Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ

   (Do you then desire that they should believe you?)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: By His saying — exalted is His praise — (afataṭmaʿūna) "do you then desire," O Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, He means: do you then hope, O community of those who believe in Muḥammad ﷺ and you who affirm what he has brought you from Allah, that the Jews of the Children of Israel will believe you?

   * * *

   And by His saying (an yuʾminū lakum) "that they should believe you" He means: that they should affirm you in what your Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ has brought you from your Lord, as:—

   1326 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying (afataṭmaʿūna an yuʾminū lakum) — He means the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ — "that they should believe you," he says: do you then desire that the Jews should believe you?

   1327 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning (afataṭmaʿūna an yuʾminū lakum), the verse, he said: those are the Jews.

   * * *

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ

   (while a party of them…)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: As for "al-farīq" (the party), it is a collective noun, like "al-ṭāʾifa" (the group), which has no singular of the same root. It is a "faʿīl" form derived from "al-tafarruq" (the dispersing); thus a gathering is so named, just as a faction is called "al-ḥizb" (the party), derived from "al-taḥazzub" (forming oneself into a party), and what resembles that. Of this is the saying of al-Aʿshā of the Banū Thaʿlaba:

   They hastened forth, and when I feared that they would disperse

   into two parties — of them one ascending and one descending —

   By His saying (minhum) "of them" He means: of the Children of Israel. Allah reckoned those who lived in the time of Mozes, and those of the Children of Israel who came after them, among the Jews against whom Allah said to the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ: أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ (do you then desire that they should believe you?) — because they were their fathers and forefathers. Thus He reckoned them among them, since they were their tribesmen, their predecessors and forefathers, just as one today mentions another who has already passed away, but who followed the way and path of the speaker, and who belonged to his people and tribe, and then says: "A certain person was one of us," meaning that he was of the people of his path or his school, or of his people and tribe. So too is His saying: (wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum) "while a party of them…".

   * * *

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: يَسْمَعُونَ كَلامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (75)

   (they heard the word of Allah and then distorted it, after they had understood it, while they knew) (75)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning whom Allah meant by His saying (wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu wa-hum yaʿlamūn) (while a party of them heard the word of Allah and then distorted it, after they had understood it, while they knew). Some of them said the following:—

   1328 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the saying of Allah: (afataṭmaʿūna an yuʾminū lakum wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu wa-hum yaʿlamūn) — those who distort it and those who conceal it are the scholars among them.

   1329 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, with something similar.

   1330 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (afataṭmaʿūna an yuʾminū lakum wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu), he said: that is the Torah, which they distorted.

   1331 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying (yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu) (they heard the word of Allah and then distorted it): it is the Torah which He sent down to them; they distort it, they make the permitted in it forbidden and the forbidden in it permitted, the true in it false and the false in it true. When someone who was in the right came to them with a bribe, they brought forth for him the Book of Allah, and when someone who was in the wrong came to them with a bribe, they brought forth for him that [distorted] book, and so he was in the right according to it. And when someone came asking them about something in which there was no right, and offered no bribe and nothing of the sort, they commanded him to the truth. Then He said to them: أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلا تَعْقِلُونَ [Al-Baqarah: 44] (Do you enjoin piety upon the people and forget yourselves, while you recite the Book? Will you not then understand?).

   * * *

   And others said concerning this the following:—

   1332 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: (wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi thumma yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu wa-hum yaʿlamūn), they heard of it as the people of prophethood hear, and then distorted it, after they had understood it, while they knew.

   1333 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, concerning His saying: (wa-qad kāna farīqun minhum yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi) (while a party of them heard the word of Allah), the verse, he said: by His saying (yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi) "they heard the word of Allah" it is not meant that they heard the Torah — they had all heard that — but rather they are those who asked Mozes to see their Lord, whereupon the thunderbolt struck them at that.

   1334 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, saying: it reached me from some of the scholars that they said to Mozes: O Mozes, a barrier has been placed between us and seeing Allah, mighty and exalted is He, so let us hear His word when He speaks to you. Mozes asked that of his Lord, and He said: yes; command them then to purify themselves, to cleanse their garments and to fast. That they did. Then he went out with them until he came to the mountain [al-Ṭūr], and when the cloud overshadowed them, Mozes — peace be upon him — commanded them [to prostrate], and they cast themselves down in prostration. And his Lord spoke to him, and they heard His word, which commanded them and forbade them, until they understood what they heard. Thereafter he returned with them to the Children of Israel. When they came to them, a party of them distorted what He had commanded them, and when Mozes said to the Children of Israel: verily Allah has commanded you this and that, that party whom Allah has mentioned said: He only said this and that — contrary to what Allah, mighty and exalted is He, had said to them. They are those whom Allah meant for His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the two interpretations that I have mentioned concerning this verse, and that which most accords with what the outward wording of the recitation indicates, is what al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas said and what Ibn Isḥāq transmitted from some of the scholars: namely that Allah — exalted is His mention — meant thereby only those of the Children of Israel who heard His word, just as Mozes heard it from Him, and then distorted and altered it, after they had heard it, understood it, and comprehended it. For Allah — exalted is His praise — only reported that the distortion came from a party of them who heard the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He, as an expression of Allah's disdain for the calumny they committed after the establishment of the proof and the clear evidence against them, and as a notification on His part — exalted is His mention — to His believing servants, in order to cut off their desire for the belief of the remnant of their progeny in that which Muḥammad has brought them of truth, light, and guidance. So He said to them: how can you desire that these Jews should affirm you, while you only convey to them what you convey to them of the tidings of Allah, mighty and exalted is He — concerning the unseen which they have not witnessed nor seen with their own eyes — while some of them heard the word of Allah, His command and His prohibition, from Allah Himself, and then altered it, distorted it, and denied it? These, then, who are among you of the remnant of their progeny, are all the more inclined to deny the truth that you have brought them — since they do not hear it from Allah, but only hear it from you — and they stand closer to distorting and altering what is in their books concerning the description and the characteristics of your Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, while they do indeed know it, and then to denying it and rejecting it as a lie — more than their forefathers who learned the word of Allah directly from Allah — exalted is His praise — and then distorted it after they had understood and known it, performing the distortion deliberately.

   And if the interpretation of the verse were as those said who claimed that by His saying (yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi) "they heard the word of Allah" was meant "they heard the Torah," then there would be no comprehensible meaning attached to the mention of His saying (yasmaʿūna kalāma llāhi). For both the distorter among them and the non-distorter had heard that, and to ascribe to the distorter alone among them that he heard the word of Allah — if the interpretation were as those whose view we have mentioned — to the exclusion of the others who heard that likewise just as they did, would have no meaning.

   And if anyone supposes [that] it was correct to say this only because of His saying (yuḥarrifūnahu) "they distort it," then he has neglected the way of correctness therein. For if that were so, then it would have been said: do you then desire that they should believe you, while a party of them distorted the word of Allah after they had understood it, while they knew. But He — exalted is His praise — reported about a specific party of the Jews who — through their hearing directly the word of Allah — were given something that was given to none except the prophets and messengers, and who then altered and distorted what they had heard of it. Therefore He described them with that with which He described them, on account of the special distinction that had been granted to this party, whom He has mentioned in His Book — exalted is His mention.

