The Believers — Verse 81

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَـهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ (And indeed We seized them with punishment,) means, `We tried and tested them with difficulties and calamities.' His saying: فَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (but they humbled not themselves to their Lord, nor did they invoke with submission to Him.) means, that did not deter them from their disbelief and resistance, rather they persisted in their sin and misguidance, فَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ (but they humbled not themselves) وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (nor did they invoke (Allah) with submission to Him. ) they did not call on Him. This is like the Ayah: فَلَوْلا إِذْ جَآءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ وَلَـكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ (When Our torment reached them, why then did they not humble themselves But their hearts became hardened,) 6:43 Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Abu Sufyan came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, `O Muhammad, I ask you by Allah and by the ties of kinship between us, we have been reduced to eating camel hair and blood.' Then Allah revealed, وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَـهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ (And indeed We seized them with punishment, but they humbled not themselves.) This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i. The basis of this Hadith is in the Two Sahihs, where it says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed against the Quraysh when he could not make any headway with them, and he said, «اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَيْهِمْ بِسَبْعٍ كَسَبْعِ يُوسُف» (O Allah, help me against them sending on them seven years (of famine) like the seven (years of drought) of Yusuf.) حَتَّى إِذَا فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَاباً ذَا عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ إِذَا هُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ (Until, when We open for them the gate of severe punishment, then lo! they will be plunged in despair.) When the command of Allah reaches them and the Hour comes to them suddenly, and they are overtaken by the punishment of Allah which they were not expecting, then they will despair of any ease and goodness, and all their hopes will disappear. A reminder of the Blessings of Allah and His immense Power Then Allah mentions His blessings to His servants, in that He has given them hearing, sight and understanding through which they come to know things and draw lessons from them, the signs which attest to the Oneness of Allah and indicate that He is the One Who does what He wills and chooses what He wants. قَلِيلاً مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ (Little thanks you give.) means, how little you thank Allah for the blessings He has given you. This is like the Ayah: وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ (And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly.) 12:103 Then Allah tells us about His great power and overwhelming authority, for He is the One Who originated creation and put people in all parts of the earth, with their different nations, languages and characteristics, then on the Day of Resurrection He will gather them all together, the first of them and the last, at a fixed time on a day appointed, and none will be left out, young or old, male or female, noble or insignificant, but all will be brought back as they were originally created. Allah said: وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُحْىِ وَيُمِيتُ (And it is He Who gives life and causes death,) meaning, He will bring the scattered bones back to life and cause the death of the nations, وَلَهُ اخْتِلَـفُ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ (and His is the alternation of night and day. ) meaning, by His command night and day are subjugated, each of them following the other and never departing from that pattern, as Allah says: لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ (It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day)36:40. أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ (Will you not then understand) means, do you not have minds that tell you of the Almighty, All-Knowing to Whom all things are subjugated, Who has power over all things and to Whom all things submit The Idolators thought that Resurrection after Death was very unlikely Then Allah tells us about those who denied the resurrection, who were like the disbelievers who came before them: بَلْ قَالُواْ مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الاٌّوَّلُونَ - قَالُواْ أَءِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَاباً وَعِظَـماً أَءِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ (Nay, but they say the like of what the men of old said. They said: "When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we be resurrected indeed") They thought it very unlikely that this would happen after they had disintegrated into nothing. لَقَدْ وُعِدْنَا نَحْنُ وَءَابَآؤُنَا هَـذَا مِن قَبْلُ إِنْ هَـذَآ إِلاَّ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ ("Verily, this we have been promised -- we and our fathers before (us)! This is only the tales of the ancients!") This means, "It is impossible that we could be brought back. This was said by those who learned it from the books and disputes of the ancients." This denial and rejection on their part is like the Ayah where Allah tells us about them: أَءِذَا كُنَّا عِظَـماً نَّخِرَةً - قَالُواْ تِلْكَ إِذاً كَرَّةٌ خَـسِرَةٌ - فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ ("Even after we are crumbled bones" They say: "It would in that case, be a return with loss!" But it will be only a single Zajrah, When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.) 79:11-14 أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الإِنسَـنُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَـهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مٌّبِينٌ - وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلاً وَنَسِىَ خَلْقَهُ قَالَ مَن يُحىِ الْعِظَـمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌ - قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِى أَنشَأَهَآ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ (Does not man see that We have created him from Nutfah. Yet behold he (stands forth) as an open opponent. And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: "Who will give life to these bones after they are rotten and have become dust" Say: "He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of every creation!") 36:77-79 قُل لِّمَنِ الاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهَآ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ - سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ - قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَـوَتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ أَفَلاَ تَتَّقُونَ-

Nay but they say the like of what the ancients said.

لكن الكفار لم يصدقوا بالبعث، بل ردَّدوا مقولة أسلافهم المنكرين.

" بل قالوا مثل ما قال الأولون قالوا أإذا متنا وكنا ترابا وعظاما أإنا لمبعوثون " يعني يستبعدون وقوع ذلك بعد صيرورتهم إلى البلى.

