived might live after clear proof.” (1)

The word “and” here means “but”: “those who did wrong pursued the luxuries in which they had been indulged”—that is, they pursued their life of ease and luxury and desired no substitute for it.

“And they were criminals”—that is, wrongdoers, because they pursued the luxuries in which they had been indulged. Consequently, punishment became their due and the torment eradicated them. This contains an exhortation for this nation to have among them, ⦗392⦘ when people become corrupt, a righteous remnant who uphold Allah’s religion, call those who have strayed to guidance, patiently endure the harm they inflict, and lead them from blindness to clear sight.

This is the highest station to which aspirants may aspire. Whoever attains it becomes a leader in the religion, provided that he devotes his deeds sincerely to the Lord of all worlds.

(1) The following appears in the margin of A: “The commonly accepted interpretation of this verse differs from the meaning given here. The expression conveys negation; that is, among past generations there were no people of virtue … ‘except a few of those whom We saved from among them.’ In other words, only a few who possessed this quality remained. This is close to the meaning we mentioned, but what we stated in the main text …” The remainder was rendered illegible by damp, though only a small portion was missing.

﴿١١٦﴾ ﴿فَلَوْلا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ أُولُو بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِي الأرْضِ إِلا قَلِيلا مِمَّنْ أَنْجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا أُتْرِفُوا فِيهِ وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ﴾ . لما ذكر تعالى، إهلاك الأمم المكذبة للرسل، وأن أكثرهم منحرفون، حتى أهل الكتب الإلهية، وذلك كله يقضي على الأديان بالذهاب والاضمحلال، ذكر أنه لولا أنه جعل في القرون الماضية بقايا، من أهل الخير يدعون إلى الهدى، وينهون عن الفساد والردى، فحصل من نفعهم ما بقيت به الأديان، ولكنهم قليلون جدا. وغاية الأمر، أنهم نجوا، باتباعهم المرسلين، وقيامهم بما قاموا به من دينهم، وبكون حجة الله أجراها على أيديهم، ليهلك من هلك عن بيِّنة ويحيا من حيَّ عن بيِّنة (١) ﴿وَ﴾ لكن ﴿اتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا أُتْرِفُوا فِيهِ﴾ أي: اتبعوا ما هم فيه من النعيم والترف، ولم يبغوا به بدلا. ﴿وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ﴾ أي: ظالمين، باتباعهم ما أترفوا فيه، فلذلك حق عليهم العقاب، واستأصلهم العذاب. وفي هذا، حث لهذه الأمة، أن يكون ⦗٣٩٢⦘ فيهم بقايا مصلحون، لما أفسد الناس، قائمون بدين الله، يدعون من ضل إلى الهدى، ويصبرون منهم على الأذى، ويبصرونهم من العمى. وهذه الحالة أعلى حالة يرغب فيها الراغبون، وصاحبها يكون، إماما في الدين، إذا جعل عمله خالصا لرب العالمين.

(١) جاء في هامش أما نصه: (والمعروف في تفسيرها غير هذا المعنى الذي ذكر هنا، وهو أن هذا بمعنى النفي، أي: إنه لم يكن في القرون السالفة أولو بقية ... إلخ، (إلا قليلا ممن أنجينا منهم) أي: لكن بقي قليل بهذه الصفة، وهو قريب من المعنى الذي ذكرنا لكن ما ذكرنا في الأصل ... ) ثم لم يتضح باقي الكلام لإصابته بالبلل، وهو يسير.