Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: We delivered Ibrāhīm and Lūṭ from their enemies — Nimrūd and his people — out of the land of Iraq إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ (to the land which We have blessed for the peoples of the worlds) — that is the land of the Levant (al-Shām). He departed — may the blessings of Allah be upon him — from his people and their religion, and emigrated to the Levant.

   This story which Allah has told concerning the message of Ibrāhīm and his people is a reminder to the people of Muḥammad ﷺ from the Quraysh: that in their worship of idols and their tormenting of Muḥammad because of his forbidding of their worship and his call to the pure worship of Allah, they were treading the path of the enemies of their father Ibrāhīm, and were rejecting his religion. And that Muḥammad ﷺ, in his dissociation from their idolatry, his pure devotion of worship to Allah, his call to dissociate from the idols, and his patience with what he underwent from them of harm and torment, was treading the path of his father Ibrāhīm. And that Allah would lead him out from among them just as He removed Ibrāhīm from his people, after they persisted in their error, to his land of emigration in the land of the Levant. And by this Allah consoled His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ for what he underwent from his people of aversion and torment, and taught him that He would deliver him from them, just as He delivered his father Ibrāhīm from the unbelievers of his people.

   The exegetes differed concerning the land that Allah mentioned as that to which He delivered Ibrāhīm and Lūṭ, and which He described as that which He had blessed for the peoples of the worlds.

   Mention of who said this:

   Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥurayth al-Marwazī Abū ʿAmmār related to us, saying: al-Faḍl ibn Mūsā related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abī al-ʿĀliya, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, concerning وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: he said: the Levant — and there is no sweet water that does not spring forth from that rock in Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis).

   Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Furāt al-Qazzāz, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا: he said: the Levant.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: they were in the land of Iraq, and were delivered to the land of the Levant. Concerning the Levant it was said: it is the chief pillar of the house of emigration. What is lacking in the earth is supplied in the Levant, and what is lacking in the Levant is supplied in Palestine. And it was said: it is the land of the gathering and the resurrection, and in the Levant the people are brought together, and therein descends ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, and therein Allah destroys the old man of errors, the lying prophet, the Dajjāl.

   And Abū Qilāba related to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "I saw in a dream as the sleeper sees, as though the angels carried the pillar of the Book and set it down in the Levant. I interpreted this to mean that when tribulations break out, faith (īmān) will be in the Levant."

   And it has been related to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said one day in his addresses: "There shall be in the Levant an army, in Iraq an army, and in Yemen an army." A man said: "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, choose for me." He said: "Hold fast to the Levant, for Allah has made Himself a guarantor to Me for the Levant and its people. Whoever refuses that, let him join his own deception and drink according to his lot."

   And it has been related to us that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Kaʿb, will you not emigrate to Medina, for it is the place of emigration of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the site of his grave?" Kaʿb said: "O Commander of the Believers, I find in the revealed Book of Allah that the Levant is Allah's treasury of His earth, and therein is His treasury of His servants."

   Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: he said: they emigrated together from Kūthā to the Levant.

   Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Ibrāhīm and Lūṭ set out in the direction of the Levant. Ibrāhīm encountered Sāra — she was the daughter of the king of Ḥarrān, and had contended against the religion of her people — and he married her on the condition that he would not forsake her.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Ibrāhīm left his land as an emigrant for the sake of his Lord, and Lūṭ left it with him as an emigrant, and he married Sāra the daughter of his uncle. He departed with her, seeking flight for his religion and safety for the worship of his Lord. He descended at Ḥarrān and stayed there as long as Allah willed that he stay there. Then he departed from it as an emigrant until he arrived in Egypt, then he left Egypt for the Levant. He descended at al-Sabaʿ in the land of Palestine — that is the desert of the Levant — and Lūṭ descended at al-Muʾtafika, a day's-and-night's journey from al-Sabaʿ or nearer, and Allah sent him as a Prophet ﷺ.

   Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: he said: He delivered him from the land of Iraq to the land of the Levant.

   Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abī Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abī al-ʿĀliya, who said concerning this verse بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: there is no sweet water that does not descend upon the rock in Jerusalem, and then spreads over the earth.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: he said: to the Levant.

   Others, however, said: What is meant is Mecca, and that is the land concerning which Allah, exalted, said الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ.

   Mention of 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, concerning His word وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ: he said: Mecca, and the settling of Ismāʿīl beside the Kaʿba. Do you not see that He says: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ (Truly, the first house established for mankind is that at Bakka, blessed and a guidance for the worlds)?

   Abū Jaʿfar said: We chose the interpretation that we chose because there is no disagreement among all the scholars that the emigration of Ibrāhīm was from Iraq to the Levant, and that he dwelt there throughout his life. Although he had indeed visited Mecca and built the House there, and had settled there Ismāʿīl his son together with his mother Hājar — he did not himself reside there nor make it a homeland for himself or for Lūṭ. And Allah indeed informed us that He delivered Ibrāhīm and Lūṭ to the land which He had blessed for the worlds.

