Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (10) (Whoever desires honour: to Allah belongs all honour. To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it up. And those who plot evil schemes, for them there is a severe punishment, and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing.)

   The scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of His saying مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا (Whoever desires honour: to Allah belongs all honour). Some of them said: its meaning is: whoever desires honour through the worship of the idols and the graven images, truly, to Allah belongs all honour.

   * Mention of those 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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the saying of Allah مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ (Whoever desires honour), he says: whoever desires honour through his worship of the idols, truly, to Allah belongs all honour.

   And others said: its meaning is: whoever desires honour, let him then seek honour through obedience to Allah.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his saying مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا (Whoever desires honour: to Allah belongs all honour), he says: let him then seek honour through obedience to Allah.

   And others said: no, rather its meaning is: whoever wishes to know to whom honour belongs, truly, it belongs wholly and entirely to Allah, that is to say: every form of honour belongs to Allah.

   And the saying which, in my view, accords most with correctness is the saying of the one who said: whoever desires honour, let him then seek honour through Allah, for to Allah belongs all honour, and not to anything other than Him of the idols and the graven images.

   And I have said that this accords most with correctness because the verses that precede this verse dealt with Allah's punishment of the polytheists (mushrikīn) for their worship of the graven images, His rebuke of them, and His threat against them concerning that. It is therefore most fitting that this verse too be of the same kind, namely an exhortation to abandon that, so that its account resembles the account of that and lies along the same line.

   And His saying إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ (To Him ascends the good word): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: to Allah ascends the servant's remembrance of Him and his praise of Him. وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (and the righteous deed raises it up), he says: and the righteous deed of the servant raises up to Him his remembrance of his Lord; and that is acting in accordance with His obedience, fulfilling His obligations, and adhering to what He has commanded.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Aḥmasī related to me, saying: Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn informed me, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Masʿūdī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mukhāriq, on the authority of his father al-Mukhāriq ibn Sulaym, he said: ʿAbd Allāh said to us: when we relate to you a tradition, we bring you the confirmation of it from the Book of Allah. Truly, when the Muslim servant says: 'Glory be to Allah and praised be He, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest, blessed be Allah', then an angel takes them and places them beneath his wings, and then ascends with them to heaven; and he passes therewith no group of angels but they ask forgiveness for the one who uttered them, until he brings them to the Face of the Most Merciful. Then ʿAbd Allāh recited وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (and the righteous deed raises it up).

   Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Saʿīd al-Jurayrī informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shaqīq, he said: Kaʿb said: truly, 'Glory be to Allah', 'praise be to Allah', 'there is no god but Allah' and 'Allah is the Greatest' have around the Throne a humming like the humming of the bees, calling their utterer to remembrance; and the righteous deed is in the treasuries.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab al-Ashʿarī, his saying إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it up), he said: the righteous deed raises up the good word.

   ʿAlī related to me, Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his saying إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it up), he said: the good word is the remembrance of Allah, and the righteous deed is the fulfilment of His obligations. So whoever remembers Allah, glory be to Him, in fulfilling His obligations, his remembrance of Allah is thereby borne and carried up with him to Allah. And whoever remembers Allah but does not fulfil His obligations, his word is cast back upon his deed, and that is then more befitting for him.

   Muḥammad 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: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, his saying إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it up), he said: the righteous deed raises up the good word.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his saying إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ (To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it up), he said: al-Ḥasan and Qatāda said: Allah accepts no word except with a deed; whoever speaks and performs the deed well, from him Allah accepts it.

   And His saying وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ (And those who plot evil schemes): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and those who acquire the evil deeds, for them there is the punishment of Hell (jahannam).

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to me, on the authority of Qatāda, his saying وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ (And those who plot evil schemes, for them there is a severe punishment), he said: these are the people of associating partners with Allah (shirk).

   And His saying وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing), he says: and the deed of these polytheists (mushrikīn) comes to nothing, is annulled and vanishes, because it was not for Allah, so that it did not benefit the one who performed it.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing), that is to say: becomes corrupted.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Sufyān informed us, on the authority of Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing), he said: they are the people of ostentation (riyāʾ).

   Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to me, saying: Sahl ibn Abī ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Jaʿfar al-Aḥmar related to us, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, concerning his saying وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing), he said: they are the people of ostentation (riyāʾ).

