Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The statement concerning the explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ("And We had aforetime made a covenant with Ādam, but he forgot, and We found in him no firm resolve") (20:115)

   Allah the Exalted says: And if, O Muḥammad, those for whom We have set forth the threat in manifold ways in this Qurʾān neglect My covenant, defy My command, abandon obedience to Me, follow the command of their enemy Iblīs, and obey him in defying My command — then that is precisely what their father Ādam did aforetime. وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى — He says: We charged Ādam and said to him: إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ فَلا يُخْرِجَنَّكُمَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ ("Verily, this is an enemy to you and to your wife, so let him not drive you both out of the Garden (janna)"). But the devil (shayṭān) whispered to him and he obeyed him, defied My command, and the punishment from Me befell him as it befell him.

   By His word ("aforetime") He, the Exalted, means: before these people about whom He has informed that He set forth the threat for them in manifold ways in this Qurʾān.

   His word ("but he forgot") — He says: he abandoned My covenant.

   As ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me on the authority of ʿAlī, from Ibn ʿAbbās, regarding his word وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ : he says: he neglected it.

   Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, regarding his word ("but he forgot"): he said: he neglected the command of his Lord.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, regarding his word وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا : he said: He said to him: يَا آدَمُ إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ فَلا يُخْرِجَنَّكُمَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ فَتَشْقَى ("O Ādam! Verily, this is an enemy to you and to your wife, so let him not drive you both out of the Garden, lest you be wretched"). And he recited until he reached لا تَظْمَأُ فِيهَا وَلا تَضْحَى ("therein you will neither thirst nor suffer the heat"); and he recited until he reached وَمُلْكٍ لا يَبْلَى ("and a kingdom that never decays"). He said: but he forgot what had been charged to him therein. He said: this was Allah's covenant with him. He said: and had he possessed firm resolve (ʿazm), he would not have obeyed his enemy who envied him, who refused to make a prostration (sujūd) before him together with those who made a prostration before him, and who disobeyed Allah — He who had honored and exalted him and commanded His angels to make a prostration before him.

   Ibn al-Muthannā and Ibn Bashshār related to us — both of them said: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, and Muʾammal related to us — they said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: man (al-insān) was named so only because he entered into a covenant and forgot it (nasiya).

   His word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — the exegetes differed concerning the meaning of al-ʿazm here. Some of them said: its meaning is patience (ṣabr).

   Mention of those who said this:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا : that is to say: patience.

   Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he said: patience.

   Ibrāhīm ibn Yaʿqūb al-Jawzajānī related to us, saying: Abū al-Naḍr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — the same.

   Others said: rather its meaning is: safeguarding; they said: its meaning is: and We found in him no safeguarding of what We had charged him with.

   Mention of those who said this:

   Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya: وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he said: safeguarding of what he was charged with.

   Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hāshim ibn al-Qāsim related to us, on the authority of al-Ashjaʿī, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Qays, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, regarding his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he said: safeguarding.

   ʿAbbād ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Qabīṣa related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Qays, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, regarding his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he said: safeguarding of what he was charged with.

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he says: We found in him no safeguarding.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, regarding his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا : he said: al-ʿazm is the safeguarding of what Allah had charged him to safeguard and hold fast to.

   ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me on the authority of ʿAlī, from Ibn ʿAbbās, regarding his word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — he says: We had not appointed for him firm resolve.

   Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn Fuḍāla related to us, on the authority of Luqmān ibn ʿĀmir, on the authority of Abū Umāma: he said: if the wise judgments of the descendants of Ādam were gathered together — from the day Allah the Exalted created Ādam until the Hour — and placed in one scale, and the intellect of Ādam in the other scale, then his intellect would outweigh their wise judgments. And Allah the Exalted has said: وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا .

