Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (420)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(40–41) “Whether We show you some of what We have promised them or cause you to die before it comes to pass, your duty is only to convey the message, and Ours is the reckoning. * Have they not seen that We steadily reduce the land from its borders? Allah judges, and no one can overturn His judgment. He is swift in reckoning.”

Allah, exalted is He, says to His Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace: Do not be impatient for the punishment they have been promised to befall them. If they persist in their transgression and disbelief, what they have been promised will inevitably befall them. “Whether We show you” that punishment in this world, thereby bringing you comfort, “or cause you to die” before it befalls them, that is not your concern. “Your duty is only to convey the message” and make it clear to mankind.

“And Ours is the reckoning”: We shall call mankind to account for the duties they fulfilled and those they neglected, and We shall reward or punish them accordingly.

Then, warning those who deny the truth, He said: “Have they not seen that We steadily reduce the land from its borders?” It has been said that this refers to the destruction of those who deny the truth and the eradication of the wrongdoers. It has also been said that it refers to the conquest of the lands of the polytheists and the losses inflicted upon their wealth and their numbers. Other interpretations have also been offered.

The apparent meaning—and Allah knows best—is that Allah causes the lands of these deniers to be progressively conquered and overrun, and sends devastating calamities upon their outlying regions as a warning before decline overtakes them and Allah strikes them with calamities that no one can repel. Hence He said: “Allah judges, and no one can overturn His judgment.” This encompasses His legislative judgment, His decreed judgment, and His judgment of recompense.

The judgments Allah issues are of the utmost wisdom and perfection, containing neither flaw nor deficiency. Rather, they are founded upon equity, justice, and all that is praiseworthy. No one can overturn them, nor is there any basis on which to impugn them. The judgments of others, by contrast, may accord with what is right or may fail to do so. “He is swift in reckoning.” That is, they should not seek to hasten the punishment, for everything that is coming is near.

﴿٤٠ - ٤١﴾ ﴿وَإِنْ مَا نُرِيَنَّكَ بَعْضَ الَّذِي نَعِدُهُمْ أَوْ نَتَوَفَّيَنَّكَ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلاغُ وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ * أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَأْتِي الأرْضَ نَنْقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا وَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ لا مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ وَهُوَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ﴾ . يقول تعالى لنبيه محمد ﷺ: لا تعجل عليهم بإصابة ما يوعدون به من العذاب، فهم إن استمروا على طغيانهم وكفرهم فلا بد أن يصيبهم ما وعدوا به، ﴿إمَا نُرِيَنَّكَ﴾ إياه في الدنيا فتقر بذلك عينك، ﴿أو نتوفينك﴾ قبل إصابتهم فليس ذلك شغلا لك ﴿فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلاغُ﴾ والتبيين للخلق. ﴿وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ﴾ فنحاسب الخلق على ما قاموا به، مما عليهم، وضيعوه، ونثيبهم أو نعاقبهم. ثم قال متوعدا للمكذبين ﴿أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَأْتِي الأرْضَ نَنْقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا﴾ قيل بإهلاك المكذبين واستئصال الظالمين، وقيل: بفتح بلدان المشركين، ونقصهم في أموالهم وأبدانهم، وقيل غير ذلك من الأقوال. والظاهر -والله أعلم- أن المراد بذلك أن أراضي هؤلاء المكذبين جعل الله يفتحها ويجتاحها، ويحل القوارع بأطرافها، تنبيها لهم قبل أن يجتاحهم النقص، ويوقع الله بهم من القوارع ما لا يرده أحد، ولهذا قال: ﴿وَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ لا مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ﴾ ويدخل في هذا حكمه الشرعي والقدري والجزائي. فهذه الأحكام التي يحكم الله فيها، توجد في غاية الحكمة والإتقان، لا خلل فيها ولا نقص، بل هي مبنية على القسط والعدل والحمد، فلا يتعقبها أحد ولا سبيل إلى القدح فيها، بخلاف حكم غيره فإنه قد يوافق الصواب وقد لا يوافقه، ﴿وَهُوَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ﴾ أي: فلا يستعجلوا بالعذاب فإن كل ما هو آت، فهو قريب.