Majmu Fatawa - Salih Al-Fawzan - (1/174)

Majmu FatawaSalih Al-Fawzan

Exegesis of Sura al-Zukhruf

Question: What is the meaning of Allah’s words, “And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We assign for him a devil, and he becomes his inseparable companion” (al-Zukhruf 43:36)?

Answer: The phrase “whoever yaʿshu” means whoever deliberately blinds himself, feigns ignorance, and turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful. Literally, ʿashy in the eye refers to weak physical sight, but what is intended here is the blindness of insight—namely, a heart that is shut off from the Book of Allah because the person neither reflects on it, nor approaches it, nor recites it often.

“We assign for him a devil, and he becomes his companion.” This is like Allah’s statement, “And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a way other than that of the believers—We will turn him to that to which he has turned” (al-Nisaʾ 4:115); and His statement, “And when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you abuse me while you know full well that I am the messenger of Allah to you?’ But when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate” (al-Saff 61:5); and His statement, “We appointed for them comrades who made attractive to them what lay before them and what lay behind them” (Fussilat 41:25).

In other words, whoever turns away from the Book of Allah and from His guidance is punished by Allah with blindness of insight and with evil companions—devils from among humans and jinn—who divert him from the truth. For that reason He, exalted be He, also says here: “They certainly bar them from the Path, while they imagine that they are rightly guided” (al-Zukhruf 43:37). Thus the one who ignored guidance is assigned devils that mislead him and usher him toward the path of Hell. When he meets Allah on the Day of Resurrection, he will loathe the devil that had been delegated to him and will say, “If only there were between me and you the distance of the two Easts—what an evil companion!” (al-Zukhruf 43:38), meaning the companion who stayed constantly at his side. We ask Allah for well-being and safety.

تفسير سورة الزخرف سؤال: ما معنى قوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ يَعْشُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ﴾ [الزخرف: ٣٦] ؟ الجواب: معنى الآية (ومن يعش) أي: يتعامى ويتغافل ويعرض عن ذكر الرحمن، والعشي في العين: ضعف بصرها. والمراد هاهنا عشي البصيرة، أي: عمى القلب عن كتاب الله ﷿ بأن لا يتدبره ولا يقبل عليه، ولا يكثر من تلاوته. ﴿نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ﴾ هذا كقوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى﴾ [النساء: ١١٥] ، وكقوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ يَاقَوْمِ لِمَ تُؤْذُونَنِي وَقَدْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ﴾ [الصف: ٥] ، وكقوله تعالى: ﴿وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَاءَ فَزَيَّنُوا لَهُمْ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ﴾ [فصلت: ٢٥] ، بمعنى: أن من أعرض عن كتاب الله، وعن هداية الله، فإن الله ﷿ يعاقبه بعمى البصيرة، ويعاقبه بقرناء السوء من شياطين الإنس والجن الذين يصرفونه عن الحق، ولهذا قال ﵎ هاهنا: ﴿وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُهْتَدُونَ﴾ [الزخرف: ٣٧] ، أي هذا الذي تغافل عن الهدى، يقيض له من الشياطين من يضله ويهديه إلى صراط الجحيم، فإذا وافى الله ﷿ يوم القيامة، يتبرم بالشيطان الذي وكل به، قال: ﴿يَالَيْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ بُعْدَ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ فَبِئْسَ الْقَرِينُ﴾ [الزخرف: ٣٨] ، يعني: القرين والمقارن. نسأل الله العافية والسلامة.