Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Allah, exalted be His mention, says: وَتَفَقَّدَ Sulaymān الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ . As for the reason he inspected the birds and asked specifically about the hoopoe (hudhud) among the birds — that is what Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard ʿImrān, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās was sitting with ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām and asked him about the hoopoe: why did Sulaymān inspect it among all the birds? Whereupon ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām said: Sulaymān halted at a place during his march, and he did not know how far the water was, and he asked: who knows the distance to the water? They said: the hoopoe. That, then, was the moment at which he inspected it.

   Muḥammad related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: ʿImrān ibn Ḥuḍayr related to us, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās and ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām — likewise.

   Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: for Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd six hundred seats were set out, and then the nobles of mankind came and took their places by him, then the nobles of the jinn came and took their places by mankind. He said: then he summoned the birds, and they shaded them; then he summoned the wind, and it carried them. He said: and in a single morning he would cover the distance of one month's journey. He said: once during his march he had need of water, while he was in a desolate region. He said: he summoned the hoopoe, which came to him and tapped the ground, and found the place of the water. He said: then the devils came and they peeled back the earth as one peels a hide, and they brought up the water. Nāfiʿ ibn al-Azraq said to him: Wait a moment, O Waqqāq — how do you account for your claim that the hoopoe comes and taps the ground and finds the place of the water, while it does not see the trap when it then flies into it and is caught by its neck? Ibn ʿAbbās said: Woe to you — when the decree comes, it bars the sight.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of some of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: when Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd went out from his house to his sitting-place, the birds circled above him, and the jinn and mankind stood before him until he took his seat upon his throne; until on a certain morning in a part of his life he went to his sitting-place, and he inspected the birds. And of every kind of bird, so they claimed, one bird would come at its turn each time; he looked and saw that of all the kinds of birds all were present except the hoopoe, and he said: What is it with me that I do not see the hoopoe?

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: the first time Sulaymān missed the hoopoe was that he had descended into a valley and asked the people about its water; they said: we do not know where the water is; but if any of your armies knows it, then the jinn. He summoned the jinn and asked them; they said: we do not know where the water is; but if any of your armies knows it, then the birds. He summoned the birds and asked them; they said: we do not know, but if any of your armies knows it, then the hoopoe. But he did not find it — that was the first time he missed the hoopoe.

   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: وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ — he said: he inspected the hoopoe because it would show him the way to water when he set out; and Sulaymān rode one day and said: where is the hoopoe to show us the way to water? But he did not find it; and for that reason he inspected it. Ibn ʿAbbās said: the hoopoe was indeed aided by its caution so long as its end had not yet come; but when its end came, caution no longer availed it, and the decree obstructed the sight.

   There is thus a disagreement between ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām and those with him on the one hand and Wahb ibn Munabbih on the other: ʿAbdullāh said that the occasion for inspecting the hoopoe and asking about it was to obtain information about the distance of the water in the valley into which he had descended during his march; and Wahb ibn Munabbih said that the inspecting and asking after it was because the hoopoe had failed to keep its turn. Allah knows best which of the two is the correct version, since for us there is no revelation that designates either of them, nor an authoritative narration from the Prophet ﷺ.

   The correct view concerning this is therefore to say: Allah has reported that Sulaymān inspected the birds, either because of the turn that the birds had and which it had failed to keep, or because of a need that there was regarding the distance of the water.

   And His word: فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ — by His word مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ He means: has my gaze missed it so that I do not see it while it is present, or is it absent and does it belong to those of the remaining kinds of creatures who are absent and not present?

   And in the same sense as what we have said about this, spoke the people of interpretation.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of some of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ — has my gaze missed it among the birds, or is it absent and not present?

