Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ

   (And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon," while they recite the Book.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: It has been transmitted that this verse was revealed concerning a group of the people of the two People of the Book who disputed with one another in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, each one saying something against the other.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   1811 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us; and Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us — both of them said: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, the freedman of Zayd ibn Thābit, related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When the people of Najrān, from among the Christians, came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the rabbis of the Jews came to them, and they disputed with one another in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Rāfiʿ ibn Ḥuraymila said: "You have nothing to stand upon," and he disbelieved in ʿĪsā the son of Maryam and in the Gospel. Then a man from the people of Najrān, from among the Christians, said: "You have nothing to stand upon," and he denied the prophethood of Mūsā and disbelieved in the Torah. So Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed concerning this, regarding the saying of both of them: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon", up to His saying: concerning that wherein they used to differ. (1)

   1812 – It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, who said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon", he said: These are the People of the Book who lived in the time of the Prophet ﷺ.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: As for the explanation of the verse: the Jews said, namely: "The Christians are not upon the truth in their religion!", and the Christians said: "The Jews are not upon the truth in their religion!" Allah informed the believers of that saying of theirs only to make them aware that each group of them neglected the ruling of the Book — the Book whose validity they openly acknowledge and whose origin from Allah they acknowledge — while nonetheless they deny the obligations that Allah sent down therein. For the Gospel, whose validity and truth the Christians hold as a creed, confirms what is in the Torah concerning the prophethood of Mūsā, peace be upon him, and concerning the obligations that Allah imposed therein upon the Children of Israel. And the Torah, whose validity and truth the Jews hold as a creed, confirms the prophethood of ʿĪsā, peace be upon him, and what he brought from Allah of rulings and obligations.

   Then each group of them said to the other group what Allah has reported about them in His saying: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon", while each of the two groups was reciting its Book, which testifies to the falsehood of its saying. Thus He, exalted be His praise, reported that each group of them said what it said thereof, while they knew that they were in the wrong in what they said; and they committed the disbelief that they committed, while they knew that they were apostates therein.

   If someone were to say to us: Did the Jews and the Christians then have anything to stand upon after Allah had sent His Messenger, so that the group of them which said that against the other group was in the wrong in the saying it made?

   Then it is answered: We have already transmitted earlier the report that we mentioned from Ibn ʿAbbās, namely that the denial by each group of them was only a denial of the prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ — who lays claim to confirming him, as well as confirming that which the other group brought — and not a denial on their part that the other group, at the time when Allah sent our Prophet ﷺ, had anything of its religion to stand upon, on account of his denial of the prophethood of our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. And how could it be permissible that the meaning of it should be that each group of them denied that the other group had anything to stand upon after the sending of our Prophet ﷺ, while both groups denied the prophethood of our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ at the time when Allah sent down this verse? Rather, the meaning of it is: and the Jews said: "The Christians have nothing of their religion to stand upon since they adopted their religion," and the Christians said: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon since they adopted their religion." And that is the meaning of the report that we have just transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās. Thus Allah declared both groups liars in the saying they made. As:

   1813 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon", he said: Indeed! The first Christians did have something to stand upon, but they introduced innovations and became divided. And the Christians said: The Jews have nothing to stand upon, but the people introduced innovations and became divided.

   1814 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon", he said: Mujāhid said: The first Jews and Christians did have something to stand upon.

   * * *

   As for His saying: while they recite the Book, thereby He means the Book of Allah, the Torah and the Gospel, both of which testify against the two groups, the Jews and the Christians, of disbelief and of their transgression against the command of Allah which He had imposed upon them therein. As:

   1815 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us; and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us — both of them said: Ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, the freedman of Zayd ibn Thābit, related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: while they recite the Book; thus those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying, that is to say: each one reads in his Book the confirmation of that which he denies; namely: the Jews deny ʿĪsā, while they possess the Torah in which is found what Allah imposed upon them through Mūsā by way of a covenant to confirm ʿĪsā, peace be upon him; and in the Gospel, with that which ʿĪsā brought, is the confirmation of Mūsā and of what he brought of the Torah, originating from Allah. And each of them denies what is in the hand of the other. (2)

   * * *

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ

   (Thus those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning whom Allah meant by His saying: Thus those who have no knowledge speak. Some of them said the following:

   1816 – Al-Muthannā related this to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying, he said: The Christians spoke in like manner to the saying of the Jews who preceded them.

   1817 – Bishr ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying, he said: The Christians spoke in like manner to the saying of the Jews who preceded them.

   * * *

   Others said the following:

   1818 – Al-Qāsim related this to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: Who are these who have no knowledge? He said: They are communities that existed before the Jews and the Christians, and before the Torah and the Gospel.

