The Poets — Verse 8

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Qur'an and the Disbelievers turning away; They could be compelled to believe if Allah so willed At the beginning of the explanation of Surat Al-Baqarah we discussed the letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs. Allah's saying: تِلْكَ ءايَاتُ الْكِتَـبِ الْمُبِينِ (These are the Ayat of the Book Mubin.) means, these are the verses of the Clear Qur'an, i.e. the clear and unambiguous Book which distinguishes between truth and falsehood, misguidance and guidance. لَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ (It may be that you are going Bakhi` yourself,) means, destroy yourself -- because of your keenness that they should be guided and your grief for them. أَلاَّ يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (that they do not become believers.) Here Allah is consoling His Messenger for the lack of faith of those among the disbelievers who do not believe in him. This is like the Ayat: فَلاَ تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍ (So destroy not yourself in sorrow for them) (35:8). فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَـذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفاً (Perhaps, you would Bakhi` yourself, over their footsteps, because they believe not in this narration) (18:6). Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, `Atiyyah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan and others said that: لَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ (It may be that you are going Bakhi` yourself,) means, `kill yourself.' Then Allah says: إِن نَّشَأْ نُنَزِّلْ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ ءَايَةً فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَـقُهُمْ لَهَا خَـضِعِينَ (If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.) meaning, `if We so willed, We could send down a sign that would force them to believe, but We will not do that because We do not want anyone to believe except by choice.' Allah says: وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لآمَنَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا أَفَأَنتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you then compel mankind, until they become believers.) (10:99) وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً (And if your Lord had so willed, He could surely, have made mankind one Ummah...) (11:118) But Allah's will has acted, His decree has come to pass, and His proof has been conveyed to mankind by mission of Messengers and the revelation of Books to them. Then Allah says: وَمَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَـنِ مُحْدَثٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضِينَ (And never comes there unto them a Reminder as a recent revelation from the Most Gracious, but they turn away therefrom.) meaning, every time a Scripture comes from heaven to them, most of the people turn away from it. As Allah says: وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ (And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly.) (12:103) يحَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ (Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.) (36:30) ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى كُلَّ مَا جَآءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ (Then We sent Our Messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him...) (23:44). Allah says here: فَقَدْ كَذَّبُواْ فَسَيَأْتِيهِمْ أَنبَـؤُا مَا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ (So, they have indeed denied, then the news of what they mocked at will come to them.) meaning, they denied the truth that came to them, so they will come to know the news of the consequences of this denial after a while. وَسَيَعْلَمْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ أَىَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ (And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned) (26:227). Then Allah tells those who dared to oppose His Messenger and disbelieve in His Book, that He is the Subduer, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, Who created the earth and caused every good kind of crop, fruit and animal to grow therein. Sufyan Ath-Thawri narrated from a man from Ash-Sha`bi that people are a product of the earth. So whoever enters Paradise is good and noble, and whoever enters Hell is base and vile. إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لآيَةً (Verily, in this is an Ayah,) meaning an evidence of the power of the Creator of all things. He spread out the earth and raised the canopy of the heavens, yet despite that the majority of people do not believe, rather they deny Him, His Messengers, and His Books, and they go against His commands doing the things He had prohibited. His saying: وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ (And verily your Lord, He is truly the All-Mighty,) means, the One Who has power over all things, to subdue and control them, الرَّحِيمِ (the Most Merciful. ) means, towards His creation, for He does not hasten to punish the one who sins, but He gives him time to repent, and if he does not, then He seizes him with a mighty punishment. Abu Al-`Aliyah, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ibn Ishaq said: "He is Almighty in His punishment of those who went against His commands and worshipped others besides Him." Sa`id bin Jubayr said: "He is Most Merciful towards those who repent to Him and turn to Him."

Surely in that there is a sign an indication of the perfection of His power exalted be He; but most of them in God’s knowledge are not believers kāna here according to Sībawayhi is extra.

أكذبوا ولم ينظروا إلى الأرض التي أنبتنا فيها من كل نوع حسن نافع من النبات، لا يقدر على إنباته إلا رب العالمين؟ إن في إخراج النبات من الأرض لَدلالة واضحة على كمال قدرة الله، وما كان أكثر القوم مؤمنين. وإن ربك لهو العزيز على كل مخلوق، الرحيم الذي وسعت رحمته كل شيء.

"إن في ذلك لآية" أي دلالة على قدرة الخالق للأشياء الذي بسط الأرض ورفع بناء السماء ومع هذا ما آمن أكثر الناس بل كذبوا به وبرسله وكتبه وخالفوا أمره وارتكبوا نهيه.