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره: ونجينا إبراهيم ولوطا من أعدائهما نمرود وقومه من أرض العراق ( إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) وهي أرض الشأم، فارق صلوات الله عليه وقومه ودينهم وهاجر إلى الشأم. وهذه القصة التي قص، الله من نبأ إبراهيم وقومه تذكير منه بها قوم محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم من قريش أنهم قد سلكوا في عبادتهم الأوثان، وأذاهم محمدا على نهيه عن عبادتها، ودعائهم إلى عبادة الله مخلصين له الدين، مسلك أعداء أبيهم إبراهيم، ومخالفتهم دينه، وأن محمدا في براءته من عبادتها وإخلاصه العبادة لله، وفي دعائهم إلى البراءة من الأصنام، وفي الصبر على ما يلقى منهم في ذلك سالك منهاج أبيه إبراهيم، وأنه مخرجه من بين أظهرهم كما أخرج إبراهيم من بين أظهر قومه حين تمادوا في غيهم إلى مهاجره من أرض الشأم، ومسلٍّ بذلك نبيه محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم عما يلقى من قومه من المكروه والأذى، ومعلمه أنه منجيه منهم كما نجى أباه إبراهيم من كفرة قومه. وقد اختلف أهل التأويل في الأرض التي ذكر الله أنه نجَّى إبراهيم ولوطا إليها، ووصفه أنه بارك فيها للعالمين، فقال بعضهم بنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا الحسين بن حريث المروزي أبو عمار، قال: ثنا الفضل بن موسى، عن الحسين بن واقد، عن الربيع بن أنس، عن أبي العالية، عن أبيّ بن كعب ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) قال: الشأم، وما من ماء عذب إلا خرج من تلك الصخرة التي ببيت المقدس. حدثنا ابن بشار، قال: ثنا أبو أحمد، قال: ثنا سفيان، عن فرات القزاز، عن الحسن، في قوله ( إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا ) قال: الشام. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) كانا بأرض العراق، فأنجيا إلى أرض الشأم، وكان يقال للشأم عماد دار الهجرة، وما نقص من الأرض زيد في الشأم، وما نقص من الشأم زيد في فلسطين، وكان يقال: هي أرض المحشر والمنشر، وبها مجمع الناس، وبها ينـزل عيسى ابن مريم، وبها يهلك الله شيخ الضلالة الكذّاب الدجال. وحدثنا أبو قلابة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " رأيْتُ فِيما يَرَى النَّائِمُ كأنَّ الملائِكَةَ حَمَلَتْ عَمُودَ الكِتابِ فَوَضَعَتْه بالشَّأْمِ، فأوَّلْتُه أن الفِتَنَ إذَا وَقَعَتْ فإنَّ الإيمَانَ بالشَّأْمِ". وذُكر لنا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال ذات يوم في خطبه: " إنَّهُ كائِنٌ بالشَّأْمِ جُنْدٌ، وبالعِراقِ جُنْدٌ، وباليَمَنِ جُنْدٌ، فقال رجل: يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خر لي، فقال: عَلَيْكَ بالشَّأمِ فإنَّ اللهَ قَدْ تكَفَّلَ لي بالشَّأمِ وأهْلِهِ، فَمَنْ أبَى فَلْيَلْحَقْ بأمِنْهِ وَلْيَسْق بِقَدَرِهِ". وذُكر لنا أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه قال: يا كعب ألا تحوّل إلى المدينة فإنها مُهاجَر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وموضع قبره، فقال له كعب: يا أمير المؤمنين، إني أجد في كتاب الله المنـزل، أن الشام كنـز الله من أرضه، وبها كنـزه من عباده. حدثنا الحسن، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرزاق، قال: أخبرنا معمر، عن قَتادة ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) قال: هاجرا جميعا من كُوْثَى إلى الشام. حدثنا موسى، قال: ثنا عمرو، قال: ثنا أسباط، عن السديّ، قال: انطلق إبراهيم ولوط قِبَل الشأم، فلقي إبراهيم سارة، وهي بنت ملك حَرّان، وقد طعنت على قومها في دينهم، فتزوّجها على أن لا يغيرها (3) . حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا سلمة، عن ابن إسحاق، قال: خرج إبراهيم مهاجرا إلى ربه، وخرج معه لوط مهاجرا، وتزوج سارة ابنة عمه، فخرج بها معه يلتمس الفرار بدينه، والأمان على عبادة ربه، حتى نـزل حرّان، فمكث فيها ما شاء الله أن يمكث، ثم خرج منها مهاجرا حتى قدم مصر، ثم خرج من مصر إلى الشام، فنـزل السبع من أرض فلسطين، وهي برّية الشام، ونـزل لوط بالمؤتفكة، وهي من السبع على مسيرة يوم وليلة، أو أقرب من ذلك، فبعثه الله نبيا صلى الله عليه وسلم. حدثنا القاسم، قال: ثنا الحسين، قال: ثني حجاج، عن ابن جُرَيج، قوله ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) قال: نجاه من أرض العراق إلى أرض الشام. حدثنا القاسم، قال: ثنا الحسين، قال: ثني حجاج، عن أبي جعفر الرازي، عن الربيع، عن أبي العالية، أنه قال في هذه الآية ( بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) قال: ليس ماء عذب إلا يهبط إلى الصخرة التي ببيت المقدس، قال: ثم يتفرّق في الأرض. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) قال: إلى الشأم. وقال آخرون: بل يعني مكة وهي الأرض التي قال الله تعالى ( الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ). * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، قوله ( وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ ) يعني مكة ونـزول إسماعيل البيت. ألا ترى أنه يقول: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ . قال أبو جعفر: وإنما اخترنا ما اخترنا من القول في ذلك لأنه لا خلاف بين جميع أهل العلم أن هجرة إبراهيم من العراق كانت إلى الشام، وبها كان مقامه أيام حياته، وإن كان قد كان قدم مكة وبنى بها البيت وأسكنها إسماعيل ابنه مع أمه هاجر، غير أنه لم يقم بها، ولم يتخذها وطنا لنفسه، ولا لوط، والله إنما أخبر عن إبراهيم ولوط أنهما أنجاهما إلى الأرض التي بارك فيها للعالمين. ------------------------ الهوامش : (3) في ابن كثير : على أن يفر بها .