Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   This is an argument from Allah, exalted is His mention, in favor of His Prophet against the polytheists of his people who said: مَالِ هَذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِي فِي الأَسْوَاقِ — and a reply to them. He says to them, glorious is His praise: What is strange, O Muḥammad, that these speakers — "What ails this Messenger that he eats food and walks in the markets?" — object to your eating food and walking in the markets while you are a Messenger of Allah? For indeed they know that We did not send any messengers before you but that they ate food and walked in the markets — just as you eat and walk — so that they have no argument against you with what they say about that.

   If someone asks: "But the word min is not in the recitation — how then can you say that the meaning of the words is: except that they ate food?" — then we answer: the hāʾ and the mīm in His word "innahum" are substitute markers for names that are not mentioned, and they must necessarily refer back to the one whose name they substitute. The omission of the word min and its not being uttered is a consequence of the reference to the word مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ which already indicates it — just as in His word وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ the min is not uttered but the meaning is unmistakable: "And there is none of us but he has a known station" — just as in وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلا وَارِدُهَا which has the meaning: "And there is none of you but he will come to it." Thus His word إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ stands as a further qualification of the omitted man, just as one says in ordinary speech: "I have not sent anyone of the people to you but that he brings you the message" — where "he brings you the message" is the further qualification of man.

   And His word وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً — Allah, exalted is His mention, says: We have made you, O people, a trial for one another: We made this one a prophet and chose him for the mission, and made that one a king and favored him with the worldly life, and made that one poor and deprived him of the worldly life — so that We might test the poor one by his patience with what was withheld from him that was given to the rich, and the king by his patience with the honor that the Messenger received, and how each person is content with what was given and apportioned to him, and how he obeys his Lord while he was withheld from what another was given. He says: for this reason I did not give Muḥammad the worldly life and made him seek his livelihood in the markets, and so that I might test you, O people, and test your obedience to your Lord and your response to His Messenger in what he called you to — without expecting any worldly benefit that Muḥammad would give you if you followed him, for had I given him the worldly life, many of you would have hastened to follow him out of greed for his world, to obtain something of it.

   In the same manner as we have explained concerning that meaning, the exegetes also spoke.

   * Mention of who said this:

   Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, who said: ʿAbd al-Quddūs related to me, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً ... the verse, he says — this blind man: "Had Allah willed, He would have made me sighted like so-and-so," and that poor man says: "Had Allah willed, He would have made me rich like so-and-so," and that sick man says: "Had Allah willed, He would have made me healthy like so-and-so."

   Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ — he said: He withholds from this one and gives freely to that one, whereupon he says: "He has not given me as he has given so-and-so," and he is tried with an illness so that he says: "My Lord has not made me healthy like so-and-so" — and so on through the kinds of trial — so that He might know who is patient and who is impatient.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me — according to what al-Ṭabarī thinks — on the authority of ʿIkrima, or on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: And concerning this it was sent down to him regarding their saying مَالِ هَذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِي فِي الأسْوَاقِ ... the verse: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلا إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشُونَ فِي الأسْوَاقِ وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ — that is to say: I have made some of you a trial for others so that you might be patient with what you hear and see from them of their dissension, and follow the Guidance without My giving them the worldly life for it. Had I willed that the worldly life should be with My messengers, so that none would oppose them, I would have done so; but I willed to test the servants through you and to test you through them.

   And His word وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا — He says: your Lord, O Muḥammad, is All-Seeing — He sees who is impatient and who is patient in the trial with which he is tried.

   As al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا — your Lord is surely All-Seeing: He sees who is impatient and who is patient.

