Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ

   (And even if you were to bring to those who were given the Book every sign, they would still not follow your prayer-direction; and you are not a follower of their prayer-direction, nor are some of them followers of the prayer-direction of others.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He — blessed be His name — means thereby: And even if you, O Muḥammad, were to come to the Jews and the Christians with every proof and every argument — and that is "the sign" (al-āya)¹ — that the truth is that which you have brought them, namely the obligation in prayer to change from the prayer-direction (qibla) of Bayt al-Maqdis to the prayer-direction of the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām), they would still not hold that to be true, and they would not — despite the proof being established against them thereby — follow your prayer-direction toward which I have made you turn, namely the orienting toward the side of the Sacred Mosque.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And "la-in" (even if) is answered with the past tense of the verb, whereas by rule it would be answered with the future tense, in assimilation to "law" (if). So it is answered with that with which "law" is answered, because of the closeness of the meanings of the two. And the exposition of a similar case has already been treated earlier.² And "law" is answered with the answer of oaths. The Arabs do that only with the conditional clause (al-jazāʾ) in particular, because the conditional clause resembles the oath: in the sense that of each of the two the beginning is not completed except by the end of it, and that it is not complete in itself, and that it is not valid except by that which confirms it afterward. So when one began with the oath and let it fall upon the conditional clause, the first "lām" became in the place of an oath, and the second in the place of an answer to it — as one says: "la-ʿamruka la-taqūmanna" (by your life, you shall surely arise), because the "lām" in "la-ʿamruka" became so frequent that it became as one of its letters, and therefore it was answered with that with which oaths are answered, since the "lām" in oaths takes the place of the oaths, to the exclusion of the remaining letters, except for that which is most suited for it among the oaths. Thus it points to the oaths and performs the work of the answers, while the remaining answers of oaths do not, for us, point to the oaths.³ Thus the "lām" which stands in the answer of the oath was assimilated to the oaths, for the reason which we have described, and therefore it was answered with their answers.

   * * *

   Thus the meaning of the saying — since the matter is as we have described — is: If you were to come to those who were given the Book with every sign, they would still not follow your prayer-direction.

   * * *

   As for His saying: "and you are not a follower of their prayer-direction," He says: and there is for you, O Muḥammad, no way to follow their prayer-direction. That is because the Jews orient themselves in their prayer toward Bayt al-Maqdis, and the Christians orient themselves toward the east — how then would there be for you a way to follow their prayer-direction, with the diversity of their directions? He says: So hold to your prayer-direction toward which you have been commanded to turn, and leave off that which the Jews and the Christians say and to which they call you, namely their prayer-direction and the orienting toward it.

   * * *

   As for His saying: "nor are some of them followers of the prayer-direction of others," He means thereby by His words: and the Jews do not follow the prayer-direction of the Christians, nor do the Christians follow the prayer-direction of the Jews, such that they would turn toward it — as:

   2257 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "nor are some of them followers of the prayer-direction of others," He says: the Jews do not follow the prayer-direction of the Christians, nor do the Christians follow the prayer-direction of the Jews. He said: And this verse was revealed only because, when the Prophet ﷺ was turned toward the Kaʿba, the Jews said: "Muḥammad has grown homesick for the land of his father and his birthplace! Had he but remained steadfast upon our prayer-direction, then we would hope that he is our man whom we await!" Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed concerning them: وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ (And indeed those who were given the Book know for certain that it is the truth from their Lord) up to His saying: لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (they surely conceal the truth while they know).⁴

   2258 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: "nor are some of them followers of the prayer-direction of others" something similar.

   * * *

   He — exalted be His praise — means thereby only: that the Jews and the Christians do not agree upon a single prayer-direction, so long as each group of them persists upon its own creed (milla). So the Exalted — exalted be His mention — said to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: O Muḥammad, do not delude yourself with the satisfaction of these Jews and Christians, for that is a matter to which there is no way. For they — with the diversity of their creeds — offer you no way to satisfy each group of them. Since you, if you follow the prayer-direction of the Jews, embitter the Christians, and if you follow the prayer-direction of the Christians, embitter the Jews. So leave off that to which there is no way, and call them to that to which for them there is indeed a way, namely uniting upon your pure creed submitted to Allah (al-milla al-ḥanīfiyya al-muslima), and your prayer-direction, the prayer-direction of Abraham and the prophets after him.

