18:90 Al-Kahf (The Cave)

تفسير الآيات من 89 حتى 91 :ـ أي لما وصل إلى مغرب الشمس كر راجعا، قاصدا مطلعها، متبعا للأسباب، التي أعطاه الله، فوصل إلى مطلع الشمس فـ { وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَى قَوْمٍ لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهَا سِتْرًا ْ} أي: وجدها تطلع على أناس ليس لهم ستر من الشمس، إما لعدم استعدادهم في المساكن، وذلك لزيادة همجيتهم وتوحشهم، وعدم تمدنهم، وإما لكون الشمس دائمة عندهم، لا تغرب عنهم غروبا يذكر، كما يوجد ذلك في شرقي أفريقيا الجنوبي، فوصل إلى موضع انقطع عنه علم أهل الأرض، فضلا عن وصولهم إليه إياه بأبدانهم، ومع هذا، فكل هذا بتقدير الله له، وعلمه به ولهذا قال { كَذَلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبَرًا ْ} أي: أحطنا بما عنده من الخير والأسباب العظيمة وعلمنا معه، حيثما توجه وسار.

وذكر في أخبار بني إسرائيل أنه عاش ألفًا وستمائة سنة يجوب الأرض طولها والعرض حتى بلغ المشارق والمغارب ولما انتهى إلى مطلع الشمس من الأرض كما قال تعالى " وجدها تطلع على قوم " أي أمة " لم نجعل لهم من دونها سترًا " أي ليس لهم بناء يكنهم ولا أشجار تظلهم وتسترهم من حر الشمس قال سعيد بن جبير كانوا حمرًا قصارًا مساكنهم الغيران أكثر معيشتهم من السمك. وقال أبو داود الطيالسي: حدثنا سهل بن أبي الصلت سمعت الحسن وسئل عن قول الله تعالى " لن نجعل لهم من دونها سترًا " قال إن أرضهم لا تحمل البناء فإذا طلعت الشمس تغوروا في المياه فإذا غربت خرجوا يتراعون كما ترعى البهائم قال الحسن هذا حديث سمرة وقال قتادة ذكر لنا أنهم بأرض لا تنبت لهم شيئًا فهم إذا طلعت الشمس دخلوا في أسراب حتى إذا زالت الشمس خرجوا إلى حروثهم ومعايشهم وعن سلمة بن كهيل أنه قال: ليست لهم أكنان إذا طلعت الشمس طلعت عليهم فلأحدهم أذنان يفرش إحداهما ويلبس الأخرى.قال عبد الرزاق: أخبرنا معمر عن قتادة في قوله: " وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها سترًا " قال هم الزنج وقال ابن جرير في قوله " وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها سترًا " قال لم يبنوا فيها بناء قط ولم يبن عليهم فيها بناء قط كانوا إذا طلعت الشمس دخلوا أسرابًا لهم حتى تزول الشمس أو دخلوا البحر وذلك أن أرضهم ليس فيها جبل.جاءهم جيش مرة فقال لهم أهلها: لا تطلعن عليكم الشمس وأنتم بها قالوا لا نبرح حتى تطلع الشمس ما هذه العظام ؟ قالوا هذه جيف جيش طلعت عليهم الشمس ههنا فماتوا قال فذهبوا هاربين في الأرض.

His Journey East

Allah tells us that Dhul-Qarnayn then traveled from the west of the earth towards the east. Every time he passed a nation, he subjugated the people and called them to Allah. If they obeyed him, all well and good, otherwise he would humiliate them and take their wealth and possessions. From every nation he took what his armies needed to fight the next nation. When he reached the place where the sun rises, as Allah says,

وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَى قَوْمٍ

(he found it rising on a people) meaning a nation,

لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُمْ مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْراً

(for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.) meaning, they had no buildings or trees to cover them and shade them from the heat of the sun. Qatadah said, "It was mentioned to us that they were in a land where nothing grew, so when the sun rose they would go into tunnels until it had passed its zenith, then they would come out to go about their daily lives and earn themselves a living."

كَذَلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْراً

(So (it was)! And We knew all about him.) Mujahid and As-Suddi said, "This means that Allah knew everything about him and his army, and nothing was hidden from Him, even though they came from so many different nations and lands. For,

لاَ يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ فِي الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ فِى السَّمَآءِ

(Truly, nothing is hidden from Allah, in the earth or in the heaven.)3:5"

until when he reached the rising of the sun the place where it rises he found it rising on a folk namely Negroes zanj for whom We had not provided against it that is against the sun any form of cover in the way of clothing or roofing as their land could not support any structures; they had underground tunnels into which they would disappear at the rising of the sun and out of which they would emerge when it was at its highest point in the sky.

Commentary

The Holy Qur'an does describe this state of the people Dhul-Qarnain found living towards the East meaning thereby that they were not accustomed to the use of ways and means like houses, tents and dresses to seek protection against the Sun. But, it does not mention anything about their faith and deeds, nor does it say what Dhul-Qarnain did to them.

However, it is obvious that these people too were infidels and Dhul-Qarnain handled them the way he had handled the people he had found in the West as mentioned earlier. But, describing it again at this place was not considered necessary since finding it out is also possible on the analogy of the previous event. (As in al-Bahr al-Muhit from Ibn Atiyyah)

(And they say: We will not put faith in thee till thou cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us) [18:90]. �Ikrimah reported that Ibn �Abbas related that �Utbah, Shaybah, Abu Sufyan, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, Abu�l-Bukhturi, al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl, �Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Umayyah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and the chiefs of Quraysh gathered in front of the Ka�bah and said to each other: �Send for Muhammad, speak to him, and argue with him so that others do not blame you about him�. They sent to him with a message that the nobles of your people have gathered and want to speak with you. He came promptly, thinking that they had changed their mind about him, for he was keen to see them guided and was pained for their stubbornness. When he sat with them, they said: �O Muhammad, by Allah we do not know of any man among the Arabs who has introduced to his people what you have introduced. You have insulted our forefathers, censored our religion, accused us of ignorance, slandered our idols, divided the community and you have not left anything revolting except that you have placed it between us and you. Now, if you have brought all this to seek wealth, we will collect from our wealth so that you become the richest among us; if you seek status, we will make you our chief; if you seek kingship, we will make you our king; and if the jinn that appears to you has completely overwhelmed you, we will spend our money to get you the right medicine to cure you or discharge our duty toward you�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them: �I do not have what you accuse me of. I did not bring you what I brought to seek wealth, status or kingship. Rather, it is Allah, glorious and majestic is He, Who has sent me to you as a Messenger. He has revealed to me a Scripture and commanded me to be a carrier of good tiding as well as a warner. I have conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you well. If you accept that which I have brought you, it is your share in this world and in the next.