قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى:

Allah the Almighty says:

{وَاسْأَلْهُمْ عَنِ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِي السَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًا وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ ۝ وَإِذْ قَالَتْ أُمَّةٌ مِّنْهُمْ لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ اللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۖ قَالُوا}

{And ask them (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) about the town that was by the sea; when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them, for they used to rebel against Allah's Command (disobey Allah). And when a community among them said: "Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with q severe torment?" (The preachers) said:

لِيَكُونُوا مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ. فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ أَنجَيْنَا الَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ السُّوءِ وَأَخَذْنَا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا بِعَذَابٍ بَئِيسٍ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ. فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا عَن مَّا نُهُوا عَنْهُ قُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ

"in order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may fear Allah." So when they forgot the remindings that had been given to them, We rescued those who forbade evil, but We seized those who did wrong with a severe torment because they used to rebel against Allah's Command (disobey Allah). So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them: “Be you monkeys, despied and rejected}. (Al-A' rat, 163-166)

وَ، {وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ * فَجَعَلْنَاهَا نَكَالًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا وَمَا خَلْفَهَا وَمَوْعِظَةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ} (البقرۃ: 65، 66)

And, {And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected." So We made this punishment an example to their own and to succeeding generations and a lesson to those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious)}. (Al-Baqarah, 65, 66)

وَ، {أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ}. (النساء، ٤٧)

And, {Or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath breakers}. (An-Nisa', 47)

قال عبد الله بن عباس، ومجاهد، وعكرمة، وقتادة، والسُّدِّي وغيرهم: هم أهل أيلة. وقال ابن عباس (رضي الله عنه): كانت بين مدين والطور. قالوا: كان أهل أيلة يتمسكون بأحكام التوراة وتحريم السبت في ذلك الوقت (تحريم الصيد يوم السبت). والعجيب أن السمك كان يظهر علنًا يوم السبت ويختفي في أيام الأسبوع الأخرى، ﴿إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًا وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ﴾. يقول الله تعالى: ﴿كَذَٰلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم﴾، أي نختبرهم بإرسال أعداد كبيرة من السمك يوم السبت. ﴿بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ﴾، أي بسبب عصيانهم وتمردهم. فلما رأوا ذلك، احتالوا لصيد السمك يوم السبت، فنصبوا شباكهم وحبالهم وحفروا قنوات تسمح لماء البحر بالجريان ودخول السمك دون أن يعود إلى البحر. فعملوا كل ذلك يوم الجمعة استعدادًا لمجيء السمك يوم السبت. وهكذا جاء السمك في اليوم المفترض أنه يوم راحة ﴿لَا يَعْلَمُونَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِم﴾، فوقع في الشباك والحبال والقنوات الصناعية. فلما انقضى يوم السبت، حضر أهل أيلة لأخذ صيدهم الوفير. فغضب الله تعالى عليهم ولعنهم بسبب مكرهم وخداعهم. ولما فعل ذلك فريق منهم، انقسم بقيتهم الذين لم يشاركوا في فعلهم المحرم إلى فرقتين: فرقة أنكرت فعلهم وحيلتهم على شرع الله تعالى وأمره في ذلك الوقت. وفرقة ثانية لم تُنكر عليهم ولم تنهَهم، بل أنكرت على الفرقة التي نهت العصاة قائلين: ﴿لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ اللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا﴾، أي وما الفائدة في وعظ قوم سيعذبهم الله سبحانه وتعالى حتماً؟ فأجابت الفرقة الثانية، أي الواعظون، قائلين: ﴿مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ﴾، أي إنّا مأمورون من قِبَله بالأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر، فنحن نفعل ذلك خوفاً من عذابه. ﴿وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ﴾، أي لعلّ أولئك الذين ارتكبوا هذه المعاصي يتوبون إلى الله ويندمون على ما فعلوه، فينجون من عذاب الله ويغفر لهم جميعاً.

