Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: ادْعُوهُمْ لآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (5) (Call them after their fathers; that is more just with Allah. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your wards. And there is no sin upon you for that wherein you erred, but only for what your hearts have deliberately intended. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (5))

   Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Ascribe your adopted ones, whose lineage you have ascribed to yourselves, to their fathers. He says to His prophet Muhammad ﷺ: Add the lineage of Zayd to his father Ḥāritha, and do not call him Zayd ibn Muhammad. And His saying: هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدِ اللَّه (that is more just with Allah). He says: that you call them after their fathers is more just with Allah, and more truthful and more correct, than that you call them after other than their fathers and ascribe them, through us, to you — to those who have taken them as sons and claimed them as sons, while they are not their sons.

   As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying: ادْعُوهُمْ لآبائهِمْ هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ (Call them after their fathers; that is more just with Allah): that is, more just with Allah. And His saying: فإنْ لَمْ تَعْلمُوا آباءَهُمْ فَإخْوانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ (But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your wards). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: if you, O people, do not know the fathers of your adopted ones, who they are, so that you might ascribe them to them, and you do not know them, so that you might link them to them, فإخوانكم في الدين (then they are your brothers in religion). He says: then they are your brothers in religion, if they belong to the people of your religious community, and your wards (mawālī), if they are your freed ones — and they are not your sons.

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ادْعُوهُم لآبائهِمْ هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ (Call them after their fathers; that is more just with Allah): that is, more just with Allah. فإنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آباءَهُمْ فإخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ (But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your wards): if you do not know who his father is, then he is only your brother and your ward.

   Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of ʿUyayna ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of his father, who said: Abū Bakra said: Allah has said: ادْعُوهُمْ لآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ (Call them after their fathers; that is more just with Allah. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your wards). And I am one of those whose father is not known, and I am one of your brothers in religion. He said: My father said: By Allah, I truly think that had he known that his father was a donkey-driver, he would have linked himself to him.

   And His saying: وَلَيْسَ عَليْكُمْ جُناحٌ فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ (And there is no sin upon you for that wherein you erred). He says: there is no guilt upon you and no burden in an error that befalls you in ascribing someone whom you ascribe to his father, while you suppose that he is the son of the one to whom they ascribe him, but he is in reality the son of another. وَلَكِنْ ما تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (but only for what your hearts have deliberately intended). He says: but the sin and the burden are upon you in your ascribing him to other than his father, while you know that he is the son of someone other than the one to whom you ascribe him.

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُناحٌ فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ (And there is no sin upon you for that wherein you erred). He says: if you call a man after other than his father, while you suppose that it is so. وَلَكِنْ ما تَعمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (but only for what your hearts have deliberately intended). Allah says: do not deliberately call him after other than his father. As for the error, Allah will not call you to account for it. وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (but He will call you to account for what your hearts have deliberately intended).

   Muhammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Waraqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (your hearts have deliberately intended). He said: the deliberate intent is what occurs after the clarification and the prohibition, in this case and in others. And the word "mā" in His saying وَلَكِنْ ما تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (but only for what your hearts have deliberately intended) is in the genitive, in connection with the "mā" in His saying فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ (for that wherein you erred); and that is because the meaning of the saying is: there is no sin upon you for that wherein you erred, but only for what your hearts have deliberately intended.

   And His saying: وكانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيما (And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful). Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And Allah was concealing of the sin of whoever declared his wife to be as the back of his mother (ẓihār) and thereby spoke the false and lying word, and of whoever he rebuked who claimed the son of another as a son — if they both repent and return to the command of Allah and refrain from uttering the falsehood, after their Lord had forbidden them that; merciful toward them both, instead of punishing them for that after their repentance from their misdeed.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : ادْعُوهُمْ لآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (5) يقول الله تعالى ذكره: انسبوا أدعياءكم الذين ألحقتم أنسابهم بكم لآبائهم، يقول لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: ألحق نسب زيد بأبيه حارثة، ولا تدعه زيد بن محمد. وقوله: (هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدِ اللَّه) يقول: دعاؤكم إياهم لآبائهم هو أعدل عند الله، وأصدق وأصوب من دعائكم إياهم لغير آبائهم ونسبنكموهم إلى من تبنَّاهم وادّعاهم وليسوا له بنين. كما حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة قوله: (ادْعُوهُمْ لآبائهِمْ هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ) : أي أعدل عند الله، وقوله: (فإنْ لَمْ تَعْلمُوا آباءَهُمْ فَإخْوانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ) يقول تعالى ذكره: فإن أنتم أيها الناس لم تعلموا آباء أدعيائكم من هم فتنسبوهم إليهم، ولم تعرفوهم، فتلحقوهم بهم، (فإخوانكم في الدين) يقول: فهم إخوانكم في الدين، إن كانوا من أهل ملَّتكم، ومواليكم إن كانوا محرّريكم وليسوا ببنيكم. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (ادْعُوهُم لآبائهِمْ هُوَ أقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ) : أي أعدل عند الله (فإنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آباءَهُمْ فإخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ) فإن لم تعلموا من أبوه فإنما هو أخوك ومولاك. حدثني يعقوب، قال: ثنا ابن علية، عن عُيينة بن عبد الرحمن، عن أبيه، قال: قال أبو بكرة: قال الله: ( ادْعُوهُمْ لآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ ) فأنا ممن لا يُعرف أبوه، وأنا من إخوانكم في الدين، قال: قال أبي: والله إني لأظنه لو علم أن أباه كان حمَّارًا لانتمى إليه. وقوله: (وَلَيْسَ عَليْكُمْ جُناحٌ فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ) يقول: ولا حرج عليكم ولا وزر في خطأ يكون منكم في نسبة بعض من تنسبونه إلى أبيه، وأنتم ترونه ابن من ينسبونه إليه، وهو ابن لغيره (وَلَكِنْ ما تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) يقول: ولكن الإثم والحرج عليكم في نسبتكموه إلى غير أبيه، وأنتم تعلمونه ابن غير من تنسبونه إليه. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قَتادة (وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُناحٌ فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ) يقول: إذا دعوت الرجل لغير أبيه، وأنت ترى أنه كذلك (وَلَكِنْ ما تَعمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) يقول الله: لا تدعه لغير أبيه متعمدا. أما الخطأ فلا يؤاخذكم الله به (وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ). حدثني محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء، جميعا عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد (تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) قال: فالعمد ما أتى بعد البيان والنهي في هذا وغيره، و " ما " التي في قوله: (وَلَكِنْ ما تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) خفض ردّا على " ما " التي في قوله: (فِيما أخْطأْتُمْ بِهِ) وذلك أن معنى الكلام: ليس عليكم جناح فيما أخطأتم به، ولكن فيما تعمدت قلوبكم. وقوله: (وكانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيما) يقول الله تعالى ذكره: وكان الله ذا ستر على ذنب من ظاهر زوجته فقال الباطل والزور من القول، وذمّ من ادّعى ولد غيره ابنا له، إذا تابا وراجعا أمر الله، وانتهيا عن قيل الباطل بعد أن نهاهما ربهما عنه، ذا رحمة بهما أن يعاقبهما على ذلك بعد توبتهما من خطيئتهما.