   * * *

   And by His saying (thumma yuḥarrifūnahu) "then they distort it" He means: then they alter and change its meaning and its interpretation. Its origin lies in "the deviation (inḥirāf) of a thing from its direction," namely the inclining of it away from that toward something else. So too is His saying (yuḥarrifūnahu) "they distort it," that is to say: they make it deviate from its face and its true meaning to another. So Allah — exalted is His praise — reported that what they did of that, they did with knowledge on their part of the interpretation of what they were distorting, and that it was in contradiction to that toward which they were distorting it. So He said: (yuḥarrifūnahu min baʿdi mā ʿaqalūhu) "they distort it after they have understood it," that is to say: after they had understood its interpretation, (wa-hum yaʿlamūn) "while they knew," that is to say: they knew that in their distortion of what they distorted of it they were in the wrong and were lying. That is a report from Allah — exalted is His praise — about their audacity in calumny, and their open enmity toward Him and toward His Messenger Mozes ﷺ, and that their remnant — in their open enmity toward Allah and toward His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ out of rebelliousness and envy — is like that in which their forefathers were in the era of Mozes, prayer and peace be upon him.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ قال أبو جعفر: يعني بقوله جل ثناؤه: (أفتطمعون) يا أصحاب محمد, أي: أفترجون يا معشر المؤمنين بمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، والمصدقين ما جاءكم به من عند الله، أن يؤمن لكم يهود بني إسرائيل؟ * * * ويعني بقوله: (أن يؤمنوا لكم)، أن يصدقوكم بما جاءكم به نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم محمد من عند ربكم، كما:- 1326 - حُدثت عن عمار بن الحسن, عن ابن أبي جعفر, عن أبيه, عن الربيع في قوله (أفتطمعون أن يؤمنوا لكم)، يعني أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم،" أن يؤمنوا لكم " يقول: أفتطمعون أن يؤمن لكم اليهود؟. 1327 - حدثنا بشر قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، حدثنا سعيد, عن قتادة: (أفتطمعون أن يؤمنوا لكم) الآية, قال: هم اليهود. * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ قال أبو جعفر: أما " الفريق " فجمع، كالطائفة، لا واحد له من لفظه. وهو " فعيل " من " التفرق " سمي به الجماع، كما سميت الجماعة ب " الحزب "، من " التحزب "، وما أشبه ذلك. ومنه قول أعشى بني ثعلبة: &; 2-245 &; أجَــدّوا فلمــا خـفت أن يتفرقـوا فـريقين, منهـم مُصعِـد ومُصـوِّب (90) يعني بقوله: (منهم)، من بني إسرائيل. وإنما جعل الله الذين كانوا على عهد موسى ومن بعدهم من بني إسرائيل، من اليهود الذين قال الله لأصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ - لأنهم كانوا آباءَهم وأسلافهم, فجعلهم منهم، إذ كانوا عشائرهم وفَرَطهم وأسلافهم, كما يذكر الرجل اليوم الرجل، وقد مضى على منهاج الذاكر وطريقته. وكان من قومه وعشيرته, فيقول: " كان منا فلان "، (91) يعني أنه كان من أهل طريقته أو مذهبه، أو من قومه وعشيرته. فكذلك قوله: (وقد كان فريق منهم). * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : يَسْمَعُونَ كَلامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (75) قال