ترجمة معاني القرآن الكريم - الترجمة الإنجليزية - د. وليد بليهش العمري - جارٍ العمل عليها.
۞ وَإِذۡ نَتَقۡنَا ٱلۡجَبَلَ فَوۡقَهُمۡ كَأَنَّهُۥ ظُلَّةٞ وَظَنُّوٓاْ أَنَّهُۥ وَاقِعُۢ بِهِمۡ خُذُواْ مَآ ءَاتَيۡنَٰكُم بِقُوَّةٖ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ
[1813] This passage highlights a further incident from the saga of the Israelites. It is notable in the current context as it provides greater relevance to the rest of humanity, so that they may draw lessons from it. People, in general, are not to be misled into thinking that God only took the pledge from the Israelites specifically. Instead, they are being made aware of an earlier testimony from all humans that Allah is their only and true God. That they are told so after mention of the show of force that God demonstrated to the Israelites reminds people of God’s Power in the face of those who defy Him: “And nothing prevents people from Believing when guidance comes to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there ˹must˺ befall them the ˹accustomed˺ fate of the former peoples or that punishment should come ˹directly˺ before them” (18: 55).
[1814] After all these incidents of rebelling against God’s commands and Moses’ bidding as highlighted in Aya 145 above, they were only to afford the matter the care and concern it deserved through such a drastic measure as uprooting a mountain (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr), yet even that was not enough for them: “˹Remember˺ When We took your pledge, and raised the mountain above you; “Hold fast to what We have given you and bear in mind what came into it, so that you might be Mindful. ˹Remember˺ When We took your pledge, and raised the mountain above you; “Hold fast to what We have given you and bear in mind what came into it, so that you might be Mindful. *Then you turned away after that. Had it not been for Allah’s favour and Mercy, you would have been among the Losers” (2: 63-64).
وَإِذۡ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمۡ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمۡ وَأَشۡهَدَهُمۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ أَلَسۡتُ بِرَبِّكُمۡۖ قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ شَهِدۡنَآۚ أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنۡ هَٰذَا غَٰفِلِينَ
[1815] There are two equally strong, potentially reconcilable, views as to the time and nature of this testimony which is widely known among scholars as mīthāq al-fiṭrah (the covenant of innate nature). The first being that God (سبحانه وتعالى) extracted the children of Adam from his back and hence generated them one generation after the other from their fathers’ backs and made them all bear this testimony (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Shawkānī, al-Shinqīṭī). The hadiths cited in support of this view are the one narrated by Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger (ﷺ) said: “When Allah created Adam, He swiped his back and from his back fell everyone He would create from his posterity until the Day of Judgement” (al-Tirmidhī: 3076, al-Bazzār: 8892, al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak: 4132; it was deemed authentic by al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Baṭṭāl, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 3/370, and Ibn al-ʿArabī, Aḥkām al-Qur’ān, 2/333); and that which was narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) that the Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Allah took the pledge from the back of Adam; He took from his loin all the posterity He created and scattered them between His Hands like small ants, then He talked to them directly ˹saying˺: “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes, indeed! We bear witness ˹to it˺.” That, lest that you say on the Day of Judgement: “We were not aware of this!” Or that you may say: “Nay, but our fathers Associated before and we were nothing but a posterity ˹taking˺ after them; do You do away with us for what falsifiers committed?”” (Imām Aḥmad: 2455, al-Nasā’ī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 11127; it was deemed authentic by al-Ḥākim: 75, al-Dhahabī, Aḥmad Shākir, Musnad Aḥmad, and al-Albānī, Takhrīj Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, p. 171)
The other view, which is held by such mighty scholars as Ibn Taymiyyah, Dar’ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa al-Naql, 8/487, Ibn al-Qayyim, Shifā’ al-ʿAlīl, pp. 12-13, Ibn Kathīr and al-Saʿdī, is that God made it innate for people, generation after the other, and that it is hard-wired in our very nature to Believe and vouch for the Oneness of God, being rightly-inclined to pristine Faith (ḥanīfiyyah): “Devote yourself uprightly to the Religion and follow the innate nature ˹/constitution˺ as made by Allah, that innate nature in which He has created mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah. That is the right religion. But most people do not realize it” (30: 30). Since God created all humans thus, scattered His Signs all around them in all His creation and sent them Messengers as bearers of glad tidings and warners, they have no excuse but to Believe in Him and dedicate their worship to Him alone (Tafsīr al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah).
أَوۡ تَقُولُوٓاْ إِنَّمَآ أَشۡرَكَ ءَابَآؤُنَا مِن قَبۡلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةٗ مِّنۢ بَعۡدِهِمۡۖ أَفَتُهۡلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ ٱلۡمُبۡطِلُونَ
[1816] This stands for al-mubṭilūn, i.e. their fathers who came with falsehood (al-bāṭil) and abandoned monotheism (al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Wasīṭ, al-Baiḍāwī).
وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ وَلَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡجِعُونَ
وَٱتۡلُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ نَبَأَ ٱلَّذِيٓ ءَاتَيۡنَٰهُ ءَايَٰتِنَا فَٱنسَلَخَ مِنۡهَا فَأَتۡبَعَهُ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنُ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡغَاوِينَ
[1817] Exegetes speculated as to who exactly this person was, but al-Ṭabarī is of the opinion that determining this is inconsequential as the case is of a general nature and could apply to many people. Indeed, the moral of the parable is universally applicable and calls for much thought (for many reflections on this parable see: Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Fawā’id, pp. 101-102 and Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn, 1/127).
[1818] Fa-nsalakha minhā aptly brings to the fore the image of skinning so as to underline how much this person has shrugged off the Divine knowledge that he was given and how far he has distanced himself from it (cf. al- Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Wasīṭ, al-Saʿdī).
[1819] Thus he exposed himself to Satan who eagerly ceased the chance to sway him away and so possess him (cf. al-Muyassar, al-Mukhtaṣar).
وَلَوۡ شِئۡنَا لَرَفَعۡنَٰهُ بِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّهُۥٓ أَخۡلَدَ إِلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُۚ فَمَثَلُهُۥ كَمَثَلِ ٱلۡكَلۡبِ إِن تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡهِ يَلۡهَثۡ أَوۡ تَتۡرُكۡهُ يَلۡهَثۚ ذَّٰلِكَ مَثَلُ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَاۚ فَٱقۡصُصِ ٱلۡقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
[1820] Knowledge is not enough to elevate a person and nurture his spirit but following the Truth, choosing it over everything else and seeking God’s Pleasure do just that (cf. Ibn al-Qayyim, Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn, 1/129).
[1821] Akhlada ilā al-arḍ means that he preferred the joys and riches of this lowly life to that of the Hereafter, thus following his lusts and vain desires (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[1822] It is part of a dog’s nature to pant whether it is being chased away or not. Such is the degrading parable that God draws of this kind of person who ˹pants after˺ this worldly life; no matter whether he is admonished or not, he will not change (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “Indeed the Deniers, whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not Believe. *Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes there is a veil—theirs is a grievous Punishment” (2: 6-7).
سَآءَ مَثَلًا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَأَنفُسَهُمۡ كَانُواْ يَظۡلِمُونَ
مَن يَهۡدِ ٱللَّهُ فَهُوَ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدِيۖ وَمَن يُضۡلِلۡ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡخَٰسِرُونَ
