18:24 Al-Kahf (The Cave)

تفسير الآيتين 23 و 24 :ـ هذا النهي كغيره، وإن كان لسبب خاص وموجها للرسول صل الله عليه وسلم، فإن الخطاب عام للمكلفين، فنهى الله أن يقول العبد في الأمور المستقبلة، { إني فاعل ذلك } من دون أن يقرنه بمشيئة الله، وذلك لما فيه من المحذور، وهو: الكلام على الغيب المستقبل، الذي لا يدري، هل يفعله أم لا؟ وهل تكون أم لا؟ وفيه رد الفعل إلى مشيئة العبد استقلالا، وذلك محذور محظور، لأن المشيئة كلها لله { وما تشاءون إلا أن يشاء الله رب العالمين } ولما في ذكر مشيئة الله، من تيسير الأمر وتسهيله، وحصول البركة فيه، والاستعانة من العبد لربه، ولما كان العبد بشرا، لا بد أن يسهو فيترك ذكر المشيئة، أمره الله أن يستثني بعد ذلك، إذا ذكر، ليحصل المطلوب، وينفع المحذور، ويؤخذ من عموم قوله: { وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ } الأمر بذكر الله عند النسيان، فإنه يزيله، ويذكر العبد ما سها عنه، وكذلك يؤمر الساهي الناسي لذكر الله، أن يذكر ربه، ولا يكونن من الغافلين، ولما كان العبد مفتقرا إلى الله في توفيقه للإصابة، وعدم الخطأ في أقواله وأفعاله، أمره الله أن يقول: { عَسَى أَنْ يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقْرَبَ مِنْ هَذَا رَشَدًا } فأمره أن يدعو الله ويرجوه، ويثق به أن يهديه لأقرب الطرق الموصلة إلى الرشد. وحري بعبد، تكون هذه حاله، ثم يبذل جهده، ويستفرغ وسعه في طلب الهدى والرشد، أن يوفق لذلك، وأن تأتيه المعونة من ربه، وأن يسدده في جميع أموره.

وقوله " واذكر ربك إذا نسيت " قيل معناه إذا نسيت الاستثناء فاستثن عند ذكرك له قاله أبو العالية والحسن البصري وقال هشيم عن الأعمش عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس في الرجل يحلف قال له أن يستثني ولو إلى سنة وكان يقول " واذكر ربك إذا نسيت ": ذلك قيل للأعمش سمعته عن مجاهد فقال حدثني به ليث بن أبي سليم يرى ذهب كسائي هذا ورواه الطبراني من حديث أبي معاوية عن الأعمش به. ومعنى قول ابن عباس أنه يستثني ولو بعد سنة أي إذا نسي أن يقول في حلفه وفي كلامه إن شاء الله وذكر ولو بعد سنة فالسنة له أن يقول ذلك ليكون آتيًا بسنة الاستثناء حتى ولو كان بعد الحنث قال ابن جرير رحمه الله: ونص على ذلك لا أن يكون رافعا لحنث اليمين ومسقطًا للكفارة وهذا الذي قاله ابن جرير رحمه الله هو الصحيح وهو الأليق بحمل كلام ابن عباس عليه والله أعلم وقال عكرمة " واذكر ربك إذا نسيت " إذا غضبت وقال الطبراني: حدثنا محمد بن الحارث الجبلي حدثنا صفوان بن صالح حدثنا الوليد بن مسلم عن عبد العزيز بن حصين عن ابن أبي نجيح عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس في قوله "و لا تقولن لشيء إني فاعل ذلك غدًا إلا أن يشاء الله واذكر ربك إذا نسيت " أن تقول إن شاء الله وروى الطبراني أيضا عن ابن عباس في قوله " واذكر ربك إذا نسيت " الاستثناء فاستثن إذا ذكرت وقال هي خاصة برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وليس لأحد منا أن يستثني إلا في صلة من يمينه ثم قال انفرد به الوليد عن عبد العزيز بن الحصين ويحتمل في الآية وجه آخر وهو أن يكون الله تعالى قد أرشد من نسي الشيء في كلامه إلى ذكر الله تعالى لأن النسيان منشؤه من الشيطان كما قال فتى موسى وما " أنسانيه إلا الشيطان أن أذكره " وذكر الله تعالى يطرد الشيطان فإذا ذهب الشيطان ذهب النسيان فذكر الله سبب للذكر ولهذا قال " واذكر ربك إذا نسيت " وقوله " وقل عسى أن يهدين ربي لأقرب من هذا رشدًا " أي إذا سئلت عن شيء لا تعلمه فاسأل الله تعالى فيه وتوجه إليه في أن يوفقك للصواب والرشد في ذلك وقيل في تفسيره غير ذلك والله أعلم.

Saying "If Allah wills" when determining to do Something in the Future

Here Allah, may He be glorified, shows His Messenger the correct etiquette when determining to do something in the future; this should always be referred to the will of Allah, the Knower of the Unseen, Who knows what was and what is yet to be and what is not to be, and how it will be if it is to be. It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ: لَأَطُوفَنَّ اللَّيْلَةَ عَلَى سَبْعِينَ امْرَأَةً وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: تِسْعِينَ امْرَأَةً، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: مِائَةِ امْرَأَةٍ تَلِدُ كُلُّ امْرَأَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ غُلَامًا يُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ قَالَ لَهُ الْمَلَكُ: قُلْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ، فَلَمْ يَقُلْ، فَطَافَ بِهِنَّ فَلَمْ تَلِدْ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَّا امْرَأَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ نِصْفَ إِنْسَانٍ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِصلى الله عليه وسلّم: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَوْ قَالَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ لَمْ يَحْنَثْ، وَكَانَ دَرَكًا لِحَاجَتِه»

وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ:

«وَلَقَاتَلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ فُرْسَانًا أَجْمَعُون»

(Sulayman bin Dawud (peace be upon them both) said: "Tonight I will go around to seventy women according to some reports, it was ninety or one hundred women so that each one of them will give birth to a son who will fight for the sake of Allah." It was said to him, according to one report, the angel said to him "Say: `If Allah wills'", but he did not say it. He went around to the women but none of them gave birth except for one who gave birth to a half-formed child.) The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, (By the One in Whose hand is my soul, had he said, "If Allah wills," he would not have broken his oath, and that would have helped him to attain what he wanted. ) According to another report, (They would all have fought as horsemen in the cause of Allah.) At the beginning of this Surah we discussed the reason why this Ayah was revealed: when the Prophet was asked about the story of the people of the Cave, he said, "I will tell you tomorrow." Then the revelation was delayed for fifteen days. Since we discussed this at length at the beginning of the Surah, there is no need to repeat it here.

وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ

(And remember your Lord when you forget) It was said that this means, if you forget to say "If Allah wills", then say it when you remember. This was the view of Abu Al-`Aliyah and Al-Hasan Al-Basri. Hushaym reported from Al-A`mash from Mujahid that concerning a man who swears an oath, Ibn `Abbas said "He may say `If Allah wills' even if it is a year later." Ibn `Abbas used to interpret this Ayah:

وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ

(And remember your Lord when you forget) in this way. Al-A`mash was asked, "Did you hear this from Mujahid" He said, "Layth bin Abi Salim told it to me." The meaning of Ibn `Abbas' view, that a person may say "If Allah wills", even if it is a year later, is that if he forgets to say it when he makes the oath or when he speaks, and he remembers it later, even a year later, the Sunnah is that he should say it, so that he will still be following the Sunnah of saying "If Allah wills", even if that is after breaking his oath. This was also the view of Ibn Jarir, but he stated that this does not make up for breaking the oath or mean that one is no longer obliged to offer expiation. What Ibn Jarir said is correct, and it is more appropriate to understand the words of Ibn Abbas in this way. And Allah knows best.

وَلاَ تَقْولَنَّ لِشَىْءٍ إِنِّى فَاعِلٌ ذلِكَ غَداً إِلاَّ أَن يَشَآءَ اللَّهُ وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ

(And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow." Except (with the saying), "If Allah wills!" And remember your Lord when you forget) At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that this meant saying, "If Allah wills."

وَقُلْ عَسَى أَن يَهْدِيَنِ رَبِّى لاًّقْرَبَ مِنْ هَـذَا رَشَدًا

(and say: "It may be that my Lord guides me to a nearer way of truth than this.") meaning, `if you (O Prophet) are asked about something you know nothing about, ask Allah about it, and turn to Him so that He may guide you to what is right.' And Allah knows best.

without adding ‘If God will’ in other words unless firmly adhering to the will of God exalted be He by saying ‘If God will’ inshā’a’Llāh. And remember your Lord that is remember His will making things conditional on it if you forget to make things conditional on it mentioning it after forgetting it is the equal in validity to mentioning it at the time of the statement — as al-Hasan al-Basrī and others have said — as long as the person is still in the same place in which he made the statement. And say ‘May be my Lord will guide me to something closer in time than this closer than the story of the People of the Cave as an indication of the truth of my prophethood by way of guidance and God indeed did so.

Saying 'Insha'Allah' on doing something in the future

The background of the revelation of the first two verses has been reported in Lubab from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ in the following manner. When the people of Makkah acting as coached by the Jews, asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ about the story of Ashab al-Kahf etc., he promised to answer that next day without having said Insha'Allah. The least shortcoming issuing forth from the close ones brings some or the other notice of caution. Therefore, no revelation came for the next fifteen days. Naturally, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was grieved and the Mushriks of Makkah had their opportunity to laugh and ridicule. After this interval of fifteen days, when the answer to the questions asked was revealed, these two verses were revealed along with it as a measure of guidance. They told him that, should he need to say something about what he was going to do the next day, he should invariably affirm it by saying Insha'Allah, for everything depends on the intention and will of Allah Ta` ala. These two verses, it will be noted, have been introduced at the end of the story of the People of Kahf.

Ruling

Firstly, these two verses (23, 24) tell us that saying Insha'Allah in the given situation is mustahabb (recommended). Secondly, they tell us that, should this part of the statement be left unsaid inadvertently, then, one may say it at the time one remembers. This injunction relates to the particular matter for which these verses have been revealed. It means that the purpose is simply to say this word to invoke Divine blessing and to confess to one's servitude and not to make the statement contingent or conditional. Therefore, it does not follow from here that one would do the same in buying and selling transactions and contracts where conditions are imposed and on this rests the contract between parties. Is it possible to impose a condition whenever one remembers later in case one had for-gotten to include the condition at the time of signing the original contract? The difference of some jurists exists in this issue details of which appear in books of Fiqh.

Say not of anything, “I will do it tomorrow,” but only, “If God wills.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. When someone recognizes God, his free choice drops away before His will, and his decrees are enveloped by the witnessing of his Lord's decree. When someone sets foot in the street of recognizing God and comes to know that the creatures are all captive to His power in the prison of the Will on the passageway of the decree and the mea- suring out, he will no longer choose and will not prepare his own work, nor will he make his own rulings. He will throw his own work entirely over to God's will and not mix his own self-exertion with what God has taken care of. With the tongue of the state he will say, “O God, O He who was, is, and will be! I know not Your measure and am incapable of what is worthy of You. I wander in my misery, day by day in loss. How then is someone like me?! But such am I. I lament at gaz- ing into the darkness-will anything remain of me? I do not know. My eyes look to a day when You remain and I am not. Who will be like me if I see that day? And if I see it, I will sacrifice my spirit to it.” And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest. It has been said, “When you forget yourself, remember your Lord, and when you forget the creatures, remember the Creator.” He is saying, “Once you have brought your soul's caprice underfoot and removed your status with people from your heart, remember Me and make your spirit happy with this pure remem- brance.” The caprice of the soul is an idol and status with people is a sash of unbelief. As long as you have not disowned the idol, you will not become a tawḤīd-voicer, and as long as you have not undone the sash, you will not be a Muslim. There was a worshiper by the name of Abū Bakr Ishtanjī who had a great status. He feared that he would destroy the status. He got up and set off on a journey during the month of Ramadan and broke the fast in keeping with the ruling of the Shariah.