Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: أَلا إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ أَلا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ (55) (Behold, indeed to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and on the earth. Behold, indeed the promise of Allah is truth, but most of them do not know.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah — exalted be His remembrance — says: Behold, everything that is in the heavens and everything that is on the earth, whatever it may be, belongs to Allah as His possession; none other than He has any share in it. He says: that disbeliever (kāfir) in Allah possesses nothing on that Day with which he might ransom himself from the punishment of his Lord, for all things belong to the One to whom his punishment is due. And even if he were to possess everything that is on the earth and offer it as a ransom, it would not be accepted from him in exchange for his punishment, so that thereby the punishment might be averted from him — how then could that be, while he possesses nothing with which he can ransom himself, and the punishment of Allah has already been confirmed against him? Allah — exalted be His praise — says: أَلا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ — that is to say: the punishment with which He has threatened these polytheists (mushrikīn) on account of their disbelief (kufr) is truth; so let them not demand that it come swiftly, for it shall surely befall them, of that there is no doubt. وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ — He says: but most of these polytheists do not know the reality of its descent upon them, and because of their ignorance concerning it they are therefore deniers.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : أَلا إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ أَلا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ (55) قال أبو جعفر: يقول جل ذكره: ألا إنّ كل ما في السموات وكل ما في الأرض من شيء ، لله مِلْك، لا شيء فيه لأحدٍ سواه . يقول: فليس لهذا الكافربالله يومئذٍ شيء يملكه فيفتدي به من عذاب ربّه، وإنما الأشياء كلها للذي إليه عقابه. ولو كانت له الأشياء التي هي في الأرض ثم افتدى بها ، لم يقبل منه بدلا من عذابه ، فيصرف بها عنه العذاب، فكيف وهو لا شيء له يفتدى به منه ، وقد حقَّ عليه عذاب الله؟ يقول الله جل ثناؤه: (ألا إن وعد الله حق)، يعني أن عذابه الذي أوعد هؤلاء المشركين على كفرهم حقٌّ، فلا عليهم أن لا يستعجلوا به ، فإنه بهم واقع لا شك ، (ولكن أكثرهم لا يعلمون) ، يقول: ولكن أكثر هؤلاء المشركين لا يعلمون حقيقةَ وقوع ذلك بهم، فهم من أجل جهلهم به مكذِّبون. * * *