Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of His word, the Exalted: فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ (8) ("Then the family of Pharaoh picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a source of grief. Indeed, Pharaoh, Hāmān, and their armies were sinners." (28:8))

   The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: the family of Pharaoh picked him up, that is to say: they found him and took him. Its origin is from al-luqṭa, which is that which is found lost and is taken up. The Arabs say, when something befalls them unexpectedly, without their seeking or desiring it: "I came upon it by chance (iltiqāṭan)," and "I met so-and-so by chance (iltiqāṭan)." To this belongs the saying of the rajaz-poet:

   Wa-manhalin waradtuhu iltiqāṭā lam alqa idh waradtuhu furrāṭā (1)

   (And many a watering-place I have reached by chance, whereat, when I reached it, I found no predecessors)

   He means: unexpectedly.

   The people of interpretation differed concerning who is meant by His word (آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ) "the family of Pharaoh" in this place. Some of them said: by it are meant the maidservants of Pharaoh's wife.

   *Mention of who said that:

   Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: the waves brought the chest, lifting it up at one moment and letting it sink at another, until they brought it in among some trees by the house of Pharaoh. Then the maidservants of Āsiya, the wife of Pharaoh, came out to wash, and they found the chest and brought it to Āsiya, thinking that there was wealth in it. When Āsiya looked at him, mercy for him befell her and she loved him. And when she informed Pharaoh of it, he wished to slaughter him, but Āsiya kept speaking with him until he left him to her. He said: I fear that this one is of the Children of Israel, and that this is the one at whose hand our destruction will take place. That is the word of Allah: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) "Then the family of Pharaoh picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a source of grief."

   And others said: no, by it is meant the daughter of Pharaoh.

   *Mention of who said that:

   Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Qays, who said: the daughter of Pharaoh was leprous, and she came to the Nile, and there was the chest in the Nile, with which the waves were playing. The daughter of Pharaoh took it, and when she opened the chest, behold, there was a child. And when she looked into his face, she was cured of the leprosy. She brought him to her mother and said: this child is blessed; when I looked at him, I was cured. Pharaoh said: this one is of the children of the Children of Israel; come, that I may kill him. She said: قُرَّةُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ لا تَقْتُلُوهُ ("A comfort of the eye for me and for you; do not kill him.").

   And others said: by it are meant the helpers of Pharaoh.

   *Mention of who said that:

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Pharaoh was one morning in a seat which he took every morning on the bank of the Nile. While he was sitting there, behold, the Nile carried the chest along and tossed it to and fro, while Āsiya, the daughter of Muzāḥim, his wife, was sitting beside him. She said: that is something in the river; bring it to me. Then his helpers went out until they brought it, and he opened the chest, and behold, in it was a child in his cradle. Allah laid upon him love for him and made his soul incline toward him. His wife Āsiya said: لا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَى أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا ("Do not kill him; perhaps he will benefit us, or we will take him as a child.").

   And there is, in our view, no statement concerning this that comes nearer to correctness than what Allah, mighty and exalted is He, has said: (فَالْتَقَطَهُ آَلُ فِرْعَوْنَ) "Then the family of Pharaoh picked him up." And we have already previously set forth the meaning of al-āl (the family), with that which is sufficient to dispense with repeating it here.

   And His word: ( لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) "that he might become for them an enemy and a source of grief" — thus a questioner might say: did they pick him up in order that Mūsā might become for the family of Pharaoh an enemy and a source of grief? Then it is said: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ). One says: when they picked him up, they did not pick him up for that reason, but for that which has already been mentioned; rather it is, if Allah wills, as Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, concerning His word: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) he said: that he might become, in the outcome of his affair, an enemy and a source of grief, because of what Allah intended by him, and not for that reason did they take him; rather the wife of Pharaoh said: قُرَّةُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ ("A comfort of the eye for me and for you"). Thus was the word of Allah: (that he might become for them an enemy and a source of grief) because of what would be for them in the outcome of his affair. It is like the word of another person, when he reproaches someone for a deed — while that deed was performed by him in the supposition that he was therein doing good, but his deed led him to an evil that made him regret his deed —: "you did this to harm yourself, and to injure yourself by it you did it." Whereas the doer, at the time of his deed, thought within himself to do it in the hope of its benefit, except that the outcome came contrary to what he hoped. So too is His word: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) — it is only this: the family of Pharaoh picked him up, in the supposition that they were doing good to themselves, that he might be a comfort of the eye for them; but the outcome of their picking him up was their destruction at his hand.