ثم ختم - سبحانه - هذه الآيات بآيتين تكررتا فى السورة الكريمة ثمانى مرات . ألا وهما قوله - تعالى - ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُّؤْمِنِينَ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ العزيز الرحيم ) .أى : إن فى ذلك الذى ذكرناه عن إنباتنا لكل زوج كريم فى الأرض ( لآيَةً ) عظيمة الدلالة على كماق قدرتنا ، وسعة رحمتنا ، وما كان أكثر هؤلاء الكافرين مؤمنين ، لإيثارهم العمى على الهدى ، والغى على الرشد .

يقول تعالى ذكره: إن في إنباتنا في الأرض من كلّ زوج كريم لآية. يقول: لدلالة لهؤلاء المشركين المكذّبين بالبعث, على حقيقته, وأن القدرة التي بها أنبت الله في الأرض ذلك النبات بعد جدوبتها, لن يُعجزه أن يُنْشر بها الأموات بعد مماتهم, أحياء من قبورهم.وقوله: ( وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ) يقول: وما كان أكثر هؤلاء المكذبين بالبعث, الجاحدين نبوتك يا محمد, بمصدقيك على ما تأتيهم به من عند الله من الذكر.يقول جلّ ثناؤه: وقد سبق في علمي أنهم لا يؤمنون, فلا يؤمن بك أكثرهم للسابق من علمي فيهم. وقوله: ( وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ) يقول: وإن ربك يا محمد لهو العزيز في نقمته, لا يمتنع عليه أحد أراد الانتقام منه. يقول تعالى ذكره: وإني إن أحللت بهؤلاء المكذبين بك يا محمد, المعرضين عما يأتيهم من ذكر من عندي, عقوبتي بتكذيبهم إياك, فلن يمنعهم مني مانع, لأني أنا العزيز الرحيم, يعني أنه ذو الرحمة بمن تاب من خلقه من كفره ومعصيته, أن يعاقبه على ما سلف من جرمه بعد توبته.وكان ابن جُرَيج يقول في معنى ذلك, ما حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني الحجاج, عن ابن جُرَيج قال: كلّ شيء في الشعراء من قوله ( الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ) فهو ما أهلك ممن مضى من الأمم, يقول عزيز, حين انتقم من أعدائه, رحيم بالمؤمنين, حين أنجاهم مما أهلك به أعداءه.

( إن في ذلك ) الذي ذكرت ، ) ( لآية ) دلالة على وجودي وتوحيدي وكمال قدرتي ، ( وما كان أكثرهم مؤمنين ) مصدقين ، أي : سبق علمي فيهم أن أكثرهم لا يؤمنون . وقال سيبويه : " كان " هاهنا صلة ، مجازه : وما أكثرهم مؤمنين .

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (8)وجملة : { وما كان أكثرهم مؤمنين } عطف على جملة : { إن في ذلك لآية } إخباراً عنهم بأنهم مصرّون على الكفر بعد هذا الدليل الواضح ، وضمير { أكثرهم } عائد إلى معلوم من المقام كما عاد الضمير الذي في قوله : { ألا يكونوا مؤمنين } [ الشعراء : 3 ] ، وهم مشركو أهل مكة وهذا تحدَ لهم كقوله : { ولن تفعلوا } [ البقرة : 24 ] .وأسنِد نفي الإيمان إلى أكثرهم لأن قليلاً منهم يؤمنون حينئذ أو بعد ذلك .و { كان } هنا مقحمة للتأكيد على رأي سيبويه والمحققين .

( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً ) على إحياء الله الموتى بعد موتهم, كما أحيا الأرض بعد موتها ( وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ) كما قال تعالى: وَمَا أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ .

إن في ذلك لآية أي فيما ذكر من الإنبات في الأرض لدلالته على أن الله قادر ، لا يعجزه شيء . وما كان أكثرهم مؤمنين أي مصدقين لما سبق من علمي فيهم . و " كان " هنا صلة في قول سيبويه ; تقديره : وما أكثرهم مؤمنين .

The sprouting of a green and flourishing tree from the earth is as wonderful an event as the sudden emergence of a camel from the earth and its starting to walk on its surface. People are wonder-struck by the second type of incident, though the more wonderful incidents are always happening on the earth without their learning any lesson from it. Almighty God wants man to notice the extraordinary but hidden aspects of ordinary events. In the events happening in the chain of cause and effect, he should be able to observe the direct role of God. Those who display this high degree of insight are the ones who will be treated as having faith in God and the ones who will be blessed with the eternal grace of God.

زَوْجٍ كَرِ‌يمٍ (noble pair - 26:7). The word زَوْجٍ (zawj) literally means a pair. That is why man and woman, and male and female are called Zawj. Many species of trees have male and female among them. On this basis they can also be called Zawj (زَوْجٍ ). Sometimes the word Zawj is also used for a special kind. On the basis of this meaning all species of trees can be called Zawj. The meaning of Karim is a nice and favourite thing.

(Lo! Herein) in the different kinds of fruit (is indeed a portent) a sign and an admonition; (yet most of them are not believers) they were not believers, and all of them were disbelievers, i.e. those who perished at Badr.