'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid,' Ikrimah, Qatadah, As-Sadiy and others said: they were the people of Aylah. Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) added: it was located between Median and At- Tur. They said: the people of Aylah were adhering attentively to the teachings of the Torah and the prohibition of the Sabbath at that time (the prohibition of fishing on Saturdays). Amazingly, the fish used to expose itself openly on Saturdays and disappear on the other days of the week, {when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath}. Almighty Allah says {Thus We made a trial of them}, i.e. We test them through sending great numbers of fish on the Sabbath. {for they used to rebel against Allah's Command (disobey Allah)}, i.e. because of their disobedience and rebellion. When they saw this, they made a trick to catch the fish on the Sabbath. They fixed their fishing nets and ropes and excavated streams allowing the sea water to run through and the fish to get in but never go back to the sea. They made all this on Friday, in preparation for the coming of the fish on Saturday. And thus, the fish came on the supposedly-peaceful day (knowing not what has been prepared against them). They were caught in the nets, ropes and artificial streams. When the Saturday came to an end, the people of Aylah were present to take their fat catch. Consequently, Allah the Almighty was angry with them and He cursed them because of their trickery and deception. When this was done by a group thereof, the rest who did not participate in their sinful acting were divided into two sects: a sect that rejected their acting and trickery against the Law and Command of Allah the Almighty at that time. The second sect did not reject or forbid them, rather they disapproved of the reaction of the sect that forbade the sinful ones saying: {Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment?}, i.e. what is the gain in preaching to a people whom will inevitably be punished by Allah the Almighty? But, the second sect (the preachers) replied saying: {In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah)}, i.e. as we are commanded by Him to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; thus, we observe this for our fear of His Torment. {And perhaps they may fear Allah}, i.e. perhaps those who made these sins may repent to Allah and regret what they have done and thus be saved from the punishment of Allah and that He forgives them all.

قال الله تعالى: {فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ}، أي: غفلوا عن الوعّاظ الصالحين، {أَنجَيْنَا الَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ السُّوءِ}، أي: الفرقة الواعظة، {وَأَخَذْنَا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا}، أي: مرتكبي الفعل السيئ، {بِعَذَابٍ بَئِيسٍ}، أي: عذاب شديد مؤلم، {بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ}، أي: يخرجون عن طاعة الله ويعصونه. ثم بيّن الله تعالى العذاب الذي نزل بهم فقال: {فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا عَن مَّا نُهُوا عَنْهُ قُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ}.

Allah the Almighty says: {So when they forgot the remindings that had been given to them}, i.e. were heedless towards the godly preachers, {We rescued those who forbade evil}, i.e. the preaching sect, but {We seized those who did wrong}, i.e. doers of the sinful deed, {with a severe torment}, i.e. a painful punishment, {because they used to rebel against Allah's Command (disobey Allah)}. Then, Allah explained the torment that befell them saying, {So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected}.

هنا المقصود أن الله تعالى أخبرنا أنه أهلك الظالمين، وأنجى الذين ينهَون عن السوء، وترك الذين لم يمارسوا الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر. واختلف العلماء في الفريق الثالث؛ فقال بعضهم: إنهم نجَوا. وقال آخرون: إنهم أُهلكوا مع الظالمين. لكن القول الأول هو المعتمد عند العلماء الراسخين، ومنهم ابن عباس رئيس المفسرين، الذي أشار إلى هذا الرأي في مناظرة جرت بينه وبين أستاذه عكرمة، فلما انتصر ابن عباس وهبه عكرمة ثوبًا نفيسًا مكافأةً له.

Here, the point is that Allah the Almighty informed us that He destroyed the wrong-doers, saved the preaching believers and left the believers who did not practice enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. Scholars disputed regarding the third group. Some said they were granted salvation. And others said that they were destroyed with the wrong-doers. But, the first view is the accepted one by the well-versed scholars, including Ibn 'Abbas head of the interpreters - who referred to this opinion on a debate with his master 'lkrimah who upon the victory of Ibn 'Abbas - granted him a valuable garment as a reward.

ويجب أن يُنبَّه هنا إلى أن الفرقة الثالثة لم تُذكر مع الناجين، مع أنها أنكرت الفعل المحرَّم بقلوبها، لأنها كان ينبغي لها أن تُلزِم جوارحها (يدها أو لسانها) بالعمل بمقتضى ذلك، وأن تُعلن إنكارها على فاعلي المنكر فعلَهم. ولذلك نجت مع الواعظين، لأنها لم تَرتكب المعصية بنفسها، بل أنكرتها بقلبها.

It should be noted here that the third group were not mentioned with those given salvation even though they despised the sinful deed, with their hearts, because they should have compelled their organs (hand or tongue) to act thereupon and declare their rejection of the wrong-doers' act. So, they were saved with the preachers because they themselves did not commit the sinful deed, rather they rejected it with their hearts.

