Al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (46)

Al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-QuranAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

Principle Fifteen: Allah has made the very means that lead to lofty goals into heralds of good news, so that hearts may be reassured and faith increased.

This appears in several passages of His Book. Among them are the following:

Victory. Concerning the descent of the angels with it He says: “Allah made it only as a glad tiding and so that your hearts might be at rest thereby” (Al-Anfal 8:10).
Provision and rain. About the causes that bring sustenance and rainfall He says: “And among His signs is that He sends the winds as bearers of glad tidings so that He may let you taste something of His mercy” (Ar-Rum 30:46).

More comprehensive than all of this is His statement: “Unquestionably, the friends of Allah shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve—those who believed and were mindful of Allah. For them are glad tidings in the life of this world and in the Hereafter” (Yunus 10:62-64). These glad tidings include every proof and sign indicating that Allah intends good for them and that they are among His allies and chosen ones. Thus they encompass a good reputation, a righteous dream, and everything they witness of His kindness, enabling grace, facilitation toward what is easy, and protection from hardship. Allah says: “So as for him who gives and is mindful of Allah (5) and affirms what is best (6) We shall ease him toward ease” (Al-Layl 92:5-7), and He says: “Whoever is mindful of Allah—He will make his affair easy for him” (At-Talaq 65:4).

Accordingly, when you find matters opening up for you and becoming simple, and you see that Allah ordains good for you even when you had not anticipated it, this is undoubtedly a glad tiding. If you witness the opposite, then correct your course, for some affliction lies within you. Blessings turn into enticement (istidrāj) only for the one who persists in disobeying Allah, as He the Exalted says: “And those who denied Our signs—We shall draw them on step by step from where they do not perceive” (Al-Aʿraf 7:182). For a believer, however, such favours are not an enticement.

Another—and even subtler—instance is that He turns hardships into glad tidings of relief and makes difficulty a herald of ease. Reflect on what He has related about His prophets and His elect servants: when matters became dire for them, the earth, vast as it is, felt constricted and they were shaken, “until the Messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When will the help of Allah come?’” (Al-Baqarah 2:214). He answered, “Verily, the help of Allah is near” (Al-Baqarah 2:214). You will find in this truly astonishing lessons.

He also says: “For indeed, with hardship comes ease; indeed, with hardship comes ease” (Ash-Sharh 94:5-6). And the Prophet ﷺ said, “Know that victory comes with patience, relief with distress, and that with hardship comes ease.” Such examples are many, and Allah knows best.

القاعدة الخامسة عشرة: جعل الله الأسباب للمطالب العالية مبشرات لتطمين القلوب وزيادة الإيمان وهذا في عدة مواضع من كتابه، فمن ذلك: النصر قال في إنزال الملائكة به: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَى وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ﴾ [الأنفال: ١٠] وقال في أسباب الرزق ونزول المطر: ﴿وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ يُرْسِلَ الرِّيَاحَ مُبَشِّرَاتٍ وَلِيُذِيقَكُمْ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ﴾ [الروم: ٤٦] . وأعم من ذلك كله قوله: ﴿أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ * لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَى فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ﴾ [يونس من ٦٢: ٦٤] وهي كل دليل وعلامة تدلهم على أن الله قد أراد بهم الخير، وأنهم من أوليائه وصفوته، فيدخل فيه الثناء الحسن والرؤيا الصالحة، ويدخل فيه ما يشاهدونه من اللطف والتوفيق، والتيسير لليسرى، وتجنيبهم العسرى؛ لأن الله يقول: ﴿فَأَمَّا مَن أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى ﴿٥﴾ وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى ﴿٦﴾ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى﴾ . [الليل: ٥-٧] ، ويقول: ﴿وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْراً﴾ . [الطلاق: ٤] ، فإذا رأيت الأمور متيسرة لك ومسهلة، وأن الله يقدر لك الخير حتى وإن كنت لا تحتسبه، فهذه لا شك أنها بشرى، وإذا رأيت الأمر بالعكس فصحح مسارك فإن فيك بلاءً، والنعم ما تكون استدراكا إلا لمن أقام على معصية الله، كما قال تعالى: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ . . . . [الأعراف: ١٨٢] ، أما إذا كانت من المؤمن فليست استدراجا. ومن ذلك: بل من ألطف من ذلك أنه يجعل الشدائد مبشرة بالفرج، والعسر مؤذناً باليسر، وإذا تأملت ما قصه عن أنبيائه وأصفيائه، وكيف لما اشتدت بهم الحال، وضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبت، ﴿وَزُلْزِلُواْ حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللهِ﴾ . [البقرة: ٢١٤] ﴿أَلا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ﴾ [البقرة: ٢١٤] رأيت من ذلك العجب العجاب. وقال تعالى: ﴿فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً * إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً﴾ . [الشرح:٥، ٦] وقال ﷺ (واعلم أن النصر مع الصبر، وأن الفرج مع الكرب، وأن مع العسر يسراً) وأمثلة ذلك كثيرة، والله أعلم.