براعة الاستهلال في سورة البقرة؛ عرضٌ وتحليلٌ
The Artistry of the Opening of Surah al-Baqarah: A Study and Analysis (Part Eight)
By: Abd an-Nasir Salamah
Translated by: Reza Ervani bin Asmanu
This article, “The Artistry of the Opening of Surah al-Baqarah,” is included in the Tadabbur al Quran in English Category
كما أنّ في وصف المتقين بالموقنين بالآخرة وجهًا آخر من التعريض باليهود، حيث قامت لهم من الدلائل والآيات الحسيَّة ما كان كفيلًا بأن يجعلهم من الموقنين بالبعث والآخرة أكثر من غيرهم؛ إِذْ أراهم اللهُ إحياء الموتى عيانًا في مناسباتٍ عديدةٍ، بَيْد أن ذلك لم يزدهم إلا قسوةً وغباوةً،
The description of the people of taqwa as those who possess certainty in the Hereafter also contains, according to the author, another implicit criticism of the Jews. They had been shown evidences and tangible signs that should have made them more certain than others regarding resurrection and the Hereafter, since Allah had shown them the revival of the dead before their own eyes on several occasions. Yet this did not increase them except in hardness and dullness of heart.
كما أشار تعالى إلى ذلك عقب ذِكْره إحياء القتيل الذي اختصموا في أمره بضربه بجزءٍ من البقرة التي أُمِروا بذبحها:
Allah Most High points to this after mentioning the revival of the murdered man whose case they had disputed, when he was struck with part of the cow they had been commanded to slaughter:
﴿فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا كَذَلِكَ يُحْيِ اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَى وَيُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ * ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً﴾ [البقرة: ٧٣ – ٧٤].
“So We said, ‘Strike him with part of it.’ Thus does Allah bring the dead to life, and He shows you His signs so that you may understand. Then, after that, your hearts became hardened, like stones or even harder.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 73–74)
وأمّا الموضوع الثالث الذي ستقع الإشارة إليه في مستهلّ السورة فيما يخصّ أهل الكتاب ففي دعواهم أيضًا اختصاص الهداية بهم، وخلوص الجنة لهم، وقد أومأ مستهل سورة البقرة إلى بطلان هذه الدعوى التي ادّعوها إيماءً لطيفًا من خلال ذكر اختصاص أهل التقوى بالهدى وبالفلاح في قوله تعالى:
As for the third subject concerning the People of the Book that is alluded to at the beginning of the surah, it is their claim that guidance belongs exclusively to them and that Paradise is theirs alone. The opening of Surah al-Baqarah subtly points to the invalidity of this claim by identifying the people of taqwa as those who possess true guidance and success, as Allah Most High says:
﴿أُولَئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾ [البقرة: ٥]،
“Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 5)
حيث ذكر الزمخشريُّ -وهذا منه بديعٌ جدًّا- أنّ في تخصيص المتقين بالهدى والفلاح تعريضٌ بأهل الكتاب الذين لم يؤمنوا بنبوّة رسول اللَّه -صلى الله عليه وسلم-، وهم ظانّون أنهم على الهدى وطامعون أنهم ينالون الفلاح عند اللَّه تعالى[25].
Az-Zamakhshari — and this is a particularly subtle observation from him — stated that restricting guidance and success to the people of taqwa contains an implicit criticism of the People of the Book who did not believe in the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, while thinking that they themselves were rightly guided and hoping that they would attain success with Allah Most High.1
وهذا الموضوع قد تناولته سورة البقرة لاحقًا في قوله تعالى:
This theme is addressed again later in Surah al-Baqarah in the words of Allah Most High:
﴿وَقَالُوا كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تَهْتَدُوا قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ [البقرة: ١٣٥]،
“And they say, ‘Be Jews or Christians and you will be guided.’ Say, ‘Rather, we follow the religion of Ibrahim, inclining to truth, and he was not among the polytheists.’” (Surah al-Baqarah: 135)
وقوله تعالى:
And also His saying:
﴿وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴾ [البقرة: ١١١].
“And they say, ‘None will enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian.’ Those are merely their wishes. Say, ‘Produce your proof, if you are truthful.’” (Surah al-Baqarah: 111)
فهذه الموضوعات العقدية الثلاثة لأهل الكتاب الآنفة الذِّكْر قد جاءت الإشارة اللطيفة إليها في مفتتح سورة البقرة قبل أن يأتي تفصيلها في السورة لاحقًا، فيكون ذلك من براعة الاستهلال في السورة.
Thus, the three theological themes concerning the People of the Book mentioned above are subtly indicated at the beginning of Surah al-Baqarah before being explained in greater detail later in the surah. This constitutes part of the bara’at al-istihlal of the surah.
ولا شكّ أنّ هذه الموضوعات قد تُنُووِلَت أيضًا في غير البقرة، لا سيما في السور التي تلت البقرة؛ كآل عمران والنساء والمائدة؛ حيث جاء فيها الحديث عن عقائد النصارى وانحرافاتهم في عيسى -عليه السلام-؛ فتكون تلك الإشارات لهذه الموضوعات من براعة الاستهلال للقرآن عمومًا، ولا سيما للمدنيِّ منه.
There is no doubt that these themes are also addressed outside Surah al-Baqarah, especially in the surahs that follow it, such as Ali ‘Imran, an-Nisa’, and al-Ma’idah, where the beliefs of the Christians and what the author describes as their deviations concerning ‘Isa, peace be upon him, are discussed. These indications may therefore be regarded as bara’at al-istihlal in relation to the Qur’an as a whole, and particularly to its Madinan portion.
To be continued in the next part, in sha Allah
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