أبو جعفر: اختلف أهل التأويل في الذين عنى الله بقوله: (وقد كان فريق منهم يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه وهم يعلمون). فقال بعضهم بما:- 1328 - حدثني به محمد بن عمرو قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم قال، حدثنا عيسى, عن ابن أبى نجيح, عن مجاهد في قول الله: (أفتطمعون أن يؤمنوا لكم وقد كان فريق منهم يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه وهم يعلمون)، &; 2-246 &; فالذين يحرفونه والذين يكتمونه، هم العلماء منهم. 1329 - حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا أبو حذيفة قال، حدثنا شبل, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد بنحوه. 1330 - حدثني موسى قال، حدثنا عمرو بن حماد قال، حدثنا أسباط, عن السدي: (أفتطمعون أن يؤمنوا لكم وقد كان فريق منهم يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه)، قال: هي التوراة، حرفوها. 1331 - حدثنا يونس قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب قال، قال ابن زيد في قوله: (يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونه)، قال: التوراة التي أنـزلها عليهم، يحرفونها, يجعلون الحلال فيها حراما، والحرام فيها حلالا والحق فيها باطلا والباطل فيها حقا, إذا جاءهم المحق برِشوة أخرجوا له كتاب الله, وإذا جاءهم المبطل برِشوة أخرجوا له ذلك الكتاب، (92) فهو فيه محق. وإن جاء أحد يسألهم شيئا ليس فيه حق ولا رشوة ولا شيء، أمروه بالحق. فقال لهم: أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلا تَعْقِلُونَ [ البقرة: 44]. * * * وقال آخرون في ذلك بما:- 1332 - حُدثت عن عمار بن الحسن قال، أخبرنا ابن أبي جعفر, عن أبيه, عن الربيع في قوله: (وقد كان فريق منهم يسمعون كلام الله ثم يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه وهم يعلمون)، فكانوا يسمعون من ذلك كما يسمع أهل النبوة, ثم يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه وهم يعلمون. 1333 - حدثنا ابن حميد قال، حدثنا سلمة, عن ابن إسحاق في قوله: (وقد كان فريق منهم يسمعون كلام الله) الآية, قال: ليس قوله: (يسمعون كلام الله)، يسمعون التوراة. كلهم قد سمعها، ولكنهم الذين سألوا موسى رؤية ربهم فأخذتهم الصاعقة فيها. 1334 - حدثنا ابن حميد قال، حدثنا سلمة, عن محمد بن إسحاق قال: بلغني عن بعض أهل العلم أنهم قالوا لموسى: يا موسى، قد حيل بيننا وبين رؤية الله عز وجل, فأسمعنا كلامه حين يكلمك. فطلب ذلك موسى إلى ربه فقال: نعم, فمرهم فليتطهروا، وليطهروا ثيابهم، ويصوموا. ففعلوا. ثم خرج بهم حتى أتى الطور, فلما غشيهم الغمام أمرهم موسى عليه السلام[أن يسجدوا] فوقعوا سجودا, (93) وكلمه ربه فسمعوا كلامه، يأمرهم وينهاهم, حتى عقلوا ما سمعوا. ثم انصرف بهم إلى بني إسرائيل. فلما جاءوهم حرف فريق منهم ما أمرهم به, وقالوا حين قال موسى لبني إسرائيل: إن الله قد أمركم بكذا وكذا, قال ذلك الفريق الذي ذكرهم الله: إنما قال كذا وكذا - خلافا لما قال الله عز وجل لهم. فهم الذين عنى الله لرسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأولى التأويلين اللذين ذكرت بالآية، وأشبههما بما دل عليه ظاهر التلاوة, ما قاله الربيع بن أنس، والذي حكاه ابن إسحاق عن بعض أهل العلم: من أن الله تعالى ذكره إنما عنى بذلك من سمع كلامه من بني إسرائيل، سماع موسى إياه منه، ثم حرف ذلك وبدل، من بعد سماعه وعلمه به وفهمه إياه. وذلك أن الله جل ثناؤه إنما أخبر أن التحريف كان من فريق منهم كانوا يسمعون كلام الله عز وجل، استعظاما من الله لما كانوا يأتون من البهتان، بعد توكيد الحجة عليهم والبرهان, وإيذانا