Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The exposition of the exegesis of the word of Allah the Exalted: فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ (verse 88)

   And His words فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ — that is to say: the Sāmirī brought forth for them, out of what they had cast and what he had added, a calf as a body that had a khuwār. By al-khuwār he means: the sound, namely the sound of cattle.

   Then the scholars differed concerning the manner in which the Sāmirī brought forth the calf. Some said: he cast it, and then threw into its mouth earth from the hoofprint of the horse of Jibrīl, whereupon it made a lowing sound.

   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: فَكَذَلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ — he said: Allah had appointed for Moses a term of thirty nights, and then completed it with ten. When the thirty had passed, the enemy of Allah, the Sāmirī, said: the calamity that has befallen you is a punishment for the ornaments you carry with you; so come here — and they were ornaments that they had borrowed from the people of Pharaoh. They had departed while these were with them. They cast them to him; he gave them the form of a bovine, and he had squeezed into his turban or into his garment a handful of the hoofprint of the horse of Jibrīl — and he cast it together with the ornaments and the form. فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ — it began to low like cattle, and he said: هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى .

   Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: he said: When the people of Moses found him long delayed, the Sāmirī said to them: he has tarried away from you because of the ornaments you have with you. And they had borrowed ornaments from the people of Pharaoh; they gathered them and gave them to the Sāmirī, who cast from them a calf. Then he took the handful that he had taken from the hoofprint of the horse — the horse of the prince — and cast it into its belly; and behold, it was a calf as a body that had a khuwār. They said: 'This is your godhead and the godhead of Moses, but Moses has forgotten his Lord, [leaving Him] with you.'

   And others said in this regard what Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of Al-Suddī: he said: The Sāmirī took earth from the hoofprint of the shoe of the horse of Jibrīl. Moses departed and appointed Hārūn as his deputy over the Children of Israel, and promised them thirty nights; Allah completed them with ten. Hārūn said to them: 'O Children of Israel, the spoils of war are not lawful for you, and the ornaments of the Copts are merely spoils of war; so gather them all, dig a pit for them, and bury them; if Moses returns and declares them lawful, you may take them; otherwise it is something you have not consumed.' They gathered those ornaments in that pit. The Sāmirī came with that handful and cast it, and Allah brought forth from the ornaments a calf as a body that had a khuwār. The Children of Israel counted the promised term of Moses, reckoning each night as a day and each day as a day; when it was twenty [days and nights], the calf came forth to them. When they saw it, the Sāmirī said to them: هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ — and they sat with it and worshipped it; it lowed and walked. فَكَذَلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ — that was when he had said to Hārūn: 'dig a pit for these ornaments and cast them into it' — whereupon they cast them, and the Sāmirī cast his handful of earth.

   And His words فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى — that is to say: the people of Moses who worshipped the calf said: this is your object of worship and the object of worship of Moses. And His words فَنَسِيَ — that is to say: he went astray and neglected.

   Then the exegetes differed concerning His words فَنَسِيَ — who said it, of whom it was described, and what its meaning is. Some said: this is a report from Allah concerning the Sāmirī, and it is the Sāmirī who is described thereby; they said: the meaning is that he abandoned the faith with which Allah had sent Moses, namely Islam.

   Mention of those who said this:

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: Allah says فَنَسِيَ — that is to say: he abandoned what he had adhered to of Islam, meaning the Sāmirī.

   Others said: rather, this is a report from Allah concerning the Sāmirī, that he said to the Children of Israel — and that he described Moses as one who went away to seek his Lord but lost His dwelling-place, and that this [Lord] is this calf.

   Mention of those who said this:

   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: فَقَذَفْنَاهَا — he means the ornaments of the people, when we commanded the Sāmirī — after he had taken a handful of the hoofprint of Jibrīl, peace be upon him, and cast the handful upon their ornaments — so that they became a calf as a body that had a khuwār. فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى — who went away to seek him. فَنَسِيَ — that is to say: Moses forgot, he strayed from it and did not find him.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَنَسِيَ — he says: Moses sought this but missed the way.

   Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَنَسِيَ — he says: the Sāmirī said: Moses forgot his Lord, [leaving Him] with you.

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us — and Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: فَنَسِيَ — Moses, he said: they are the ones who say it: he erred concerning the Lord of the calf.

   Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: فَنَسِيَ — he said: Moses forgot, he erred concerning the Lord of the calf — the people of Moses are the ones who say it.

   Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of Al-Suddī: فَنَسِيَ — he says: Moses left his godhead here behind and went to seek him.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ : he says: he forgot — for where his Lord had promised him, that he forgot — but he forgot.

   It was related to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard Al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ : he says: Moses forgot his Lord and lost Him — and this calf is the godhead of Moses.

   Abū Jaʿfar says: The most correct opinion concerning the exegesis of that statement is what we have mentioned from these people — namely that it is a report from Allah the Almighty and Exalted concerning the Sāmirī, that he described Moses as one who forgot his Lord and that his Lord whom he went away to seek is this calf which the Sāmirī brought forth. This is because the scholars among the exegetes are agreed upon it, and because it immediately follows the mention of Moses, while being a report from the Sāmirī about him [Moses] — that fits best.

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   Footnotes:

   (1) Probably: 'they had borrowed it' — taʿawwarūhā — as it is mentioned in the Lisān in the account of the calf from the narration of Ibn ʿAbbās.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ (88) وقوله فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ يقول: فأخرج لهم السامريّ مما قذفوه ومما ألقاه عجلا جسدا له خوار، ويعني بالخوار: الصوت، وهو صوت البقر. ثم اختلف أهل العلم في كيفية إخراج السامريّ العجل، فقال بعضهم: صاغه صياغة، ثم ألقى من تراب حافر فرس جبرائيل في فمه فخار. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة فَكَذَلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ قال: كان الله وقَّت لموسى ثلاثين ليلة ثم أتمها بعشر، فلما مضت الثلاثون قال عدوّ الله السامري: إنما أصابكم الذي أصابكم عقوبة بالحلي الذي كان معكم، فهلموا وكانت حليا تعيروها (1) من آل فرعون، فساروا وهي معهم، فقذفوها إليه، فصوّرها صورة بقرة، وكان قد صرّ في عمامته أو في ثوبه قبضة من أثر فرس جبرائيل، فقذفها مع الحليّ والصورة ( فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ ) فجعل يخور خوار البقر، فقال ( هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى ). حدثنا الحسن، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرزاق، قال: أخبرنا معمر، عن قتادة، قال: لما استبطأ موسى قومه قال لهم السامريّ: إنما احتبس عليكم لأجل ما عندكم من الحليّ، وكانوا استعاروا حليا من آل فرعون فجمعوه فأعطوه السامريّ فصاغ منه عجلا ثم أخذ القبضة التي قبض من أثر الفرس، فرس الملك، فنبذها في جوفه، فإذا هو عجل جسد له خوار، قالوا: هذا إلهكم وإله موسى، ولكن موسى نسي ربه عندكم. وقال آخرون في ذلك بما حدثني موسى، قال: ثنا عمرو، قال: قال: ثنا أسباط، عن السديّ، قال: أخذ السامريّ من تربة الحافر، حافر فرس