Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: How many cities have We broken — and "breaking" (qasm) means in its origin: shattering; one says: I have broken (qasam-tu) the back of such-and-such, when one has shattered it, and: his tooth has broken off (inqasam-at), when it has been split. Here, however, the intended meaning is: We destroyed them. And thus the exegetes also explain it.

   Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا (How many have We broken): he said: We destroyed them.

   Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ (How many cities have We broken): he said: We destroyed them. Ibn Jurayj said: "We broke cities" — he said: in Yemen We broke them; with the sword they were destroyed.

   Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the word of Allah قَصَمْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ (We have broken cities): he said: He broke it, destroyed it.

   As for His word مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَالِمَةً (a city that was wrongdoing): the discourse runs upon the city, but what is meant are its inhabitants — this is known to the listeners through its meaning —, and its wrongdoing was its disbelief in Allah and its rejection of His messengers. And His word وَأَنْشَأْنَا بَعْدَهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ (and We brought into being after it another people): Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: and We, after We destroyed these wrongdoers of the city that We broke on account of its wrongdoing, brought into being after them another people.

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره: وكثيرا قصمنا من قرية، والقصم: أصله الكسر، يقال منه: قصمت ظهر فلان إذا كسرته، وانقصمت سنه: إذا انكسرت ، وهو هاهنا معني به أهلكنا، وكذلك تأوّله أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 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 ( وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا ) قال: أهلكنا. حدثنا القاسم، قال: ثنا الحسين، قال: ثني حجاج، عن ابن جريج، عن مجاهد، قوله ( وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ ) قال: أهلكناها ، قال ابن جُرَيج: قصمنا من قرية، قال: باليمن قصمنا، بالسيف أهلكوا. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد في قول الله ( قَصَمْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ ) قال: قصمها أهلكها. وقوله ( مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَالِمَةً ) أجرى الكلام على القرية، والمراد بها أهلها لمعرفة السامعين بمعناه، وكأن ظلمها كفرها بالله وتكذيبها رسله، وقوله ( وَأَنْشَأْنَا بَعْدَهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وأحدثنا بعد ما أهلكنا هؤلاء الظلمة من أهل هذه القرية التي قصمناها بظلمها قوما آخرين سواهم.