Abraham — Verse 45

There will be no Respite after the Coming of the Torment Allah mentions what those who committed injustice against themselves will say when they witness the torment, رَبَّنَآ أَخِّرْنَآ إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ (Our Lord! Respite us for a little while, we will answer Your call and follow the Messengers!) Allah said in other Ayat, حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ (Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: "My Lord! Send me back.")23:99 and, يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَلُكُمْ (O you who believe! Let not your properties divert you.) 63:9-10 Allah described the condition of the wrongdoers on the Day of Gathering, when He said, وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُواْ رُءُوسِهِمْ (And if you only could see when the criminals shall hang their heads.) 32:12, وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُواْ عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُواْ يلَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلاَ نُكَذِّبَ بِـَايَـتِ رَبِّنَا (If you could but see when they will be held over the Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back (to the world)! Then we would not deny the Ayat of Our Lord. .."!) 6:27 and, وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُونَ فِيهَا (Therein they will cry.) 35:27 Allah refuted their statement here, أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِّن زَوَالٍ (Had you not sworn aforetime that you would not leave.) Allah says, `Had you not vowed before, that your previous state will not change, that there will be no Resurrection or Reckoning Therefore, taste this torment because of what you vowed before.' Mujahid commented that, مَا لَكُمْ مِّن زَوَالٍ (that you would not leave.) refers to leaving this worldly life to the Hereafter. Allah also said, وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ لاَ يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ مَن يَمُوتُ (And they swear by Allah with their strongest oaths, that Allah will not raise up him who dies.) 16:38 Allah said next, وَسَكَنتُمْ فِى مَسَـكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ وَضَرَبْنَا لَكُمُ الأَمْثَالَ (And you dwelt in the dwellings of men who wronged themselves, and it was clear to you how We had dealt with them. And We put forth (many) parables for you.) Allah says, `you have witnessed or heard of the news of what happened to the earlier disbelieving nations, but you did not draw a lesson from their end, nor did what We punished them with provide an example for you,' حِكْمَةٌ بَـلِغَةٌ فَمَا تُغْنِـى النُّذُرُ (Perfect wisdom but the warners benefit then not.)54:5 Shu`bah narrated that Abu Ishaq said that `Abdur-Rahman bin Dabil said that `Ali bin Abi Talib commented on Allah's statement, وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ (though their plot was not such as to remove the mountains from their places.) "He who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord, took two eaglets and raised them until they became adult eagels. Then he tied each eagel's leg to a wooden box with ropes and left them go hungry. He and another man sat inside the wooden box and raised a staff with a piece of meat on its tip. So, the two eagles started flying. The king asked his companion to tell him what he was seeing, and he described the scenes to him, until he said that he saw the earth as a fly. So, the king brought the staff closer to the eagels and they started landing slowly. This is why Allah said, (وَإِنْ كَادَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ) `though their plot was hardly one to remove the mountains from their places."' Mujahid also mentioned that this story was about Nebuchadnezzar, and that when the king's sight was far away from earth and its people, he was called, `O tyrant one! Where are you headed to' He became afraid and brought the staff closer to the eagels, which flew faster with such haste that the mountains almost shook from the noise they made. The mountains were almost moved from their places, so Allah said, وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ (though their plot was not such as to remove the mountains from their places.)" Ibn Jurayj narrated that Mujahid recited this Ayah in a way that means, "though their plot was such as to remove the mountains from their places." However, Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said that, وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ (though their plot was not such as to remove the mountains from their places.) indicates that their plot was not such as to remove the mountains from their places. Similar was said by Al-Hasan Al-Basri. Ibn Jarir reasoned that, "Associating others with Allah and disbelieving in Him, which they brought upon themselves, did not bother the mountains nor other creatures. Rather, the harm of their actions came to haunt them." I (Ibn Kathir) said, this meaning is similar to Allah's statement, وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الاٌّرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً (And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance. Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth, nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height.)17:37 There is another way of explaining this Ayah; `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that, وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ (though their plot was not such as to remove the mountains from their places.) refers to their Shirk, for Allah said in another Ayah, تَكَادُ السَّمَـوَتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ (Whereby the heavens are almost torn.) 19:90 Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said similarly.

And you dwelt in it in the dwelling-places of those who wronged themselves through unbelief those from among communities of old and it became clear to you how We dealt with them by way of punishment — but you were not restrained thereby — and We struck made clear similitudes for you in the Qur’ān but you did not take heed.

