Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of Him, the Exalted: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ All praise belongs to Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who makes the angels messengers, possessing wings — two, three, and four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is capable of all things. (1)

   He, exalted is His remembrance, says: Perfect thanks belong to the Worshipped One to whom alone worship is due, and which belongs to none other than Him; the Creator of the seven heavens and the earth, (who makes the angels messengers) to whomever He wills of His servants, and in whatever He wills of His command and prohibition. (Possessing wings — two, three, and four) — he says: possessors of wings, namely the angels: among them are those who have two wings, among them are those who have three wings, and among them are those who have four.

   As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, (possessing wings — two, three, and four), he said: some of them have two wings, some of them three, and some of them four.

   The Arabic philologists differed concerning the reason why mathnā (two by two), thulātha (three by three), and rubāʿa (four by four) are not provided with the nunation (ṣarf), even though they are an appositive of "wings," and "wings" is indefinite. Some of the grammarians of Basra said: their nunation was omitted because they are derived (altered) from their root forms; and that is because mathnā is derived from ithnayn, thulātha from thalātha, and rubāʿa from arbaʿa. So it is derived just as ʿUmar and Zufar, since this is altered from ʿĀmir to ʿUmar and that from Zāfir to Zufar. And one of them recited concerning that:

   And indeed, I killed you, two by two and one by one, and I left Marra behind like yesterday that has turned its back.

   And another of them said: that did not receive the nunation because it implies the meaning of three and four; he said: and this is only used in the state of counting.

   And some of the grammarians of Kūfa said: they are altered from the definite forms (al-maʿārif), because the article alif-lām cannot be applied to them and the construct connection (iḍāfa) cannot be applied to them. He said: and if the iḍāfa and the article alif-lām were applied to them, then they would be definite, while it is an appositive of the indefinite. He said: and likewise is the case with what occurs in the Qurʾān such as أَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى that you stand for Allah, two by two and singly, and likewise wuḥād and uḥād and what resembles them of altered numerals.

   And His saying (He increases in creation what He wills) — that is His increase, hallowed and exalted is He, in the creation of this angel with more wings than another, according to what He wills, and His decrease of them relative to another, according to what He loves. And likewise is that in all of His creation: He increases what He wills in the creation of whatever He wills thereof, and He decreases what He wills from the creation of whatever He wills. To Him belong the creation and the command, and to Him belong the power and the dominion. (Indeed, Allah is capable of all things) — he says: indeed, Allah, exalted is His remembrance, is capable of increasing what He wills thereof in what He wills, and of decreasing what He wills thereof in whomever He wills, and of all other things besides that; the performing of anything He has willed, hallowed and exalted is He, is not impossible for Him.

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   The footnotes:

   (5) The verse is by Ṣakhr ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamī. It has already been cited previously as a testimony, with other testimonies, in (4 : 337) of this tafsīr; consult it there. Abū ʿUbayda recited it in Majāz al-Qurʾān (folio 201); he said: mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa means: two, three, and four. The grammarians claimed that, when it was altered from its root form, it was not nunated in these forms. Ṣakhr ibn ʿAmr said: "And indeed, I killed you … the verse." End.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلائِكَةِ رُسُلا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلاثَ وَرُبَاعَ يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (1) يقول تعالى ذكره: الشكر الكامل للمعبود الذي لا تصلح العبادة إلا له، ولا ينبغي أن تكون لغيره خالق السماوات السبع والأرض، (جَاعِلِ الْمَلائِكَةَ رُسُلا) إلى من يشاء من عباده، وفيما شاء من أمره ونهيه (أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلاثَ وَرُبَاعَ) يقول: أصحاب أجنحة يعني ملائكة، فمنهم من له اثنان من الأجنحة، ومنهم من له ثلاثة أجنحة، ومنهم من له أربعة. كما حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَثْنَى وَثُلاثَ وَرُبَاعَ) قال: بعضهم له جناحان وبعضهم ثلاثة وبعضهم أربعة. واختلف أهل العربية في علة ترك إجراء مثنى وثلاث ورباع، وهي ترجمة عن أجنحة وأجنحة نكرة؛ فقال بعض نحويي البصرة: تُرك إجراؤهن لأنهن مصروفات عن وجوههن، وذلك أن مثنى مصروف عن اثنين وثلاث عن ثلاثة ورباع عن أربعة، فصرف نظير عُمَرَ وَزُفَرَ، إذ صرف هذا عن عامر إلى عمر وهذا عن زافر إلى زفر، وأنشد بعضهم في ذلك: وَلَقَــدْ قَتَلْتُكُــمْ ثُنَــاءَ وَمَوْحَــدَا وَتَــركتُ مـرَّةَ مِثْـلَ أمسِ المُدبِـرِ (5) وقال آخر منهم: لم يصرف ذلك لأنه يوهم به الثلاثة والأربعة، قال: وهذا لا يستعمل إلا في حال العدد. وقال بعض نحويي الكوفة: هن مصروفات عن المعارف، لأن الألف واللام لا تدخلها، والإضافة لا تدخلها، قال: ولو دخلتها الإضافة والألف واللام لكانت نكرة، وهي ترجمة عن النكرة، قال: وكذلك ما كان في القرآن مثل أَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى وكذلك وحاد وأحاد، وما أشبهه من مصروف العدد. وقوله (يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ) وذلك زيادته تبارك وتعالى في خلق هذا الملك من الأجنحة على الآخر ما يشاء، ونقصانه عن الآخر ما أحب، وكذلك ذلك في جميع خلقه يزيد ما يشاء في خلق ما شاء منه، وينقص ما شاء من خلق ما شاء، له الخلق والأمر وله القدرة والسلطان (إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ) يقول: إن الله تعالى ذكره قدير على زيادة ما شاء من ذلك فيما شاء، ونقصان ما شاء منه ممن شاء، وغير ذلك من الأشياء كلها، لا يمتنع عليه فعل شيء أراده سبحانه وتعالى. ------------------------ الهوامش: (5) البيت لصخر بن عمرو بن الشريد السلمي. وقد تقدم الاستشهاد به، مع شواهد أخرى في (4 : 337) من هذا التفسير فراجعه ثمة. وأنشده أبو عبيدة في مجاز القرآن (الورقة 201) قال: مثنى وثلاث ورباع: مجازه: اثنين، وثلاثة، وأربعة. فزعم النحويون أنه لما صرف عن وجهه لم ينون فيهن. قال صخر بن عمرو: "ولقد قتلتكم ..... البيت" . ا . هـ.