Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   His word wa-qālū rabbanā ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā qabla yawmi l-ḥisāb ("And they said: 'Our Lord, hasten for us our portion before the Day of Reckoning'"): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: these polytheists who ascribe partners to Allah, from the Quraysh, said: "O our Lord, hasten for us our writings before the Day of Resurrection." The word al-qiṭṭ means in the language of the Arabs: the inscribed leaf, the written document. From this is the word of al-Aʿshā:

   And not even the king al-Nuʿmān, on the day I met him, who from his favor distributes the writings (al-quṭūṭ) and prefers some above others. (11)

   By al-quṭūṭ he means the plural of al-qiṭṭ, and those are the written grants of rewards.

   The scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning these polytheists intended by their request for the hastening of the qiṭṭ for them. Some of them said: they only asked their Lord to hasten their portion of the punishment (ʿadhāb) that has been prepared for them in the Hereafter, in this worldly life, just as some of them said: in kāna hādhā huwa l-ḥaqqa min ʿindika fa-amṭir ʿalaynā ḥijāratan mina l-samāʾi awi ʾtinā bi-ʿadhābin alīm ("If this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment").

   * Mention of who said that:

   ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word rabbanā ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā ("Our Lord, hasten for us our portion"): he says: the punishment.

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word wa-qālū rabbanā ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā qabla yawmi l-ḥisāb: he said: they asked Allah to hasten the punishment for them before the Day of Resurrection.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word lanā qiṭṭanā ("for us our portion"): he said: our punishment.

   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, concerning his word ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā ("hasten for us our portion"): he said: our punishment.

   Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word wa-qālū rabbanā ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā qabla yawmi l-ḥisāb: that is to say: our share, our portion of the punishment before the Day of Resurrection. He said: that is what Abū Jahl said: "O Allah, if what Muḥammad says is true, fa-amṭir ʿalaynā ḥijāratan mina l-samāʾ ('then rain down upon us stones from the sky')…" — the rest of the verse.

   And others said: no, they rather asked their Lord to hasten their portions and their dwelling places in the Garden (janna), so that they might see them and thereby know the reality of what Muḥammad — Allah bless him and grant him peace — promised them, in order then to believe in him and hold him truthful.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning his word ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā ("hasten for us our portion"): they said: show us our dwelling places in the Garden, so that we may follow you.

   And others said: their request concerned their portion in the Garden, but they asked for the hastening thereof for them in this worldly life.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Thābit al-Ḥaddād, saying: I heard Saʿīd ibn Jubayr say concerning his word ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā qabla yawmi l-ḥisāb ("hasten for us our portion before the Day of Reckoning"): he said: our portion in the Garden.

   And others said: no, they asked their Lord to hasten the provision (rizq).

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī related to me, saying: Ashʿath al-Sijistānī related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, concerning his word ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā: he said: our provision.

   And others said: they asked that He hasten for them their writings concerning which Allah said fa-ammā man ūtiya kitābahu bi-yamīnih ("as for him whose book is given in his right hand") and wa-ammā man ūtiya kitābahu bi-shimālih ("and as for him whose book is given in his left hand") — in this worldly life, so that they might see whether they are given to them in their right hands or in their left hands, and so that they might see whether they are of the people of the Garden or of the people of the Fire, before the Day of Resurrection — out of mockery on their part of the Qurʾān and of the promise of Allah.

   And the correct view in this, in my opinion, is that one says: the people asked their Lord to hasten their documents with their portions of good or evil, which Allah promised His servants to give them in the Hereafter, before the Day of Resurrection, in this worldly life — out of mockery of the warning (waʿīd) of Allah.

   And we only said that it is so, because the qiṭṭ is that which I have described: the writings with rewards and portions. And Allah has reported concerning these polytheists that they asked Him to hasten that for them, and then He followed that with His word to His Prophet: iṣbir ʿalā mā yaqūlūn ("bear patiently what they say"). From this it was known that their request to the Prophet — Allah bless him and grant him peace — had it not been by way of mockery on their part, would not have been something that was followed by the command to bear it patiently. But because it was mockery and in it lay an insult to the Messenger of Allah — Allah bless him and grant him peace —, Allah commanded him to bear it patiently until His judgment concerning them would come to him. And since there was in his word ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā no clarification of which of the documents they meant, there was no reason to direct that to the meaning that particular meanings of good or evil were intended by it. Therefore we said that their request pertained to what I have mentioned: their portions of good and evil.

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   The footnotes:

   (11) The verse is by al-Aʿshā, Maymūn ibn Qays (Dīwān, Cairo edition, p. 33), from a qaṣīda in which he praises al-Muḥalliq ibn Khantham ibn Shaddād ibn Rabīʿa. In it there is "bi-ummatihi" ("by his community") in place of "bi-niʿmatihi" ("from his favor"). And al-quṭūṭ is the plural of qiṭṭ, with kasra on the qāf, and that is the document with the grant; and yaʾfiqu, conjugated like yaḍribu, means: he prefers some people above others in the grants. It is one of the testimonies of Abū ʿUbayda in (Majāz al-Qurʾān, folio 213). He said concerning His word, the Exalted, "rabbanā ʿajjil lanā qiṭṭanā": al-qiṭṭ is the writing. He said: al-Aʿshā said "wa-lā l-malik" — the verse. Al-quṭūṭ are the writings with the grants; yaʾfiqu means: he prefers and exalts. One says: nāqa afiqa ("an excellent she-camel"), faras āfiq ("an excellent horse"), when one prefers it above others.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله ( وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وقال هؤلاء المشركون بالله من قريش: يا ربنا عجل لنا كتبنا قبل يوم القيامة. والقطّ في كلام العرب: الصحيفة المكتوبة; ومنه قول الأعشى: وَلا المَلِــكُ النُّعْمَــانُ يَـوْمَ لَقِيتُـهُ بِنِعْمَتِــهِ يُعْطِــي القُطُـوطَ وَيـأْفِقُ (11) يعني بالقُطوط: جمع القط, وهي الكتب بالجوائز. واختلف أهل التأويل في المعنى الذي أراد هؤلاء المشركون بمسألتهم تعجيل القطّ لهم, فقال بعضهم: إنما سألوا ربهم تعجيل حظهم من العذاب الذي أعد لهم في الآخرة في الدنيا, كما قال بعضهم: إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ . * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني عليّ, قال: ثنا عبد الله, قال: ثني معاوية, عن عليّ, عن ابن عباس, قوله ( رَبَّنَا عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) يقول: العذاب. حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: ثني عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس, قوله ( وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ ) قال: سألوا الله أن يعجل لهم العذاب قبل يوم القيامة. حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا حكام, عن عنبسة, عن محمد بن عبد الرحمن, عن القاسم بن أبي بزّة, عن مجاهد, في قوله ( لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) قال: عذابنا. حدثني محمد بن عمرو, قال: ثنا أبو عاصم, قال: ثنا عيسى; وحدثني الحارث, قال: ثنا الحسن, قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا، عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد, قوله ( عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) قال: عذابنا. حدثني بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قوله ( وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ ) أي نصيبنا حظنا من العذاب قبل يوم القيامة, قال: قد قال ذلك أبو جهل: اللهمّ إن كان ما يقول محمد حقا فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ ... الآية. وقال آخرون: بل إنما سألوا ربهم تعجيل أنصبائهم ومنازلهم من الجنة حتى يروها فيعلموا حقيقة ما يعدهم محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم فيؤمنوا حينئذ به ويصدّقوه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قوله ( عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) قالوا: أرنا منازلنا في الجنة حتى نتابعك. وقال آخرون: مسألتهم نصيبهم من الجنة, ولكنهم سألوا تعجيله لهم في الدنيا. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن بشار, قال: ثنا عبد الرحمن, قال: ثنا سفيان, عن ثابت الحدّاد, قال: سمعت سعيد بن جُبَير يقول في قوله ( عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْحِسَابِ ) قال: نصيبنا من الجنة. وقال آخرون: بل سألوا ربهم تعجيل الرزق. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن عمر بن عليّ, قال: ثنا أشعث السجستاني, قال: ثنا شعبة, عن إسماعيل بن أبي خالد في قوله ( عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) قال: رزقنا. وقال آخرون: سألوا أن يعجل لهم كتبهم التي قال قال الله فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِشِمَالِهِ في الدنيا, لينظروا بأيمانهم يعطونها أم بشمائلهم؟ ولينظروا من أهل الجنة هم, أم من أهل النار قبل يوم القيامة استهزاء منهم بالقرآن وبوعد الله. وأولى الأقوال في ذلك عندي بالصواب أن يقال: إن القوم سألوا ربهم تعجيل صِكاكهم بحظوظهم من الخير أو الشر الذي وعد الله عباده أن يؤتيهموها في الآخرة قبل يوم القيامة في الدنيا استهزاء بوعيد الله. وإنما قلنا إن ذلك كذلك, لأن القطّ هو ما وصفت من الكتب بالجوائز والحظوظ, وقد أخبر الله عن هؤلاء المشركين أنهم سألوه تعجيل ذلك لهم, ثم أتبع ذلك قوله لنبيه: اصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ فكان معلوما بذلك أن مسألتهم ما سألوا النبي صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم لو لم تكن على وجه الاستهزاء منهم لم يكن بالذي يتبع الأمر بالصبر عليه, ولكن لما كان ذلك استهزاء, وكان فيه لرسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم أذى, أمره الله بالصبر عليه حتى يأتيه قضاؤه فيهم, ولما لم يكن في قوله ( عَجِّلْ لَنَا قِطَّنَا ) بيان أيّ القطوط إرادتهم, لم يكن لما توجيه ذلك إلى أنه معني به القطوط ببعض معاني الخير أو الشرّ, فلذلك قلنا إن مسألتهم كانت بما ذكرت من حظوظهم من الخير والشر. ------------------------ الهوامش: (11) البيت للأعمش ميمون بن قيس (ديوان طبع القاهرة ص 33) من قصيدة يمدح بها المحلق بن خنثم بن شداد بن ربيعة. وفيه"بأمته" في مكان"بنعمته" . والقطوط : جمع قط بكسر القاف ، وهو الصك بالجائزة ، ويأفق كيضرب يفضل بعض الناس في الجوائز على بعض وهو من شواهد أبي عبيدة في (مجاز القرآن ، الورقة 2131) قال في قوله تعالى :" ربنا عجل لنا قطنا" القط : الكتاب قال الأعشى :"ولا الملك" البيت القطوط : الكتب بالجوائز يأفق يفضل ويعلو . يقال : ناقة أفقة ، وفرس آفق إذا فضله على غيره.