وحللتم في مساكن الكافرين السابقين الذين ظلموا أنفسهم كقوم هود وصالح، وعلمتم -بما رأيتم وأُخبرتم- ما أنزلناه بهم من الهلاك، وضربنا لكم الأمثال في القرآن، فلم تعتبروا؟

وسكنتم في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم وتبين لكم كيف فعلنا بهم وضربنا لكم الأمثال " أي قد رأيتم وبلغكم ما أحللنا بالأمم المكذبة قبلكم ومع هذا لم يكن لكم فيهم معتبر ولم يكن فيما أوقعنا بهم لكم مزدجر " حكمة بالغة فما تغني النذر".

وقوله - سبحانه - : ( وَسَكَنتُمْ فِي مساكن الذين ظلموا أَنفُسَهُمْ . . . ) معطوف على ( أقسمتم . . ) .والمراد بالسكنى : الحلول فى أماكن الظالمين لوقت يكفى للاتعاظ والاعتبار وكفار قريش كانوا يمرون قوم ثمود فى رحلتهم إلى الشام ، وكانوا يحطون رحالهم هناك ، كما كانوا يمرون على ديار قوم عاد فى رحلتهم إلى اليمن .والمعنى : لقد أقسمتم - أيها الضالون - بأنكم مالكم من انتقال من دار الدنيا إلى دار الآخرة ، وحللتم فى مساكن القوم الظالمين .( وتبين لكم ) عن طريق المشاهدة وتواتر الأخبار .( كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ ) من الإِهلاك والتدمير بسبب كفرهم وفسوقهم .( وَضَرَبْنَا لَكُمُ الأمثال ) بما فعلوه وبما فعلناه بهم ، عن طريق كتابنا ، وعلى لسان رسولنا محمد - صلى الله عليه وسلم - .وكان من الواجب عليكم بعد كل ذلك أن تعتبروا وتتعظوا وتثوبوا إلى رشدكم ، وتدخلوا فى الإِسلام ، ولكنكم كنتم قوما فاسقين ، سائرين على نهج هؤلاء المهلكين فى الكفر والفجور ، فاليوم ذوقوا العذا بسبب جحودكم للحق فى الدنيا .قال الإِمام ابن كثير عند تفسيره لهذه الآية : أى : قد رأيتم وبلغكم ما أحللنا بالأمم المكذبة قبلكم ، ومع هذا لم يكن لكم فيهم معتبر ، ولم يكن فيما أوقعنا بهم مزدجر لكم .قال - تعالى - ( حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ فَمَا تُغْنِ النذر ).

وهذا تقريع من الله تعالى ذكره للمشركين من قريش ، بعد أن دخلوا النار بإنكارهم في الدنيا البعث بعد الموت ، يقول لهم: إذ سألوه رفع العذاب عنهم ، وتأخيرهم لينيبوا ويتوبوا( أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا ) في الدنيا( أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ ) يقول: ما لكم من انتقال من الدنيا إلى الآخرة ، وإنكم إنما تموتون ، ثم لا تبعثون.كما حدثنا القاسم ، قال : ثنا الحسين ، قال : ثني حجاج ، عن ابن جريج ، عن مجاهد ، قال ( أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ ) كقوله وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لا يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَمُوتُ بَلَى . ثم قال ( مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ ) قال: الانتقال من الدنيا إلى الآخرة.حدثني محمد بن عمرو ، قال : ثنا أبو عاصم ، قال : ثنا عيسى ، وحدثني الحارث ، قال : ثنا الحسن قال: ثنا ورقاء ، وحدثنا الحسن بن محمد ، قال : ثنا شبابة ، قال : ثنا ورقاء ، وحدثني المثنى ، قال : ثنا أبو حذيفة ، قال : ثنا سلمة ، وحدثني المثنى ، قال : أخبرنا إسحاق ، قال : ثنا عبد الله ، قال : ثنا ورقاء جميعا ، عن ابن أبي نجيح ، عن مجاهد ، قوله ( مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ ) قال: لا تموتون لقريش.حدثني القاسم ، قال : ثنا سويد ، قال : أخبرنا ابن المبارك ، عن الحكم ، عن عمرو بن أبي ليلى أحد بني عامر ، قال : سمعت محمد بن كعب القرظي يقول: بلغني ، أو ذُكر لي أن أهل النار ينادون رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ فردّ عليهم أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ * وَسَكَنْتُمْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ... إلى قوله لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ .

( وسكنتم ) في الدنيا ( في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم ) بالكفر والعصيان قوم نوح ، وعاد ، وثمود ، وغيرهم . ( وتبين لكم كيف فعلنا بهم ) أي : عرفتم عقوبتنا إياهم ( وضربنا لكم الأمثال ) أي : بينا أن مثلكم كمثلهم .

