34:9 Saba (Sheba)

ثم نبههم على الدليل العقلي, الدال على عدم استبعاد البعث, الذي استبعدوه, وأنهم لو نظروا إلى ما بين أيديهم وما خلفهم, من السماء والأرض فرأوا من قدرة اللّه فيهما, ما يبهر العقول, ومن عظمته ما يذهل العلماء الفحول, وأن خلقهما وعظمتهما وما فيهما من المخلوقات, أعظم من إعادة الناس - بعد موتهم - من قبورهم، فما الحامل لهم, على ذلك التكذيب مع التصديق, بما هو أكبر منه؟ نعم ذاك خبر غيبي إلى الآن, ما شاهدوه, فلذلك كذبوا به.قال اللّه: { إِنْ نَشَأْ نَخْسِفْ بِهِمُ الْأَرْضَ أَوْ نُسْقِطْ عَلَيْهِمْ كِسَفًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ } أي: من العذاب, لأن الأرض والسماء تحت تدبيرنا, فإن أمرناهما لم يستعصيا، فاحذروا إصراركم على تكذيبكم, فنعاقبكم أشد العقوبة. { إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ } أي: خلق السماوات والأرض, وما فيهما من المخلوقات { لَآيَةً لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُنِيبٍ } فكلما كان العبد أعظم إنابة إلى اللّه, كان انتفاعه بالآيات أعظم, لأن المنيب مقبل إلى ربه, قد توجهت إراداته وهماته لربه, ورجع إليه في كل أمر من أموره, فصار قريبا من ربه, ليس له هم إلا الاشتغال بمرضاته، فيكون نظره للمخلوقات نظر فكرة وعبرة, لا نظر غفلة غير نافعة.

"أفلم يروا إلى ما بين أيديهم وما خلفهم من السماء والأرض " قال إنك إن نظرت عن يمينك أو عن شمالك أو من بين يديك أو من خلفك رأيت السموات والأرض. وقوله تعالى: " إن نشأ نخسف بهم الأرض أو نسقط عليهم كسفا من السماء " أي لو شئنا لفعلنا بهم ذلك بظلمهم وقدرتنا عليهم ولكن نؤخر ذلك لحلمنا وعفونا ثم قال " إن في ذلك لآية لكل عبد منيب " قال معمر عن قتادة " منيب " تائب وقال سفيان عن قتادة المنيب المقبل إلى الله تعالى أي إن في النظر إلى خلق السموات والأرض لدلالة لكل عبد فطن لبيب رجاع إلى الله على قدرة الله تعالى على بعث الأجساد ووقوع المعاد لأن من قدر على خلق هذه السموات في ارتفاعها واتساعها وهذه الأرضين في انخفاضها وأطوالها وأعراضها إنه لقادر على إعادة الأجسام ونشر الرميم من العظام كما قال تعالى: " أوليس الذي خلق السموات والأرض بقادر على أن يخلق مثلهم بلى " وقال تعالى: " لخلق السموات والأرض أكبر من خلق الناس ولكن أكثر الناس لا يعلمون ".

The Disbelievers' Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of Their View

Here Allah tells us how the disbelievers and heretics denied that the Hour will come, and mocked the Messenger ﷺ for speaking of it.

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَلْ نَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى رَجُلٍ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ إِذَا مُزِّقْتُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ

(Those who disbelieve say: "Shall we direct you to a man who will tell you (that) when you have become fully disintegrated into dust with full dispersion...") means, when your bodies have disintegrated into the earth and dispersed without a trace,

إِنَّكُمْ

(then you) means, after this has happened,

لَفِى خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ

(will be created (again) anew) means, you will be restored to life and will receive provision anew. `By telling us this, he is doing one of two things: either he is deliberately fabricating something and saying that Allah has revealed it to him, or he is not doing it deliberately, but he is deluded as crazy and insane people are.' They said:

أَفْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً أَم بِهِ جِنَّةٌ

(Has he invented a lie against Allah, or is there a madness in him) Allah said, refuting their words:

بَلِ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ فِى الْعَذَابِ وَالضَّلَـلِ الْبَعِيدِ

(Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are (themselves) in a torment, and in far error.) meaning, the matter is not as they claim or as they think; on the contrary, Muhammad ﷺ is the one who is telling the truth, and is righteous and wise; he is the one who has brought the truth, and they are the foolish and ignorant liars.

فِى الْعَذَابِ

are themselves( in a torment, means, their disbelief, which will lead them to the torment of Allah.

وَالضَّلَـلِ الْبَعِيدِ

(and in far error.) far from the truth in this world. Then Allah warns them of His power in the creation of heavens and earth, as He says:

أَفَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ إِلَى مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(See they not what is before them and what is behind them, of the heaven and the earth) meaning, wherever they go, in whatever direction, the heavens are above them and the earth is beneath them. This is like the Ayah:

وَالسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَـهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ - وَالاٌّرْضَ فَرَشْنَـهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَـهِدُونَ

(With Hands did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof. And We have spread out the earth; how Excellent Spreader (thereof) are We!) (51:47-48)

إِن نَّشَأْ نَخْسِفْ بِهِمُ الاٌّرْضَ أَوْ نُسْقِطْ عَلَيْهِمْ كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ

(If We will, We shall sink the earth with them, or cause a piece of the heaven to fall upon them.) means, `if We wished, We could do that to them because of their wrongdoing and Our power over them, but We delay it because We are Patient and Forgiving.' Then Allah says:

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لاّيَةً لِّكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُّنِيبٍ

(Verily, in this is a sign for every Munib servant.) Ma`mar narrating from Qatadah, said that Al-Munib means every one who repents. Sufyan narrated from Qatadah, that Al-Munib is the one who turns to Allah. This means that in looking at the creation of the heavens and the earth, there is a sign for every servant who is intelligent and wise and who turns towards Allah. There is a sign of the Allah's ability to recreate bodies and bring about the Resurrection, because the One Who was able to create these heavens -- with their vast reaches of space, and this earth, as deep and vast as it is -- is able to recreate bodies and revive decayed bones. This is like the Ayat:

أَوَلَـيْسَ الَذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـوتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بِقَـدِرٍ عَلَى أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم بَلَى

(Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, Able to create the like of them Yes, indeed!) (36:81)

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْـثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not. ) (40:57)

Have they not observed what is before them and what is behind them in other words what is above them and what is beneath them of heaven and earth? If We will it We can make the earth swallow them or let fall on them fragments read kisfan or kisafan ‘large pieces’ from the heaven a variant reading has the third person singular for all three verbs sc. yashā’ ‘He will’ yakhsif ‘He makes to swallow’ yusqit ‘He lets fall’. Surely in that which is observed there is a sign for every penitent servant turning back to his Lord signs indicating God’s power to resurrect and to do what He will.

The last verse (9): أَفَلَمْ يَرَ‌وْا إِلَىٰ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُم (Have they not, then, looked to the sky and the earth that lies before them and behind them? ) carries two chastening messages:

(1) It proves that one can come to believe in the coming of the Qiyamah by pondering over what has been created in the heavens and the earth, and once the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala becomes visible through observation, the element of improbability which prohibited its deniers from accepting it could stand removed.

(2) Then, right along with this positive invitation to see and learn on their own, the deniers have also been served with a warning of punishment. They have been told that should they continue to hold firmly to their attitude of rejection and denial, then, they should also realize that it is within this power of Allah Ta’ ala which could make the very same blessings to become a punishment for them, such as, the earth swallows them, or that the sky cracks apart and falls on them.