Al-Rad 'ala al-Jahmiya - Ahmad Ibn Hanbal - (91)

Al-Rad 'ala al-JahmiyaAhmad Ibn Hanbal

As for His words,

“We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection” (Taha 124),

the blindness here concerns his evidence. Likewise He says,

“My Lord, why have You raised me up blind”—blind with respect to my proof—“when I used to see?” (Taha 125).

In other words, “I once perceived my argument and used it in debate.” This is what is meant by His statement,

“On that Day the reports will be hidden from them” (al-Qasas 66)—

i.e., the proofs—“so they will not question one another” (al-Qasas 66).

As for His words,

“Today your sight is piercing” (Qaf 22),

the matter is that when the unbeliever emerges from his grave his eyes stare fixedly and he does not blink until he beholds everything he used to deny about the Resurrection. That is the meaning of His saying,

“You were heedless of this; so We have removed your covering from you, and your sight today is acute” (Qaf 22)—

i.e., the covering that belongs to the Hereafter has been lifted. Your vision is now sharp and unblinking until you witness all that you once denied concerning the Resurrection. This, then, is the explanation of the point over which the heretics entertained doubts.⦗1⦘

= He also—may Allah have mercy on him—said concerning the Almighty’s words, “wa-nahshuruhu yawma al-qiyamati a‘ma” (We shall gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind) (Qur’an 20:124). In this noble verse Allah, exalted is He, informs us that whoever turns away from His remembrance will be raised on the Day of Judgment in a state of blindness, and that “blind” here means blind of sight, unable to see anything. The contextual proof is His next statement, “qala rabbi lima hashartani a‘ma wa-qad kuntu basiran” (“My Lord, why have You raised me blind when I used to see?”) (20:125), which makes clear that the blindness mentioned is the opposite of physical vision, i.e. blindness of the eyes; for in this world the unbeliever was already blind of heart, as many other Qur’anic verses attest. See: al-Shanqiti, Adwa’ al-Bayan, vol. 4, pp. 413–414; vol. 6, pp. 276–277. (1) See: al-Tabari, Tafsir, vol. 16, p. 228; vol. 26, p. 163; and Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, vol. 3, p. 179; vol. 4, p. 241.

أما قوله: {وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى} [طه: ١٢٤] عن حجته، وقال: {رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَى} عن حجتي {وَقَدْ كُنتُ بَصِيرًا} بها مخاصمًا بها، فذلك قوله: {فَعَمِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَنْبَاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ} [القصص: ٦٦] . يقول: الحجج {فَهُمْ لا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ} [القصص: ٦٦] ، وأما قوله: {فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ} . وذلك أن الكافر إذا خرج من قبره، شخص بصره، ولا يطرف بصره حتى يعاين جميع ما كان يكذب به من أمر البعث، فذلك قوله: {لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ} [ق: ٢٢] . يقول: غطاء الآخرة. فبصرك يحد النظر، لا يطرف حتى يعاين جميع ما كان يكذب به من أمر البعث، فهذا تفسير ما شكت فيه الزنادقة١.

= وقال أيضًا رحمه الله: قوله تعالى: {وَنَحْشُرُهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى} [طه: ١٢٤] . ذكر جل وعلا في هذه الآية الكريمة أن من أعرض عن ذكره يحشره يوم القيمة في حال كونه أعمى، وأن المراد بقوله: أعمى، أي أعمى البصر لا يرى شيئًا. والقرينة المذكورة هي قوله تعالى: {قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَى وَقَدْ كُنتُ بَصِيرًا} [طه: ١٢٥] فصرَّح بأن عَمَاه هو العمى المقابل للبصر، وهو بصر العين؛ لأن الكافر كان في الدنيا أعمى القلب، كما دلت على ذلك آيات كثيرة من كتاب الله. انظر: أضواء البيان "٤١٣/٤، ٤١٤" "٢٧٦/٦، ٢٧٧". ١ انظر: تفسير الطبري "٢٢٨/١٦" "١٦٣/٢٦" وتفسير ابن كثير "١٧٩/٣" "٢٤١/٤".