Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   ## The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا (So if they believe in the like of that in which you believe, then they are indeed rightly guided)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted be His mention — means by His saying "if they believe in the like of that in which you believe": if the Jews and the Christians hold Allah to be true, and that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down to Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl, Isḥāq, Yaʿqūb and the tribes (al-asbāṭ), and that which was given to Mūsā and ʿĪsā, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, and they acknowledge that in the manner in which you hold it to be true and acknowledge it, O believers, then they have indeed been brought to what is correct and have come to the straight path, and they have held fast to the way of the truth and are rightly guided. At that point they belong to you and you belong to them, through their entry into your religious community (milla) by their acknowledgement of it.

   Thus the Exalted — exalted be His mention — has shown by means of this verse that He accepts no deed from anyone except with faith (īmān) in these meanings which He has enumerated before it, as in:

   2108 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying "if they believe in the like of that in which you believe, then they are indeed rightly guided" and the like, he said: Allah, glorified be He, has informed [us] that faith (īmān) is the firm handhold (al-ʿurwa al-wuthqā), and that He accepts no deed except with it, and that the Garden (janna) is forbidden only to whoever abandons it.

   * * *

   There has been transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās in this regard a reading which the codices (maṣāḥif) of the Muslims have come to contradict, and which the reciters of the Qurʾān have unanimously abandoned. And that is what:

   2109 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related it to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: Do not say: "if they believe in the like of that in which you believe, then they are indeed rightly guided" — for there is no like unto Allah — but say: "if they believe in that in which you believe, then they are indeed rightly guided" — or he said: "if they believe in what you believe."

   * * *

   It is as though Ibn ʿAbbās — in this transmission, if it is authentically from him — directs the interpretation of the reading of whoever recites: "if they believe in the like of that in which you believe," as though it would mean: if they believe in a like of Allah, and in a like of that which was sent down upon Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl. And that, when it is turned toward this meaning, is without doubt the ascribing of partners (shirk) to Allah, the Mighty. For there is no like unto Allah — exalted be His mention — that we should believe in it or reject it.

   * * *

   But the interpretation of it does not rest upon the meaning toward which he directed his interpretation. Its meaning is rather what we have described, and that is: if they hold to be true as you have held to be true that which you have held to be true — of all that which we have enumerated to you of the books of Allah and His prophets — then they are rightly guided. The comparison (tashbīh) is thus made only between the two affirmations and the two acknowledgements, which are the faith of these and the faith of those. Like the saying of one: "ʿAmr passed by your brother, just as I passed by him," by which he means: ʿAmr passed by your brother just as my passing by him. The comparison here is introduced only as a comparison between the two instances of passing by, not between ʿAmr and the speaker. Likewise, in His saying "if they believe in the like of that in which you believe," the comparison has fallen only between the two instances of belief, not between the One in Whom belief is placed.

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   ## The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ (And if they turn away, then they are only in dissension)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted be His mention — means by His saying "and if they turn away": and if they turn away — these who said to Muḥammad, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, and his companions: "Be Jews or Christians" — and so turn aside, and do not believe as is your belief, O believers, in Allah, and in that with which the prophets came and with which the messengers were sent, and they make a separation between the messengers of Allah and between Allah and His messengers, and so they believe in a part and reject a part — then know, O believers, that they are only in disobedience, division and war against Allah, His messenger and you, as in:

   2110 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: "and they are only in dissension (shiqāq)," that is to say: in separation (firāq).

   2111 — Al-Muthannā related 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: "then they are only in dissension (shiqāq)," that means: separation.

   2112 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "and if they turn away, then they are only in dissension," he said: Al-shiqāq is separation and the waging of war. When someone goes into dissension (shāqqa), then he wages war, and when he wages war, then he is in dissension; both are one and the same in the language of the Arabs. And he recited: وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ (And whoever opposes the messenger) [Surah Al-Nisāʾ: 115].

