The Star — Verse 25

Yet to God belong the Hereafter and the former life that is to say the life of the world and so nothing comes to pass in them except what He exalted wills.

ليس للإنسان ما تمناه من شفاعة هذه المعبودات أو غيرها مما تهواه نفسه، فلله أمر الدنيا والآخرة.

أي إنما الأمر كله لله مالك الدنيا والآخرة والمتصرف في الدنيا والآخرة فهو الذي ما شاء كان وما لم يشأ لم يكن.

ثم بين - سبحانه - أن شهوات النفس ومطالبها وأمنياتها لا تتحقق إلا فى الإطار الذى يريده الله - تعالى - لها ، فقال : ( أَمْ لِلإِنسَانِ مَا تمنى فَلِلَّهِ الآخرة والأولى ) .والاستفهام هنا - أيضا - للإنكار ، ولإبطال اتباعهم للظنون ولما تهوان أنفسهم . .أى : إن هؤلاء قد اتبعوا فى ضلالهم وكفرهم الظنون والأوهام ، وما تشتهيه قلوبهم من حب للرياسة ، ومن تقليد للآباء ، ومن تطلع إلى أن هذه الأصنام ستشفع لهم عند الله - تعالى - . . مع أن وقائع الحياة وشواهدها التى يرونها بأعينهم ، تدل دلالة واضحة ، على أنه ليس كل ما يتمناه الإنسان يدركه ، وليس كل ما يريده يتحقق له . . .لأن كل شىء فى هذه الحياة مرهون بإرادته ومشيئته - سبحانه - وهو - عز وجل - صاحب الدار الآخرة ، وصاحب الدار الأولى وهى دار الدنيا ، ولا يقع فيهما إلا ما يريده .فالمقصود من الآيتين الكريمتين ، نفى ما كان يتمناه أولئك المشركون من شفاعة أصنامهم لهم يوم القيامة ، كما حكى عنهم - سبحانه - ذلك فى قوله : ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَآ إِلَى الله زلفى . . ) ونفى ما كانت تتطلع إليه نفوس بعضهم ، من نزول القرآن عليه ، أو من اختصاصه بالنبوة . فقد حكى - سبحانه - عنهم قولهم : ( . . . لَوْلاَ نُزِّلَ هذا القرآن على رَجُلٍ مِّنَ القريتين عَظِيمٍ ) كما أن المقصود بها كذلك ، ترويض النفس البشرية على عدم الجرى وراء ظنونها وأهوائها ، بل عليها أن تتمسك بالحق ، وأن تعتصم بطاعة الله - تعالى - وأن تباشر الأسباب التى شرعها - سبحانه - ، ثم بعد ذلك تترك النتائج له يسيرها كيف يشاء ، فإن له الآخرة والأولى .وقدم - سبحانه - الجار والمجرور فى قوله : ( أَمْ لِلإِنسَانِ مَا تمنى ) لإفادة أن هذا التمنى هو محط الإنكار ، وأن الإنسان العاقل هو الذى لا يجرى وراء أمنياته ، وإنما هو الذى يسعى إلى تحقيق ما أمره الله - تعالى - به من تكاليف .وقدم - سبحانه - الآخرة على الأولى ، لأنها الأهم ، إذ نعيمها هو الخالد الباقى ، أما شهوات الدنيا وملذتها ، فهى مهما كثرت ، زائلة فانية .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : أَمْ لِلإِنْسَانِ مَا تَمَنَّى (24)يقول تعالى ذكره: أم اشتهى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ما أعطاه الله من هذه الكرامة التي كرّمه بها من النبوّة والرسالة, وأنـزل الوحي عليه, وتمنى ذلك, فأعطاه إياه ربه, فلله ما في الدار الآخرة والأولى, وهي الدنيا, يعطي من شاء من خلقه ما شاء, ويحرم من شاء منهم ما شاء.وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( أَمْ لِلإنْسَانِ مَا تَمَنَّى ) قال: وإن كان محمد تمنى هذا, فذلك له.

" فلله الآخرة والأولى "، ليس كما ظن الكافر وتمنى، بل لله الآخرة والأولى، لا يملك أحد فيهما شيئاً إلا بإذنه.