منه تعالى ذكره عبادَه المؤمنين، قطع أطماعهم من إيمان بقايا نسلهم بما أتاهم به محمد من الحق والنور والهدى, (94) فقال لهم: كيف تطمعون في تصديق هؤلاء اليهود إياكم وإنما تخبرونهم - بالذي تخبرونهم من الأنباء عن الله عز وجل - عن غيب لم يشاهدوه ولم ييعاينوه وقد كان بعضهم يسمع من الله كلامه وأمره ونهيه, ثم يبدله ويحرفه ويجحده, فهؤلاء الذين بين &; 2-248 &; أظهركم من بقايا نسلهم، أحرى أن يجحدوا ما أتيتموهم به من الحق، وهم لا يسمعونه من الله, وإنما يسمعونه منكم - (95) وأقرب إلى أن يحرفوا ما في كتبهم من صفة نبيكم محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ونعته ويبدلوه، وهم به عالمون، فيجحدوه ويكذبوا - (96) من أوائلهم الذين باشروا كلام الله من الله جل ثناؤه، ثم حرفوه من بعد ما عقلوه وعلموه متعمدين التحريف. ولو كان تأويل الآية على ما قاله الذين زعموا أنه عني بقوله: (يسمعون كلام الله)، يسمعون التوراة, لم يكن لذكر قوله: (يسمعون كلام الله) معنى مفهوم. لأن ذلك قد سمعه المحرف منهم وغير المحرف، فخصوص المحرف منهم بأنه كان يسمع كلام الله - إن كان التأويل على ما قاله الذين ذكرنا قولهم - دون غيرهم ممن كان يسمع ذلك سماعهم لا معنى له. (97) فإن ظن ظان [أنه] إنما صلح أن يقال ذلك لقوله: (يحرفونه)، فقد أغفل وجه الصواب في ذلك. (98) وذلك أن ذلك لو كان كذلك لقيل: أفتطمعون أن يؤمنوا لكم وقد كان فريق منهم يحرفون كلام الله من بعد ما عقلوه وهم يعلمون. ولكنه جل ثناؤه أخبر عن خاص من اليهود، كانوا أعطوا - من مباشرتهم سماعَ كلام الله - ما لم يعطه أحد غير الأنبياء والرسل, ثم بدلوا وحرفوا ما سمعوا من ذلك. فلذلك وصفهم بما وصفهم به، للخصوص الذي كان خص به هؤلاء الفريق الذي ذكرهم في كتابه تعالى ذكره. * * * ويعني بقوله: (ثم يحرفونه)، ثم يبدلون معناه وتأويله ويغيرونه. وأصله من " انحراف الشيء عن جهته ", وهو ميله عنها إلى غيرها. فكذلك قوله: (يحرفونه) &; 2-249 &; أي يميلونه عن وجهه ومعناه الذي هو معناه، إلى غيره. فأخبر الله جل ثناؤه أنهم فعلوا ما فعلوا من ذلك على علم منهم بتأويل ما حرفوا, وأنه بخلاف ما حرفوه إليه. فقال: (يحرفونه من بعد ما عقلوه)، يعني: من بعد ما عقلوا تأويله، (وهم يعلمون)، أي: يعلمون أنهم في تحريفهم ما حرفوا من ذلك مبطلون كاذبون. وذلك إخبار من الله جل ثناؤه عن إقدامهم على البهت, ومناصبتهم العداوة له ولرسوله موسى صلى الله عليه وسلم, وأن بقاياهم - من مناصبتهم العداوة لله ولرسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم بغيا وحسدا - على مثل الذي كان عليه أوائلهم من ذلك في عصر موسى عليه الصلاة والسلام. --------------- الهوامش : (90) ديوانه : 137 ، وفي المطبوعة : "أخذوا" خطأ . أجد السير : انكمش فيه وأسرع مصعد : مبتدئ في صعوده إلى نجد والحجاز . ومُصَوِّب منحدر في رجوعه إلى العراق والشام وأشباه ذلك وبعد البيت من تمامه . طلبتهـمُ, تَطـوى بـي البيـد جَسْـرَة شُــوَيْقَئةُ النــابين وجَنـاء ذِعْلـب (91) انظر ما سلف في هذا الجزء 2 : 38 ، 39 . (92) يعني : "ذلك الكتاب" المحرف ، لا"كتاب الله" الصادق . (93) ما بين القوسين زيادة من ابن كثير 1 : 212 . (94) في المطبوعة"وإيذانا منه . . وقطع أطماعهم" بالعطف بالواو ، وليس يستقيم . وآذنه الأمر وآذنه به يذانا : أعلمه . فقوله : "قطع" منصوب مفعول ثان للمصدر"إيذانا" . (95) قوله : "وأقرب" ، معطوف على قوله : "أحرى . . " . (96) قوله : "من أوائلهم . . " متعلق بقوله آنفًا : "أحرى أن يجحدوا . . وأقرب إلى أن يحرفوا . . " . (97) سياق العبارة : فخصوص المحرف بأنه . . لا معنى له" . (98) الزيادة بين القوسين لا بد منها .