Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   As for His statement: مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ — that is to say: from the evil of Satan (al-waswās), الْخَنَّاسِ — who withdraws at one time and whispers at another. He withdraws — as is reported — when the servant remembers his Lord.

   *Mention of those who said that:*

   Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Every newborn child has the whisperer (al-waswās) upon its heart; when it comes to its senses and remembers Allah, he withdraws; and when it becomes heedless, he whispers." He said: that, then, is His statement: الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ .

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ — he said: Satan sits crouched upon the heart of the son of Adam; when he is heedless and negligent, he whispers; and when he remembers Allah, he withdraws.

   He said: Mahrān related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid: الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ — he said: he spreads himself out, but when Allah is remembered, he withdraws and contracts himself; and when he becomes heedless, he spreads himself out again.

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ — he said: Satan is upon the heart of man; when he remembers Allah, he withdraws.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: الْوَسْوَاسِ — he said: that is Satan, and he is also al-khannās; when the servant remembers his Lord he withdraws, and he whispers and withdraws.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ — that is to say: Satan; he whispers within the innermost being of the son of Adam and withdraws when Allah is remembered.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: it was conveyed to me that Satan — or he said: the whisperer — blows into the heart of man at sorrow and at joy; but when Allah is remembered, he withdraws.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: الْخَنَّاسِ — he said: al-khannās is the one who whispers at one time and withdraws at another, from among the jinn and mankind. They used to say: the satan of mankind is harder upon people than the satan of the jinn; the satan of the jinn whispers and you do not see him, but this one [the satan of mankind] looks you straight in the face.

   It is reported of Ibn ʿAbbās — may Allah have mercy upon him — that he used to say concerning this verse: مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ — the one who whispers into the hearts of people to call them to obedience to him, until he is obeyed in that; when he is obeyed in that, he withdraws.

   *Mention of those who said that:*

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement الْوَسْوَاسِ — he said: that is Satan who commands him; when he is obeyed, he withdraws.

   The correct view in this matter, in my judgment, is to say: Allah commanded His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ to seek refuge with Him from the evil of a satan who whispers at one time and withdraws at another. He did not restrict his whispering to a particular kind, nor his withdrawing to a particular form. He whispers sometimes by calling to disobedience to Allah, and when he is obeyed in that he withdraws; and he whispers sometimes by forbidding obedience to Allah, so that when the servant remembers the command of his Lord and obeys Him in that while Satan is disobeyed, he withdraws. In both cases he is a whisperer and a withdrawer, and that is his characteristic.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله: ( مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ ) يعني: من شرّ الشيطان ( الْخَنَّاسِ ) الذي يخنِس مرّة ويوسوس أخرى، وإنما يخنِس فيما ذُكر عند ذكر العبد ربه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا أبو كُرَيب، قال: ثنا يحيى بن عيسى، عن سفيان، عن حكيم بن جُبير، عن سعيد بن جبير، عن ابن عباس، قال: ما من مولود إلا على قلبه الوَسواس، فإذا عقل فذكر الله خَنَس، وإذا غَفَل وسوس، قال: فذلك قوله: ( الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) . حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا جرير، عن منصور، عن سفيان، عن ابن عباس، في قوله ( الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) قال: الشيطان جاثم على قلب ابن آدم، فإذا سها وغفل وسوس، وإذا ذكر الله خنس . قال: ثنا مهران، عن عثمان بن الأسود، عن مجاهد ( الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) قال: ينبسط فإذا ذكر الله خَنَس وانقبض، فإذا غفل انبسط . حدثني محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى؛ وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال ثنا ورقاء، جميعا عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، في قوله ( الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) قال: الشيطان يكون على قلب الإنسان، فإذا ذكر الله خَنَس . حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر، عن قتادة ( الْوَسْوَاسِ ) قال: قال هو الشيطان، وهو الخَنَّاس أيضا، إذا ذكر العبد ربه خنس، وهو يوسوس وَيخْنِس . حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة ( مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ) يعني: الشيطان، يوسوس في صدر ابن آدم، ويخنس إذا ذُكر الله . حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن أبيه، قال: ذُكر لي أن الشيطان، أو قال الوسواس، ينفث في قلب الإنسان عند الحزن وعند الفرح، وإذا ذُكر الله خنس . حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله: ( الْخَنَّاسِ ) قال: الخناس الذي يوسوس مرّة، ويخنس مرّة من الجنّ والإنس، وكان يقال: شيطان الإنس أشدّ على الناس من شيطان الجنّ، شيطان الجنّ يوسوس ولا تراه، وهذا يُعاينك معاينة . ورُوي عن ابن عباس رضى الله عنه أنه كان يقول في ذلك ( مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ ) الذي يوسوس بالدعاء إلى طاعته في صدور الناس، حتى يُستجاب له إلى ما دعا إليه من طاعته، فإذا استجيب له إلى ذلك خَنَس. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، في قوله ( الْوَسْوَاسِ ) قال: هو الشيطان يأمره، فإذا أطيع خنس . والصواب من القول في ذلك عندي أن يقال: إن الله أمر نبيه محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يستعيذ به من شرّ شيطان يوسوس مرّة ويخنس أخرى، ولم يخصَّ وسوسته على نوع من أنواعها، ولا خنوسه على وجه دون وجه، وقد يوسوس بالدعاء إلى معصية الله، &; 24-711 &; فإذا أطيع فيها خَنَس، وقد يوسوس بالنَّهْي عن طاعة الله فإذا ذكر العبدُ أمر ربه فأطاعه فيه، وعصى الشيطان خنس، فهو في كلّ حالتيه وَسْواس خَناس، وهذه الصفة صفته.