Al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (74)

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

Principle Twenty-Five: Allah’s limits are to be safeguarded; it is forbidden to trespass upon them or even draw near to them.

Allah the Exalted says, “and those who keep the limits set by Allah” (al-Tawbah 9:112); He also says, “These are the limits set by Allah—so do not overstep them” (al-Baqarah 2:229); and He says, “These are the limits set by Allah—so do not approach them” (al-Baqarah 2:187).

The limits of Allah are the outward and inward rulings He has laid down for His servants: the obligatory duties He has commanded them to perform and the prohibitions He has commanded them to avoid. Guarding these limits therefore means fulfilling the obligatory rights in full and abstaining from every outward and inward prohibition.

Such performance and avoidance depend on knowing those limits correctly: recognizing what falls under duties and rights so as to fulfil them completely, without deficiency, and recognizing what falls under the prohibitions so as to refrain from them. For this reason Allah has condemned those who are ignorant of the limits of what He sent down to His Messenger and praised those who understand them.

When Allah says, “These are the limits set by Allah—so do not overstep them” (al-Baqarah 2:229), He is referring to what He has made lawful for His servants and to the detailed prescriptions of the Law, warning against going beyond them and commanding adherence to them.

Accordingly, He has ordered us to keep to what He has permitted of food, drink, clothing, and marriage, and has forbidden us to transgress into what He has prohibited of repulsive things.

Likewise, He has commanded adherence to the rulings He legislated regarding marriage, divorce, waiting periods, and their related matters, and has forbidden us to exceed them by acting in ways that are not lawful.

He has also enjoined us to uphold the detailed rulings of inheritance and stay within their bounds, and has prohibited us from overstepping them by granting inheritance to one who is not entitled, depriving one who is entitled, or tampering with what He has apportioned.

القاعدة الخامسة والعشرون: حدود الله قد أمر بحفظها ونهى عن تعديها وقربانها قال تعالى: ﴿وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللَّهِ﴾ [التوبة: ١١٢] وقال: ﴿تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلا تَعْتَدُوهَا﴾ [البقرة: ٢٢٩] وقال: ﴿تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلا تَقْرَبُوهَا﴾ [البقرة: ١٨٧] . أما حدود الله: فهي ما حده لعباده من الشرائع الظاهرة والباطنة، التي أمرهم بفعلها، والمحرمات التي أمرهم بتركها. فالحفظ لها يكون بأداء الحقوق اللازمة، وترك المحرمات الظاهرة والباطنة. ويتوقف هذا الفعل وهذا الترك على معرفة الحدود على وجهها، ليعرفَ ما يدخل في الواجبات والحقوق، فيؤديها على ذلك الوجه كاملة غير ناقصة، وما يدخل في المحرمات ليتمكن من تركها، ولهذا ذمَّ الله من لم يعرف حدود ما أنزل الله على رسوله، وأثنى على من عرف ذلك. وحيث قال الله تعالى: ﴿تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلا تَعْتَدُوهَا﴾ [البقرة: ٢٢٩] كان المراد بها: ما أحله لعباده، وما فصله من الشرائع. فإنه نهى عن مجاوزتها وأمر بملازمتها. كما أمر بملازمة ما أحله من الطعام والشراب واللباس والنكاح، ونهى عن تعدي ذلك إلى ما حرم من الخبائث. وكما أمر بملازمة ما شرعه من الأحكام في النكاح والطلاق والعدة وتوابع ذلك، ونهى عن تعدي ذلك إلى فعل ما لا يجوز شرعاً. وكما أمر بالمحافظة على ما فصله من أحكام المواريث ولزوم حده. ونهى عن تعدي ذلك، وتوريث من لا يرث، وحرمان من يرث، وتبديل ما فرضه