Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الأَمْوَالِ وَالأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ (155)

   (And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger, and with a diminution of possessions, lives, and fruits. And give glad tidings to the patient ones — 2:155)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: This is an announcement from Allah — exalted be His remembrance — to the followers of His Messenger ﷺ, that He will test them and put them to the trial with severe trials in all sorts of matters, so that He may know who follows the Messenger and who turns back on his heels, just as He tested them and put them to the trial with the change of the direction of prayer (qibla) from Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) to the Kaʿba, and just as He put His elect before them to the trial. He promised them this also in another verse, where He said to them: أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ [Surah Al-Baqarah: 214]

   (Or did you think that you would enter Paradise (janna) while the example of those who passed away before you has not yet come to you? Adversity and hardship touched them, and they were so shaken that the Messenger and those who believed with him said: "When will the help of Allah come?" Verily, the help of Allah is near — 2:214).

   And in the spirit of what we have said about this, Ibn ʿAbbās and others used to speak.

   2325 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger," and the rest of this. He said: Allah informed the believers that the worldly life is an abode of trial, and that He tests them therein. He commanded them patience and announced to them the glad tidings, and said: "And give glad tidings to the patient ones." Then He informed them that He acted thus with His prophets and His elect, so that their hearts might be set at ease, and He said: مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا

   (Adversity and hardship touched them, and they were shaken).

   * * *

   The meaning of His saying "And We will surely test you" (wa-la-nabluwannakum) is: and We will surely put you to the trial. We have already previously expounded that the meaning of "al-ibtilāʾ" (the trial) is the putting to the test, in what preceded.

   * * *

   And His saying "with something of fear" means: of the fear of the enemy. And "hunger" — that is famine. He says: We will surely put you to the trial with something of fear that befalls you from your enemy, and with a year of drought that befalls you in which hunger and privation befall you, and in which the obtaining of the necessities of life is made difficult for you, so that thereby your possessions diminish; and with wars that take place between you and your enemies among the unbelievers (kuffār), so that thereby your number diminishes; and with the death of your offspring and children; and with droughts that occur, so that thereby your fruits diminish. All of this is a trial from Me for you and a testing from Me for you, so that the truthful among you in their faith (īmān) may be distinguished from the liars therein, and so that the people of insight into their religion among you may be recognized from the people of hypocrisy (nifāq), doubt, and suspicion therein.

   All of this is an address from Him to the followers of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions (ṣaḥāba), as in:

   2326 — Hārūn ibn Idrīs al-Kūfī al-Aṣamm related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His saying: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger." He said: They are the Companions of Muḥammad ﷺ.

   * * *

   The Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — said only "with something (shayʾ) of fear" and did not say "with things (ashyāʾ)," because of the diversity of the kinds with which He let His servants know that He would put them to the trial. Since this was varied — and since "min" (of) indicates that with each kind thereof the word "shayʾ" (something) is implicitly present, for the meaning of it is: and We will surely test you with something of fear, and with something of hunger, and with something of diminution of possessions — the mention of "the something" at the beginning of it was sufficient as an indication, without repeating it with each individual kind.

   Thus the Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — did all of this with them, and put them to the trial with all sorts of kinds of trials, as in:

   2327 — 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, concerning His saying: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger, and with a diminution of possessions, lives, and fruits." He said: That has already come to pass, and there will yet come what is more severe than that.

   Allah said therewith: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ * الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ * أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ

   (And give glad tidings to the patient ones * those who, when a calamity befalls them, say: "Verily, we belong to Allah and verily, to Him we shall return" * they are those upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy, and they are those who are rightly guided).

   * * *

   Then the Exalted — exalted be His remembrance — said to His Prophet ﷺ: O Muḥammad, give glad tidings to the patient ones who endure My trial with which I put them to the test, and who restrain themselves from venturing into that which I forbid them, and who compel themselves to carry out what I impose upon them of obligatory duties (farāʾiḍ), despite that I test them with that with which I test them; those who, when a calamity befalls them, say: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

   (Verily, we belong to Allah and verily, to Him we shall return). Thus Allah — exalted be His remembrance — commanded him that he should single out — with the glad tidings concerning the severe trials with which He puts them to the test — the people of patience, whose characteristic Allah has described, for special favor.

