Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His word, the Exalted: مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (67) ("Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was upright (ḥanīf), submitting (muslim), and he was not among the polytheists (mushrikīn)" (3:67)).

   Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a refutation by Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, of the claim of those among the Jews and the Christians who disputed concerning Ibrāhīm and his creed and claimed that he adhered to their creed — and it is an absolution of him from them, and a declaration that they contradict his religion — and it is a pronouncement by Him, Mighty and Exalted is He, in favor of the people of Islam and of the community of the Prophet ﷺ, that they are the people of his religion, that they follow his way and his ordinances, and not the rest of the adherents of the creeds and religions besides them.

   Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, says: Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian, and he was not among the polytheists who worship the idols and the false deities, or a creature alongside his Creator, who is the deity of creation and their Originator. "But he was upright (ḥanīf)" — that is to say: a follower of the command of Allah and of His obedience, steadfast upon the way of guidance whose observance He commanded. "Submitting (muslim)" — that is to say: one who humbly bows down with his heart before Allah, abases himself before Him with his limbs, and submits to the ordinances He has imposed upon him and made obligatory.

   * * *

   We have already previously set forth the disagreement of the exegetes concerning the meaning of "the upright one (al-ḥanīf)," and we have demonstrated the statement which, of their statements, is most in accord with correctness, in a manner that frees us from repetition.

   * * *

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this explanation, the exegetes have spoken.

   Mention of who said that:

   7211 — Isḥāq ibn Shāhīn al-Wāsiṭī related to me, saying: Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said: The Jews said: Ibrāhīm followed our religion. And the Christians said: He followed our religion. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, revealed: "Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian" — the verse. Thus Allah refuted them and rebutted their argument — that is to say: the Jews who claimed that Ibrāhīm died as a Jew.

   7212 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, the like of it.

   7213 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Zuhrī informed me, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUqba, on the authority of Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh — I think that he relates it only on the authority of his father —: that Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl set out for Syria, inquiring after the religion and following it. He met a scholar of the Jews and asked him about his religion, and said: Perhaps I will adopt your religion, so tell me about your religion. The Jew said to him: You will not adopt our religion until you take upon yourself your share of the wrath of Allah. Zayd said: It is only the wrath of Allah that I am fleeing from, and I will never carry anything of the wrath of Allah upon me as long as I can avoid that. Can you then direct me to a religion in which this is not found? He said: I know of none, unless it be an upright one (ḥanīf)! He said: And what is the upright one (ḥanīf)? He said: The religion of Ibrāhīm; he was neither a Jew nor a Christian, and he worshipped nothing but Allah. Then he left him and met a scholar of the Christians, and asked him about his religion and said: Perhaps I will adopt your religion, so tell me about your religion. He said: You will not adopt our religion until you take upon yourself your share of the curse of Allah. He said: I will never carry anything of the curse of Allah upon me, nor anything of the wrath of Allah, as long as I can avoid that. Can you then direct me to a religion in which this is not found? Then he said to him approximately the same as what the Jew had said: I know of none, unless it be an upright one (ḥanīf). Then he left him, content with that about which the two had informed him and upon which they had agreed concerning the matter of Ibrāhīm. And he continued unceasingly to raise his hands to Allah and said: O Allah, I call You to witness that I adhere to the religion of Ibrāhīm.

   Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī related to us:

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (67) قال أبو جعفر: وهذا تكذيبٌ من الله عز وجل دعوَى الذين جادلوا في إبراهيم وملته من اليهود والنصارى، وادَّعوا أنه كان على ملتهم = وتبرئة لهم منه، وأنهم لدينه مخالفون = وقضاءٌ منه عز وجل لأهل الإسلام ولأمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم أنهم هم أهل دينه، وعلى منهاجه وشرائعه، دون سائر أهل الملل والأديان غيرهم. يقول الله عز وجل: = ما كان إبراهيم يهوديًّا ولا نصرانيًّا ولا كان من المشركين، (48) الذين يعبدون الأصنامَ والأوثانَ أو مخلوقًا دون خالقه الذي هو إله الخلق وبارئهم =" ولكن كان حنيفًا "، يعني: متبعًا أمرَ الله وطاعته، مستقيمًا على محجَّة الهدى التي أمر بلزومها =" مسلمًا "، يعني: خاشعًا لله بقلبه، متذللا له بجوارحه، مذعنًا لما فَرَض عليه وألزمه من أحكامه. (49) * * * وقد بينا اختلاف أهل التأويل في معنى " الحنيف " فيما مضى، ودللنا على القول الذي هو أولى بالصحة من أقوالهم، بما أغنى عن إعادته. (50) * * * وبنحو ما قلنا في ذلك من التأويل قال أهل التأويل. ذكر من قال ذلك: 7211 - حدثني إسحاق بن شاهين الواسطي قال، حدثنا خالد بن عبد الله، عن داود، عن عامر، قال: قالت اليهود: إبراهيم على ديننا. وقالت النصارى: هو على ديننا. فأنـزل الله عز وجل: " ما كان إبراهيم يهوديًّا ولا نصرانيًّا " الآية، فأكذبهم الله، وأدحض حجتهم - يعني: اليهودَ الذين ادّعوا أن إبراهيم ماتَ يهوديًّا. (51) 7212 - حدثنا المثنى قال، حدثنا إسحاق قال، حدثنا ابن أبي جعفر، عن أبيه، عن الربيع مثله. &; 6-495 &; 7213 - حدثني يونس بن عبد الأعلى قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب قال، أخبرني يعقوب بن عبد الرحمن الزهري، عن موسى بن عقبة، عن سالم بن عبد الله - لا أراه إلا يحدثه عن أبيه -: أنّ زيد بن عمرو بن نفيل خرَج إلى الشام يسأل عن الدِّين، ويتبعه، فلقي عالمًا من اليهود، فسأله عن دينه، وقال: إني لعلِّي أنْ أدين دينكم، فأخبرني عن دينكم. فقال له اليهودي: إنك لن تكون على ديننا حتى تأخذ بنصيبك من غضب الله. قال زيد: ما أفرّ إلا من غضب الله، ولا أحمل من غَضب الله شيئًا أبدًا وأنا أستطيع. فهل تدلني على دين ليس فيه هذا؟ (52) قال: ما أعلمه إلا أن يكون حنيفًا! (53) قال: وما الحنيف؟ قال: دين إبراهيم، لم يك يهوديًّا ولا نصرانيًّا، وكان لا يعبد إلا الله. فخرج من عنده فلقي عالمًا من النصارى، فسأله عن دينه فقال: إني لعلِّي أن أدين دينكم، فأخبرني عن دينكم. قال: إنك لن تكون على ديننا حتى تأخذ بنصيبك من لعنة الله. قال: لا أحتمل من لعنة الله شيئًا، ولا من غضب الله شيئًا أبدًا، وأنا أستطيع، (54) فهل تدلني على دين ليس فيه هذا؟ فقال له نحوًا مما قاله اليهودي: لا أعلمه إلا أن يكون حنيفًا. (55) فخرج من عنده، وقد رَضِي الذي أخبراه والذي اتفقا عليه من شأن إبراهيم، فلم يزل رافعًا يديه إلى الله وقال: (56) اللهم إني أشهِدك أني على دين إبراهيم. (57) &; 6-496 &; أخبرنا أبو بكر محمد بن داود بن سليمان قال، حدثنا محمد بن جرير الطبري: -----------------