Tafsir as-Saadi (تيسير الكريم الرحمن في تفسير كلام المنان) — Page 160

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ أَيْ: أَصْلُهُ الَّذِي يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِ كُلُّ مُتَشَابِهٍ، وَهِيَ مُعْظَمُهُ وَأَكْثَرُهُ، وَمِنْهُ آيَاتٌ أُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ أَيْ: يَلْتَبِسُ مَعْنَاهَا عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأَذْهَانِ: لِكَوْنِ دَلَالَتِهَا مُجْمَلَةً، أَوْ يَتَبَادَرُ إِلَى بَعْضِ الْأَفْهَامِ غَيْرُ الْمُرَادِ مِنْهَا، فَالْحَاصِلُ أَنَّ مِنْهَا آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَةً وَاضِحَةً لِكُلِّ أَحَدٍ، وَهِيَ الْأَكْثَرُ الَّتِي يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهَا، وَمِنْهُ آيَاتٌ تَشْكُلُ عَلَى بَعْضِ النَّاسِ، فَالْوَاجِبُ فِي هَذَا أَنْ يُرَدَّ الْمُتَشَابِهُ إِلَى الْمُحْكَمِ وَالْخَفِيُّ إِلَى الْجَلِيِّ، فَبِهَذِهِ الطَّرِيقِ يَصْدُقُ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا وَلَا يَحْصُلُ فِيهِ مُنَاقَضَةٌ وَلَا مُعَارَضَةٌ، وَلَكِنَّ النَّاسَ انْقَسَمُوا إِلَى فِرْقَتَيْنِ

The Mother of the Book refers to its foundation, to which all ambiguous matters are returned. It constitutes the majority and the greater part of the Book. From it also come other, ambiguous verses, meaning their sense is obscure to many minds because their indication is general, or because some understandings might mistakenly attribute a meaning to them that was not intended. The conclusion is that there are verses clear and evident to everyone—which are the majority and the primary reference—and there are verses that are problematic for some. The duty here is to refer the ambiguous back to the definitive, and the hidden back to the manifest. By this method, they confirm one another, and no contradiction or opposition arises; yet, people have divided into two groups.

فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ أَيْ: مَيْلٌ عَنِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ بِأَنْ فَسَدَتْ مَقَاصِدُهُمْ، وَصَارَ قَصْدُهُمُ الْغَيَّ وَالضَّلَالَ وَانْحَرَفَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ عَنْ طَرِيقِ الْهُدَى وَالرَّشَادِ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ أَيْ يَتْرُكُونَ الْمُحْكَمَ الْوَاضِحَ وَيَذْهَبُونَ إِلَى الْمُتَشَابِهِ، وَيَعْكِسُونَ الْأَمْرَ فَيَحْمِلُونَ الْمُحْكَمَ عَلَى الْمُتَشَابِهِ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ لِمَنْ يَدْعُونَهُمْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ، فَإِنَّ الْمُتَشَابِهَ تَحْصُلُ بِهِ الْفِتْنَةُ بِسَبَبِ الِاشْتِبَاهِ الْوَاقِعِ فِيهِ، وَإِلَّا فَالْمُحْكَمُ الصَّرِيحُ لَيْسَ مَحَلًّا لِلْفِتْنَةِ لِوُضُوحِ الْحَقِّ فِيهِ لِمَنْ قَصَدَهُ اتِّبَاعُهُ، وَقَوْلُهُ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لِلْمُفَسِّرِينَ فِي الْوُقُوفِ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، قَوْلَانِ جُمْهُورُهُمْ يَقِفُونَ عِنْدَهَا، وَبَعْضُهُمْ يَعْطِفُ عَلَيْهَا وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ مُحْتَمَلٌ،

As for those in whose hearts is deviation—meaning an inclination away from uprightness due to corrupt intentions, where their aim has become error and misguidance, and their hearts have swerved from the path of guidance—they follow the ambiguous parts. They abandon the clear, definitive verses and turn to the ambiguous, reversing the matter by interpreting the definitive in light of the ambiguous to stir up discord among those they invite to their view. The ambiguous causes discord because of the confusion inherent in it, whereas the explicit, definitive text is not a source of discord for those who truly intend to follow the truth. Regarding His saying, 'and seeking its interpretation, and no one knows its interpretation except Allah,' commentators have two opinions on whether to pause at the word 'Allah.' The majority pause there, while some connect it to 'and those firm in knowledge.' Both are plausible.

فَإِنَّ التَّأْوِيلَ إِنْ أُرِيدَ بِهِ عِلْمُ حَقِيقَةِ الشَّيْءِ وَكُنْهِهِ كَانَ الصَّوَابُ الْوُقُوفَ عَلَى إِلَّا اللَّهُ لِأَنَّ الْمُتَشَابِهَ الَّذِي اسْتَأْثَرَ اللَّهُ بِعِلْمِ كُنْهِهِ وَحَقِيقَتِهِ، نَحْوَ حَقَائِقِ صِفَاتِ اللَّهِ وَكَيْفِيَّتِهَا وَحَقَائِقِ أَوْصَافِ مَا يَكُونُ فِي الْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ، فَهَذِهِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَا يَجُوزُ التَّعَرُّضُ لِلْوُقُوفِ عَلَيْهَا لِأَنَّهُ تَعَرُّضٌ لِمَا لَا يُمْكِنُ مَعْرِفَتُهُ،

If by 'interpretation' one means knowledge of the reality and essence of a thing, then the correct view is to pause at 'except Allah.' This is because the ambiguous, the essence and reality of which Allah has kept to Himself—such as the realities of His attributes and their modality, or the descriptions of what will occur on the Last Day—are known only to Him. It is not permissible to attempt to grasp them, as that is an attempt to know what cannot be known.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (34 verbs · 89 nouns)

• رَجَعَ — to return
• الْتَبَسَ — to be ambiguous
• تَبَادَرَ — to occur to the mind
• أُمٌّ — mother
• كِتَاب — book
• أَصْل — origin