   * * *

   The discourse on the explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ (145)

   (And even if you were to follow their desires, after the knowledge has come to you, then you would surely be among the wrongdoers.) (145)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by His saying: "and even if you were to follow their desires," and even if you, O Muḥammad, were to seek the satisfaction of these Jews and Christians, who said to you and to your companions: كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تَهْتَدُوا (Be Jews or Christians, then you will be rightly guided), and were then to follow their prayer-direction — that is to say: and were then to return to their prayer-direction.

   And by His saying He means: "after the knowledge has come to you," after the knowledge has reached you, in that I have made known to you that they persist in falsehood, and in obstinate resistance against the truth, and in that they know that the prayer-direction toward which I have turned you is the very prayer-direction which I imposed upon your father Abraham — peace be upon him — and upon all his descendants after him among the messengers to turn toward. "Then you would surely be among the wrongdoers," that is to say: then you, if you were to do that, would be among My servants who wrong themselves, who oppose My command and abandon obedience to Me — as one of them and counted among their number.⁵

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   Footnotes:

   ¹ See the explanation of "āya" in what passed earlier, 1:106 / 2:553.

   ² See what passed earlier, 2:458, and see Maʿānī al-Qurʾān of al-Farrāʾ 1:84.

   ³ The phrase "the answers of the oaths for us upon the oaths" is an obscure expression, for which I have not been able to find an explanation satisfactory to me, and I do not doubt that it is corrupted or incomplete.

   ⁴ The report 2257 — see what passed earlier under number 2204.

   ⁵ The connection of the sentence: "among My servants who do wrong … as one of them, and counted among their number."