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The origin of "al-shiqāq" is, according to us — and Allah knows best — derived from the saying of one: "this matter weighed heavily upon him (shaqqa ʿalayhi)," when it distresses and torments him. Then it was said: "so-and-so went into dissension against so-and-so (shāqqa fulānun fulānan)," with the meaning: each of the two brought upon the other that which distressed and tormented him, and whose affliction weighed heavily upon him. To this also belongs the saying of Allah — exalted be His mention —: وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا (And if you fear a breach between the two of them) [Surah Al-Nisāʾ: 35], with the meaning: a separation between the two of them.

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   ## The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (137) (So Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted be His mention — means by His saying "So Allah will suffice you against them": Allah will suffice you, O Muḥammad, against these who said to you and to your companions: "Be Jews or Christians, then you will be rightly guided" — from among the Jews and the Christians — if they turn away from believing as is the belief of your companions in Allah, and in that which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down to Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl, Isḥāq and the remaining prophets besides them, and they make a separation between Allah and His messengers — whether by killing with the sword, or by expulsion from your vicinity, and other punishments besides these. For Allah is "the All-Hearing" (al-samīʿ) of that which they say to you with their tongues and what they show you with their mouths of ignorance and incitement to unbelief (kufr) and the misguided religious communities — "the All-Knowing" (al-ʿalīm) of that which they conceal in their innermost being toward you and toward your believing companions of envy and hatred.