   And His word: (عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا) "an enemy and a source of grief" — He says: he will be for them an enemy in their religion, and a source of grief on account of the adversity that befalls them from him.

   In accordance with what we have said concerning that, the people of interpretation have spoken.

   *Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his word: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) — an enemy to them in their religion, and a source of grief on account of what befalls them.

   And the reciters differed concerning its recitation. The general body of reciters of Medina and Basra, and some of the people of Kūfa, recited it: (وَحَزَنًا) with a fatḥa on the ḥāʾ and the zāy. And the general body of reciters of Kūfa recited it: "وَحُزْنًا" with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a sukūn on the zāy. Al-ḥazan, with a fatḥa on the ḥāʾ and the zāy, is a verbal noun of ḥazintu ḥazanan (I grieved a grieving); and al-ḥuzn, with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a sukūn on the zāy, is the noun, like al-ʿadam and al-ʿudm, and the like.

   And the correct view concerning that is that they are two recitations close to each other in meaning, and they stand, despite the difference in wording, as al-ʿadam and al-ʿudm. With whichever of the two the reciter recites, he has done correctly.

   And His word: ( إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ ) "Indeed, Pharaoh, Hāmān, and their armies were sinners" — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: indeed, Pharaoh, Hāmān, and their armies were sinful against their Lord; and therefore Mūsā was for them an enemy and a source of grief.

   ------------------------

   The footnotes:

   (1) These are two verses of the mashṭūr of the rajaz, by Nuqāda al-Asadī. He cited them in (al-Lisān: laqaṭa) and cited a third verse along with them, namely * illā al-ḥamāma al-wurqa wa-l-ghaṭāṭa *. He said: and laqītuhu iltiqāṭan: when you meet him without expecting him or anticipating him; Nuqāda al-Asadī said: "wa-manhalin waradtuhu..." the three verses. And Sībawayh said: iltiqāṭan: that is to say unexpectedly; it belongs to the verbal nouns that occur as circumstantial qualifiers (aḥwāl), like jāʾa raḍkan (he came running). And waradtu the water and the thing iltiqāṭan: when you come upon it suddenly, without expecting it. And Ibn al-Aʿrābī transmitted: laqītuhu liqāṭan: face to face. And in the report of ʿUmar that a man of Tamīm found (iltaqaṭa) a shabaka and asked whether he might keep it for himself. Al-shabaka: the shallow wells with water nearby. And iltiqāṭuhu: that he comes upon it without seeking it. End. And he said in (faraṭa): and furrāṭ al-qaṭā: those of them that go ahead to the valley and the water. And he recited the verse and ascribed it to Nuqāda al-Asadī. (And in ghaṭaṭa): and al-ghaṭāṭ is the qaṭā (sandgrouse), with a fatḥa on the ghayn. And it is said: a kind of qaṭā, of which the singular is ghaṭāṭa. And it is said: the qaṭā is of two kinds: the short-legged, with yellow necks, black of form, reddish-brown of the flight-feathers, which are the kudriyya and the jūniyya (both with a ḍamma on the first letter); and the long-legged, with white bellies, dust-colored of back, with wide eyes: that is the ghaṭāṭ. And it is said: the ghaṭāṭ is a kind of bird, not of the qaṭā, dust-colored of belly, back, and body, black of wings. And it is said: black of the underside of the wings, long of legs and necks, graceful. End. And see other statements in (al-Lisān: ghaṭaṭa). And the first verse is in (Muʿjam mā istaʿjam of al-Bakrī, Cairo edition, arranged by Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, p. 779). And in al-Kitāb of Sībawayh (1:186).

