Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   His word سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ("Peace! A word from a Merciful Lord" — 36:58): for placing "peace" (salām) in the nominative there are two possibilities according to the statement of some grammarians of Kūfa. The first is that it is a predicate of "what they desire" (mā yaddaʿūn), so that the meaning of the statement is: and they have what they desire, assigned to them and reserved purely for them. If the meaning of the statement is construed in that way, then "word" (qawl) is in the accusative as a confirmation that proceeds from "peace" (salām), as though it were said: and they have therein what they desire, assigned to them, pure and true; as though it were said: He uttered it as a word. The second possibility is that His word سَلامٌ ("peace") is in the nominative by way of praise, in the meaning: it is peace for them, as a word from Allah. And it has been mentioned that in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh it reads سَلامًا قَوْلا ("peace, a word"), where the report ends at His word وَلَهُمْ مَا يَدَّعُونَ ("and they have what they desire"); then "peace" (salāman) is in the accusative as a confirmation, in the meaning: assigned to them, as a word. And some grammarians of Baṣra said: "word" (qawlan) is in the accusative as a replacement of the expression by the verb, as though He said: I say that as a word. He said: and whoever places it in the accusative places it in the accusative as a predicate of the definite, according to His word وَلَهُمْ ("and they have") therein مَا يَدَّعُونَ ("what they desire").

   And what is most correct, according to that which the narration of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī supports, is that سَلامٌ ("peace") is a predicate of His word وَلَهُمْ مَا يَدَّعُونَ ("and they have what they desire"); then the meaning of it is: and they have therein what they desire, and that is a peace from Allah to them, in the meaning: a greeting of peace (taslīm) from Allah; and "word" (qawl) is then a further specification of "what they desire," and the word proceeds from His word: "peace."

   I have called this most correct because of what Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī related to us, saying: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muqriʾ related to us, on the authority of Ḥarmala, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Ḥumayd, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb narrate to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, he said: when Allah is finished with the people of the Garden (janna) and the people of the Fire (al-nār), He draws near walking in shades of clouds and with the angels, and stations Himself before the foremost of the people of the highest rank, and greets them with peace, and they answer His greeting of peace — and that is in the Qurʾān سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ("Peace! A word from a Merciful Lord"). Then He says: ask! And they say: what would we ask of You? By Your power and Your majesty, if You were to distribute among us the provisions of the two weighty groups (al-thaqalān), we would feed them, give them drink, and clothe them. Then He says: ask! And they say: we ask You for Your good pleasure. Then He says: My good pleasure has caused you to dwell in the abode of My honor. And He does that with the people of every rank, until He finishes. He said: and if one of the women of the heavenly maidens with large eyes (al-ḥūr al-ʿīn) were to appear, the light of her two bracelets would extinguish the sun and the moon — how then would it be with her who wears them!

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ḥarmala related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Ḥumayd, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī narrate to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, he said: when Allah is finished with the people of the Garden and the people of the Fire, He draws near in shades of clouds and with the angels, he said: then He greets the people of the Garden with peace, and they answer His greeting of peace. Al-Quraẓī said: and this is in the Book of Allah سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ("Peace! A word from a Merciful Lord"). Then He says: ask Me! And they say: what would we ask of You, O Lord? He said: no, ask Me. They said: we ask You, O Lord, for Your good pleasure. He said: My good pleasure has caused you to dwell in the abode of My honor. They said: O Lord, and what is it that we would ask of You! By Your power, Your majesty, and the loftiness of Your place, if You were to distribute among us the provision of the two weighty groups, we would feed them, give them drink, clothe them, and serve them, without it diminishing anything from us. He said: I have yet more. He said: and Allah does that with them in their ranks, until He takes His seat upon His throne. He said: thereafter the gifts of Allah come to them, which the angels carry to them. Then he mentioned something similar.

   Ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Ḥarmala related to us, saying: Sulaymān ibn Ḥumayd related to us, that he heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī narrate to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, he said: when Allah is finished with the people of the Garden and the people of the Fire, He draws near walking in shades of clouds and stations Himself. He said: then he mentioned something similar, except that he said: and they say: what then would we ask of You, O Lord? By Your power, Your majesty, and the loftiness of Your place, if You were to distribute among us the provisions of the two weighty groups — the jinn and mankind — we would feed them, give them drink, and serve them, without that diminishing in the least anything of what we have. He said: yes indeed, so ask Me. They said: we ask You for Your good pleasure. He said: My good pleasure has caused you to dwell in the abode of My honor. And He does this with the people of every rank, until He arrives at His throne. And the rest of the narration is the same as that.

