Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   (وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ) — "And do you forsake the Best of creators?" — He says: and do you forsake the worship of the Best of those who are called "creator"?

   People have differed over the meaning of baʿl. Some said: its meaning is, "Do you call upon a lord (rabb)?" And they said: this is a well-known dialectal form among the people of Yemen.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ḥaramī ibn ʿUmāra related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: ʿUmāra informed me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ), he said: a god.

   ʿImrān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, saying: ʿUmāra related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ), he says: do you call upon a lord? And that is the dialectal form of the people of Yemen; one says: "Who is the baʿl of this bull?", that is to say: who is its owner (rabb)?

   Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida and Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, both of them 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 his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ), he said: a lord.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ), he said: this is a Yemeni dialectal form: do you call upon a lord instead of Allah?

   Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ), he said: a lord.

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Yazīd, who said: I was with Ibn ʿAbbās, and they asked him about this verse ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ). He said: then Ibn ʿAbbās fell silent, and a man said: I am her baʿl (husband). Thereupon Ibn ʿAbbās said: this answer suffices me.

   Others said: it was an idol they had, called Baʿl, and after it Baʿlabakk (Baalbek) is named.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ): this means an idol they had, called Baʿl.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning his statement ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ )? He said: Baʿl was an idol they worshipped; they dwelt in Baʿlak, and they lived beyond Damascus, and there was the Baʿl which they worshipped.

   Others said: Baʿl was a woman whom they worshipped.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: I heard some of the scholars say: Baʿl was nothing other than a woman whom they worshipped instead of Allah.

   The word al-baʿl has various meanings in the language of the Arabs. They call the owner of a thing its baʿl; one says: "this is the baʿl of this house," that is to say: its owner (rabb). And they call the husband of a woman her baʿl. And they call that of the plantation and crops which makes do with rainwater from the sky and is not irrigated but is baʿl, also al-ʿadhy (unirrigated land). And it has been mentioned that Allah sent Ilyās to the children of Israel after the demise of Ḥizqīl ibn Būzā (Ezekiel).

   And his history and the history of his people, insofar as it has been transmitted to us, is what Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: Allah caused Ḥizqīl to pass away, and the misdeeds increased among the children of Israel, and they forgot the covenant that Allah had imposed upon them, until they set up idols and worshipped them instead of Allah. Then Allah sent to them Ilyās ibn Yāsīn ibn Finḥāṣ ibn al-ʿAyzār ibn Hārūn ibn ʿImrān as a prophet. The prophets among the children of Israel after Mūsā were sent to them only to renew that of the Torah which they had forgotten. Ilyās was in the company of one of the kings of the children of Israel, named Aḥāb; the name of his wife was Arbal. This king listened to him and believed him, and Ilyās managed his affairs for him. The rest of the children of Israel, however, had taken an idol which they worshipped instead of Allah, called Baʿl.