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره: ( وَتَفَقَّدَ ) سليمان (الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ ). وكان سبب تفقده الطير وسؤاله عن الهدهد خاصة من بين الطير, ما حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا المعتمر بن سليمان, قال: سمعت عمران عن أبي مجلز, قال: جلس ابن عباس إلى عبد الله بن سلام, فسأله عن الهدهد: لم تفقَّده سليمان من بين الطير فقال عبد الله بن سلام: إن سليمان نـزل منـزلة في مسير له, فلم يدر ما بُعْد الماء, فقال: من يعلم بُعْد الماء؟ قالوا: الهدهد, فذاك حين تفقده. حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا عمران بن حدير, عن أبي مجلز, عن ابن عباس وعبد الله بن سلام بنحوه. حدثني أبو السائب, قال: ثنا أبو معاوية, عن الأعمش, عن المنهال, عن سعيد بن جبير, عن ابن عباس, قال: كان سليمان بن داود يوضع له ستّ مائة كرسي, ثم يجيء أشراف الإنس فيجلسون مما يليه, ثم تجيء أشراف الجن فيجلسون مما يلي الإنس قال: ثم يدعو الطير فتظلهم, ثم يدعو الريح فتحملهم, قال: فيسير في الغداة الواحدة مسيرة شهر, قال: فبينا هو في مسيره إذ احتاج إلى الماء وهو في فلاة من الأرض, قال: فدعا الهدهد, فجاءه فنقر الأرض, فيصيب موضع الماء, قال: ثم تجيء الشياطين فيسلخونه كما يسلخ الإهاب, قال: ثم يستخرجون الماء. فقال له نافع بن الأزرق: قف يا وقاق، أرأيت قولك الهدهد يجيء فينقر الأرض, فيصيب الماء, كيف يبصر هذا, ولا يبصر الفخّ يجيء حتى يقع في عنقه؟ قال: فقال له ابن عباس: ويحك إن القدر إذا جاء حال دون البصر. حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة, عن محمد بن إسحاق, عن بعض أهل العلم, عن وهب بن منبه, قال: كان سليمان بن داود إذا خرج من بيته إلى مجلسه عكفت عليه الطير, وقام له الجنّ والإنس حتى يجلس على سريره, حتى إذا كان ذات غداة في بعض زمانه غدا إلى مجلسه الذي كان يجلس فيه, فتفقد الطير. وكان فيما يزعمون يأتيه نوبا من كل صنف من الطير طائر, فنظر فرأى من أصناف الطير كلها قد حضره إلا الهدهد, فقال: ما لي لا أرى الهدهد. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد: أوّل ما فقد سليمان الهدهد نـزل بواد فسأل الإنس عن ماءه, فقالوا: ما نعلم له ماء, فإن يكن أحد من جنودك يعلم له ماء فالجنّ فدعا الجنّ فسألهم, فقالوا: ما نعلم له ماء وإن يكن أحد من جنودك يعلم له ماء فالطير, فدعا الطير فسألهم, فقالوا: ما نعلم له ماء, وإن يكن أحد من جنودك يعلمه فالهدهد, فلم يجده, قال: فذاك أوّل ما فقد الهدهد. حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: ثني عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس قوله: (وَتَفَقَّدَ الطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ ) قال: تفقد الهدهد من أجل أنه كان يدله على الماء إذا ركب, وإن سليمان ركب ذات يوم فقال: أين الهدهُد ليدلنا على الماء؟ فلم يجده؛ فمن أجل ذلك تفقده، فقال ابن عباس: إن الهدهد كان ينفعه الحذر ما لم يبلغه الأجل؛ فلما بلغ الأجل لم ينفعه الحذر, وحال القدر دون البصر، فقد اختلف عبد الله بن سلام والقائلون بقوله ووهب بن منبه, فقال عبد الله: كان سبب تفقده الهدهد وسؤاله عنه ليستخبره عن بُعد الماء في الوادي الذي نـزل به في مسيره، وقال وهب بن منبه: كان تفقده إياه وسؤاله عنه لإخلاله بالنوبة التي كان ينوبها، والله أعلم بأي ذلك كان إذ لم يأتنا بأيّ ذلك كان تنـزيل, ولا خبر عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صحيح. فالصواب من القول في ذلك أن يقال: إن الله أخبر عن سليمان أنه تفقد الطير, إما للنوبة التي كانت عليها وأخلت بها, وإما لحاجة كانت إليها عن بُعد الماء. وقوله: (فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ ) يعني بقوله (مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ ) أخطأه بصري فلا أراه وقد حضر أم هو غائب فيما غاب من سائر أجناس الخلق فلم يحضر؟. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. *ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة, عن ابن إسحاق, عن بعض أهل العلم, عن وهب بن منبه: (مَا لِيَ لا أَرَى الْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ الْغَائِبِينَ ) أخطأه بصري في الطير, أم غاب فلم يحضر؟.