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning his saying وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (and the scheming of these is precisely that which comes to nothing), he said: it came to nothing, so that it did not benefit them and they derived no benefit from it, and it brought harm upon them.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ (10) اختلف أهل التأويل في معنى قوله ( مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا ) فقال بعضهم: معنى ذلك: من كان يريد العزة بعبادة الآلهة والأوثان فإن العزة لله جميعًا. * 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 في قول الله ( مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ ) يقول: من كان يريد العزة بعبادته &; 20-444 &; الآلهة فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا. وقال آخرون: معنى ذلك من كان يريد العزة فليتعزز بطاعة الله. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة قوله ( مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا ) يقول: فليتعزز بطاعة الله. وقال آخرون: بل معنى ذلك: من كان يريد علم العزة لمن هي، فإنها لله جميعًا كلها أي: كل وجه من العزة فلله. والذي هو أولى الأقوال بالصواب عندي قول من قال: من كان يريد العزة فبالله فليتعزز، فلله العزة جميعًا، دون كل ما دونه من الآلهة والأوثان. وإنما قلت: ذلك أولى بالصواب لأن الآيات التي قبل هذه الآية، جرت بتقريع الله المشركين على عبادتهم الأوثان، وتوبيخه إياهم، ووعيده لهم عليها، فأولى بهذه أيضًا أن تكون من جنس الحث على فراق ذلك، فكانت قصتها شبيهة بقصتها، وكانت في سياقها. وقوله ( إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: إلى الله يصعد ذكر العبد إياه وثناؤه عليه (وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ) يقول: ويرفع ذكر العبد ربه إليه عمله الصالح، وهو العمل بطاعته، وأداء فرائضه والانتهاء إلى ما أمر به. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن إسماعيل الأحمسي قال: أخبرني جعفر بن عون عن عبد الرحمن بن عبد الله المسعودي عن عبد الله بن المخارق عن أبيه المخارق بن سليم قال: قال لنا عبد الله: إذا حدثناكم بحديث أتيناكم بتصديق ذلك من كتاب الله، إن العبد المسلم إذا قال: سبحان الله وبحمده، الحمد لله لا إله إلا الله، والله أكبر، تبارك الله، أخذهن ملك فجعلهن تحت جناحيه ثم صعد بهن إلى السماء، فلا يمر بهن على جمع من الملائكة إلا استغفروا لقائلهن حتى يحيي بهن وجه الرحمن، ثم قرأ عبد الله ( وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ ). حدثني يعقوب بن إبراهيم، قال: ثنا ابن عُلية، قال: أخبرنا سعيد الجريري عن عبد الله بن شقيق قال: قال كعب: إن لسبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر، لدويًّا حول العرش كدوي النحل يذكرن بصاحبهن والعمل الصالح في الخزائن. حدثني يونس، قال: ثنا سفيان عن ليث بن أبي سليم عن شهر بن حوشب الأشعري قوله (إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ) قال: العمل الصالح يرفع الكلم الطيب. حدثني علي، ثنا أَبو صالح قال: ثني معاوية، عن علي، عن ابن عباس قوله (إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ) قال: الكلام الطيب: ذكر الله، والعمل الصالح: أداء فرائضه، فمن ذكر الله سبحانه في أداء فرائضه حمل عليه ذكر الله فصعد به إلى الله، ومن ذكر الله، ولم يؤد فرائضه رد كلامه على عمله فكان أولى به. حدثني 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 قوله (إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ) قال: العمل الصالح يرفع الكلام الطيب. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة قوله (إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ) قال: قال الحسن وقتادة: لا يقبل الله قولا إلا بعمل، من قال وأحسن العمل قبل الله منه. وقوله (وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ) يقول تعالى ذكره: والذين يكسبون السيئات لهم عذاب جهنم. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثني سعيد، عن قتادة قوله ( وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ ) قال: هؤلاء أهل الشرك. وقوله (وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ) يقول: وعمل هؤلاء المشركين يبور، فيبطل فيذهب؛ لأنه لم يكن لله، فلم ينفع عامله. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ) أى: يفسد. حدثني يونس قال: أخبرنا سفيان عن ليث بن أبي سليم عن شهر بن حوشب (وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ) قال: هم أصحاب الرياء. حدثني محمد بن عمارة قال: ثنا سهل بن أبي عامر قال: ثنا جعفر الأحمر عن شهر بن حوشب في قوله (وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ) قال: هم أصحاب الرياء. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله (وَمَكْرُ أُولَئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ) قال: بار فلم ينفعهم ولم ينتفعوا به، وضرهم.