Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of the saying of the Exalted: يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ (106) ("On the Day when faces become white and faces become black. As for those whose faces have become black: 'Did you disbelieve after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve.'") (3:106)

   Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: By this He means, exalted be His praise: it is they who have a tremendous punishment on the Day when faces become white and faces become black.

   * * *

   As for His saying: "As for those whose faces have become black: 'Did you disbelieve after your belief?'" — its meaning is: as for those whose faces have become black, it shall be said to them: "Did you disbelieve after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve." The word "ammā" (as for) requires an answer with the "fāʾ," but when the answer [that is, "fa-yuqālu" — "then it shall be said"] was omitted, the "fāʾ" dropped away with it. The omission of the mention of "fa-yuqālu" (then it is said) was permissible because of the indication that the rest of the mentioned discourse provides for it.

   * * *

   As for the meaning of His saying, exalted be His praise: "Did you disbelieve after your belief?" — the exegetes differed concerning who is meant by this.

   Some of them said: by this are meant the people of our qibla among the Muslims.

   * Mention of who said that:

   7601 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: "On the Day when faces become white and faces become black" — the [whole] āya: Peoples disbelieved after their belief, as you hear. And it was related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ used to say: "By Him in whose Hand is the soul of Muḥammad, there shall come to me at the Basin (al-Ḥawḍ) peoples from among those who accompanied me, until, when they are raised up to me and I see them, they are snatched away from me. Then I shall surely say: 'My Lord! My companions! My companions!' And then it shall surely be said: 'You do not know what they introduced after you!'" And His saying: "And as for those whose faces have become white, they are in the mercy of Allah" — those are the people of obedience to Allah and of faithfulness to the covenant of Allah. Allah, mighty and exalted, said: "They are in the mercy of Allah, therein they abide eternally." (80)

   7602 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "On the Day when faces become white and faces become black. As for those whose faces have become black: 'Did you disbelieve after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve'" — this concerns whoever disbelieved among the people of the qibla when they fought one another.

   7603 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama and al-Rabīʿ ibn Ṣabīḥ, on the authority of Abū Mujālid, on the authority of Abū Umāma: "As for those whose faces have become black: 'Did you disbelieve after your belief?'" — he said: those are the Khawārij.

   * * *

   And others said: by this is meant: everyone who disbelieved in Allah after the belief that he professed when Allah brought forth from the loins of Adam his progeny and made them bear witness against themselves, as He has expounded in His Book. (81)

   * Mention of who said that:

   7604 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Haytham related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū l-ʿĀliya, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, concerning His saying: "On the Day when faces become white and faces become black" — he said: on the Day of Resurrection they became two groups, and He addressed those who became black of face and rebuked them: "Did you disbelieve after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve." He said: that is the belief that existed before the discord, in the time of Adam, when He took from them their covenant and their pledge and they all professed servitude (ʿubūdiyya), and He created them upon Islam, so that they were one community, submitting (Muslims). He says: "Did you disbelieve after your belief?" — He says: after that which existed in the time of Adam. And concerning the others he said: those who remained steadfast upon that belief of theirs and made the religion and the action purely for Him — Allah made their faces white and admitted them into His good pleasure and His paradise.

   * * *

   And others said: no, those who are meant by His saying "Did you disbelieve after your belief?" are the hypocrites (munāfiqūn).

   * Mention of who said that:

   7605 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbbād, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "On the Day when faces become white and faces become black" — the [whole] āya: he said: those are the hypocrites; they had given the word of belief with their tongues, but denied it with their hearts and their deeds.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: The correct of the sayings that we have mentioned concerning this is the saying that we have transmitted from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb: that by this all the disbelievers are meant, and that the belief whose apostasy is rebuked in them is the belief that they professed on the Day when it was said to them: أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا [Surah al-Aʿrāf: 172] ("Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes indeed, we bear witness.").

