Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the word of Allah the Exalted: إِنَّ فِي اخْتِلافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ (6)

   (Truly, in the alternation of night and day and in what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth are signs for a people who fear Allah.)

   Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted speaks here, directing His servants to the place where the proof of His Lordship is to be found, and to the fact that He is the Creator of all that exists besides Him: truly, in the succession of the night by the day and the succession of the day by the night — when the one departs the other comes, and when the other comes the one departs — and in what Allah has created in the heavens, of sun and moon and stars, and in the earth, of wonders of creation that indicate that it has a Maker to Whom nothing is equal, — in that are signs (lāyāt), that is to say: proofs, arguments, and clear indications, for a people who fear Allah (li-qawmin yattaqūn), who fear His threat and are wary of His punishment, in sincerely devoting worship to their Lord.

   If someone were to ask: does what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth then contain no proof of its Maker, except for the one who fears Allah?

   Then it is said: therein lies the clear proof of the Maker for everyone whose innate nature (fiṭra) is sound and whose heart is free of defects. The words are, however, not intended as a statement that the proof therein applies exclusively to the one who has already brought the fear of Allah to life within himself. Rather, the meaning is: truly, therein are signs for the one who fears the punishment of Allah and does not let himself be seduced by his desires to go against what has become clear to him of the truth — for it indicates to everyone with a sound innate nature that he has a Governor to Whom he owes obedience and worship, and no other deity or equal alongside Him.

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   Footnotes:

   (34) The explanation of "the alternation of night and day" has been given earlier, volume 3: 272–273.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : إِنَّ فِي اخْتِلافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَّقُونَ (6) قال أبو جعفر : يقول تعالى ذكره ، منبِّهًا عبادَه على موضع الدّلالة على ربوبيته ، وأنه خالق كلِّ ما دونه: إن في اعتقاب الليل النهارَ ، واعتقاب النهار الليلَ، . إذا ذهب هذا جاء هذا ، وإذا جاء هذا ذهب هذا، (34) وفيما خلق الله في السماوات من الشمس والقمر والنجوم ، وفي الأرض من عجائب الخلق الدالة على أن لها صانعا ليس كمثله شيء ، (لآيات)، يقول : لأدلة وحججًا وأعلامًا واضحةً ، (لقوم يتقون) الله، فيخافون وعيده ويخشون عقابه على إخلاص العبادة لربهم. فإن قال قائل: أوَ لا دلالة فيما خلق الله في السماوات والأرض على صانعه ، إلا لمن اتقى الله؟ قيل: في ذلك الدلالة الواضحةُ على صانعه لكل من صحَّت فطرته، وبرئ من العاهات قلبه. ولم يقصد بذلك الخبرَ عن أن فيه الدلالة لمن كان قد أشعرَ نفسه تقوى الله وإنما معناه: إن في ذلك لآيات لمن اتَّقى عقاب الله ، فلم يحمله هواه على خلاف ما وضحَ له من الحق، لأن ذلك يدلُّ كل ذي فطرة صحيحة على أن له مدبِّرًا يستحقّ عليه الإذعان له بالعبودة ، دون ما سواه من الآلهة والأنداد. ------------------------ الهوامش: (34) وتفسير " اختلاف الليل والنهار " فيما سلف 3 : 272 ، 273 .