Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Concerning His word إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى ("Except as a reminder for him who fears"): Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: We have sent down this Qurʾān to you only as a reminder for whoever fears the punishment of Allah, and wards it off by fulfilling the duties owed to his Lord and avoiding the things He has forbidden.

   As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning His word إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى: "Truly, Allah sent down His Books and sent His messengers as a mercy with which Allah showed compassion to the servants, so that whoever remembers may remember, and a man may benefit from what he hears of the Book of Allah. It is a reminder which Allah sent down, in which He set forth His permitted and forbidden matters, and He said: تَنزِيلًا مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَى ('A revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens')."

   Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى: "What We have sent down to you is a reminder for whoever fears."

   The meaning of the sentence is then: O man, We did not send down this Qurʾān to you so that you should toil; We sent it down only as a reminder for whoever fears.

   The scholars of the Arabic language differed concerning the reason why "tadhkiratan" is in the accusative case. Some grammarians of Baṣra said: "tadhkiratan" stands as a substitution (badal) in place of "li-tashqā," so that the sentence reads: "We sent down the Qurʾān to you only as a reminder." Some grammarians of Kūfa said: it is in the accusative case on the basis of the construction: "We sent it down only as a reminder." And some of them rejected the position of the one who said that it stands as a badal for لِتَشْقَى, and said: "That is not permissible, because لِتَشْقَى stands within the negation, while إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً is affirmative; rather, it is a repetition." Others said: the meaning of the sentence is: "We sent down the Qurʾān to you only as a reminder for whoever fears — not so that you should toil."

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله ( إِلا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ما أنـزلنا عليك هذا القرآن إلا تذكرة لمن يخشى عقاب الله، فيتقيه بأداء فرائض ربه واجتناب محارمه. كما حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله ( إِلا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى ) وإن الله أنـزل كتبه، وبعث رسله رحمة رحم الله بها العباد، ليتذكر ذاكر، وينتفع رجل بما سمع من كتاب الله، وهو ذكر له أنـزل الله فيه حلاله وحرامه، فقال تَنْـزِيلا مِمَّنْ خَلَقَ الأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلا . حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( إِلا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى ) قال: الذي أنـزلناه عليك تذكرة لمن يخشى. فمعنى الكلام إذن: يا رجل ما أنـزلنا عليك هذا القرآن لتشقى به، ما أنـزلناه إلا تذكرة لمن يخشى. وقد اختلف أهل العربية في وجه نصب تذكرة، فكان بعض نحويي البصرة يقول: قال: إلا تذكرة بدلا من قوله لتشقى، فجعله: ما أنـزلنا عليك القرآن إلا تذكرة، وكان بعض نحويي الكوفة يقول: نصبت على قوله: ما أنـزلناه إلا تذكرة، وكان بعضهم ينكر قول القائل: نصبت بدلا من قوله (لِتَشْقَى) ويقول: ذلك غير جائز، لأن (لِتَشْقَى) في الجحد، و ( إِلا تَذْكِرَةً ) في التحقيق، ولكنه تكرير، وكان بعضهم يقول: معنى الكلام: ما أنـزلنا عليك القرآن إلا تذكرة لمن يخشى، لا لتشقى.