   That is because Allah, exalted be His praise, has made all the people of the Hereafter into two groups: the one black of face, the other white of face. (82) It is therefore known — since there are only these two groups there — that all the disbelievers belong to the group of those whose faces are made black, and that all the believers belong to the group of those whose faces are made white. There is thus no basis for the saying of whoever says: "By His saying 'Did you disbelieve after your belief?' a part of the disbelievers is meant to the exclusion of another part," while Allah, exalted be His praise, has made the report concerning all of them general. And when they all fall under it, and they did not all know a state in which they believed and then apostatized as disbelievers, except a single state, then it is known that that [single state] is what is meant by this. (83)

   * * *

   The explanation of the āya is then: they have a tremendous punishment on the Day when the faces of some become white and the faces of others become black. As for those whose faces have become black, it shall be said: did you deny the oneness of Allah (tawḥīd) and His covenant and His pledge that you made with Him — that you would not associate anything with Him as a partner and would make the worship purely for Him — after your belief? — that is to say: after your affirmation of it? — "Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve," He says: for what you denied in the worldly life of that for which Allah had taken your pledge to profess and affirm it.

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

   Footnotes:

   (80) The narration 7601 — this is a mursal narration. Al-Bukhārī recorded it in his Ṣaḥīḥ with a different wording (al-Fatḥ 11: 408, 412 ff.) and Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ 17: 194. His saying "rufiʿū ilayya" (they were raised up to me) means: Allah showed them to him, so that he saw them from afar. And "ikhtalaja al-shayʾ" means: he snatched it away and pulled it along.

   (81) By this is meant the āya [in] Surah al-Aʿrāf: 172, the saying of the Exalted: وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ the āya ("And when your Lord took from the sons of Adam, from their backs, their progeny...").

   (82) In the printed edition it reads "sawdāʾ... bayḍāʾ" [incorrect form], and the correct is what is in the manuscript.