فَلِلَّهِ الْآَخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَى (25(وفُرع على الإِنكار أن الله مالك الآخرة والأولى ، أي فهو يتصرف في أحوال أهلهما بحسب إرادته لا بحسب تمني الإِنسان . وهذا إبطال لمعتقدات المشركين التي منها يقينهم بشفاعة أصنامهم .وتقديم المجرور في { للإنسان ما تمنى } ، لأن محط الإِنكار هو أمنيتهم أن تجري الأمور على حسب أهوائهم فلذلك كانوا يُعرضون عن كل ما يخالف أهواءهم . فتقديم المعمول هنا لإِفادة القصر وهو قصر قلب ، أي ليس ذلك مقصوراً عليهم كما هو مقتضى حالهم فنزلوا منزلة من يرون الأمور تجري على ما يتمنّون ، أي بل أماني الإِنسان بيد الله يعطي بعضها ويمنع بعضها كما دل عليه التفريع عقبه بقوله : { فللَّه الآخرة والأولى } .وهذا من معاني الحكمة لأن رغبة الإِنسان في أن يكون ما يتمناه حاصلاً رغبة لو تبصّر فيها صاحبها لوجد تحقيقها متعذراً لأن ما يتمناه أحد يتمناه غيره فتتعارض الأماني فإذا أُعطي لأحد ما يتمنّاه حُرم من يتمنَّى ذلك معه فيفضي ذلك إلى تعطيل الأمنيتين بالأخارة ، والقانون الذي أقام الله عليه نظام هذا الكون أن الحظوظ مقسمة ، ولكل أحد نصيب ، ومن حق العاقل أن يتخلق على الرضى بذلك وإلا كان الناس في عيشة مريرة . وفي الحديث « لا تَسْأَللِ المرأةُ طلاق أختها لتستفرغ صحفتها ولتقعُد فإن لها ما كُتب لها » . وتفريع { فللَّه الآخرة والأولى } تصريح بمفهوم القصر الإِضافي كما علمت آنفاً . وتقديم المجرور لإِفادة الحصر ، أي لله لا للإِنسان .و { الآخرة } العالم الأخروي ، و { الأولى } العالم الدنيوي . والمراد بهما ما يحتويان عليه من الأمور ، أي أمور الآخرة وأمور الأولى ، والمقصود من ذكرهما تعميم الأشياء مثل قوله : { رب المشرقين ورب المغربين } [ الرحمن : 17 ] .وإنما قدمت الآخرة للاهتمام بها والتثنية إلى أنها التي يجب أن يكون اعتناء المؤمنين بها لأن الخطاب في هذه الآية للنبيء صلى الله عليه وسلم والمسلمين ، مع ما في هذا التقديم من الرعاية للفاصلة .

[فَلِلَّهِ الْآخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَى } فيعطي منهما من يشاء، ويمنع من يشاء، فليس الأمر تابعا لأمانيهم، ولا موافقا لأهوائهم.

يعطي من يشاء ويمنع من يشاء لا ما تمنى أحد .

Making deities of stone and worshipping them, calling the angels ‘daughters of God,’ hoping to enter Paradise on the basis of recommendations—all these are non-serious beliefs. Non-serious beliefs are the product of minds that have no fear of God’s wrath. Fear of God puts a stop to pointless talk: the mind of one who has no such fear will become a babel of useless chatter.

Various Types of Zann إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا (and conjecture is of no use in [ the matter on Truth.... 53:28) The Arabic word ظَن Zann is used in several different senses, and one of them is baseless thoughts. This is the sense in which it is employed in the verse, because baseless thoughts were the cause of idolatry. And the verse purports to remove the cause. Zann is also used as the antonym of yaqin. Yaqin refers to assured or definitive knowledge about something that really exists, not the figment of someone's imagination. In this case, there is no room for any doubt or suspicion, as for instance knowledge gained from the Qur'an and Prophetic Traditions uninterruptedly reported by an indefinite number of people or by such a large number that it is impossible that they should agree upon falsehood. As opposed to this certain knowledge, zann is sometime used for the knowledge that is based on a proof, and not on baseless thoughts, but the proof is not so certain as may rule out other possibilities, as for example, injunctions based on general narratives of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The first type of injunctions is referred to as qat'iyyat or yaqiniyyat and the second type is referred to as zanniyyat. This type of Zann is recognized by Shari` ah. There is ample evidence in Qur'an and Sunnah of its recognition. The entire Ummah concurs that it is obligatory to act upon it. The above verse when denouncing zann, refers to the first type of zann which connotes baseless thoughts. Thus there is no contradiction.