   And Allah did that with them, forthwith, and fulfilled His promise. Thus He sufficed His prophet, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, by giving him power over them, until he killed some of them, expelled others, and humbled and disgraced yet others with the poll-tax levied on non-Muslims (jizyah) and subjugation.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا قال أبو جعفر: يعني تعالى ذكره بقوله: " فإن آمنوا بمثل ما آمنتم به "، فإن صدّق اليهودُ والنصارَى بالله، ومَا أنـزل إليكم، وما أنـزل إلى إبراهيمَ وإسماعيل وإسحاقَ ويعقوبَ والأسباطِ, ومَا أوتي مُوسى وعيسى, وما أوتي النبيون من ربهم, وأقروا بذلك، مثلَ ما صدّقتم أنتم به أيّها المؤمنون وأقررتم, فقد وُفِّقوا ورَشِدوا، ولزموا طريق الحق، واهتدوا, وهم حينئذ منكم وأنتم منهم، بدخولهم في ملتكم بإقرارهم بذلك. فدلّ تعالى ذكره بهذه الآية، على أنه لم يقبل من أحد عَملا إلا بالإيمان بهذه المعاني التي عدَّها قَبلها، كما:- 2108- حدثنا المثنى قال: حدثنا أبو صالح قال: حدثنا معاوية بن صالح, عن علي بن أبي طلحة, عن ابن عباس قوله: " فإن آمنوا بمثل مَا آمنتم به فقد اهتدوا " ونحو هذا, قال: أخبر الله سبحانه أنّ الإيمان هو العروة الوثقى, وَأنه لا يقبل عملا إلا به, ولا تحرُم الجنة إلا على مَن تركه. * * * وقد روي عن ابن عباس في ذلك قراءةٌ، جاءت مصاحفُ المسلمين بخلافها, وأجمعت قَرَأة القرآن على تركها. وذلك ما:- 2109- حدثنا به محمد بن المثنى قال: حدثنا محمد بن جعفر قال: حدثنا شعبة, عن أبي حمزة, قال: قال ابن عباس: لا تقولوا: " فإن آمنوا بمثل مَا آمنتم به فقد اهتدوا " -فإنه ليس لله مثل- ولكن قولوا: " فإن آمنوا بالذي آمنتم به فَقد اهتدوا "- أو قال: " فإن آمنوا بما آمنتم به ". * * * فكأن ابن عباس -في هذه الرواية إن كانت صحيحة عنه- يوجِّه تأويل قراءة من قرأ: " فإن آمنُوا بمثل مَا آمنتم به "، فإن آمنوا بمثل الله, وبمثل ما أنـزل على إبراهيم وإسماعيل. وذلك إذا صرف إلى هذا الوجه، شِركٌ لا شكَّ بالله العظيم. لأنه لا مثل لله تعالى ذكرُه, فنؤمن أو نكفر به. * * * ولكن تأويل ذلك على غير المعنى الذي وَجّه إليه تأويله. وإنما معناه ما وصفنا, وهو: فإن صدّقوا مثل تصديقكم بما صدقتم به -من جميع ما عددنا عليكم من كتُب الله وأنبيائه- فقد اهتدوا. فالتشبيه إنما وقع بين التصديقين والإقرارين اللذين هما إيمان هؤلاء وإيمان هؤلاء. كقول القائل: " مرّ عمرو بأخيك مثلَ ما مررتُ به ", يعني بذلك مرّ عمرو بأخيك مثل مُروري به. والتمثيل إنما دخل تمثيلا بين المرورين, لا بين عمرو وبين المتكلم. فكذلك قوله: " فإن آمنوا بمثل ما آمنتم به "، إنما وقع التمثيل بين الإيمانين، لا بين المؤمَنِ به. * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ قال أبو جعفر: يعنى تعالى ذكره بقوله: " وإن تَوَلَّوْا "، وإن تولى -هؤلاء الذين قالوا لمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه: كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى - فأعرضوا، (31) = فلم يؤمنوا بمثل إيمانكم أيّها المؤمنون بالله, وبما جاءت به الأنبياءُ, وابتُعِثت به الرسل, وفرّقوا بين رُسُل الله وبين الله ورسله, فصدّقوا ببعضٍ وكفروا ببعضٍ = فاعلموا، أيها المؤمنون، أنهم إنما هُمْ في عصيان وفِرَاق وحَربٍ لله ولرسوله ولكم، كما:- 2110- حدثنا بشر بن معاذ قال: حدثنا يزيد, عن سعيد، عن قتادة: " وإنما هُم في شقاق "، أي: في فراق (32) 2111- حدثني المثنى قال: حدثنا إسحاق قال: حدثنا ابن أبي جعفر, عن أبيه, عن الربيع: " فإنما هُمْ في شقاق "، يعني فراق. 2112- حدثني يونس قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب قال: قال ابن زيد: " وإن توَلوا فإنما هم في شقاق " قال: الشقاق: الفراقُ والمحاربة. إذا شَاقَّ فقد حارب, وإذا حَارب فقد شاقَّ, وهما واحدٌ في كلام العرب، وقرأ: وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ [سورة النساء: 115]. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأصل " الشقاق " عندنا، والله أعلم، مأخوذٌ من قول القائل: " شَقَّ عليه هذا الأمر "، إذا كرَبه وآذاه. ثم قيل: " شاقَّ فلانٌ فلانًا "، بمعنى: نال كل واحد منهما من صاحبه ما كرَبه وآذاه، وأثقلته مَساءَته. ومنه قول الله تعالى ذكره: وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا [سورة النساء: 35] بمعنى: فراقَ بينهما. * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (137) قال أبو جعفر: يعني تعالى ذكره بقوله: " فسيكفيكهمُ الله "، فسيكفيكَ الله يا محمد، هؤلاء الذين قالوا لَكَ ولأصحابك: كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تَهْتَدُوا ، من اليهود والنصارى, إنْ هم تولوْا عن أن يؤمنوا بمثل إيمان أصحابك بالله, وبما أنـزل إليك, وما أنـزل إلى إبراهيم وإسماعيل وإسحاق وسائر الأنبياء غيرهم, وفرقوا بين الله ورُسُله - إما بقتل السيف, وإما بجلاء عن جوارك, وغير ذلك من العقوبات؛ فإن الله هو " السميع " لما يقولون لك بألسنتهم، ويبدون لك بأفواههم، من الجهل والدعاء إلى الكفر والملل الضّالة -" العليمُ" بما يُبطنون لك ولأصحابك المؤمنين في أنفسهم من الحَسد والبغضاء. ففعل الله بهم ذلك عَاجلا وأنجزَ وَعْده, فكفى نبيّه صلى الله عليه وسلم بتسليطه إيّاه عليهم، حتى قتل بعضهم، وأجلَى بعضًا، وأذلّ بعضًا وأخزاه بالجزية والصَّغار. --------- (31) انظر معنى"تولى" فيما سلف ، 2 : 162 ، 163 / ثم 298 ، 299 . (32) الأثر : 2110- سقط من المطبوعة في إسناده : "عن سعيد" ، وهو إسناد دائر في التفسير ، أقر به فيما سلف : 2104 .