   * * *

   The root meaning of "al-tabshīr" (the giving of glad tidings) is: that a man conveys to another man a piece of news, whether it gladdens him or grieves him, without another having preceded him in it.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الأَمْوَالِ وَالأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ (155) قال أبو جعفر: وهذا إخبار من الله تعالى ذكره أتباعَ رَسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم، أنه مبتليهم وممتحنهم بشدائد من الأمور، ليعلم من يتبع الرسول ممن ينقلب على عقبيه, كما ابتلاهم فامتحنهم بتحويل القبلة من بيت المقدس إلى الكعبة, وكما امتحن أصفياءَه قَبلهم. ووَعدهم ذلك في آية أخرى فقال لهم: أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ [سورة البقرة: 214]، وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك كان ابن عباس وغيرُه يقول. 2325- حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا عبد الله بن صالح قال، حدثني معاوية, عن علي بن أبي طلحة, عن ابن عباس قوله: " ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف والجوع "، ونحو هذا, قال: أخبر الله المؤمنين أن الدنيا دارُ بلاء, وأنه مبتليهم فيها, وأمرَهم بالصبر وبَشّرهم فقال: " وبشر الصابرين "، ثم أخبرهم أنه فعل هكذا بأنبيائه وصَفوته، لتطيب أنفسهم فقال: مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا . * * * ومعنى قوله: " وَلنبلونكم "، ولنختبرنكم. وقد أتينا على البيان عن أن معنى " الابتلاء " الاختبار، فيما مضى قبل. (6) * * * وقوله: " بشيء من الخوف "، يعني من الخوف من العدو، وبالجوع -وهو القحط- يقول: لنختبرنكم بشيء من خوف ينالكم من عدوكم وبسَنة تُصيبكم ينالكم فيها مجاعة وشدة، وتتعذر المطالب عليكم، (7) فتنقص لذلك أموالكم, وحروبٌ تكون بينكم وبين أعدائكم من الكفار, فينقص لها عددكم, وموتُ ذراريكم وأولادكم, وجُدوب تحدُث, فتنقص لها ثماركم. كل ذلك امتحان مني لكم، واختبار مني لكم, فيتبين صادقوكم في إيمانهم من كاذبيكم فيه, ويُعرف أهل البصائر في دينهم منكم، من أهل النفاق فيه والشك والارتياب. كل ذلك خطابٌ منه لأتباع رَسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه، كما: 2326- حدثني هارون بن إدريس الكوفيّ الأصم قال، حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن محمد المحاربي, عن عبد الملك، عن عطاء في قوله: " ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف والجوع " قال، هم أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. (8) * * * وإنما قال تعالى ذكره: " بشيء من الخوف " ولم يقل بأشياء، لاختلاف أنواع ما أعلم عبادَه أنه مُمتحنهم به. فلما كان ذلك مختلفًا - وكانت " مِن " تَدلّ على أنّ كل نوع منها مُضمر " شيء "، فإنّ معنى ذلك: ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف، وبشيء من الجوع، وبشيء من نقص الأموال - اكتفى بدلالة ذكر " الشيء " في أوله، من إعادته مع كل نوع منها. ففعل تعالى ذكره كل ذلك بهم، وامتحنهم بضروب المحَن، كما:- 2327- حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا إسحاق قال، حدثنا ابن أبي جعفر, &; 3-221 &; عن أبيه, عن الربيع في قوله: " ولنبلونكم بشيء من الخوف والجوع ونقص من الأموال والأنفس والثمرات " قال، قد كان ذلك, وسيكونُ ما هو أشد من ذلك. قال الله عند ذلك: وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ * الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ * أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ . * * * ثم قال تعالى ذكره لنبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم: يا محمد، بشّر الصابرين على امتحاني بما أمتحنهم به، (9) والحافظين أنفسهم عن التقدم على نَهْيي عما أنهاهم عنه, والآخذين أنفسهم بأداء ما أكلفهم من فرائضي، مع ابتلائي إياهم بما أبتليهم به، (10) القائلين إذا أصابتهم مصيبة: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ . فأمره الله تعالى ذكره بأن يخصّ -بالبشارة على ما يمتحنهم به من الشدائد- أهلَ الصبر، الذين وصف الله صفتهم. * * * وأصل " التبشير ": إخبار الرجل الرجلَ الخبرَ، يَسرّه أو يسوءه، لم يسبقه به إلى غيره (11) ----------------- الهوامش : (6) انظر ما سلف 2 : 48 ، 49 ، ثم هذا الجزء 3 : 7 . (7) في المطبوعة : "وتعذر المطالب" والصواب ما أثبت . (8) الخبر : 2326- سبق هذا الإسناد : 1455 ، ولما نعرف شيخ الطبري فيه . (9) في المطبوعة : "بما امتحنتهم" ، والسياق يقتضي ما أثبت . (10) في المطبوعة : "بما ابتليتهم" ، والسياق يقتضي ما أثبت . (11) انظر ما سلف 1 : 383/2 : 393 .