Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (416)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(18) “Those who respond to their Lord will have the best reward. As for those who do not respond to Him, even if they possessed all that is on earth and as much again with it, they would offer it as ransom. They will face a terrible reckoning; their abode will be Hell—what an evil resting place!”

Having distinguished truth from falsehood, Allah Most High states that people fall into two groups: those who respond to their Lord, whose reward He mentions, and those who do not respond, whose punishment He mentions. He says: “Those who respond to their Lord”—that is, their hearts submit to knowledge and faith, their limbs comply with commands and prohibitions, and they conform to what their Lord desires of them. They will have “the best reward,” meaning the finest condition and the finest recompense.

They will possess the noblest qualities and the finest virtues, and receive such reward, both immediate and deferred, as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived. As for “those who do not respond to Him,” after He has set forth parables for them and made the truth clear to them, theirs will be the opposite condition. Even “if they possessed all that is on earth” of gold, silver, and everything else, “and as much again with it, they would offer it as ransom” from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, but it would not be accepted from them. How could they ever possess it?!

“They will face a terrible reckoning”: a reckoning encompassing every evil deed they sent ahead and every right of Allah and His servants that they neglected. All of this has been recorded and entered against them. They will say, “Woe to us! What is this record that leaves neither a minor nor a major deed unrecorded?” They will find all they did present before them, and your Lord wrongs no one.

“And”—after this terrible reckoning—“their abode will be Hell,” which gathers every form of torment: severe hunger, agonizing thirst, blazing fire, the tree of Zaqqūm, piercing cold, the thorny plant Darīʿ, and every other kind of punishment Allah has mentioned. “What an evil resting place!” That is, what an evil abode and dwelling their home will be.

﴿١٨﴾ ﴿لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمُ الْحُسْنَى وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُ لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ مَا فِي الأرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لافْتَدَوْا بِهِ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ سُوءُ الْحِسَابِ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ﴾ . لما بيّن تعالى الحق من الباطل ذكر أن الناس على قسمين: مستجيب لربه، فذكر ثوابه، وغير مستجيب فذكر عقابه فقال: ﴿لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمُ﴾ أي: انقادت قلوبهم للعلم والإيمان وجوارحهم للأمر والنهي، وصاروا موافقين لربهم فيما يريده منهم، فلهم ﴿الْحُسْنَى﴾ أي: الحالة الحسنة والثواب الحسن. فلهم من الصفات أجلها ومن المناقب أفضلها ومن الثواب العاجل والآجل ما لا عين رأت ولا أذن سمعت ولا خطر على قلب بشر، ﴿وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُ﴾ بعد ما ضرب لهم الأمثال وبين لهم الحق، لهم الحالة غير الحسنة، فـ ﴿لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ مَا فِي الأرْضِ جَمِيعًا﴾ من ذهب وفضة وغيرها، ﴿وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لافْتَدَوْا بِهِ﴾ من عذاب يوم القيامة ما تقبل منهم وأنى لهم ذلك؟!! ﴿أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ سُوءُ الْحِسَابِ﴾ وهو الحساب الذي يأتي على كل ما أسلفوه من عمل سيئ وما ضيعوه من حقوق الله وحقوق عباده قد كتب ذلك وسطر عليهم وقالوا: ﴿يا ويلتنا ما لهذا الكتاب لا يغادر صغيرة ولا كبيرة إلا أحصاها ووجدوا ما عملوا حاضرا ولا يظلم ربك أحدا﴾ ﴿و﴾ بعد هذا الحساب السيئ ﴿مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ﴾ الجامعة لكل عذاب، من الجوع الشديد، والعطش الوجيع، والنار الحامية والزقوم والزمهرير، والضريع وجميع ما ذكره الله من أصناف العذاب ﴿وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ﴾ أي: المقر والمسكن مسكنهم.