Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الأَرْضِ حَلالا طَيِّبًا وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ (168)

   (O mankind, eat of what is on the earth, lawful and good, and do not follow the footsteps of the devil; truly, he is to you a manifest enemy.)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by it: O mankind, eat of the foodstuffs that I have made lawful for you through the tongue of My messenger Muḥammad ﷺ, and which I have thereby made good (ṭayyib) for you — of that which you forbade to yourselves, such as the baḥīra, the sāʾiba, the waṣīla, and what resembles them, which I have not forbidden you — and not of that which I have indeed forbidden you of foodstuffs and dishes, and which I have declared impure, such as the carrion (of an animal that has died), blood, the flesh of swine, and that over which, at the time of slaughter, another than Me has been invoked. And abandon the footsteps of the devil — who ruins you and brings about your destruction, and who leads you to the places of ruin, and who forbids to you your own possessions — so do not follow them and do not act according to them. إِنَّهُ — He means by His saying "innahu": truly, the devil. And the "hāʾ" in His saying "innahu" refers back to the devil — is to you, O mankind, "a manifest enemy," that is to say: he has made his enmity to you manifest through his refusal to prostrate before your father, and through his deception of him until he caused him to be expelled from Paradise, made him stumble through sin, and made him eat from the tree.

   The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: So do not follow his counsel, O mankind, despite the fact that he has made his enmity to you manifest, and abandon that which he commands you, and hold fast to obedience to Me in that which I have commanded you and forbidden you, in what I have made lawful for you and forbidden you — and not to that which you yourselves have forbidden and permitted yourselves, out of your obedience to the devil and your following of his command.

   * * *

   The meaning of His saying "ḥalālan" is: released (ṭilq). It is a verbal noun from the saying of one who says: "This thing has become lawful for you (qad ḥalla laka hādhā al-shayʾ)," that is to say: it has become released for you, "fa-huwa yaḥillu laka ḥalālan wa-ḥillan." And among the speech of the Arabs is: "huwa laka ḥillun," that is to say: released (ṭilq).

   * * *

   As for His saying "ṭayyiban," by it He means: pure, not impure and not forbidden.

   * * *

   As for the "khuṭuwāt," that is the plural of "khuṭwa," and the "khuṭwa" is the distance between the two feet of one who walks. And the "khaṭwa," with a fatḥa on the "khāʾ," is the single act, from the saying of one who says: "I took one step (khaṭawtu khaṭwatan wāḥidatan)." The "khuṭwa" may be made plural as "khuṭan," and the "khaṭwa" is made plural as "khaṭawāt" and "khiṭāʾ."

   * * *

   The meaning in the prohibition of following his footsteps is the prohibition of his path and his track in that to which he calls, which is contrary to obedience to Allah, whose mention is exalted.

   * * *

   The scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of "al-khuṭuwāt." Some of them said: the footsteps of the devil are his work.

   * Mention of who said that:

   2438 — Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: ʿAbdallāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying: "the footsteps of the devil," he says: his work.

   * * *

   And some of them said: "the footsteps of the devil" are his sins.

   * Mention of who said that:

   2439 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His saying: "the footsteps of the devil," he said: his sin.

   2440 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: his sins.

   2441 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying: "and do not follow the footsteps of the devil," he said: his sins.

   2442 — Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His saying: "the footsteps of the devil," he said: the sins of the devil which he commands.

   * * *

   And others said: "the footsteps of the devil" are obedience to him.

   * Mention of who said that:

   2443 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and do not follow the footsteps of the devil," he says: obedience to him.

   * * *

   And others said: "the footsteps of the devil" are the vows in matters of disobedience (maʿāṣī).

   * Mention of who said that:

   2444 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz concerning His saying: "and do not follow the footsteps of the devil," he said: those are the vows in matters of disobedience.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: These sayings which we have mentioned from those from whom we have mentioned them concerning the interpretation of His saying "the footsteps of the devil" are close to one another in meaning. For each of them who made a statement about it pointed to the prohibition of following the devil in his tracks and his deeds. Except that the proper meaning of the word is that which I have expounded, namely that it is "the distance between his two feet," and that it is then used for all his tracks and paths, in the manner that I have expounded.

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   Footnotes:

   (62) Al-ṭilq (with a kasra followed by a sukūn): that which is permitted. One says: "huwa laka ṭilq," that is to say: permitted. And in the report: "al-khaylu ṭilq," that is to say that betting upon them is permitted.

   (63) Thus it stands in the printed edition, but I fear that the correct reading is what al-Ṭabarī wrote: "ṭilqan," as mentioned earlier, and as will follow in his wording.

   (64) In the printed edition: "min kalām al-ʿarab...," and I have added the wāw; omitting it is also good.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الأَرْضِ حَلالا طَيِّبًا وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ (168) قال أبو جعفر: يعني تعالى ذكره بذلك: يا أيّها الناسُ كلوا مما أحللت لكم من الأطعمة على لسان رسولي محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فطيَّبْته لكم - مما تُحرِّمونه عَلى أنفسكم من البحائر والسوائب والوصائل وما أشبه ذلك مما لم أحرِّمه عليكم = دون مَا حرَّمته عليكم من المطاعم والمآكل فنجَّسته من مَيتة ودم ولحم خنـزير وما أهِلّ به لغيري. ودَعوا خُطوات الشيطان - الذي يوبقكم فيهلككم، ويوردكم مَوارد العطب، ويحرّم عليكم أموالكم - فلا تتبعوها ولا تعملوا بها, إنه = يعني بقوله: " إنه " إنّ الشيطان, و " الهاء " في قوله: " إنه " عائدة على الشيطان = لكم أيها الناس " عدو مُبين "، يعني: أنه قد أبان لكم عَداوته، بإبائه عن السجود لأبيكم، وغُروره إياه حَتى أخرجه من الجنة، واستزله بالخطيئة, وأكل من الشجرة. يقول تعالى ذكره: فلا تنتصحوه، أيها الناس، مع إبانته لكم العداوة, ودعوا ما يأمركم به, والتزموا طاعتي فيما أمرتكم به ونهيتكم عنه مما أحللته لكم وحرَّمته عليكم, دون ما حرمتموه أنتم على أنفسكم وحللتموه، طاعة منكم للشيطان واتباعًا لأمره. * * * ومعنى قوله: " حَلالا "، طِلْقًا. (62) وهو مصدر من قول القائل: " قد حَلَّ لك هذا الشيء ", أي صار لك مُطلقًا، (63) " فهو يَحِلُّ لك حَلالا وحِلا "، ومن كلام العرب: " هو لك حِلٌّ", أي: طِلْق. (64) . * * * وأما قوله: " طيبًا " فإنه يعني به طاهرًا غير نَجس ولا محرَّم. * * * وأما " الخطوات " فإنه جمع " خُطوة ", و " الخطوة " بعد ما بين قدمي الماشي. و " الخطوة " بفتح " الخاء "" الفعلة " الواحدة من قول القائل: " خَطوت خَطوة واحدةً". وقد تجمع " الخُطوة "" خُطًا " و " الخَطْوة " تجمع " خَطوات "،" وخِطاء ". * * * والمعنى في النهي عن اتباع خُطواته, النهي عن طريقه وأثره فيما دعا إليه، مما هو خلاف طاعة الله تعالى ذكره. * * * واختلف أهل التأويل في معنى " الخطوات ". فقال بعضهم: خُطُوات الشيطان: عمله. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 2438- حدثني المثنى بن إبراهيم قال، حدثنا عبد الله بن صالح قال، حدثني معاوية بن صالح, عن علي بن أبي طلحة, عن ابن عباس قوله: " خطوات الشيطان "، يقول: عمله. * * * وقال بعضهم: " خطوات الشيطان "، خَطاياه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 2439- حدثني محمد بن عمرو قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم قال، حدثنا عيسى, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد في قوله: " خُطُوات الشيطان " قال، خطيئته. 2440- حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا أبو حذيفة قال، حدثنا شبل, عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد قال: خَطاياه. 2441- حدثنا الحسن بن يحيى قال، أخبرنا عبد الرزاق قال، أخبرنا معمر, عن قتادة في قوله: " ولا تتَّبعوا خُطُوات الشيطان " قال، خطاياه. 2442- حدثني يحيى بن أبي طالب قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، أخبرنا جويبر, عن الضحاك قوله: " خطوات الشيطان " قال، خطايا الشيطان التي يأمرُ بها. * * * وقال آخرون: " خطوات الشيطان "، طاعته. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 2443- حدثني موسى بن هارون قال، حدثنا عمرو قال: حدثنا أسباط, عن السدي: " ولا تتبعوا خطوات الشيطان "، يقول: طاعته. * * * وقال آخرون: " خطوات الشيطان "، النذورُ في المعاصي. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 2444- حدثنا ابن حميد قال، حدثنا جرير, عن سليمان, عن أبي مجلز في قوله: " ولا تتّبعوا خُطوات الشيطان " قال، هي النذور في المعاصي. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وهذه الأقوال التي ذكرناها عمن ذكرناها عنه في تأويل قوله: " خطوات الشيطان "، قريبٌ معنى بعضها من بعض. لأن كل قائلٍ منهم قولا في ذلك، فإنه أشار إلى نَهي اتباع الشيطان في آثاره وأعماله. غيرَ أن حقيقة تأويل الكلمة هو ما بينت، من أنها " بعد ما بين قَدميه "، ثم تستعمل في جميع آثاره وطُرقه، على ما قد بينت. ------------- الهوامش : (62) الطلق (بكسر فسكون) . الحلال . يقال : هو لك طلق ، أي حلال . وفي الحديث : "الخيل طلق" ، أي أن الرهان عليها حلال . (63) هكذا في المطبوعة ، وأخشى أن يكون الصواب فيما كتب الطبري"طلقًا" كما سلف ، وكما سيأتي في عبارته . (64) في المطبوعة : "من كلام العرب . . . " ، وأثبت الواو ، وحذفها جيد أيضًا .