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ قال أبو جعفر: يعني بذلك تبارك اسمه: ولئن جئتَ، يا محمد، اليهودَ والنصارَى، بكل برهان وحُجة - وهي" الآية "- (89) بأن الحق هو ما جئتهم به، من فرض التحوُّل من قبلة بيت المقدس في الصلاة، إلى قبلة المسجد الحرام, ما صدّقوا به، ولا اتَّبعوا -مع قيام الحجة عليهم بذلك- قبلتَك التي حوَّلتُك إليها، وهي التوجُّه شَطرَ المسجد الحرام. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأجيبت " لئن " بالماضي من الفعل، وحكمها الجوابُ بالمستقبل تشبيهًا لها ب " لو ", فأجيبت بما تجاب به " لو "، لتقارب معنييهما. &; وقد مضى البيان عن نَظير ذلك فيما مضى. (90) وأجيبت " لو " بجواب الأيمان. ولا تفعل العربُ ذلك إلا في الجزاء خاصة، لأن الجزاء مُشابه اليمين: في أن كل واحد منهما لا يتم أوّله إلا بآخره, ولا يتمُّ وحده, ولا يصحّ إلا بما يؤكِّد به بعدَه. فلما بدأ باليمين فأدخلت على الجزاء، صَارَت " اللام " الأولى بمنـزلة يَمين، والثانية بمنـزلة جواب لها, كما قيل: " لعمرك لتقومَنَّ" إذ كثرت " اللام " من " لعمرك "، حتى صارت كحرف من حروفه, فأجيب بما يجاب به الأيمان, إذ كانت " اللام " تنوب في الأيمان عن الأيمان، دون سائر الحروف، غير التي هي أحقُّ به الأيمان. فتدلّ على الأيمان وتعمل عمل الأجوبة، ولا تدلّ سائر أجوبة الأيمان لنا على الأيمان. (91) فشبهت " اللام " التي في جواب الأيمان بالأيمان، لما وصفنا, فأجيبت بأجوبَتها. * * * فكانَ مَعنى الكلام -إذ كان الأمر على ما وصفنا-: لو أتيتَ الذين أوتوا الكتاب بكل آية ما تبعوا قبلتك. * * * وأما قوله: " وما أنتَ بتابع قِبلتهم "، يقول: وما لك من سبيل يا محمد إلى اتّباع قبلتهم. وذلك أن اليهود تستقبل بيت المقدس بصلاتها, وأن النصارى تستقبل المشرقَ, فأنَّى يكون لك السبيل إلى إتباع قِبلتهم. مع اختلاف وجوهها؟ يقول: فالزم قبلتَك التي أمِرت بالتوجه إليها, ودعْ عنك ما تقولُه اليهود والنصارى وتدعُوك إليه من قبلتهم واستقبالها. * * * وأما قوله: " وما بعضهم بتابع قبلة بعض "، فإنه يعني بقوله: وما اليهود بتابعةٍ &; 3-186 &; قبلةَ النصارى, ولا النصارى بتابعةٍ قبلة اليهود فمتوجِّهةٌ نحوها، كما:- 2257- حدثني موسى بن هارون قال، حدثنا عمرو بن حماد قال، حدثنا أسباط، عن السدي: " وما بعضهم بتاع قبلة بعض "، يقول: ما اليهود بتابعي قبلة النصارى, ولا النصارى بتابعي قبلة اليهود. قال: وإنما أنـزلت هذه الآية من أجل أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لما حُوِّل إلى الكعبة, قالت اليهود: إن محمدًا اشتاقَ إلى بلد أبيه ومولده! ولو ثبت على قبلتنا لكُنا نرجو أن يكون هو صاحبَنا الذي ننتظر! فأنـزل الله عز وجل فيهم: وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ إلى قوله: لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ . (92) 2258- حدثنا يونس قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب قال، قال ابن زيد في قوله: " وما بعضهم بتابع قبلةَ بعض "، مثل ذلك. * * * وإنما يعني جل ثناؤه بذلك: أن اليهود والنصارى لا تجتمع على قبلة واحدة، مع إقامة كل حزب منهم على مِلَّتهم. فقال تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: يا محمد، لا تُشعر نفسك رضَا هؤلاء اليهود والنصارى, فإنه أمر لا سبيل إليه. لأنهم مع اختلاف مللهم لا سبيل لكَ إلى إرضاء كل حزب منهم. من أجل أنك إن اتبعت قبلةَ اليهود أسخطتَ النصارى, وإن اتّبعت قبلة النصارى أسخطت اليهود, فدع ما لا سبيل إليه, وادعُهم إلى ما لهم السبيل إليه، من الاجتماع على مِلَّتك الحنيفيّة المسلمة, وقبلتِك قبلةِ إبراهيم والأنبياء من بعده. * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ (145) قال أبو جعفر: يعني بقوله جل ثناؤه: " ولئن اتبعت أهواءهم "، ولئن التمست يا محمد رضَا هؤلاء اليهود والنصارى، الذين قالوا لك ولأصحابك: كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تَهْتَدُوا ، فاتبعتَ قبلتهم - يعني: فرَجعت إلى قبلتهم. ويعني بقوله: " من بَعد مَا جَاءك من العلم "، من بعد ما وصَل إليك من العلم، بإعلامي إياك أنهم مقيمون على باطل، وعلى عنادٍ منهم للحق, ومعرفةٍ منهم أنّ القبلة التي وجهتُك إليها هي القبلةُ التي فرضتُ على أبيك إبراهيم عليه السلام وسائر ولده من بعده من الرسل - التوجُّهَ نحوها،" إنك إذًا لمن الظالمين "، يعني: إنك إذا فعلت ذلك، من عبادي الظَّلمةِ أنفسَهم, المخالفين أمري, والتاركين طاعتي, وأحدُهم وفي عِدادِهم. (93) --------------------------- الهوامش: (89) انظر تفسيره"آية" فيما سلف 1 : 106/2 : 553 . (90) انظر ما سلف 2 : 458 ، وانظر معاني القرآن للفراء 1 : 84 . (91) قوله : "أجوبة الأيمان لنا على الأيمان" هذه عبارة غامضة ، لم أظفر لها بوجه أرتضيه ، وأنا لا أشك في تحريفها أو نقصها . (92) الأثر : 2257- انظر ما مضى رقم : 2204 . (93) السياق : من عبادي الظلمة . . . وأحدهم ، وفي عدادهم" .