ثم حكى - سبحانه - بعد ذلك أن هؤلاء المشركين ، لم يقابلوا نعم الله - تعالى - عليهم بالشكر ، وإنما قابلوها بالجحود وبإنكار البعث والحساب ، وأمر - سبحانه - رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يرد عليهم فقال - تعالى - : ( بَلْ قَالُواْ . . . ) .لفظ " بل " فى قوله - تعالى - : ( بَلْ قَالُواْ مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الأولون ) لللإضراب الانتقالى . وهو معطوف على مضمر يقتضيه المقام .أى : لقد سقنا لهم ألواناً من النعم ، وسقنا لهم ما يدل على قدرتنا ومع ذلك فلم يؤمنوا . بل قالوا مثل ما قال من هم على شاكلتهم فى الكفر من الأقوام الأولين .

يقول تعالى ذكره: ما اعتبر هؤلاء المشركون بآيات الله، ولا تدبروا ما احتجّ عليهم من الحجج والدلالة على قدرته، على فعل كلّ ما يشاء، ولكن قالوا مثل ما قال أسلافهم من الأمم المكذّبة رسلها قبلهم.

بل قالوا مثل ما قال الأولون ) أي : كذبوا كما كذب الأولون .

بَلْ قَالُوا مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الْأَوَّلُونَ (81) هذا إدماج لذكر أصل آخر من أصول الشرك وهو إحالة البعث بعد الموت . و ( بل ) للإضراب الإبطالي إبطالاً لكونهم يعقلون . وإثباتٌ لإنكارهم البعث مع بيان ما بعثهم على إنكاره وهو تقليد الآباء . والمعنى : أنهم لا يعقلون الأدلة لكنهم يتبعون أقوال آبائهم .والكلام جرى على طريقة الالتفات من الخطاب إلى الغيبة لأن الكلام انتقل من التقريع والتهديد إلى حكاية ضلالهم فناسب هذا الانتقال مقام الغيبة لما في الغيبة من الإبعاد فالضمير عائد إلى المخاطبين .والقول هنا مراد به ما طابق الاعتقاد لأن الأصل في الكلام مطابقة اعتقاد قائله ، فالمعنى : بل ظنوا مثل ما ظن الأولون .والأولون : أسلافهم في النسب أو أسلافهم في الدين من الأمم المشركين .وجملة { قالوا أإذا متنا } إلخ بدل مطابق من جملة { قالوا مثل ما قال الأولون } تفصيل لإجمال المماثلة ، فالضمير الذي مع { قالوا } الثاني عائد إلى ما عاد إليه ضمير { قالوا } الأول وليس عائداً على { الأولون } . ويجوز جعل { قالوا } الثاني استئنافاً بيانياً لبيان { ما قال الأولون } ويكون الضمير عائداً إلى { الأولون } والمعنى واحد على التقديرين . وعلى كلا الوجهين فإعادة فعل ( قالوا ) من قبيل إعادة الذي عمل في المبدل منه . ونكتته هنا التعجيب من هذا القول .

تفسير الآيتين 81 و 82أي: بل سلك هؤلاء المكذبون مسلك الأولين من المكذبين بالبعث، واستبعدوه غاية الاستبعاد وقالوا: { أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَئِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ } أي: هذا لا يتصور، ولا يدخل العقل، بزعمهم.

ثم عيرهم بقولهم وأخبر عنهم أنهم " قالوا مثل ما قال الأولون "

Man has been endowed with wisdom, which gives him the capacity to go deep into matters and discover the underlying reality. But, it seldom happens that man uses his wisdom in the real sense. He forms opinions on the basis of outward appearances. There are very few who consciously and openly deny the existence of the life hereafter. However, many can in fact be said to reject this belief. These are such as only formally accept the existence of the life hereafter, but in practice lead their lives as if they have no belief that they will be resurrected after death and presented before God to account for their deeds.

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَ‌بِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ And We have already seized them with punishment, but they did not turn humble to their Lord, nor do they supplicate in humility. (23:76) In the preceding verse it has been stated that when the unbelievers are subjected to chastisement for their sins, they plead to Allah and the Holy Prophet ﷺ for mercy and when Allah who is Merciful relieves their suffering, they return to their evil practices and wicked deeds. This verse relates a similar instance when the unbelievers were punished for their misdeeds. However when they were delivered from their sufferings as a result of the intercession by the Holy Prophet ﷺ on their behalf, they did not humble themselves before Allah but persisted in idolatry and unbelief. Visitation of famine upon Makkah and its deliverance on the prayers of the Holy Prophet ﷺ It has been mentioned earlier that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had prayed to Allah to punish the people of Makkah with famine and as a result they were reduced to great straits and were forced to eat dead animals. At last, Abu Sufyan presented himself before the Holy Prophet ﷺ at Madinah and said, "I appeal you in the name of Allah, did you not say that you had been sent by Him as mercy for the whole world?" The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied, "Yes I did, and what I said is true also." Then Abu Sufyan said, "You killed the leaders of your clan with sword at the battle of Badr and now you are killing those who still survive with starvation. Pray to Allah, I beseech you, to remove this curse from over our heads." The Holy Prophet ﷺ then prayed to Allah to forgive the people of Makkah and deliver them from the agony of hunger, and his prayer was granted forthwith. The verse: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَ‌بِّهِمْ (23:76) was revealed on this occasion and refers to this incident. (Mazhari)

(Nay, but they) i.e. the people of Mecca (say the like of that which) disbelieve in resurrection after death in the same was as (said the men of old) the people of old disbelieved in resurrection after death;