   * * *

   And some of them said: Thereby are meant the polytheists of the Arabs (mushrikīn), because they were not People of the Book; therefore they were ascribed to ignorance and for that reason knowledge was denied to them.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   1819 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Thus those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying, those are the Arabs, they said: "Muḥammad ﷺ has nothing to stand upon."

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct view concerning this, according to us, is that it be said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, reported about a people whom He characterized with ignorance and to whom He denied the knowledge that the Jews and the Christians did possess — namely that they, in their ignorance, said the same as what the Jews and the Christians said against one another, that concerning which Allah reported about them in His saying: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon". It is possible that they are the polytheists of the Arabs, and it is possible that they are a community that existed before the Jews and the Christians. And no one community has more right than another to be said to be the one meant thereby, since there is in the verse no indication of one over the other, nor a report concerning this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ whose proof is established by the transmission of a single trustworthy person, nor by widespread transmission.

   Allah, exalted be His praise, intended by His saying: Thus those who have no knowledge speak in like manner to their saying only to make the believers aware that the Jews and the Christians have given themselves over to uttering falsehood, to fabricating lies against Allah, and to denying the prophethood of the prophets and messengers — while they are People of the Book who know that they are in the wrong in what they say, and that by the denial they commit they depart from their religious community and utter fabrications against Allah — just like that which is said by the people who are ignorant of Allah, His Books, and His messengers, to whom Allah has not sent a messenger and to whom He has not revealed a Book.

   And this verse makes clear that whoever commits something of the acts of disobedience toward Allah, while he knows that Allah has forbidden it, brings down upon his religion a greater calamity than the calamity of him who commits that in ignorance thereof. For Allah, exalted be His mention, made the rebuke of the Jews and the Christians, with which He rebuked them for their saying concerning which He reported about them in His saying: And the Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand upon," and the Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand upon", precisely so severe because they were People of the Book who said what they said thereof, while they knew that they were in the wrong.

   * * *

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (113)

   (Allah will then judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they used to differ.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: Thereby He means, exalted be His praise: Allah will pass judgment and thus make a separation between these who differ — who say to one another: "You have nothing of your religion to stand upon" — on the Day when the creatures rise before their Lord from their graves. Then the truthful among them will be distinguished from the one who is in the wrong, in that He rewards the truthful with what He has promised the people of His obedience for their good deeds, and in that He recompenses the one among them who is in the wrong with what He has threatened the people of disbelief toward Him for their disbelief — concerning that wherein they differed regarding their religions and religious communities in the worldly abode.

   * * *

   As for "al-qiyāma" (the Resurrection): it is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the speaker's saying: "qumtu qiyāman wa-qiyāmatan" (I stood, standing and rising), as one says: "ʿudtu fulānan ʿiyādatan" (I visited so-and-so, a visiting) and "ṣuntu hādhā al-amra ṣiyānatan" (I guarded this matter, a guarding).

   * * *

   By "al-qiyāma" is meant only the rising of the creatures from their graves before their Lord. The meaning of "Day of Resurrection" (yawm al-qiyāma) is therefore: the Day of the rising of the creatures from their graves to their gathering-place.

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   Footnotes:

   (1) Report 1811 – in the Sīra of Ibn Hishām, vol. 2: 197–198.

