Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   And His word ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا ("That We requited them for their ingratitude"). He, exalted is His mention, says: this is what We did to this people of Sabaʾ, namely that We sent upon them the flood of the dam (sayl al-ʿarim), until their possessions perished and their gardens were destroyed, as a requital from Our side for their disbelief in Us and their denial of Our messengers. And the word "dhālika" (that) in His statement ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ ("that We requited them") is in the accusative, on account of the verb "jazaynāhum" (We requited them) that governs it. The meaning of the statement is: We requited them that for their ingratitude.

   And His word وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ("And do We requite any but the utterly ungrateful?"). The reciters differed in its recitation. Most of the reciters of Medina and Basra and some of the people of Kufa recited it وَهَلْ يُجَازَى ("And is anyone requited") with the yāʾ and with a fatḥa on the zāy, in the form of the passive ("that which is not named after its agent"), and إِلا الْكَفُورُ ("but the utterly ungrateful") in the nominative. And most of the reciters of Kufa recited it وَهَلْ نُجَازِي ("And do We requite") with the nūn and with a kasra on the zāy, and إِلا الكَفُورَ ("but the utterly ungrateful") in the accusative.

   The correct view concerning this is that they are two well-known recitations among the reciters of the regions, with mutually close meaning. With whichever of the two the reciter recites, he has the correct one. The meaning of the statement is: thus did We reward them for their ingratitude, and is anyone but the utterly ungrateful for the grace of Allah requited?

   If someone were to say: does Allah then not requite the people who believe in Him for their good deeds, such that He singles out the people of disbelief with the requital, whereby it is said: and is anyone but the utterly ungrateful requited? Then it is answered: the requital (mujāzāt) in this place means repayment according to desert (mukāfaʾa). And Allah, exalted is His mention, has promised the people who believe in Him the bounty, and that for every single one of their good deeds He will grant tenfold thereof, up to a multiplication without end. And He has promised the evildoer among His servants that for every single one of his evil deeds He will grant the like thereof as repayment for his offense. The repayment according to desert (mukāfaʾa) is for the people of the grave sins and disbelief, while the requital (jazāʾ) — with the bounty — is for the people of faith. Therefore He, mighty is His praise, said in this place وَهَلْ يُجَازَى إِلا الْكَفُورُ ("And is anyone but the utterly ungrateful requited?"). It is as though He, mighty is His praise, said: no one is requited — no one is repaid according to desert for his deed — but the utterly ungrateful, since the repayment according to desert is equal to that for which the repayment is made, while Allah forgives him nothing of his sins, and nothing thereof is wiped out in this world.

   As for the believer, the bounty is bestowed upon him in the manner that I have described.

   And as for what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (taʾwīl) have spoken.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَهَلْ نُجَازِي ("And do We requite"): We punish.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ("That We requited them for their ingratitude; and do We requite any but the utterly ungrateful?"). Indeed, when Allah, the Exalted, desires honor for His servant, He accepts his good deeds; and when He desires abasement for His servant, He retains his sins for him until he comes with them on the Day of Resurrection. He said: and it was related to us that a man, while he was on one of the roads of Medina, past whom a woman passed, fixed his gaze upon her until he ran into a wall and gashed his face open. Then he came to the prophet of Allah ﷺ while his face was streaming with blood, and he said: O prophet of Allah, I have done such and such. Then the prophet of Allah ﷺ said to him: "Indeed, when Allah desires honor for a servant, He hastens for him the punishment of his sin in this world; and when Allah desires abasement for a servant, He retains his sin for him until he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection, like a donkey with a docked tail."

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله ( ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا ) يقول تعالى ذكره: هذا الذي فعلنا بهؤلاء القوم من سبأ من إرسالنا عليهم سيل العرم، حتى هلكت أموالهم، وخربت جناتهم، جزاءً منَّا على كفرهم بنا، وتكذيبهم رسلنا، و " ذَلِكَ" من قوله (ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ) في موضع نصب بموقوع جزيناهم عليه، ومعنى الكلام: جزيناهم ذلك بما كفروا. وقوله ( وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ) اختلفت القراء في قراءته؛ فقرأته عامة قراء المدينة والبصرة وبعض أهل الكوفة (وهل يُجازَى) بالياء وبفتح الزاي على وجه ما لم يسمَّ فاعله (إلا الْكَفُورُ) رفعًا. وقرأ ذلك عامة قراء الكوفة (وهل نُجَازِي) بالنون وبكسر الزاي (إلا الكَفُور) بالنصب. والصواب من القول في ذلك أنهما قراءتان مشهورتان في قراء الأمصار، متقاربتا المعنى، فبأيتهما قرأ القارىء فمصيب، ومعنى الكلام: كذلك كافأناهم على كفرهم بالله وهل يجازى إلا الكفور لنعمة الله. فإن قال قائل: أوما يجزي الله أهل الإيمان به على أعمالهم الصالحة، فيخص أهل الكفر بالجزاء؟ فيقال: وهل يجازى إلا الكفور؟ قيل: إن المجازاة في هذا الموضع المكافأة، والله تعالى ذكره وعد أهل الإيمان به التفضل عليهم، وأن يجعل لهم بالواحدة من أعمالهم الصالحة عشر أمثالها إلى ما لا نهاية له من التضعيف، ووعد المسيء من عباده أن يجعل بالواحدة من سيئاته مثلها مكافأة له على جرمه، والمكافأة لأهل الكبائر والكفر، والجزاء لأهل الإيمان مع التفضل، فلذلك قال جل ثناؤه في هذا الموضع (وَهَلْ يُجَازَى إِلا الْكَفُورُ) ؟ كأنه قال جل ثناؤه: لا يجازى: لا يكافأ على عمله إلا الكفور، إذا كانت المكافأة مثل المكافَأ عليه، والله لا يغفر له من ذنوبه شيئًا، ولا يمحص شيء منها في الدنيا. وأما المؤمن فإنه يتفضل عليه على ما وصفت. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أَبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا، عن ابن أَبي نجيح، عن مجاهد (وَهَلْ نُجَازِي) : نعاقب. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة ( ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ) إن الله تعالى إذا أراد بعبده كرامة تقبل حسناته، وإذا أراد بعبده هوانًا أمسك عليه ذنوبه حتى يُوَافَى به يوم القيامة. قال: وذُكر لنا أن رجلا بينما هو في طريق من طريق المدينة، إذ مرت به امرأة، فأتبعها بصره، حتى أتى على حائط، فشج وجهه، فأتى نبي الله ووجهه يسيل دمًا، فقال: يا نبي الله فعلت كذا وكذا، فقال له نبي الله: " إن الله إذا أراد بعبد كرامة عجل له عقوبة ذنبه في الدنيا، وإذا أراد الله بعبد هوانًا أمسك عليه ذنبه حتى يُوافَى به يوم القيامة، كأنه عَيرٌ أبتر ".