جبرائيل، فانطلق موسى واستخلف هارون على بني إسرائيل وواعدهم ثلاثين ليلة، فأتمها الله بعشر، قال لهم هارون: يا بني إسرائيل إن الغنيمة لا تحلّ لكم، وإن حليّ القبط إنما هو غنيمة، فاجمعوها جميعا، فاحفروا لها حفرة فادفنوها، فإن جاء موسى فأحلها أخذتموها، وإلا كان شيئا لم تأكلوه، فجمعوا ذلك الحليّ في تلك الحفرة، فجاء السامريّ بتلك القبضة فقذفها فأخرج الله من الحليّ عجلا جسدا له خوار، وعدّت بنو إسرائيل موعد موسى، فعدوا الليلة يوما، واليوم &; 18-356 &; يوما، فلما كان لعشرين خرج لهم العجل، فلما رأوه قال لهم السامريّ( هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ ) فعكفوا عليه يعبدونه، وكان يخور ويمشي فَكَذَلِكَ أَلْقَى السَّامِرِيُّ ذلك حين قال لهم هارون: احفروا لهذا الحليّ حفرة واطرحوه فيها، فطرحوه، فقذف السامريّ تربته، وقوله: ( فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى ) يقول: فقال قوم موسى الذين عبدوا العجل: هذا معبودكم ومعبود موسى، وقوله (فَنَسي) يقول: فضلّ وترك. ثم اختلف أهل التأويل في قوله (فَنَسِيَ) من قائله ومن الذي وصف به وما معناه، فقال بعضهم: هذا من الله خبر عن السامريّ، والسامريّ هو الموصوف به، وقالوا: معناه: أنه ترك الدين الذي بعث الله به موسى وهو الإسلام. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا سلمة، قال: ثني محمد بن إسحاق، عن حكيم بن جُبير، عن سعيد بن جبير، عن ابن عباس، قال: يقول الله (فَنَسِيَ) : أي ترك ما كان عليه من الإسلام، يعني السامري. وقال آخرون: بل هذا خبر من الله عن السامريّ، أنه قال لبني إسرائيل، وأنه وصف موسى بأنه ذهب يطلب ربه، فأضلّ موضعه، وهو هذا العجل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبى، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس فَقَذَفْنَاهَا يعني زينة القوم حين أمرنا السامريّ لما قبض قبضة من أثر جبرائيل عليه السلام، فألقى القبضة على حليهم فصار عجلا جسدا له خوار ( فَقَالُوا هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى ) الذي انطلق يطلبه (فَنَسِيَ) يعني: نسي موسى، ضلّ عنه فلم يهتد له. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (فَنَسِيَ) يقول: طلب هذا موسى فخالفه الطريق. حدثنا الحسن، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرزاق، قال: أخبرنا معمر، عن قتادة (فَنَسِيَ) يقول: قال السامريّ: موسى نسي ربه عندكم. حدثني محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء، جميعا عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، قوله (فَنَسِي) موسى، قال: هم يقولونه: أخطأ الربّ العجل. حدثنا القاسم، قال: ثنا الحسين، قال: ثني حجاج، عن ابن جريج، عن مجاهد (فَنَسيَ) قال: نسي موسى، أخطأ الربّ العجل، قوم موسى يقولونه. حدثني موسى، قال: ثنا عمرو، قال: ثنا أسباط، عن السديّ(فَنَسِيَ) يقول: ترك موسى إلهه هاهنا وذهب يطلبه. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد في قوله ( هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ ) قال: يقول: فنسي حيث وعده ربه هاهنا، ولكنه نسي. حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا مُعاذ يقول: أخبرنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله ( هَذَا إِلَهُكُمْ وَإِلَهُ مُوسَى فَنَسِيَ ) يقول: نسي موسى ربه فأخطأه، وهذا العجل إله موسى. قال أبو جعفر: والذي هو أولى بتأويل ذلك القول الذي ذكرناه عن هؤلاء، وهو أن ذلك خبر من الله عزّ ذكره عن السامريّ أنه وصف موسى بأنه نسي ربه، وأنه ربه الذي ذهب يريده هو العجل الذي أخرجه السامري، لإجماع الحجة من أهل التأويل عليه، وأنه عقيب ذكر موسى، وهو أن يكون خبرا من السامري عنه بذلك أشبه من غيره. --------------- الهوامش : (1) لعله : تعوروها : أي استعاروها ، كما أورده في اللسان في قصة العجل من حديث ابن عباس .