   (2) Report 1815 – in the Sīra of Ibn Hishām, vol. 2: 198.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ قال أبو جعفر: ذكر أن هذه الآية نـزلت في قوم من أهل الكتابين تنازعوا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فقال بعضهم لبعض. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 1811- حدثنا ابن حميد قال، حدثنا سلمة ، وحدثنا أبو كريب قال، حدثنا يونس بن بكير ، قالا جميعا- حدثنا محمد بن إسحاق قال، حدثني محمد بن أبي محمد مولى زيد بن ثابت قال، حدثني سعيد بن جبير أو عكرمة ، عن ابن عباس قال، لما قدم أهل نجران من النصارى على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، أتتهم أحبار يهود ، فتنازعوا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال رافع بن حريملة: ما أنتم على شيء ، وكفر بعيسى ابن مريم وبالإنجيل. فقال رجل من أهل نجران من النصارى: ما أنتم على شيء ، وجحد نبوة موسى وكفر بالتوراة. فأنـزل الله عز وجل في ذلك من قولهما: (وقالت اليهود ليست النصارى على شيء وقالت النصارى ليست اليهود على شيء) ، إلى قوله: فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (1) 1812- حُدثت عن عمار قال، حدثنا ابن أبي جعفر ، عن أبيه ، عن الربيع قوله: (وقالت اليهود ليست النصارى على شيء وقالت النصارى ليست اليهود على شيء) ، قال: هؤلاء أهل الكتاب الذين كانوا على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأما تأويل الآية ، فإن قالت اليهود: ليست النصارى في دينها على صواب! ، وقالت النصارى: ليست اليهود في دينها على صواب! وإنما أخبر الله عنهم بقيلهم ذلك للمؤمنين ، إعلاما ، منه لهم بتضييع كل فريق منهم حكم الكتاب الذي يظهر الإقرار بصحته وبأنه من عند الله ، وجحودهم مع ذلك ما أنـزل الله فيه من فروضه ، لأن الإنجيل الذي تدين بصحته وحقيته النصارى ، يحقق ما في التوراة من نبوة موسى عليه السلام، وما فرض الله على بني إسرائيل فيها من الفرائض ، وأن التوراة التي تدين بصحتها وحقيقتها اليهود تحقق نبوة عيسى عليه السلام ، وما جاء به من الله من الأحكام والفرائض. ثم قال كل فريق منهم للفريق الآخر ما أخبر الله عنهم في قوله: (وقالت اليهود ليست النصارى على شيء وقالت النصارى ليست اليهود على شيء) ، مع تلاوة كل واحد من الفريقين كتابه الذي يشهد على كذبه في قيله ذلك. فأخبر جل ثناؤه أن كل فريق منهم قال ما قال من ذلك ، على علم منهم أنهم فيما قالوه مبطلون ؛ وأتوا ما أتوا من كفرهم بما كفروا به على معرفة منهم بأنهم فيه ملحدون. فإن قال لنا قائل: أو كانت اليهود والنصارى بعد أن بعث الله رسوله على شيء ، فيكون الفريق القائل منهم ذلك للفريق الآخر مبطلا في قيله ما قال من ذلك؟ قيل: قد روينا الخبر الذي ذكرناه عن ابن عباس قبل ، من أن إنكار كل فريق منهم ، إنما كان إنكارا لنبوة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، الذي ينتحل التصديق به ، وبما جاء به الفريق الآخر ، لا دفعا منهم أن يكون الفريق الآخر في الحال التي بعث الله فيها نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم على شيء من دينه ، بسبب جحوده نبوة نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. وكيف يجوز أن يكون معنى ذلك إنكار كل فريق منهم أن يكون الفريق الآخر على شيء بعد بعثة نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وكلا الفريقين كان جاحدا نبوة نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في الحال التي أنـزل الله فيها هذه الآية؟ ولكن معنى ذلك: وقالت اليهود: ليست النصارى على شيء من دينها منذ دانت دينها ، وقالت النصارى: ليست اليهود على شيء منذ دانت دينها. وذلك هو معنى الخبر الذي رويناه عن ابن عباس آنفا. فكذب الله الفريقين في قيلهما ما قالا. كما:- 1813- حدثنا بشر بن معاذ قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، حدثنا سعيد ، عن قتادة قوله: (وقالت اليهود ليست النصارى على شيء) ، قال: بلى ! قد كانت أوائل النصارى على شيء ، ولكنهم ابتدعوا وتفرقوا ، وقالت النصارى: (ليست اليهود على شيء)، ولكن القوم ابتدعوا وتفرقوا. 