Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   His statement ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ) [And We strengthened his kingship]: the scholars of exegesis differed concerning the manner in which He strengthened his kingship. Some of them said: He strengthened it by means of the armies and the men, for every day and night four thousand men guarded him, four thousand.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ), he said: every day and night four thousand men guarded him, four thousand.

   And others said: that with which He strengthened his kingship was that he was granted awe in the eyes of the people because of a judicial verdict he had rendered.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Ibn Ḥarb related to me, saying: Mūsā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿIlbāʾ ibn Aḥmar, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that a man of the children of Israel brought a complaint against a man of their notables. The two of them came together before the prophet Dāwūd ﷺ, and the plaintiff said: this man has forcibly taken cows of mine from me. Dāwūd questioned the man about that, but he denied it. He asked the other for proof, but he had no proof. Dāwūd said to the two of them: go until I consider your case. They left him, and Allah revealed to Dāwūd in his sleep that he should kill the man against whom the complaint had been brought. He said: this is a dream, and I will not act hastily until I have certainty. Then Allah revealed to Dāwūd once more in his sleep that he should kill the man, and Allah revealed to him a third time that he should kill him, or that the punishment of Allah would befall him. Dāwūd then sent a messenger to the man: truly, Allah has revealed to me that I must kill you. The man said: are you going to kill me without proof and without certainty?! Dāwūd said to him: yes, by Allah, I will carry out the command of Allah upon you. When the man realized that he was going to kill him, he said: do not act hastily against me until I inform you. Truly, by Allah, I have not been seized for this sin, but I treacherously ambushed the father of this man and killed him, and so I am being killed. Dāwūd gave the command concerning him, and he was killed. Thereupon the awe of the children of Israel for Dāwūd grew great, and by that his kingship was strengthened. That is the statement of Allah: ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ).

   And the most correct of the statements concerning this is to say: truly, Allah, blessed and exalted is He, has informed that He strengthened the kingship of Dāwūd, but He has not made clear whether that strengthening took place by means of the men and the armies rather than the people's awe of him, nor that it took place by the people's awe of him rather than the armies. It is possible that that strengthening took place by part of what we have mentioned, and it is possible that it took place by all of it together. And no statement concerning this has a greater right to correctness than the statement of Allah, since no report has been transmitted that is trustworthy and that restricts this meaning to one part of the meanings of "strengthening" and to which one must submit.

   His statement ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ) [And We gave him wisdom]: the scholars of exegesis differed concerning the meaning of "wisdom" in this place. Some of them said: by it is meant prophethood.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ), he said: prophethood.

   And others said: by it is meant that he had the knowledge of the prophetic practices (sunan).

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ): that is, the sunna.

   And we have set forth the meaning of "wisdom" in a place other than this one with its evidences, and that makes its repetition in this place unnecessary.

   His statement ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) [and the decisive utterance]: the scholars of exegesis differed concerning its meaning. Some of them said: by it is meant that he had the knowledge of judicial rendering and the understanding of it.

   * Mention of who said that:

   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 ( وآتيناه الحكمة وفصل الخطاب ), he said: understanding was bestowed upon him.

   Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: the correct striking of the judgment and the understanding of it.

   Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: the knowledge of judicial rendering.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: the disputes over which people litigate before him — the decisive utterance concerning them, the well-understood address, and the correct striking of the judgment and the proofs.

   Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, he said: I heard Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān say: the decisive utterance is: judicial rendering.

   And others said: no, its meaning is: and the decisive utterance, namely that the claimant must produce proof and the one against whom the claim is made must take an oath.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind informed us, saying: al-Shaʿbī or another related to me, on the authority of Shurayḥ, that he said concerning His statement ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ): the proof of the claimant, or the oath of the one against whom the claim is made.

   Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, concerning His statement ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: it was reported to me on the authority of Shurayḥ that he said: two witnesses or an oath.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muʿtamir related to us, saying: I heard Dāwūd say: it has reached me that Shurayḥ said ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ): the two witnesses against the claimant, and the oath for the one who denies.

   Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, that Shurayḥ said to a man: truly, this man criticizes before me that which was bestowed upon Dāwūd: the witnesses and the oaths.

   Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Shurayḥ, that he said concerning this verse ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ): the witnesses and the oaths.

   ʿImrān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His statement ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: an oath or a witness.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ): the proof rests upon the claimant, and the oath upon the one against whom the claim is made; this is the decisive utterance.

   And others said: no, it is the statement: "To proceed" (ammā baʿd).

   * Mention of who said that:

   Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His statement ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ), he said: the statement of the man: "To proceed" (ammā baʿd).

   And the most correct of the statements concerning this is to say: truly, Allah has informed that He bestowed upon Dāwūd, the blessings of Allah be upon him, the "decision of the address" (faṣl al-khiṭāb). And "al-faṣl" is: the severing, and "al-khiṭāb" is: the addressing. Now whoever severs the address between one man and another at the moment that one of the two turns to his companion for a judgment — the one to whom recourse is made severs the judgment between the disputing party and its adversary with a correct judgment. And whoever also severs the address of his companion by imposing upon the one addressed in the judgment that which is incumbent upon him — if he is a claimant, that is the production of proof for his claim, and if he is the one against whom the claim is made, that is imposing the oath upon him if his adversary demands it. And whoever also severs the address which is the oration (khuṭba) upon concluding one subject and beginning another, separates these two from each other with "to proceed" (ammā baʿd). Since all of this is possible and in accordance with the literal meaning of the report, and there is in this verse no indication as to which of these is meant, nor has any reliable report from the Messenger ﷺ been transmitted concerning this, the correct course is to take the statement in a general sense, as Allah has kept it general. So one says: Dāwūd was bestowed the "decision of the address" in judicial rendering, in disputation, and in orations.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في المعنى الذي به شدّد ملكه, فقال بعضهم: شدّد ذلك بالجنود والرجال, فكان يحرسه كل يوم وليلة أربعة آلاف, أربعة آلاف. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قوله ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ) قال: كان يحرسه كلّ يوم وليلة أربعة آلاف, أربعة آلاف. وقال آخرون: كان الذي شدد به ملكه, أن أعطي هيبة من الناس له لقضية كان قضاها. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني ابن حرب, قال: ثنا موسى, قال: ثنا داود, عن علباء بن أحمر, عن عكرمة, عن ابن عباس, أن رجلا من بني إسرائيل استعدى على رجل من عظمائهم, فاجتمعا عند داود النبيّ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم فقال المستعدي: إن هذا اغتصبني بقرًا لي, فسأل داود الرجل عن ذلك فجحده, فسأل الآخر البيِّنة, فلم يكن له بيِّنة, فقال لهما داود: قوما حتى أنظر في أمركما; فقاما من عنده, فأوحى الله إلى داود في منامه أن يقتل الرجل الذي استعدي عليه, فقال: هذه رؤيا ولست أعجل حتى أتثبت, فأوحى الله إلى داود في منامه مرة أخرى أن يقتل الرجل, وأوحى الله إليه الثالثة أن يقتله أو تأتيه العقوبة من الله, فأرسل داود إلى الرجل: إن الله قد أوحى إلي أن أقتلك, فقال الرجل: تقتلني بغير بينة ولا تثبت؟! فقال له داود: نعم, والله لأنفذنّ أمر الله فيك; فلما عرف الرجل أنه قاتله, قال: لا تعجل عليّ حتى أخبرك, إني والله ما أُخِذت بهذا الذنب, ولكني كنت اغتلت والد هذا فقتلته, فبذلك قُتلت, فأمر به داود فقُتل, فاشتدت هيبة بني إسرائيل عند ذلك لداود, وشدد به مُلْكه, فهو قول الله: ( وَشَدَدْنَا مُلْكَهُ ). وأولى الأقوال في ذلك بالصواب أن يقال: إن الله تبارك تعالى أخبر أنه شَدَّد ملك داود, ولم يحضر ذلك من تشديده على التشديد بالرجال والجنود دون الهيبة من الناس له ولا على هيبة الناس له دون الجنود. وجائز أن يكون تشديده ذلك كان ببعض ما ذكرنا, وجائز أن يكون كان بجميعها, ولا قول أولى في ذلك بالصحة من قول الله, إذ لم يحر ذلك على بعض معاني التشديد خبر يجب التسليم له. وقوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في معنى الحكمة في هذا الموضع, فقال بعضهم: عني بها النبوة. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط عن السديّ, قوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ) قال: النبوّة. وقال آخرون: عنى بها أنه علم السنن. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ ) : أي السنة. وقد بينا معنى الحكمة في غير هذا الموضع بشواهده, فأغنى ذلك عن إعادته في هذا الموضع. وقوله ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في معنى ذلك, فقال بعضهم: عني به أنه علم القضاء والفهم به. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: ثني عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس ( وآتيناه الحكمة وفصل الخطاب ) قال: أعطي الفهم. حدثنا أبو كُرَيب, قال: ثنا ابن إدريس, عن ليث, عن مجاهد ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: إصابة القضاء وفهمه. حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, في قوله ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: علم القضاء. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: الخصومات التي يخاصم الناس إليه فصل ذلك الخطاب, الكلام الفهم, وإصابة القضاء والبيِّنات. حدثنا ابن بشار, قال: ثنا عبد الرحمن, قال: ثنا سفيان, عن أبي حصين, قال: سمعت أبا عبد الرحمن يقول: فصل الخطاب: القضاء. وقال آخرون: بل معنى ذلك: وفصل الخطاب, بتكليف المدّعي البينة, واليمين على المدعى عليه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا أبو كُرَيب, قال: ثنا هشيم, قال: أخبرنا داود بن أبي هند, قال: ثني الشعبيّ أو غيره, عن شريح أنه قال في قوله ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: بيِّنة المدَّعي, أو يمين المُدَّعى عليه. حدثني يعقوب بن إبراهيم, قال: ثنا ابن عُلَية, عن داود بن أبي هند, في قوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: نُبِّئْت عن شريح أنه قال: شاهدان أو يمين. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا معتمر, قال: سمعت داود قال: بلغني أن شريحا قال ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) الشاهدان على المدعي, واليمين على من أنكر. حدثنا ابن بشار, قال: ثنا عبد الرحمن, قال: ثنا سفيان, عن منصور, عن طاوس, أن شريحا قال لرجل: إن هذا يعيب عليّ ما أُعْطِيَ داود, الشهود والأيمان. حدثنا ابن المثنى, قال: ثنا محمد بن جعفر, قال: ثنا شعبة, عن الحكم, عن شريح أنه قال في هذه الآية ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: الشهود والأيمان. حدثنا عمران بن موسى, قال: ثنا عبد الوارث, قال: ثنا داود, عن الشعبي, في قوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: يمين أوْ شَاهِدٌ. حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) البينة على الطالب, واليمين على المطلوب, هذا فصل الخطاب. وقال آخرون: بل هو قولُ: أما بعد. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا أبو كُرَيب, قال: ثنا جابر بن نوح, قال: ثنا إسماعيل, عن الشعبي في قوله ( وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ ) قال: قول الرجل: أما بعد. وأولى الأقوال في ذلك بالصواب أن يقال: إن الله أخبر أنه آتى داود صلوات الله عليه فصل الخطاب, والفصل: هو القطع, والخطاب هو المخاطبة, ومن قطع مخاطبة الرجل الرجل في حال احتكام أحدهما إلى صاحبه قطع المحتكم إليه الحكم بين المحتكم إليه وخصمه بصواب من الحكم, ومن قطع مخاطبته أيضا صاحبه إلزام المخاطب في الحكم ما يجب عليه إن كان مدعيا, فإقامة البينة على دعواه وإن كان مدعى عليه فتكليفه اليمين إن طلب ذلك خصمه. ومن قطع الخطاب أيضا الذي هو خطبة عند انقضاء قصة وابتداء في أخرى الفصل بينهما بأما بعد. فإذ كان ذلك كله محتملا ظاهر الخبر ولم تكن في هذه الآية دلالة على أي ذلك المراد, ولا ورد به خبر عن الرسول صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم ثابت, فالصواب أن يعم الخبر, كما عمه الله, فيقال: أوتي داود فصل الخطاب في القضاء والمحاورة والخطب.