Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ إِنْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بِهَذَا أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَ (68) (They said: "Allah has taken a child." Glorified is He! He is the Self-Sufficient. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth. You have no proof for this. Do you say about Allah what you do not know?)

   Abū Jaʿfar says — Allah the Exalted speaks: These polytheists (mushrikīn) from your people, O Muḥammad, say: "Allah has taken a child" — and that is their statement that the angels are the daughters of Allah. Allah glorifies Himself above what they said and fabricated about Him, by saying: "Glorified is Allah" (subḥāna Allāh) — an exaltation of Allah above what they said and what they claimed about their Lord.

   "He is the Self-Sufficient" — that is to say: Allah is self-sufficient (ghanī) with respect to all His creation together; He has no need of a child, for a child is sought only by him who seeks it in order to have it as a support during his life and to be remembered after his death. Allah is above all that, self-sufficient; He has no need of anyone to help Him in His governance, and He does not perish so that He would need a successor after Him.

   "To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth" — Allah the Exalted says: To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth as His possession; the angels are His servants (ʿibāduh) and His possession (mulkuh). How then can the servant of a man and his property be his child? That is to say: Do you then not understand, O people, the error of what you say?

   "You have no proof for this" — that is to say: You have, O people, for what you claim and assert — namely that the angels are the daughters of Allah — no argument (ḥujja) whatsoever by which you can reason; and that is the "proof" (al-sulṭān).

   "Do you say about Allah a statement whose reality and correctness you do not know, and do you attribute to Him what it is not permissible to attribute to Him, out of ignorance of what you say, without any argument or proof?"

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   Notes: (58) See the explanation of "subḥān" in the foregoing, p. 47, note 1, and the sources mentioned there. (59) See the explanation of "al-ghanī" in the foregoing, volume 12: 126, note 1, and the sources mentioned there. (60) See the explanation of "al-sulṭān" in the foregoing, volume 12: 523, note 2, and the sources mentioned there.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ إِنْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بِهَذَا أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَ (68) قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: قال هؤلاء المشركون بالله من قومك ، يا محمد: (اتخذ الله ولدًا)، وذلك قولهم: " الملائكة بنات الله ". يقول الله منـزهًا نفسه عما قالوا وافتروا عليه من ذلك: " سبحان الله "، تنـزيهًا لله عما قالوا وادَّعوا على ربهم (58) ، " هو الغني" يقول: الله غنيٌّ عن خلقه جميعًا، فلا حاجة به إلى ولد، (59) لأن الولد إنما يَطْلُبه من يطلبه ، ليكون عونًا له في حياته وذكرًا له بعد وفاته، والله عن كل ذلك غنيٌّ، فلا حاجة به إلى معين يعينه على تدبيره ، ولا يبيدُ فيكون به حاجة إلى خلف بعده ، (له ما في السموات وما في الأرض) ، يقول تعالى ذكره: لله ما في السموات وما في الأرض مِلْكًا ، والملائكةُ عباده وملكه، فكيف يكون عبد الرجل وملكه له ولدًا؟ يقول: أفلا تعقلون أيها القوم خطأ ما تقولون؟ ، (إن عندكم من سلطان بهذا) ، يقول: ما عندكم أيها القوم ، بما تقولون وتدّعون من أن الملائكة بنات الله ، من حجة تحتجون بها ، وهي السلطان (60) ، أتقولون على الله قولا لا تعلمون حقيقته وصحته، وتضيفون إليه ما لا يجوز إضافته إليه ، جهلا منكم بما تقولون ، بغير حجة ولا برهان؟ ------------------------- الهوامش : (58) انظر تفسير " سبحان " فيما سلف ص : 47 ، تعليق : 1 ، والمراجع هناك . (59) انظر تفسير " الغني " فيما سلف 12 : 126 ، تعليق : 1 ، والمراجع هناك . (60) انظر تفسير " السلطان " فيما سلف 12 : 523 ، تعليق : 2 ، والمراجع هناك .