(But Unto Allah belongeth the after (life)) through the bestowal of reward, honour and intercession, (and the former) by giving knowledge and success.

Refuting Idolatry, Al-Lat and Al-`Uzza Allah the Exalted rebukes the idolators for worshipping idols and taking rivals to Him. They built houses for their idols to resemble the Ka`bah built by Prophet Ibrahim, Allah's Khalil. أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ اللَّـتَ (Have you then considered Al-Lat,) Al-Lat was a white stone with inscriptions on. There was a house built around Al-Lat in At-Ta'if with curtains, servants and a sacred courtyard around it. The people of At-Ta'if, the tribe of Thaqif and their allies, worshipped Al-Lat. They would boast to Arabs, except the Quraysh, that they had Al-Lat. Ibn Jarir said, "They derived Al-Lat's name from Allah's Name, and made it feminine. Allah is far removed from what they ascribe to Him. It was reported that Al-Lat is pronounced Al-Lat because, according to `Abdullah bin `Abbas, Mujahid, and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Al-Lat was a man who used to mix Sawiq (a kind of barley mash) with water for the pilgrims during the time of Jahiliyyah. When he died, they remained next to his grave and worshipped him." Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah's statement, اللَّـتَ وَالْعُزَّى (Al-Lat, and Al-`Uzza.) "Al-Lat was a man who used to mix Sawiq for the pilgrims." Ibn Jarir said, "They also derived the name for their idol Al-`Uzza from Allah's Name Al-`Aziz. Al-`Uzza was a tree on which the idolators placed a monument and curtains, in the area of Nakhlah, between Makkah and At-Ta'if. The Quraysh revered Al-`Uzza." During the battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan said, "We have Al-`Uzza, but you do not have Al-`Uzza." Allah's Messenger ﷺ replied, «قُولُوا: اللهُ مَوْلَانَا وَلَا مَوْلَى لَكُم» (Say, "Allah is Our Supporter, but you have no support.") Manat was another idol in the area of Mushallal near Qudayd, between Makkah and Al-Madinah. The tribes of Khuza`ah, Aws and Khazraj used to revere Manat during the time of Jahiliyyah. They used to announce Hajj to the Ka`bah from next to Manat. Al-Bukhari collected a statement from `A'ishah with this meaning. There were other idols in the Arabian Peninsula that the Arabs revered just as they revered the Ka`bah, besides the three idols that Allah mentioned in His Glorious Book. Allah mentioned these three here because they were more famous than the others. An-Nasa'i recorded that Abu At-Tufayl said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ conquered Makkah, he sent Khalid bin Al-Walid to the area of Nakhlah where the idol of Al-`Uzza was erected on three trees of a forest. Khalid cut the three trees and approached the house built around it and destroyed it. When he went back to the Prophet and informed him of the story, the Prophet said to him, «ارْجِعْ فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تَصْنَعْ شَيْئًا» (Go back and finish your mission, for you have not finished it.) Khalid went back and when the custodians who were also its servants of Al-`Uzza saw him, they started invoking by calling Al-`Uzza! When Khalid approached it, he found a naked woman whose hair was untidy and who was throwing sand on her head. Khalid killed her with the sword and went back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said to him, «تِلْكَ الْعُزَّى» (That was Al-`Uzza!)" Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated, "Al-Lat belonged to the tribe of Thaqif in the area of At-Ta'if. Banu Mu`attib were the custodians of Al-Lat and its servants." I say that the Prophet sent Al-Mughirah bin Shu`bah and Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb to destroy Al-Lat. They carried out the Prophet's command and built a Masjid in its place in the city of At-Ta'if. Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Manat used to be the idol of the Aws and Khazraj tribes and those who followed their religion in Yathrib (Al-Madinah). Manat was near the coast, close to the area of Mushallal in Qudayd. The Prophet sent Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb or `Ali bin Abi Talib to demolish it. Ibn Ishaq said that Dhul-Khalasah was the idol of the tribes of Daws, Khath`am and Bajilah, and the Arabs who resided in the area of Tabalah. I say that Dhul-Khalasah was called the Southern Ka`bah, and the Ka`bah in Makkah was called the Northern Ka`bah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Jarir bin `Abdullah Al-Bajali to Dhul-Khalasah and he destroyed it. Ibn Ishaq said that Fals was the idol of Tay' and the neighboring tribes in the Mount of Tay', such as Salma and Ajja. Ibn Hisham said that some scholars of knowledge told him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent `Ali bin Abi Talib to