   Show original Arabic

   وهذا احتجاج من الله تعالى ذكره لنبيه على مشركي قومه الذين قالوا: مَالِ هَذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِي فِي الأَسْوَاقِ وجواب لهم عنه يقول لهم جلّ ثناؤه: وما أنكر يا محمد هؤلاء القائلون: ما لهذا الرسول يأكل الطعام، ويمشي في الأسواق, من أكلك الطعام، ومشيك في الأسواق, وأنت لله رسول، فقد علموا أنا ما أرسلنا قبلك من المرسلين إلا إنهم ليأكلون الطعام ويمشون في الأسواق، كالذي تأكل أنت وتمشي, فليس لهم عليك بما قالوا من ذلك حجة. فإن قال قائل: فإن (من) ليست في التلاوة, فكيف قلت: معنى الكلام: إلا من إنهم ليأكلون الطعام؟ قيل: قلنا في ذلك: معناه: أن الهاء والميم في قوله: إنهم, كناية أسماء لم تذكر, ولا بد لها من أن تعود على من كُني عنه بها, وإنما ترك ذكر " من " وإظهاره في الكلام اكتفاء بدلالة قوله: ( مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ) عليه, كما اكتفي في قوله: وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ من إظهار " من ", ولا شكّ أن معنى ذلك: وما منا إلا من له مقام معلوم, كما قيل وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلا وَارِدُهَا ومعناه: وإن منكم إلا من هو واردها، فقوله: ( إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ ) صلة لمن المتروك, كما يقال في الكلام: ما أرسلت إليك من الناس إلا من إنه ليبلغك الرسالة, فإنه ليبلغك الرسالة، صلة لمن. وقوله: (وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً) يقول تعالى ذكره: وامتحنا أيها الناس بعضكم ببعض, جعلنا هذا نبيا وخصصناه بالرسالة, وهذا ملِكا وخصصناه بالدنيا, وهذا فقيرًا وحرمناه الدنيا لنختبر الفقير بصبره على ما حرم مما أعطيه الغنيّ, والملك بصبره على ما أعطيه الرسول من الكرامة, وكيف رضي كل إنسان منهم بما أعطى، وقسم له, وطاعته ربه مع ما حرم مما أعطى غيره. يقول فمن أجل ذلك لم أعط محمدا الدنيا, وجعلته يطلب المعاش في الأسواق, ولأبتليكم أيها الناس, وأختبر طاعتكم ربكم وإجابتكم رسوله إلى ما دعاكم إليه, بغير عرض من الدنيا ترجونه من محمد أن يعطيكم على اتباعكم إياه، لأني لو أعطيته الدنيا, لسارع كثير منكم إلى اتباعه طمعا في دنياه أن يَنال منها. وبنحو الذي قلنا في تأويل ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني يعقوب بن إبراهيم, قال: ثنا ابن علية, عن أبي رجاء, قال: ثني عبد القدوس, عن الحسن, في قوله: (وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً) ... الآية, يقول هذا الأعمى: لو شاء الله لجعلني بصيرا مثل فلان, ويقول هذا الفقير: لو شاء الله لجعلني غنيا مثل فلان, ويقول هذا السقيم: لوشاء الله لجعلني صحيحا مثل فلان. حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني حجاج, عن ابن جُرَيج, في قوله: (وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ) قال: يمسك عن هذا، ويوسع على هذا, فيقول: لم يعطني مثل ما أعطى فلانا, ويبتلى بالوجع كذلك, فيقول: لم يجعلني ربي صحيحا مثل فلان في أشباه ذلك من البلاء, ليعلم من يصبر ممن يجزع. حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة, قال: ثني ابن إسحاق, قال: ثني محمد بن أبي محمد, فيما يرى الطبري, عن عكرمة, أو عن سعيد, عن ابن عباس, قال: وأنـزل عليه في ذلك من قولهم: ( مَالِ هَذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِي فِي الأسْوَاقِ ) ... الآية: ( وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلا إِنَّهُمْ لَيَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشُونَ فِي الأسْوَاقِ وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ ) : أي جعلت بعضكم لبعض بلاء لتصبروا على ما تسمعون منهم, وترون من خلافهم, وتتبعوا الهدى بغير أن أعطيهم عليه الدنيا، ولو شئت أن أجعل الدنيا مع رسلي، فلا يخالفون لفعلت, ولكني قد أردت أن أبتلي العباد بكم وأبتليكم بهم. وقوله: (وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا) يقول: وربك يا محمد بصير بمن يجزع ومن يصبر على ما امتحن به من المحن. كما حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني حجاج, عن ابن جُرَيج (وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا) إن ربك لبصير بمن يجزع، ومن يصبر.