   Ibn Isḥāq said: and I have heard some of the scholars say: ( "Baʿl was nothing other than a woman whom they worshipped instead of Allah" ); Allah says to Muḥammad ﷺ: ( وَإِنَّ إِلْيَاسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَلا تَتَّقُونَ أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ آبَائِكُمُ الأوَّلِينَ ) — ("And indeed, Ilyās was among the messengers. When he said to his people: Will you not fear Allah? Do you call upon Baʿl and forsake the Best of creators, Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers?"). Ilyās began calling them to Allah, but they did not listen to him at all, except for that one king. The kings were spread out over Syria (al-Shām), and each king had a portion of it which he consumed. One day that king, in whose company Ilyās was and whose affairs he managed and whom he saw to be upon right guidance among his companions, said: O Ilyās, by Allah, I see that to which you call only as vanity; and by Allah, I see so-and-so and so-and-so — and he enumerated kings among the kings of the children of Israel who had worshipped idols instead of Allah — in the same condition as that in which we are: they eat and drink and live in prosperity as rulers, and their worldly life is not diminished by that affair which you claim to be vanity, and we see for ourselves no superiority over them. So they claim — and Allah knows best — that Ilyās uttered "innā lillāh" (the words of resignation), and that the hair of his head and his skin stood on end; then he abandoned him and went away from him. Thereupon that king did as his companions did: he worshipped the idols and did what they did. Then Ilyās said: O Allah, indeed, the children of Israel have refused anything but to disbelieve in You and to devote worship to other than You; so change the favor in which they are — or words to that effect.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: and it was related to me that it was revealed to him: We have placed the disposal of their sustenance in your hand and entrusted it to you, so that you are the one who grants permission therein. Then Ilyās said: O Allah, then withhold the rain from them; and the rain was withheld from them for three years, until the cattle, the vermin, the beasts of burden, and the trees perished, and the people fell into severe hardship. Ilyās, as it is told, when he had supplicated this against the children of Israel, had concealed himself out of fear for his life from them. Wherever he was, sustenance would be laid out for him; and whenever they smelled the scent of bread in a house or dwelling, they would say: Ilyās has entered this place. Then they would search for him, and the inhabitants of that house would suffer harm from them. Then one night he took refuge with a woman of the children of Israel who had a son, named al-Yasaʿ ibn Akhṭūb, who suffered from an ailment. She gave him shelter and kept his presence hidden, and Ilyās supplicated for her son, and he was cured of the ailment he had, and al-Yasaʿ followed him as a young lad. So they claim — and Allah knows best — that it was revealed to Ilyās: you have caused to perish many of the creatures that disobeyed none other than the children of Israel — of the cattle, the beasts of burden, the birds, the vermin, and the trees — by the withholding of the rain from the children of Israel. So they claim — and Allah knows best — that Ilyās said: O my Lord, let me be the one who supplicates for them and the one who brings them relief from the trial in which they are, that perhaps they may return and withdraw from the worship of other than You. He was told: yes. Then Ilyās came to the children of Israel and said to them: indeed, you have perished through hardship, and the cattle, the beasts of burden, the birds, the vermin, and the trees have perished through your sins, and you are in vanity and delusion — or words to that effect to them. If you wish to know that this is so, and to know that Allah is wrathful with you for that in which you are, and that that to which I call you is the truth, then go out with these idols of yours which you worship and which you claim are better than that to which I call you; if they answer you, then it is as you say; and if they do not, then you know that you are in vanity, and then you withdraw, and then I will supplicate Allah, that He may remove from you the trial in which you are. They said: you have spoken fairly. Then they went out with their idols and with that by which they sought to draw near to Allah through their reprehensible innovations with which He was not pleased, and they called upon them, but they did not answer them and did not remove from them the trial in which they were, until they realized in what error and vanity they were. Then they said to Ilyās: O Ilyās, indeed, we have perished, so supplicate Allah for us. Then Ilyās supplicated for them for relief from that in which they were, and that they be provided with rain. Then a cloud appeared like a shield, by Allah's permission, above the surface of the sea, while they watched; then the clouds drove toward one another, swelled, and then He sent down the rain and brought them relief, and their lands came to life, and the trial in which they were was removed from them. Yet they did not withdraw and did not return, and they persisted in the most abominable state in which they were. When Ilyās saw this of their disbelief (kufr), he supplicated his Lord that He take him to Himself and grant him deliverance from them. Then he was told, as it is claimed: look out for such-and-such a day, and go out on it to such-and-such a land; and whatever comes to you, mount it and do not shrink from it. Then Ilyās went out, and with him went out al-Yasaʿ ibn Akhṭūb, until he was in the land that had been mentioned to him, at the place that had been commanded to him; then a horse of fire came toward him, until it halted before him, and he leaped upon it, and it carried him away. Then al-Yasaʿ called to him: O Ilyās, O Ilyās, what do you command me? And that was their last meeting with him. Then Allah clothed him with feathers and enveloped him in light, and He cut off from him the enjoyment of food and drink, and he flew about amid the angels; thus he was a human-angel, earthly and heavenly.