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ (8) يقول تعالى ذكره: فالتقطه آل فرعون فأصابوه وأخذوه; وأصله من اللقطة, وهو ما وُجد ضالا فأخذ، والعرب تقول: لما وردت عليه فجأة، من غير طلب له ولا إرادة، أصبته التقاطا, ولقيت فلانا التقاطا; ومنه قول الراجز: وَمَنْهَـــلٍ وَرَدْتُـــهُ الْتِقَاطَـــا لَـــمْ أَلْــقَ إِذْ وَرَدْتُــهُ فُرَّاطَــا (1) يعني فجأة. واختلف أهل التأويل في المعني بقوله: (آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ) في هذا الموضع, فقال بعضهم: عنى بذلك: جواري امرأة فرعون. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا موسى, قال: ثنا عمرو, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السدي, قال: أقبل الموج بالتابوت يرفعه مرّة ويخفضه أخرى, حتى أدخله بين أشجار عند بيت فرعون, فخرج جواري آسية امرأة فرعون يغسلن, فوجدن التابوت, فأدخلنه إلى آسية, وظننّ أن فيه مالا فلما نظرت إليه آسية, وقعت عليها رحمته فأحبته; فلما أخبرت به فرعون أراد أن يذبحه, فلم تزل آسية تكلمه حتى تركه لها, قال: إني أخاف أن يكون هذا من بني إسرائيل, وأن يكون هذا الذي على يديه هلاكنا, فذلك قول الله: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ). وقال آخرون: بل عني به ابنة فرعون. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني حجاج, عن أبي معشر, عن محمد بن قيس, قال: كانت بنت فرعون برصاء, فجاءت إلى النيل, فإذا التابوت في النيل تخفقه الأمواج, فأخذته بنت فرعون, فلما فتحت التابوت, فإذا هي بصبي, فلما اطلعت في وجهه برأت من البرص, فجاءت به إلى أمها, فقالت: إن هذا الصبيّ مبارك لما نظرت إليه برئت, فقال فرعون: هذا من صبيان بني إسرائيل, هلمّ حتى أقتله, فقالت: قُرَّةُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ لا تَقْتُلُوهُ . وقال آخرون: عنى به أعوان فرعون. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة, عن ابن إسحاق, قال: أصبح فرعون في مجلس له كان يجلسه على شفير النيل كلّ غداة: فبينما هو جالس, إذ مرّ النيل بالتابوت يقذف به, وآسية بنت مزاحم امرأته جالسة إلى جنبه, فقالت: إن هذا لشيء في البحر, فأتوني به, فخرج إليه أعوانه, حتى جاءوا به, ففتح التابوت فإذا فيه صبيّ في مهده, فألقى الله عليه محبته, وعطف عليه نفسه, قالت امرأته آسية: لا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَى أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا . ولا قول في ذلك عندنا أولى بالصواب مما قال الله عزّ وجلّ: (فَالْتَقَطَهُ آَلُ فِرْعَوْنَ) وقد بيَّنا معنى الآل فيما مضى بما فيه الكفاية من إعادته ههنا. وقوله: ( لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) فيقول القائل: ليكون موسى لآل فرعون عدوّا وحَزنا فالتقطوه, فيقال: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) قيل: إنهم حين التقطوه لم يلتقطوه لذلك، بل لما تقدّم ذكره، ولكنه إن شاء الله كما حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا سلمة عن ابن إسحاق, في قوله: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) قال: ليكون في عاقبة أمره عدوّا وحزنا لما أراد الله