Fals and he destroyed it and found two swords in its treasure, which the Prophet then gave to `Ali as war spoils. Muhammad bin Ishaq also said that the tribes of Himyar, and Yemen in general, had a house of worship in San`a' called Riyam. He mentioned that there was a black dog in it and that the religious men who went with Tubba` removed it, killed it and demolished the building. Ibn Ishaq said that Ruda' was a structure of Bani Rabi`ah bin Ka`b bin Sa`d bin Zayd Manat bin Tamim, which Al-Mustawghir bin Rabi`ah bin Ka`b bin Sa`d demolished after Islam. In Sindad there was Dhul-Ka`bat, the idol of the tribes of Bakr and Taghlib, the sons of the Wa'il, and also the Iyad tribes. Refuting the Idolators Who appoint Rivals to Allah and claim that the Angels were Females Allah the Exalted said, أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ اللَّـتَ وَالْعُزَّى - وَمَنَوةَ الثَّالِثَةَ الاٍّخْرَى (Have you then considered Al-Lat, and Al-`Uzza. And Manat, the other third), then Allah said, أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الاٍّنثَى (Is it for you the males and for Him the females) Allah asked the idolators, `do you choose female offspring for Allah and give preference to yourselves with the males If you made this division between yourselves and the created, it would be, قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَى (a division most unfair!)' meaning, it would be an unfair and unjust division. `How is it then that you make this division between you and Allah, even though this would be foolish and unjust, if you made it between yourselves and others' Allah the Exalted refutes such innovated lies, falsehood and atheism they invented through worshipping the idols and calling them gods, إِنْ هِىَ إِلاَّ أَسْمَآءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم (They are but names which you have named -- you and your fathers) of your own desire, مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَـنٍ (for which Allah has sent down no authority.) meaning, proof, إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ (They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire,) they have no proof, except their trust in their forefathers who took this false path in the past, as well as, their lusts and desires to become leaders, and thereby gain honor and reverence for their forefathers, وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى (whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord!), meaning, Allah has sent them Messengers with the clear truth and unequivocal evidence. However, they did not adhere to or follow the guidance that came to them through the Prophets. Wishful Thinking does not earn One Righteousness Allah the Exalted said, أَمْ لِلإِنسَـنِ مَا تَمَنَّى (Or shall man have what he wishes), asserting that not everyone gets the goodness that he wishes, لَّيْسَ بِأَمَـنِيِّكُمْ وَلا أَمَانِىِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ (It will not be in accordance with desires (of Muslims), nor those of the People of Scripture.)(4:123) Allah says, not everyone who claims to be guided is truly guided, and not everyone gets what he wishes for himself. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «إِذَا تَمَنَّى أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَنْظُرْ مَا يَتَمَنَّى، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي مَا يُكْتَبُ لَهُ مِنْ أُمْنِيَّتِه» (When one of you wishes for something, let him be careful with what he wishes for, because he does not know what part of his wish will be written for him.)Only Ahmad collected this Hadith. Allah's statement, فَلِلَّهِ الاٌّخِرَةُ والاٍّولَى (But to Allah belongs the last and the first.) meaning, all matters belong to Allah and He is the King and Owner of this world and the Hereafter, Who does what He will in both lives. Whatever He wills, occurs and whatever He does not will, never occurs. No Interecession except with Allah's Leave Allah said, وَكَمْ مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ لاَ تُغْنِى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَرْضَى (And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with.) As He said; مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ (Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission )(2:255) and, وَلاَ تَنفَعُ الشَّفَـعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ (Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits.) (34:23) `If this is the case with the angels who are close to Him, how can you, O ignorant ones, hope for Allah to grant you the intercession of the idols and rivals you worship with Him without having His permission or any divine legislation permitting you to worship them' Rather, Allah has forbidden idol worshipping by the tongues of all of His Messengers and He revealed this prohibition in all of His Books.