   Show original Arabic

   (وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ) يقول: وتَدعون عبادة أحسن مَن قيل له خالق. وقد اختلف في معنى بَعْل، فقال بعضهم: معناه: أتدعون ربا؟ وقالوا: هي لغة لأهل اليمن معروفة فيهم. * ذكر من قال ذلك : حدثنا ابن المثنى، قال: ثنا حرمي بن عمارة، قال: ثنا شعبة، قال: أخبرني عُمارة، عن عكرمة، في قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) قال: إلها. حدثنا عمران بن موسى، قال: ثنا عبد الوارث، قال: ثنا عمارة، عن عكرمة، في قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) يقول: أتدعون ربا، وهي لغة أهل اليمن، تقول: من بعل هذا الثور: أي من ربُّه؟ حدثني زكريا بن يحيى بن أبي زائدة ومحمد بن عمرو، قالا ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا، عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، في قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) قال: ربا. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) قال: هذه لغة باليمانية: أتدعون ربا دون الله. حدثنا محمد، قال: ثنا أحمد، قال: ثنا أسباط، عن السديّ، قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) قال: ربّا. حدثني محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، عن عبد الله بن أبي يزيد، قال: كنت عند ابن عباس فسألوه عن هذه الآية: ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) قال: فسكت ابن عباس، فقال رجل: أنا بعلها، فقال ابن عباس: كفاني هذا الجواب. وقال آخرون: هو صنم كان لهم يقال له بَعْل، وبه سميت بعلبك. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: أخبرنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا ) يعني: صنما كان لهم يسمى بَعْلا. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ ) ؟ قال: بعل: صنم كانوا يعبدون، كانوا ببعلك، وهم وراء دمشق، وكان بها البعل الذي كانوا يعبدون. وقال آخرون: كان بَعْل: امرأة كانوا يعبدونها. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا سلمة، عن ابن إسحاق، قال: سمعت بعض أهل العلم يقول: ما كان بَعْل إلا امرأة يعبدونها من دون الله. وللبَعْل في كلام العرب أوجه. يقولون لربّ الشيء هو بَعْله، يقال: هذا بَعْل هذه الدار، يعني ربُّها; ويقولون لزوج المرأة بعلُها; ويقولون لما كان من الغروس والزروع مستغنيا بماء السماء، ولم يكن سقيا بل هو بعل، وهو العَذْي. وذُكر أن الله بعث إلى بني إسرائيل إلياس بعد مهلك حِزْقيل بن يوزا. وكان من قصته وقصة قومه فيما بلغنا، ما حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا سلمة، عن محمد بن إسحاق، عن وهب بن منبه، قال: إن الله قبض حِزْقيل، وعظمت في بني إسرائيل الأحداث، ونُسوا ما كان من عهد الله إليهم، حتى نصبوا الأوثان وعبدوها دون الله، فبعث الله إليهم إلياس بن ياسين بن فنحاص بن العيزار بن هارون بن عمران نبيا. وإنما كانت الأنبياء من بني إسرائيل بعد موسى يُبعثون إليهم بتجديد ما نُسوا من التوراة، فكان إلياس مع ملك من ملوك بني إسرائيل، يقال له: أحاب، كان اسم امرأته: أربل، وكان يسمع منه ويصدّقه، وكان إلياس يقيم له أمره، وكان سائر بني إسرائيل قد اتخذوا صنما يعبدونه من دون الله يقال له بعل. قال ابن إسحاق: وقد سمعت بعض أهل العلم يقول: ( ما كان بعل إلا امرأة يعبدونها من دون الله ); يقول الله لمحمد: ( وَإِنَّ إِلْيَاسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَلا تَتَّقُونَ أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ آبَائِكُمُ الأوَّلِينَ ) فجعل إلياس يدعوهم إلى الله، وجعلوا لا يسمعون منه شيئا إلا ما كان من ذلك الملك، والملوك متفرّقة