به، وليس لذلك أخذوه, ولكن امرأة فرعون قالت: قُرَّةُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ فكان قول الله: (ليكون لهم عدوّا وحزنا) لما هو كائن في عاقبة أمره لهم, وهو كقول الآخر إذا قَرَّعه لفعل، كان فعله وهو يحسب محسنا في فعله، فأداه فعله ذلك إلى مساءة مندِّما له على فعله: فعلت هذا لضرّ نفسك, ولتضرّ به نفسك فعلت. وقد كان الفاعل في حال فعله ذلك عند نفسه يفعله راجيا نفعه, غير أن العاقبة جاءت بخلاف ما كان يرجو. فكذلك قوله: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) إنما هو: فالتقطه آل فرعون ظنًّا منهم أنهم محسنون إلى أنفسهم, ليكون قرّة عين لهم, فكانت عاقبة التقاطهم إياه منه هلاكهم على يديه. وقوله: (عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا) يقول: يكون لهم عدوّا في دينهم, وحَزنًا على ما ينالهم منه من المكروه. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قَتادة, قوله: ( فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ) عدوا لهم في دينهم, وحزنا لما يأتيهم. واختلفت القرّاء في قراءة ذلك, فقرأته عامة قرّاء أهل المدينة والبصرة، وبعض أهل الكوفة: (وَحَزَنًا) بفتح الحاء والزاي. وقرأته عامة قرّاء الكوفة: " وَحُزْنًا " بضم الحاء وتسكين الزاي. والحَزَن بفتح الحاء والزاي مصدر من حزنت حزنا, والحُزْن بضم الحاء وتسكين الزاي الاسم: كالعَدَم والعُدْم، ونحوه. والصواب من القول في ذلك أنهما قراءتان متقاربتا المعنى, وهما على اختلاف اللفظ فيهما بمنـزلة العَدَم, والعُدْم, فبأيتهما قرأ القارئ فمصيب. وقوله: ( إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: إن فرعون وهامان وجنودهما كانوا بربهم آثمين, فلذلك كان لهم موسى عَدُوّا وحَزَنا. ------------------------ الهوامش: (1) هذا بيتان من مشطور الرجز، لنقادة الأسدي، أوردهما في (اللسان: لقط) وأورد معهما بيتًا ثالثا، وهو * إلا الحمــام الـورق والغطـاط * قال: ولقيته التقاطًا: إذا لقيته من غير أن ترجوه أو تحسبه؛ قال نقادة الأسدي: "ومنهل وردته.." الأبيات الثلاثة: وقال سيبويه: التقاطا: أي فجأة، وهو من المصادر التي وقعت أحوالا، نحو جاء ركضا. ووردت الماء والشيء التقاطا: إذا هجمت عليه بغتة، ولم تحتسبه. وحكى ابن الأعرابي: لقيته لقاطًا: مواجهة. وفي حديث عمر أن رجلا من تميم التقط شبكة، فطلب أن يجعلها له. الشبكة: الآبار القريبة الماء. والتقاطه: عثوره عليها من غير طلب. اه. وقال في (فرط): وفراطا القطا: متقدماتها إلى الوادي والماء. وأنشد البيت ونسبه إلى نقادة الأسدي. (وفي غطط): والغطاط القطا، بفتح الغين. وقيل: ضرب من القطا، واحدته:غطاطة. وقيل القطا: ضربان؛ فالقصار الأرجل، الصفر الأعناق، السود القوام. الصهب الخوافي هي الكدرية والجونية (بضم أولهما) والطوال الأرجل، البيض البطون، الغبر الظهور، الواسعة العيون: هي الغطاط. وقيل: الغطاط: ضرب من الطير، ليس من القطا، هن غبر البطون والظهور والأبدان، سود الأجنحة. وقيل: سود بطون الأجنحة، طوال الأرجل والأعناق، لطاف. اه. وانظر أقوالا أخرى في (اللسان: غطط). والبيت الأول في (معجم ما استعجم للبكري طبعة القاهرة بترتيب مصطفى السقا ص 779). وفي الكتاب لسيبويه (1: 186).