   Abū Jaʿfar says: The origin of al-ʿazm is the heart's holding firmly to a thing; one says: so-and-so resolved (ʿazama) upon such-and-such: when he set his heart upon it and determined upon it. And among the heart's holding firm is: the safeguarding of a thing; and among this too is patience, for no one displays weakness and dejection unless his heart is unsteady and weak. That being so, there is no meaning for all of that more apt than what Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has explained — namely His word وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا — so that its explanation becomes: and We found in him no firm resolve of the heart to fulfill faithfulness to Allah in His covenant, nor to safeguard what had been charged to him.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا (115) يقول تعالى ذكره: وإن يضيع يا محمد هؤلاء الذين نصرّف لهم في هذا القرآن من الوعيد عهدي، ويخالفوا أمري، ويتركوا طاعتي، ويتبعوا أمر عدّوهم إبليس، ويطيعوه في خلاف أمري، فقديما ما فعل ذلك أبوهم آدم ( وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى ) يقول: ولقد وصينا آدم وقلنا له إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ فَلا يُخْرِجَنَّكُمَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ ووسوس إليه الشيطان فأطاعه، وخالف أمري، فحلّ به من عقوبتي ما حلّ. وعنى جلّ ثناؤه بقوله (مِنْ قَبْلُ) هؤلاء الذين أخبر أنه صرَّف لهم الوعيد في هذا القرآن، وقوله (فَنَسِيَ) يقول: فترك عهدي. كما حدثني عليّ، قال: ثنا أبو صالح، قال: ثني معاوية، عن عليّ، عن ابن عباس، في قوله ( وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ ) يقول: فترك. حدثنا الحسن، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرزاق، قال: أخبرنا معمر، عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، في قوله (فَنَسِيَ) قال: ترك أمر ربه. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: قال له يَا آدَمُ إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ فَلا يُخْرِجَنَّكُمَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ فَتَشْقَى فقرأ حتى بلغ لا تَظْمَأُ فِيهَا وَلا تَضْحَى وقرأ حتى بلغ وَمُلْكٍ لا يَبْلَى قال: فنسي ما عهد إليه في ذلك، قال: وهذا عهد الله إليه، قال: ولو كان له عزم ما أطاع عدوّه الذي حسده، وأبي أن يسجد له مع من سجد له إبليس، وعصى الله الذي كرّمه وشرّفه، وأمر ملائكته فسجدوا له. حدثنا ابن المثنى وابن بشار قالا ثنا يحيى بن سعيد، وعبد الرحمن، ومؤمل، قالوا: ثنا سفيان، عن الأعمش، عن مسلم البطين، عن سعيد بن جُبير، عن ابن عباس، قال: إنما سمي الإنسان لأنه عهد إليه فنسي. وقوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) اختلف أهل التأويل في معنى العزم هاهنا، فقال بعضهم: معناه الصبر. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قَتادة، قوله: ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) أي صبرا. حدثنا محمد بن بشار، قال: ثنا محمد بن جعفر، قال: ثنا شعبة، عن قتادة ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: صبرا. حدثنا إبراهيم بن يعقوب الجوزجاني، قال: ثنا أبو النضر، قال: ثنا شعبة، عن قَتادة، مثله. وقال آخرون: بل معناه: الحفظ، قالوا: ومعناه: ولم نجد له حفظا لما عهدنا إليه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني أبو السائب، قال: ثنا ابن إدريس، عن أبيه، عن عطية ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: حفظا لما أمرته. حدثني يعقوب بن إبراهيم، قال: ثنا هاشم بن القاسم، عن الأشجعي، عن سفيان، عن عمرو بن قيس، عن عطية، في قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: حفظا. حدثنا عباد بن محمد، قال: ثنا قبيصة، عن سفيان، عن عمرو بن قيس، عن عطية، في قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: حفظا لما أمرته به. حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) يقول: لم نجد له حفظا. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) قال: العزم: المحافظة على ما أمره الله تبارك وتعالى بحفظه والتمسك به. حدثني عليّ، قال: ثنا أبو صالح، قال: ثني معاوية، عن عليّ، عن ابن عباس، في قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) يقول: لم نجعل له عزما. حدثني القاسم، قال: ثنا الحسين، قال: ثنا الحجاج بن فضالة، عن لقمان بن عامر، عن أبي أمامة قال: لو أن أحلام بني آدم جمعت منذ يوم خلق الله تعالى آدم إلى يوم الساعة، ووضعت في كفة ميزان. ووضع حلم آدم في الكفة الأخرى، لرجح حلمه بأحلامهم، وقد قال الله تعالى ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ). قال أبو جعفر: وأصل العزم اعتقاد القلب على الشيء، يقال منه: عزم فلان على كذا: إذا اعتقد عليه ونواه، ومن اعتقاد القلب: حفظ الشيء، ومنه الصبر على الشيء، لأنه لا يجزع جازع إلا من خور قلبه وضعفه ، فإذا كان ذلك كذلك، فلا معنى لذلك أبلغ مما بينه الله تبارك وتعالى، وهو قوله ( وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا ) فيكون تأويله: ولم نجد له عزم قلب، على الوفاء لله بعهده، ولا على حفظ ما عهد إليه.