بالشام، كل ملك له ناحية منها يأكلها، فقال ذلك الملك الذي كان إلياس معه يقوم له أمره، ويراه على هدى من بين أصحابه يوما: يا إلياس، والله ما أرى ما تدعو إليه إلا باطلا والله ما أرى فلانا وفلانا - يعدّد ملوكًا من ملوك بني إسرائيل قد عبدوا الأوثان من دون الله- إلا على مثل ما نحن عليه، يأكلون ويشربون وينعمون مملكين، ما ينقص دنياهم أمرهم الذي تزعم أنه باطل، وما نرى لنا عليهم من فضل; فيزعمون- والله أعلم- أن إلياس استرجع وقام شعر رأسه وجلده، ثم رفضه وخرج عنه، ففعل ذلك الملك فعل أصحابه: عبد الأوثان، وصنع ما يصنعون، فقال إلياس: اللهمّ إن بني إسرائيل قد أبَوْا إلا أن يكفروا بك والعبادة لغيرك، فغير ما بهم من نعمتك ) أو كما قال. حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا سلمة، قال: ثنا محمد بن إسحاق، قال: فذكر لي أنه أوحي إليه: إنا قد جعلنا أمر أرزاقهم بيدك وإليك حتى تكون أنت الذي تأذن في ذلك، فقال إلياس: اللهم فأمسك عليهم المطر; فحبس عنهم ثلاث سنين، حتى هلكت الماشية والهوامّ والدوابّ والشجر، وجهد الناس جهدا شديدا. وكان إلياس فيما يذكرون حين دعا بذلك على بني إسرائيل قد استخفى، شفقا على نفسه منهم، وكان حيثما كان وضع له رزق، وكانوا إذا وجدوا ريح الخبز في دار أو بيت، قالوا: لقد دخل إلياس هذا المكان فطلبوه، ولقي منهم أهل ذلك المنـزل شرا. ثم إنه أوى ليلة إلى امرأة من بني إسرائيل لها ابن يقال له اليسع ابن أخطوب به ضرّ، فآوته وأخفت أمره، فدعا إلياس لابنها، فعُوفِيَ من الضرّ الذي كان به، واتبع اليسع غلاما شابا، فيزعمون- والله أعلم- أن أوحى إلى إلياس: إنك قد أهلكت كثيرا من الخلق ممن لم يعص سوى بني إسرائيل من البهائم والدوابّ والطير والهوامّ والشجر، بحبس المطر عن بني إسرائيل، فيزعمون والله أعلم أن إلياس قال: أي ربّ دعني أنا الذي أدعو لهم وأكون أنا الذي آتيهم بالفرج مما هم فيه من البلاء الذي أصابهم، لعلهم أن يرجعوا وينـزعوا عما هم عليه من عبادة غيرك، قيل له: نعم; فجاء إلياس إلى بني إسرائيل فقال لهم: إنكم قد هلكتم جهدا، وهلكت البهائم والدوابّ والطير والهوامّ والشجر بخطاياكم، وإنكم على باطل وغرور، أو كما قال لهم، فإن كنتم تحبون أن تعلموا ذلك، وتعلموا أن الله عليكم ساخط فيما أنتم عليه، وأن الذي أدعوكم إليه الحقّ، فاخرجوا بأصنامكم هذه التي تعبدون وتزعمون أنها خير مما أدعوكم إليه، فإن استجابت لكم، فذلك كما تقولون، وإن هي لم تفعل علمتم أنكم على باطل، فنـزعتم، ودعوت الله ففرّج عنكم ما أنتم فيه من البلاء، قالوا: أنصفت; فخرجوا بأوثانهم، وما يتقربون به إلى الله من إحداثهم الذي لا يرضى، فدعوها فلم تستجب لهم، ولم تفرج عنهم ما كانوا فيه من البلاء حتى عرفوا ما هم فيه من الضلالة والباطل، ثم قالوا لإلياس: يا إلياس إنا قد هلكنا فادع الله لنا، فدعا لهم إلياس بالفرج مما هم فيه، وأن يسقوا، فخرجت سحابة مثل التُّرس بإذن الله على ظهر البحر وهم ينظرون، ثم ترامى إليه السحاب، ثم أدحَسَتْ ثم أرسل المطر، فأغاثهم، فحيت بلادهم، وفرج عنهم ما كانوا فيه من البلاء، فلم ينـزعوا ولم يرجعوا، وأقاموا على أخبث ما كانوا عليه; فلما رأى ذلك إلياس من كفرهم، دعا ربه أن يقبضه إليه، فيريحه منهم، فقيل له فيما يزعمون: انظر يوم كذا وكذا، فاخرج فيه إلى بلد كذا وكذا، فماذا جاءوك من شيء فاركبه ولا تهبه; فخرج إلياس وخرج معه اليسع بن أخطوب، حتى إذا كان في البلد الذي ذُكر له في المكان الذي أُمر به، أقبل إليه فرس من نار حتى وقف بين يديه، فوثب عليه، فانطلق به، فناداه اليسع: يا إلياس، يا إلياس ما تأمرني؟ فكان آخر عهدهم به، فكساه الله الريش، وألبسه النور، وقطع عنه لذّة المطعم والمشرب، وطار في الملائكة، فكان إنسيا ملكيا أرضيا سَماويا.