   (83) In the printed edition it reads "annahā al-murād" without tāʾ, and the correct is what is in the manuscript.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ (106) قال أبو جعفر: يعني بذلك جل ثناؤه: أولئك لهم عذاب عظيم في يوم تبيض وجوه وتسودُّ وجوه. * * * وأما قوله: " فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم "، فإن معناه: فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم، فيقال لهم: أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم؟ فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون. ولا بدل " أما " من جواب بالفاء، فلما أسقط الجواب سقطت " الفاء " معه. وإنما جاز ترك ذكر " فيقال " لدلالة ما ذكر من الكلام عليه. * * * وأما معنى قوله جل ثناؤه: " أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم "، فإن أهل التأويل اختلفوا فيمن عُني به. فقال بعضهم: عني به أهل قبلتنا من المسلمين. *ذكر من قال ذلك: 7601- حدثنا بشر قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، حدثنا سعيد، عن قتاده، قوله: " يوم تبيض وجوه وتسود وجوه "، الآية، لقد كفر أقوامٌ بعد إيمانهم كما تسمعون، ولقد ذكر لنا أن نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقول: " والذي نفس محمد بيده، ليردنّ على الحوض ممن صحبني أقوامٌ، حتى إذا رُفعوا إليّ ورأيتهم، اختُلِجوا دوني، فلأقولن: ربّ! أصحابي! أصحابي! فليقالنّ: إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك "! = وقوله: " وأما الذين ابيضتْ وجوههم ففي رحمة الله "، هؤلاء أهل طاعة الله، والوفاء بعهد الله، قال الله عز وجل: " ففي رحمة الله هم فيها خالدون ". (80) 7602- حدثنا محمد بن الحسين قال، حدثنا أحمد بن المفضل قال، حدثنا أسباط، عن السدي: " يوم تبيضُّ وجوه وتسودُّ وجوه فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون "، فهذا من كفر من أهل القبلة حين اقتتلوا. 7603- حدثنا ابن وكيع قال، حدثنا أبي، عن حماد بن سلمة والربيع بن صبيح، عن أبي مجالد، عن أبي أمامة: " فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم "، قال: هم الخوارج. * * * وقال آخرون: عنى بذلك: كلّ من كفر بالله بعد الإيمان الذي آمن، &; 7-95 &; حين أخذ الله من صلب آدم ذريته وأشهدهم على أنفسهم بما بيَّن في كتابه. (81) *ذكر من قال ذلك: 7604- حدثني المثني قال، حدثنا علي بن الهيثم قال، أخبرنا ابن أبي جعفر، عن أبيه، عن الربيع، عن أبي العالية، عن أبيّ بن كعب، في قوله: " يوم تبيض وجوه وتسود وجوه "، قال: صاروا يوم القيامة فريقين، فقال لمن اسودَّ وجهه، وعيَّرهم." أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم فذوقوا العذابَ بما كنتم تكفرون "، قال: هو الإيمان الذي كان قبل الاختلاف في زمان آدم، حين أخذ منهم عهدهم وميثاقهم، وأقرُّوا كلهم بالعبودية، وفطرهُمْ على الإسلام، فكانوا أمة واحدة مسلمين، يقول: " أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم "، يقول: بعد ذلك الذي كان في زمان آدم. وقال في الآخرين: الذين استقاموا على إيمانهم ذلك، فأخلصوا له الدين والعمل، فبيَّض الله وجوههم، وأدخلهم في رضوانه وجنته. * * * وقال آخرون: بل الذين عنوا بقوله: " أكفرتم بعد إيمانكم "، المنافقون. *ذكر من قال ذلك: 7605- حدثني محمد بن سنان قال، حدثنا أبو بكر الحنفي، عن عباد، عن الحسن: " يوم تبيض وجوه وتسود وجوه " الآية، قال: هم المنافقون، كانوا أعطوا كلمةَ الإيمان بألسنتهم، وأنكروها بقلوبهم وأعمالهم. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأولى الأقوال التي ذكرناها في ذلك بالصواب، القولُ الذي ذكرناه عن أبي بن كعب أنه عنى بذلك جميع الكفار، وأنّ الإيمان الذي يوبَّخُون على ارتدادهم عنه، هو الإيمان الذي أقروا به يوم قيل لهم: أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا [سورة الأعراف: 172]. وذلك أن الله جل ثناؤه جعل جميعَ أهل الآخرة فريقين: أحدهما سودًا وجوهه، والآخر بيضًا وجوهه. (82) فمعلوم -إذ لم يكن هنالك إلا هذان الفريقان- أن جميع الكفار داخلون في فريق من سُوِّد وجهه، وأن جميع المؤمنين داخلون في فريق من بُيِّض وجهه. فلا وجه إذًا لقول قائل: " عنى بقوله: " أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ ، بعض الكفار دون بعض "، وقد عمّ الله جل ثناؤه الخبرَ عنهم جميعهم، وإذا دخل جميعهم في ذلك، ثم لم يكن لجميعهم حالة آمنوا فيها ثم ارتدوا كافرين بعدُ إلا حالة واحدة، كان معلومًا أنها المرادة بذلك. (83) * * * فتأويل الآية إذًا: أولئك لهم عذاب عظيمٌ في يوم تبيضُّ وجوه قوم وتسودُّ وجوه آخرين. فأما الذين اسودت وجوههم، فيقال: أجحدتم توحيد الله وعهدَه وميثاقَه الذي واثقتموه عليه، بأن لا تشركوا به شيئًا، وتخلصوا له العبادة - بعد إيمانكم =يعني: بعد تصديقكم به؟=" فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكفرون "، يقول: بما كنتم تجحدون في الدنيا ما كان الله قد أخذ ميثاقكم بالإقرار به والتصديق ---------------------- الهوامش : (80) الأثر: 7601- هذا أثر مرسل ، وقد أخرجه البخاري في صحيحه بغير هذا اللفظ (الفتح 11 : 408 ، 412 وما بعدها) ومسلم في صحيحه 17 : 194 ، وقوله: "رفعوا إلى" ، أي أظهرهم الله له فرآهم من بعيد. واختلج الشيء: نزعه وجذبه. (81) يعني آية"سورة الأعراف: 172 قوله تعالى: {وَإِذْ أخَذَ ربكَ مِنْ بني آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ} الآية. (82) في المطبوعة: "سوداء... بيضاء" والصواب ما في المخطوطة. (83) في المطبوعة: "أنها المراد" بغير تاء ، والصواب ما في المخطوطة