وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمۡ جَنَّـٰتࣲ تَجۡرِی مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا۟ مِنۡهَا مِن ثَمَرَةࣲ رِّزۡقࣰا قَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِی رُزِقۡنَا مِن قَبۡلُۖ وَأُتُوا۟ بِهِۦ مُتَشَـٰبِهࣰاۖ وَلَهُمۡ فِیهَاۤ أَزۡوَ ٰجࣱ مُّطَهَّرَةࣱۖ وَهُمۡ فِیهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
وقَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿وبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ أنَّ لَهم جَنّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِها الأنْهارُ﴾ يَدُلُّ عَلى أنَّ البِشارَةَ هي الخَبَرُ السّارُّ، والأظْهَرُ والأغْلَبُ أنَّ إطْلاقَهُ يَتَناوَلُ مِنَ الأخْبارِ ما يَحْدُثُ عِنْدَهُ الِاسْتِبْشارُ والسُّرُورُ وإنْ كانَ قَدْ يَجْرِي عَلى غَيْرِهِ مُقَيَّدًا كَقَوْلِهِ ﴿فَبَشِّرْهم بِعَذابٍ ألِيمٍ﴾ [آل عمران: ٢١] وكَذَلِكَ قالَ أصْحابُنا فِيمَن قالَ: " أيُّ عَبْدٍ بَشَّرَنِي بِوِلادَةِ فُلانَةٍ فَهو حُرٌّ " فَبَشَّرُوهُ جَماعَةً واحِدًا بَعْدَ واحِدٍ؛ أنَّ الأوَّلَ يُعْتَقُ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ؛ لِأنَّ البِشارَةَ حَصَلَتْ بِخَبَرِهِ دُونَ غَيْرِهِ.
And His, the Exalted’s, statement: {And give glad tidings to those who have believed and done righteous deeds that they will have gardens beneath which rivers flow} indicates that the bishārah (glad tidings) is pleasing news. And what is most apparent and predominant is that its unqualified usage pertains to news at which rejoicing and joy occur, even if it may be applied to other than that in a restricted sense, like His statement: {So give them tidings of a painful punishment} [Āl `Imrān: 21]. And likewise, our companions said regarding one who says: “Whichever slave gives me the glad tidings of the birth of so-and-so, he is free,” and a group gives him the tidings, one after another; that the first is manumitted and not the others, because the bishārah was obtained through his news, and not that of the others.
ولَمْ يَكُنْ هَذا عِنْدَهم بِمَنزِلَةِ ما لَوْ قالَ: " أيُّ عَبْدِ أخْبَرَنِي بِوِلادَتِها “؛ فَأخْبَرُوهُ واحِدًا بَعْدَ واحِدٍ أنَّهم يُعْتَقُونَ جَمِيعًا؛ لِأنَّهُ عَقَدَ اليَمِينَ عَلى خَبَرٍ مُطْلَقٍ فَيَتَناوَلُ سائِرَ المُخْبِرِينَ، وفي البِشارَةِ عَقَدَها عَلى خَبَرٍ مَخْصُوصٍ بِصِفَةٍ وهو ما يُحْدِثُ عِنْدَهُ السُّرُورَ والِاسْتِبْشارَ ويَدُلُّ عَلى أنَّ مَوْضُوعَ هَذا الخَبَرِ ما وصَفْنا.
And this, according to them, was not of the same status as if he had said: “Whichever slave informs me of her birth;” and they informed him one after another, that they would all be manumitted; because he bound the oath to an unqualified report, so it includes all of the informers. Whereas in [the case of] bishārah, he bound it to a report specified by a quality, which is that which brings about joy and rejoicing in him. And this indicates that the subject of this news is what we have described.
