Qisas al-Anbiya by Ibn Kathir (قصص الأنبياء لابن كثير) — Page 20

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

رُوحِهِ ، كَمَا قَالَ : ﴿ فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي فَقَعُوا لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ

So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration."

فَهَذِهِ أَرْبَعُ تَشْرِيفَاتٍ: خَلْقُهُ بِيَدِهِ الْكَرِيمَةِ ، وَنَفْخُهُ مِنْ رُوحِهِ ، وَأَمْرُ الْمَلَائِكَةِ بِالسُّجُودِ لَهُ ، وَتَعْلِيمُهُ أَسْمَاءَ الْأَشْيَاءِ

These are four honors: His creation of him with His noble hand, His breathing into him of His spirit, His command to the angels to prostrate to him, and His teaching him the names of all things.

وَلِهَذَا قَالَ لَهُ الْكَلِيمُ حِينَ اجْتَمَعَ هُوَ وَإِيَّاهُ فِي الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى وَتَنَاظَرَا كَمَا : « أَنْتَ آدَمُ أَبُو الْبَشَرِ الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ اللَّهُ بِيَدِهِ ، وَنَفَخَ فِيكَ مِنْ رُوحِهِ ، وَأَسْجَدَ لَكَ مَلَائِكَتَهُ ، وَعَلَّمَكَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

For this reason, the Interlocutor Moses said to him when he and he met in the Highest Assembly and debated, as will come: 'You are Adam, the father of mankind, whom Allah created with His hand, breathed into you of His spirit, made His angels prostrate to you, and taught you everything.'

وَهَكَذَا يَقُولُ لَهُ أَهْلُ الْمَحْشَرِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ ، وَكَمَا سَيَأْتِي إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى

And thus the people of the Gathering will say to him on the Day of Resurrection, as has preceded and as will come, if Allah the Exalted wills.

وَقَالَ فِي الْآيَةِ الْأُخْرَى : وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ . قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

And He said in the other verse: 'And We have certainly created you, then given you form, then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He was not of those who prostrated (11). [Allah] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" [Iblis] said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay (12)."'

قَالَ الْحَسَنُ الْبَصْرِيُّ : قَاسَ إِبْلِيسُ ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ قَاسَ

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: 'Iblis used analogy, and he was the first to use analogy.'

وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ : أَوَّلُ مَنْ قَاسَ إِبْلِيسُ ، وَمَا عُبِدَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَلَا الْقَمَرُ إِلَّا بِالْمَقَايِيسِ ، رَوَاهُمَا ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ

And Muhammad ibn Sirin said: 'The first to use analogy was Iblis, and the sun and the moon were not worshipped except through analogies.' Both were narrated by Ibn Jarir.

وَ مَعْنَى هَذَا أَنَّهُ نَظَرَ بِطَرِيقِ الْمُقَايَسَةِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ آدَمَ ، فَرَأَى نَفْسَهُ أَشْرَفَ مِنْ آدَمَ فَامْتَنَعَ مِنَ السُّجُودِ لَهُ ، مَعَ وُجُودِ الْأَمْرِ لَهُ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ بِالسُّجُودِ

The meaning of this is that he looked by way of analogy between himself and Adam, and he saw himself as more noble than Adam, so he refrained from prostrating to him, despite the existence of the command to him and to the rest of the angels to prostrate.

وَالْقِيَاسُ إِذَا كَانَ مُقَابِلًا بِالنَّصِّ كَانَ فَاسِدَ الِاعْتِبَارِ

And analogy, when it is in opposition to a textual proof, is invalid in consideration.

ثُمَّ هُوَ فَاسِدٌ فِي نَفْسِهِ ، فَإِنَّ الطِّينَ أَنْفَعُ وَخَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّارِ ، لِأَنَّ الطِّينَ فِيهِ الرَّزَانَةُ وَالْحِلْمُ وَالْأَنَاةُ وَالنُّمُوُّ ، وَالنَّارُ فِيهَا الطَّيْشُ وَالْخِفَّةُ وَالسُّرْعَةُ وَالْإِحْرَاقُ

Furthermore, it is invalid in itself, for clay is more beneficial and better than fire, because clay contains composure, forbearance, patience, and growth, while fire contains recklessness, volatility, haste, and burning.

ثُمَّ آدَمُ شَرَّفَهُ اللَّهُ بِخَلْقِهِ لَهُ بِيَدِهِ وَنَفْخِهِ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِهِ ، وَلِهَذَا أَمَرَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ بِالسُّجُودِ لَهُ ، كَمَا قَالَ : ﴿ وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي خَالِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَالٍ

Then Adam, Allah honored him by creating him with His hand and breathing into him of His spirit, and for this reason, He commanded the angels to prostrate to him, as He said: 'And when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay..."'

سُورَةُ الْحِجْرِ الْآيَةُ

(29) Surah al-Hijr, verse: 29.

سُورَةُ الْأَعْرَافِ الْآيَتَانِ

(12) Surah al-A'raf, verses: 11-12.

هُوَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ ، شَيْخُ الْبَصْرَةِ ، وَإِمَامُ الْمُعَبِّرِينَ تُوُفِّيَ ١١٠ هـ انْظُرْ : شَذَرَاتِ الذَّهَبِ

(35) He is Muhammad ibn Sirin, the Sheikh of Basra and the Imam of dream interpreters; he died in 110 AH. See: Shadharat al-Dhahab.

تَفْسِيرُ الطَّبَرِيِّ

(36) Tafsir al-Tabari, 8/98.

Vocabulary · المفردات (21 verbs · 48 nouns)

• سَوَّى — to fashion/perfect
• نَفَخَ — to blow
• وَقَعَ — to fall
• اجْتَمَعَ — to gather
• تَنَاظَرَ — to debate
• أَتَى — to come
• خَلَقَ — to create
• أَسْجَدَ — to make prostrate
• عَلَّمَ — to teach
• تَقَدَّمَ — to precede
• شَاءَ — to will
• صَوَّرَ — to form
• قَالَ — to say
• سَجَدَ — to prostrate
• مَنَعَ — to prevent
• قَاسَ — to draw an analogy
• عَبَدَ — to worship
• رَوَى — to narrate
• نَظَرَ — to look
• امْتَنَعَ — to refrain
• شَرَّفَ — to honor
• رُوح — spirit
• تَشْرِيف — honor
• خَلْق — creation
• يَد — hand
• كَرِيم — generous
• أَمْر — command
• مَلَاك — angel
• سُجُود — prostration
• تَعْلِيم — teaching
• اسْم — name
• شَيْء — thing
• كَلِيم — interlocutor
• مَلَأ — assembly
• أَعْلَى — highest
• بَشَر — human
• أَهْل — people
• مَحْشَر — gathering place
• يَوْم — day
• قِيَامَة — resurrection
• آيَة — verse
• أُخْرَى — other
• خَيْر — good
• نَار — fire
• طِين — clay
• مِقْيَاس — measure
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• طَرِيق — way
• مُقَايَسَة — analogy
• نَفْس — self
• أَشْرَف — more noble
• وُجُود — existence
• سَائِر — rest
• قِيَاس — analogy
• مُقَابِل — opposing
• نَصّ — text
• فَاسِد — corrupt
• اعْتِبَار — consideration
• أَنْفَع — more beneficial
• رَزَانَة — gravity
• حِلْم — forbearance
• أَنَاة — deliberation
• نُمُوّ — growth
• طَيْش — recklessness
• خِفَّة — lightness
• سُرْعَة — speed
• إِحْرَاق — burning
• خَالِق — creator
• صَلْصَال — clay