   This statement which Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb made indicates that "peace" (salām) is a clarification of His word مَا يَدَّعُونَ ("what they desire"), and that the word (qawl) proceeds from "peace." And His word مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ("from a Merciful Lord") means: merciful toward them, since He did not punish them for the crime that they had formerly committed in this world.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله ( سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ) في رفع سلامٌ وجهان في قول بعض نحويّي الكوفة؛ أحدهما: أن يكون خبرا لما يدّعون، فيكون معنى الكلام: ولهم ما يدّعون مسلَّم لهم خالص. وإذا وُجِّه معنى الكلام إلى ذلك كان القول حينئذ منصوبا توكيدا خارجا من السلام، كأنه قيل: ولهم فيها ما يدّعون مسلَّم خالص حقا، كأنه قيل: قاله قولا. والوجه الثاني: أن يكون قوله ( سَلامٌ) مرفوعا على المدح، بمعنى: هو سلام لهم قولا من الله. وقد ذُكر أنها في قراءة عبد الله: (سَلامًا قَوْلا) على أن الخبر متناه عند قوله ( وَلَهُمْ مَا يَدَّعُونَ ) ثم نصب سلاما على التوكيد، بمعنى: مسلما قولا. وكان بعضُ نحويّي البصرة يقول: انتصب قولا على البدل من اللفظ بالفعل، كأنه قال: أقول ذلك قولا. قال: ومن نصبها نصبها على خبر المعرفة على قوله ( وَلَهُمْ) فيها(مَا يَدَّعُونَ) . والذي هو أولى بالصواب على ما جاء به الخبر عن محمد بن كعب القُرَظِيّ، أن يكون ( سَلامٌ) خبرا لقوله ( وَلَهُمْ مَا يَدَّعُونَ ) فيكون معنى ذلك: ولهم فيها ما يدعون، وذلك هو سلام من الله عليهم، بمعنى: تسليم من الله، ويكون قَولا ترجمة ما يدعون، ويكون القول خارجا من قوله: سلام. وإنما قلت ذلك أولى بالصواب لما حَدَّثنا به إبراهيم بن سعيد الجوهري، قال: ثنا أبو عبد الرحمن المقري عن حرملة، عن سليمان بن حميد، قال: سمعت محمد بن كعب، يحدث عمر بن عبد العزيز، قال: إذا فرغ الله من أهل الجنة وأهل النار، أقبل يمشي في ظُلَل من الغمام والملائكة، فيقف على أول أهل درجة، فيسلم عليهم، فيردون عليه السلام، وهو في القرآن ( سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ) فيقول: سَلُوا، فيقولون: ما نسألك وعزتك وجلالك، لو أنك قسمت بيننا أرزاق الثَّقَلين لأطعمناهم وسقيناهم وكسوناهم، فيقول: سَلُوا، فيقولون: نسألك رضاك، فيقول: رضائي أحلَّكم دار كرامتي، فيفعل ذلك بأهل كلّ درجة حتى ينتهي، قال: ولو أن امرأة من الحُور العِين طلعت لأطفأ ضوء سِوَارَيْها الشمس والقمر، فكيف بالمُسَوَّرة " . حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: ثنا حرملة، عن سليمان بن حميد، قال: سمعت محمد بن كعب القرظي يحدث عمر بن عبد العزيز، قال: إذ فرغ الله من أهل الجنة وأهل النار، أقبل في ظُلَل من الغمام والملائكة، قال: فيسلم على أهل الجنة، فيردون عليه السلام، قال القُرظي: وهذا في كتاب الله ( سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ) ؟ فيقول: سَلُوني، فيقولون: ماذا نسألك، أي رَبّ؟ قال: بل سلوني قالوا: نسألك أي ربّ رضاك، قال: رضائي أحلكم دار كرامتي، قالوا: يا رب وما الذي نسألك! فوعزتك وجلالك، وارتفاع مكانك، لو قسمت علينا رزق الثقلين لأطعمناهم، ولأسقيناهم، ولألبسناهم ولأخدمناهم، لا يُنقصنا ذلك شيئا، قال: إن لدي مزيدا، قال: فيفعل الله ذلك بهم في درجهم حتى يستوي في مجلسه، قال: ثم تأتيهم التحف من الله تحملها إليهم الملائكة. ثم ذكر نحوه . حدثنا ابن سنان القزاز، قال: ثنا أبو عبد الرحمن، قال: ثنا حرملة، قال: ثنا سليمان بن حميد، أنه سمع محمد بن كعب القرظي يحدث عمر بن عبد العزيز، قال: إذا فرغ الله من أهل الجنة وأهل النار، أقبل يمشي في ظُلل من الغمام ويقف، قال: ثم ذكر نحوه، إلا أنه قال: فيقولون: فماذا نسألك يا رب، فوعزتك وجلالك وارتفاع مكانك، لو أنك قسمت علينا أرزاق الثقلين، الجن والإنس، لأطعمناهم، ولسقيناهم، ولأخدمناهم، من غير أن ينتقص ذلك شيئًا مما عندنا، قال: بلى فسلوفي، قالوا: نسألك رضاك، قال: رضائي أحلَّكم دار كرامتي، فيفعل هذا بأهل كلّ درجة، حتى ينتهي إلى مجلسه. وسائر الحديث مثله ". فهذا القول الذي قاله محمد بن كعب، ينبىء عن أنَّ " سلام " بيان عن قوله ( مَا يَدَّعُونَ) ، وأن القول خارج من السلام. وقوله ( مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ ) يعني: رحيم بهم إذ لم يعاقبهم بما سلف لهم من جُرْم في الدنيا. ------------------------ الهوامش: (2) هذا جزء من بيت لذي الرمة (ديوانه 422) وصدره: "خدودا جفت في السير حتى كأنما". وخدودا منصوب مفعول به لكسا في البيت الذي قبله. وقال شارح ديوانه: أرادوا كسوا حيث موتت الرياح خدودا .. إلخ. أي صيروا المكان الذي ناموا فيه كسوة الخدود. ا هـ. والمعزاء: الأرض فيها الحجارة والحصى. والأرائك؛ واحدها أريكة وهي السرير في الحجلة. يقول: من شدة النوم يرون الأرض ذات الحجارة مثل الفرش على الأرائك. واستشهد أبو عبيدة بالبيت في مجاز القرآن (الورقة 207) عند قوله تعالى: (على الأرائك) وقال: واحدتها: أريكة، وهو الفرش في الحجال. قال ذو الرمة: "خدودا ..." البيت، جعلها فراشا.