قَوْلُهم: رَأيْتُ البِشْرَ في وجْهِهِ؛ يَعْنِي الفَرَحَ والسُّرُورَ قالَ اللَّهُ في صِفَةِ وُجُوهِ أهْلِ الجَنَّةِ ﴿وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُسْفِرَةٌ﴾ [عبس: ٣٨] ﴿ضاحِكَةٌ مُسْتَبْشِرَةٌ﴾ [عبس: ٣٩] فَأخْبَرَ عَمّا ظَهَرَ في وُجُوهِهِمْ مِن آثارِ السُّرُورِ والفَرَحِ بِذِكْرِ الِاسْتِبْشارِ، ومِنهُ سَمَّوُا الرَّجُلَ بَشِيرًا تَفاؤُلًا مِنهم إلى الإخْبارِ بِالخَيْرِ دُونَ الشَّرِّ وسَمَّوْا ما يُعْطى البَشِيرُ عَلى هَذا الخَبَرِ بُشْرى، وهَذا يَدُلُّ عَلى أنَّ الإطْلاقَ يَتَناوَلُ الخَبَرَ المُفِيدَ سُرُورًا فَلا يَنْصَرِفُ إلى غَيْرِهِ إلّا بِدَلالَةٍ، وأنَّهُ مَتى أُطْلِقَ في الشَّرِّ فَإنَّما يُرادُ بِهِ الخَبَرُ فَحَسْبُ، وكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعالى ﴿فَبَشِّرْهم بِعَذابٍ ألِيمٍ﴾ [آل عمران: ٢١] مَعْناهُ أخْبِرْهم ويَدُلُّ عَلى ما وصَفْنا مِن أنَّ البَشِيرَ هو المُخْبِرُ الأوَّلُ فِيما ذَكَرْنا مِن حُكْمِ اليَمِينِ قَوْلُهم: " ظَهَرَتْ لَنا تَباشِيرُ هَذا الأمْرِ " يَعْنُونَ أوَّلَهُ، ولا يَقُولُونَ ذَلِكَ في الشَّرِّ وفِيما يَغُمُّ.
Their saying: “I saw the bishr (radiance of joy) in his face;” meaning the delight and happiness. Allah said in the description of the faces of the people of Paradise: {Faces, that Day, will be radiant,} [Abasa: 38] {Laughing, rejoicing.} [Abasa: 39]. So He informed of what appeared on their faces of the effects of happiness and joy by mentioning rejoicing (istibshār). And from it, they named a man Bashīr (bearer of glad tidings), as an expression of optimism from them towards informing of good and not evil. And they named what is given to the bashīr for this news, bushrā (a reward). And this indicates that the unqualified usage pertains to news that imparts joy, and it is not applied to other than that except with an indication. And that whenever it is used without qualification for evil, what is intended by it is merely the news. And likewise His, the Exalted’s, statement: {So give them tidings of a painful punishment} [Āl `Imrān: 21], its meaning is “inform them.” And what indicates what we have described—that the bashīr is the first informer in what we mentioned of the ruling of the oath—is their saying: “The tabāshīr (first signs/harbingers) of this matter have appeared to us,” meaning its beginning. And they do not say that for evil or for what causes grief.
وإنَّما يَقُولُونَهُ فِيما يَسُرُّ ويُفْرِحُ ومِنَ النّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ إنَّ أصْلَهُ فِيما يَسُرُّ ويَغُمُّ؛ لِأنَّ مَعْناهُ ما يَظْهَرُ أوَّلًا في بَشَرَةِ الوَجْهِ مِن سُرُورٍ أوْ غَمٍّ، إلّا أنَّهُ كَثُرَ فِيما يَسُرُّ فَصارَ الإطْلاقُ أخَصَّ بِهِ مِنهُ بِالشَّرِّ.
Rather, they only say it for what pleases and brings joy. And among the people are those who say that its origin is in what pleases and what grieves; because its meaning is what first appears on the skin (basharah) of the face, of joy or grief, except that its usage became frequent for what pleases, so its unqualified usage became more specific to it than to evil.