Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the word of the Exalted: And Allah created you from earth, then from a drop, then He made you into pairs. And no woman conceives nor gives birth except with His knowledge. And no one grows old, nor is anything diminished of his lifespan, except that it is in a Book. Indeed, that is easy for Allah (11)

   The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: (And Allah created you) O people (from earth) — by this He means that He created their father Adam from earth; and He made the creation of their father from it a creation for them. (Then from a drop) — He says: then He created you from the drop of the man and the woman. (Then He made you into pairs) — by this He means that He paired the woman among them with the man.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) also spoke.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to me, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (And Allah created you from earth) — by this He means Adam. (Then from a drop) — by this He means his descendants. (Then He made you into pairs) — thus He paired some of you with others.

   And His word ( And no woman conceives nor gives birth except with His knowledge ) — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and no woman among you, O people, carries a pregnancy nor a drop, except that He knows of her pregnancy and her giving birth, and what it is: a boy or a girl? Nothing of that remains hidden from Him.

   And His word ( And no one grows old, nor is anything diminished of his lifespan, except that it is in a Book ) — the exegetes differed concerning the explanation of that. Some of them said: its meaning is: and no one who grows old grows old such that his life is lengthened, nor is anything diminished from the life of another than him in relation to the life of the one who was granted a long life, (except that it is in a Book) written with Him before his mother became pregnant with him and before she gave birth to him; He counted and knew all of that before He created him; to what is written for him nothing is added nor anything taken away.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word (And no one grows old…) up to (easy) — he says: there is no one for whom I have decreed a long life and existence, except that he reaches what I have determined of lifespan for him, and I have decreed that for him; and he comes only to the Book that I have determined for him, nothing being added to it. And there is no one for whom I have decreed that he be short in life and existence, who reaches the high age, but he comes to the Book that I have determined for him, nothing being added to it. That, then, is His word ( Nor is anything diminished of his lifespan, except that it is in a Book ) — He says: all of that is in a Book with Him.

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: whoever I have decreed that he grow old until old age reaches him, or whoever grows old less than that, each reaches his term that is decreed for him; all of that is in a Book.

   Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word ( And no one grows old, nor is anything diminished of his lifespan, except that it is in a Book ) — he said: do you not see people? One person lives a hundred years, and another dies as soon as he is born. Such is this. And the "hu" (his) in His word (nor is anything diminished of his lifespan) refers, according to this explanation, even though outwardly it appears to be a reference to the name of the first-mentioned one who grows old, to the name of another than him; and that is acceptable because, if the one to whom it refers were to be explicitly mentioned, this would occur with the wording of the first. That is like their expression: I have a garment and the half of it, where the meaning is: and the half of another.

   And others said: rather its meaning is: and no one who grows old grows old, nor is anything diminished of his life through the passing of what passes of the days of his life — that, then, is the diminution of his life; and the "hu" refers, according to this explanation, to the first-mentioned one who grows old, because the meaning of the statement is: no one's life is lengthened, and nothing of his life is lost so that it is diminished, except that it is in a Book written with Allah, which He has counted and known.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Abū Ḥaṣīn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūnus related to me, he said: ʿAbthar related to us, he said: Ḥaṣīn related to us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning this verse ( And no one grows old, nor is anything diminished of his lifespan, except that it is in a Book ) — he said: nothing passes of his days that are counted for him, except that it is in a Book.

   And the more preferred of the two explanations concerning that is, according to me, the correct one, namely the first explanation; and that is because it is the clearest of its two meanings, and the most in agreement with the apparent sense of the revelation.

   And His word (Indeed, that is easy for Allah) — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: indeed, the counting of the lifespans of His creatures is easy and simple for Him, whether it be long or short; nothing of that is difficult for Him.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَى وَلا تَضَعُ إِلا بِعِلْمِهِ وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ (11) يقول تعالى ذكره: (وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ) أيها الناس (مِنْ تُرَابٍ) يعني بذلك أنه خلق أباهم آدم من تراب؛ فجعل خلق أبيهم منه لهم خلقًا(ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ) يقول: ثم خلقكم من نطفة الرجل والمرأة (ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا) يعني أنه زوج منهم الأنثى من الذكر. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ) يعني آدم (ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ) يعني ذريته (ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا) فزوج بعضكم بعضًا. وقوله ( وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَى وَلا تَضَعُ إِلا بِعِلْمِهِ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وما تحمل من أنثى منكم أيها الناس من حمل ولا نطفة إلا وهو عالم بحملها إياه ووضعها وما هو؟ ذكر أو أنثى؟ لا يخفى عليه شيء من ذلك. وقوله ( وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في تأويل ذلك؛ فقال بعضهم: معناه: وما يعمر من معمر فيطول عمره، ولا ينقص من عمر آخر غيره عن عمر هذا الذي عمر عمرًا طويلا(إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ) عنده مكتوب قبل أن تحمل به أمه، وقبل أن تضعه، قد أحصى ذلك كله وعلمه قبل أن يخلقه، لا يزاد فيما كتب له ولا ينقص. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثنى أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس قوله (وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ ...) إلى (يَسِير) يقول: ليس أحد قضيت له طول العمر والحياة إلا وهو بالغ ما قدرت له من العمر، وقد قضيت ذلك له، وإنما ينتهي إلى الكتاب الذي قدرت له لا يزاد عليه، وليس أحد قضيت له أنه قصير العمر والحياة ببالغ العمر، ولكن ينتهي إلى الكتاب الذي قدرت له لا يزاد عليه فذلك قوله ( وَلا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ ) يقول: كل ذلك في كتاب عنده. حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: من قضيت له أن يعمر حتى يدركه الكبر، أو يعمر أنقص من ذلك، فكل بالغ أجله الذي قد قضى له، كل ذلك في كتاب. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ ) قال: ألا ترى الناس؛ الإنسان يعيش مائة سنة، وآخر يموت حين يولد؟ فهذا هذا، فالهاء التي في قوله (ولا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ) على هذا التأويل، وإن كانت في الظاهر أنها كناية عن اسم المعمر الأول، فهي كناية اسم آخر غيره، وإنما حسن ذلك لأن صاحبها لو أظهر لظهر بلفظ الأول، وذلك كقولهم: عندي ثوب ونصفه، والمعنى: ونصف الآخر. وقال آخرون: بل معنى ذلك: وما يعمر من معمَّر ولا ينقص من عمره بفناء ما فني من أيام حياته، فذلك هو نقصان عمره، والهاء على هذا التأويل للمعمر الأول، لأن معنى الكلام: ما يطول عمر أحد، ولا يذهب من عمره شيء، فيُنقَص إلا وهو في كتاب عند الله مكتوب، قد أحصاه وعلمه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني أَبو حصين عبد الله بن أحمد بن يونس قال: ثنا عبثر قال: ثنا حصين عن أَبي مالك في هذه الآية ( وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلا فِي كِتَابٍ ) قال: ما يقضي من أيامه التي عددت له إلا في كتاب. وأولى التأويلين في ذلك عندي الصواب التأويل الأول، وذلك أن ذلك &; 20-449 &; هو أظهر معنييه، وأشبههما بظاهر التنـزيل. وقوله (إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ) يقول تعالى ذكره: إن إحصاء أعمار خلقه عليه يسير سهل، طويل ذلك وقصيره، لا يتعذر عليه شيء منه.