Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His word: رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ (Our Lord, it is You who will gather mankind for a Day about which there is no doubt; indeed, Allah does not break His promise) (3:9).

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by this that they also say — alongside their saying: "We believe in that which is ambiguous (mutashābih) among the verses of the Book of our Lord; the whole of it — both the clear (muḥkam) and the ambiguous that is therein — comes from our Lord": "O our Lord, indeed it is You who will gather mankind for a Day about which there is no doubt; indeed, Allah does not break His promise."

   This belongs to the kind of speech in which, by mentioning what is mentioned, one is able to dispense with what is omitted. For the meaning of the word is: Our Lord, indeed it is You who will gather mankind for the Day of Resurrection, so forgive us on that Day and pardon us, for You do not break Your promise: that whoever believes in You, follows Your Messenger, and acts in accordance with what You have commanded him in Your Book — that You will forgive him on that Day.

   This, on the part of the people, is nothing other than a request to their Lord to confirm them in that upon which they stand of their good insight (174), in the faith (īmān) in Allah and His Messenger and in what He has brought them of revelation, until He takes them away in the best of their deeds and their faith. For when He does that with them, Paradise becomes obligatory for them, because He has promised every one of His servants with whom He deals in this way, that He will admit him into Paradise (janna).

   The verse, although it has taken the form of a report, has according to its interpretation, on the part of the people, the import of a request, a supplication, and a yearning toward their Lord.

   * * *

   As for the meaning of His word: "for a Day about which there is no doubt," that is: about which there is no doubt. We have already expounded this earlier with the proofs of its correctness. (175)

   * * *

   And the meaning of His word: "for a Day" (li-yawmin) is: on a Day (fī yawmin). That is a Day on which Allah gathers His creation for the decisive pronouncement of judgment among them, at the place of the presentation (ʿarḍ) and the reckoning (ḥisāb).

   * * *

   "And the promise" (al-mīʿād) is a form according to the pattern "al-mifʿāl," derived from "al-waʿd" (the promise).

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   The footnotes:

   (174) In the printed edition it reads: "of their good help," which has no meaning; in the manuscript it reads: "their help," without diacritical points, and what I have established is the correct reading of it.

   (175) See what has already preceded 1: 228, 378 / then 6: 78.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ (9) قال أبو جعفر: يعني بذلك جل ثناؤه أنهم يقولون أيضًا = مع قولهم: آمنا بما تشابه من آي كتاب ربّنا، كلّ المحكم والمتشابه الذي فيه من عند ربنا =: يا ربنا،" إنك جامعُ الناس ليوم لا ريب فيه إنّ الله لا يخلف الميعاد ". وهذا من الكلام الذي استُغنى بذكر ما ذكر منه عما ترك ذكره. وذلك أن معنى الكلام: ربنا إنك جامع الناس ليوم القيامة، فاغفر لنا يومئذ واعف عنا، فإنك لا تخلف وَعْدك: أنّ من آمن بك، واتَّبع رَسُولك، وعمل بالذي أمرتَه به في كتابك، أنك غافره يومئذ. وإنما هذا من القوم مسألة ربَّهم أن يثبِّتهم على ما هم عليه من حُسن بَصيرتهم، (174) بالإيمان بالله ورسوله، وما جاءهم به من تنـزيله، حتى يقبضهم على أحسن أعمالهم وإيمانهم، فإنه إذا فعل ذلك بهم، وجبتْ لهم الجنة، لأنه قد وعد من فعل ذلك به من عباده أنه يُدخله الجنة. فالآية، وإن كانت قد خرجت مخرج الخبر، فإن تأويلَها من القوم: مسألةٌ ودعاءٌ ورغبة إلى ربهم. * * * وأما معنى قوله: " ليوم لا ريب فيه "، فإنه: لا شك فيه. وقد بينا ذلك بالأدلة على صحته فيما مضى قبل. (175) * * * ومعنى قوله: " ليوم "، في يوم. وذلك يومٌ يجمع الله فيه خلقَه لفصل القضاء بينهم في موقف العَرضْ والحساب. * * * " والميعاد "" المفعال "، من " الوعد ". ------------------------ الهوامش : (174) في المطبوعة: "من حسن نصرتهم" ، ولا معنى لها ، وفي المخطوطة: "نصرتهم". غير منقوطة ، والذي أثبته هو صواب قراءتها. (175) انظر ما سلف 1: 228 ، 378 / ثم 6: 78.