الخطاب في قوله : { وسكنتم في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم } فإنه يعم جميع أمم الشرك عدا الأمة الأولى منهم . وهذا من تخصيص العموم بالعقل إذ لا بد أن تكون الأمة الأولى من أهل الشرك لم تسكن في مساكن مشركين .والمراد بالسكنى : الحلول ، ولذلك عُدّي بحرف الظرفية خلافاً لأصل فعله المتعدي بنفسه . وكان العرب يمرون على ديار ثمود في رحلتهم إلى الشام ويحطون الرحال هنالك ، ويمرون على ديار عاد في رحلتهم إلى اليمن .وتبيّنُ ما فعل الله بهم من العقاب حاصل من مشاهدة آثار العذاب من خسف وفناء استئصال .وضَرب الأمثال بأقوال المواعظ على ألسنة الرسل عليهم السلام ، ووصف الأحوال الخفية .وقد جمع لهم في إقامة الحجة بين دلائل الآثار والمشاهدة ودلائل الموعظة . .

{ و } ليس عملكم قاصر في الدنيا من أجل الآيات البينات، بل { سَكَنْتُمْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ } من أنواع العقوبات؟ وكيف أحل الله بهم العقوبات، حين كذبوا بالآيات البينات، وضربنا لكم الأمثال الواضحة التي لا تدع أدنى شك في القلب إلا أزالته، فلم تنفع فيكم تلك الآيات بل أعرضتم ودمتم على باطلكم حتى صار ما صار، ووصلتم إلى هذا اليوم الذي لا ينفع فيه اعتذار من اعتذر بباطل.

قوله : وسكنتم في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم وتبين لكم كيف فعلنا بهم وضربنا لكم الأمثالقوله تعالى : وسكنتم في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم وتبين لكم كيف فعلنا بهم وضربنا لكم الأمثال أي في بلاد ثمود ونحوها فهلا اعتبرتم بمساكنهم ، بعد ما تبين لكم ما فعلنا بهم ، وبعد أن ضربنا لكم الأمثال في القرآن . وقرأ أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي " ونبين لكم " بنون والجزم على أنه مستقبل ومعناه الماضي ; وليناسب قوله : كيف فعلنا بهم . وقراءة الجماعة " وتبين " وهي مثلها في المعنى ; لأن ذلك لا يتبين لهم إلا بتبيين الله إياهم .

Man’s behaviour is such that he does not realize his fate right to the very end. If he attains some power or status, he becomes boastful and conceited as if these things were never going to be snatched away from him. He rejects the call of God and forgets that the things on the strength of which he rejects the call were all given to him by God Himself. Arguments are presented to him, but he pays no attention to them. The ultimate fate of the arrogant people of the past is well known to him, but he thinks that whatever happened was meant for others and that this will never happen in his case. Those who have been given opportunities for betterment in the present world feel proud of ignoring the Truth. But after death, when they see the result of their arrogance, they will be so ashamed of their past that they will want to return to the past, so that they can contradict themselves and accept that very truth which they had earlier proudly rejected. Opposition of Truth amounts to opposition of God. Opponents of the Truth which is supported by God, are always unsuccessful, even if they come with preparation of Himalayan proportions.

In verse 45: وَسَكَنتُمْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ وَضَرَ‌بْنَا لَكُمُ الْأَمْثَالَ And you dwelt in the dwelling of those who wronged themselves, and it became clear to you how We dealt with them and We put forth for you the examples, as obvious, the address is to the Mushriks of Arabia. These were the people the Holy Prophet was asked to warn: وَأَنذِرِ‌ النَّاسَ (And warn the people - 44). In this address, they have been asked to take their guard against what could happen to them as a result of their heedlessness. They could learn a lesson from what had happened to past peoples. The conditions they faced and the revolutions that overtook them could be-come their teacher. Yet, it is astonishing that they would still prefer not to learn a lesson - even though, they live in the very homes once occupied by peoples destroyed in punishment and walk around neighbourhoods once walked by them. The truth is that they know by direct observation, and by what some continuing reports have told them that terrible was the punishment which Allah Ta’ ala inflicted on them because of their acts of disobedience. The advice and the examples given here were to bring them to see truth and take the straight path, but it was certainly strange that they would still not listen and learn to act right.

(And (have ye not) dwelt in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves (of old)) through idolatry and denial without take heed from their destruction (and (hath it not) become plain to you how We dealt with them) in this worldly life, (and made) struck (examples for you) in the Qur'an of all sorts: of promises, of threats, of mercy and of chastisement?