1814- حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج ، عن ابن جريج: (وقالت اليهود ليست النصارى على شيء وقالت النصارى ليست اليهود على شيء) ، قال: قال مجاهد: قد كانت أوائل اليهود والنصارى على شيء. * * * وأما قوله: (وهم يتلون الكتاب) ، فإنه يعني به كتاب الله التوراة والإنجيل ، وهما شاهدان على فريقي اليهود والنصارى بالكفر ، وخلافهم أمر الله الذي أمرهم به فيه. كما:- 1815- حدثنا أبو كريب قال، حدثنا يونس بن بكير - وحدثنا ابن حميد قال، حدثنا سلمة بن الفضل - قالا جميعا، حدثنا ابن إسحاق قال، حدثني محمد بن أبي محمد مولى زيد بن ثابت قال، حدثني سعيد بن جبير أو عكرمة ، عن ابن عباس في قوله: (وهم يتلون الكتاب كذلك قال الذين لا يعلمون مثل قولهم) ، أي كل يتلو في كتابه تصديق ما كفر به: أي يكفر اليهود بعيسى وعندهم التوراة فيها ما أخذ الله عليهم من الميثاق على لسان موسى بالتصديق بعيسى عليه السلام ، وفي الإنجيل مما جاء به عيسى تصديقُ موسى ، وما جاء به من التوراة من عند الله ; وكل يكفر بما في يد صاحبه. (2) * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ قال أبو جعفر: اختلف أهل التأويل في الذين عنى الله بقوله: (كذلك قال الذين لا يعلمون) . فقال بعضهم بما:- 1816- حدثني به المثنى قال، حدثنا إسحاق قال، حدثنا ابن أبي جعفر ، عن أبيه ، عن الربيع ، (قال الذين لا يعلمون مثل قولهم)، قال: وقالت النصارى مثل قول اليهود قبلهم. 1817- حدثنا بشر بن سعيد ، عن قتادة: (قال الذين لا يعلمون مثل قولهم) ، قال: قالت النصارى مثل قول اليهود قبلهم. * * * وقال آخرون بما:- 1818- حدثنا به القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج قال، قال ابن جريج: قلت لعطاء: من هؤلاء الذين لا يعلمون؟ قال: أمم كانت قبل اليهود والنصارى ، وقبل التوراة والإنجيل. * * * وقال بعضهم: عنى بذلك مشركي العرب ، لأنهم لم يكونوا أهل كتاب فنسبوا إلى الجهل ، ونفي عنهم من أجل ذلك العلم. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 1819- حدثني موسى بن هارون قال، حدثنا عمرو قال، حدثنا أسباط ، عن السدي: (كذلك قال الذين لا يعلمون مثل قولهم)، فهم العرب ، قالوا: ليس محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم على شيء. * * * قال أبو جعفر: والصواب من القول في ذلك عندنا أن يقال: إن الله تبارك وتعالى أخبر عن قوم وصفهم بالجهل ، ونفى عنهم العلم بما كانت اليهود والنصارى به عالمين - أنهم قالوا بجهلهم نظير ما قال اليهود والنصارى بعضها لبعض مما أخبر الله عنهم أنهم قالوه في قوله: وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ . وجائز أن يكونوا هم المشركين من العرب ، وجائز أن يكونوا أمة كانت قبل اليهود والنصارى. ولا أمة أولى أن يقال هي التي عنيت بذلك من أخرى ، إذْ لم يكن في الآية دلالة على أي من أي ، ولا خبر بذلك عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثبتت حجته من جهة نقل الواحد العدل ، ولا من جهة النقل المستفيض. وإنما قصد الله جل ثناؤه بقوله: (كذلك قال الذين لا يعلمون مثل قولهم) ، إعلام المؤمنين أن اليهود والنصارى قد أتوا من قيل الباطل ، وافتراء الكذب على الله ، وجحود نبوة الأنبياء والرسل ، وهم أهل كتاب يعلمون أنهم فيما يقولون مبطلون ، وبجحودهم ما يجحدون من ملتهم خارجون ، وعلى الله مفترون ، مثل الذي قاله أهل الجهل بالله وكتبه ورسله ، الذين لم يبعث الله لهم رسولا ولا أوحى إليهم كتابا. وهذه الآية تنبئ عن أن من أتى شيئا من معاصي الله على علم منه بنهي الله عنها ، فمصيبته في دينه أعظم من مصيبة من أتى ذلك جاهلا به . لأن الله تعالى ذكره عظم توبيخ اليهود والنصارى بما وبخهم به في قيلهم ما أخبر عنهم بقوله: وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ ، من أجل أنهم أهل كتاب قالوا ما قالوا من ذلك على علم منهم أنهم مبطلون. * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (113) قال أبو جعفر : يعني بذلك جل ثناؤه: فالله يقضي فيفصل بين هؤلاء المختلفين ، = القائل بعضهم لبعض: لستم على شيء من دينكم - يوم قيام الخلق لربهم من قبورهم - فيتبين المحق منهم من المبطل ، بإثابة المحق ما وعد أهل طاعته على أعماله الصالحة ، ومجازاته المبطل منهم بما أوعد أهل الكفر به على كفرهم به = فيما كانوا فيه يختلفون من أديانهم ومللهم في دار الدنيا. * * * وأما " القيامة " فهي مصدر من قول القائل: " قمت قياما وقيامة "، كما يقال: " عدت فلانا عيادة " و " صنت هذا الأمر صيانة ". * * * وإنما عنى " بالقيامة " قيام الخلق من قبورهم لربهم . فمعنى " يوم القيامة ": يوم قيام الخلائق من قبورهم لمحشرهم. ------------------ الهوامش : (1) الأثر : 1811 - في سيرة ابن هشام 2 : 197 - 198 . (2) الأثر : 1815 - في سيرة ابن هشام 2 : 198 .