حدثنا عبد الرزاق عن ابن جريج عن رجل (لم يُعرف اسمه)

Narrated 'Abdur Razzaq after Juraij after a man (whose name is not known)

عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس؛ وروى مالك عن ابن رومان، وشيبان، وقتادة، وعطاء الخراساني ما معناه: إن الذين ارتكبوا الفعل المحرّم هجرهم بقية أهل البلدة. وأعلن بعضهم رفضه وإنكاره لفعلهم. ولم يستمعوا إلى الواعظين. ثم كانوا يبيتون منفصلين عن بقية أهل البلدة، وكانت بينهم وبين بقية الناس أبواب أو حواجز، وكان الناس ينتظرون نزول العقوبة بهم. وذات يوم لم تُفتح أبوابهم حتى الظهر، فقلق الناس وأرسلوا أحدهم لينظر ما حل بهم من فوق الحاجز. فلما نظر وجدهم قد مُسخوا قردة لها أذناب، يصيحون. ففتحوا الأبواب (الحاجز)، فعرفت القردة أقاربها بينما لم يتمكن أقاربها من معرفتها. فقال الواعظون عندئذ: ألم ننهكم عن هذا؟ فأومأت القردة برؤوسها إشارة إلى: نعم. ثم بكى عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما وقال: إنا لنرى كثيراً من المنكرات لا ننكرها ولا نرفضها بل لا نعلّق عليها! وروى العوفي عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قوله: مُسخ شبابُ البلدة قردةً، ومُسخ شيوخها خنازير.

after 'Ikrimah after Ibn 'Abbas; and Malik transmitted from Ibn Ruman, Shaiban, Qatadah and 'Ata 'Al-Kharasani what means: Those who committed the sinful deed were abandoned by the rest of the people of the town. Some of them declared their rejection and denial of their deed. They did not listen to the preachers. Afterwards, they used to stay the night apart from the rest of the people of the town and there were doors or barriers between them and the rest of the people who were anticipating the befalling of punishment over them. One day, their doors did not open till the noon. The people got anxious and sent one of them to see what happened to them from above the barrier. When he looked he found them turned into monkeys with tails, shouting. They opened the doors (barrier) and the monkeys recognized their relatives while their relatives could not recognize them. Thereupon, the preachers said: Did not we forbid you from doing this? The monkeys made a sign with their heads denoting: Yes. Then, 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) wept and said: verily, we see many wrong-doings which we do not reject or deny or even make a comment! Narrated Al-'Ufi after Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) saying: the young men of the town were turned into monkeys, while the old men into pigs.

وروى ابنُ أبي حاتم من طريق مجاهد بعد ابنِ عباس قوله:

Moreover, Ibn Abu Hatim narrated from MujaQid after Ibn 'Abbas his saying:

وَلَمْ يَعِيشُوا طَوِيلًا وَلَمْ يَتْرُكُوا نَسْلًا. وَرَوَى أَبُو الْحَاقَّ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ: لَمْ يَعِشْ وَحْشٌ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ. وَزِيَادَةً عَلَى ذَلِكَ، لَمْ يَأْكُلُوا وَلَمْ يَشْرَبُوا وَلَمْ يَتْرُكُوا نَسْلًا.

they did not live long and they left no offspring. Also, Adpahhaq narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him): no monster has lived more than three days. In addition, they did not eat, drink or leave offspring.

روى ابنُ أبي حاتمٍ وابنُ جريرٍ، عن ابنِ أبي نجيحٍ، عن مجاهدٍ قولَه: إنما مُسِخَت قلوبُهم لا صورُهم قِردةً وخنازيرَ، وهذا كقولِه تعالى: {مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا} (الجمعة: 5). لكنَّ هذا القولَ يبدو بعيدًا جدًّا، ويخالفُ ظاهرَ القرآنِ الكريمِ وقولَ السلفِ الصالحِ ومن تبعهم. واللهُ أعلمُ!

Narrated Ibn Abu Hatim and Ibn Jarir after Ibn Abu Nujaih from Mujahid his saying: only their hearts and not their figures were turned into monkeys and pigs. This is just like His Statement that reads: {The likeness of those who were entrusted with the (obligation of the) Taurat (Torah) (i.e. to obey its commandments and practice its laws), but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is as the likeness of a donkey which carries huge burdens of books (but understands nothing from them)}. (Al-Jumu' ah, 5) But, this view seems to be very strange and it contradicts the apparent meaning of the Glorious Qur'an and the concession of the earlier scholars and those who followed them. Allah knows best!