Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   And His word: ( أَلا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ) (Verily, to Allah belongs the pure religion) — the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: verily, to Allah alone belong worship and obedience, without His having any partner, purely, without anyone else sharing with Him therein; that is fitting for no one else, for all that is besides Him is His possession, and the possession must obey its owner, not the one who possesses nothing of it. And just as we have said this, so too said the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl).

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, ( أَلا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ) (Verily, to Allah belongs the pure religion): the testimony that there is no god but Allah.

   And His word: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (And those who have taken besides Him protectors [say]: "We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah") — the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: and those who have taken besides Allah protectors whom they make their allies and whom they worship besides Allah, they say to them: "We worship you, O gods, only that you may bring us nearer to Allah," as a means of nearness and high station, and that you may intercede for us with Him in our needs. And this reads, as has been transmitted, in the recitation of Ubayy: "مَا نَعْبُدُكُمْ" (We worship you), and in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh: ( قالوا ما نعبدهم ) (they said: we worship them). And this is eloquent, because in a citation by means of an utterance — whether it be implicit or explicit — the absent one is sometimes treated as the one addressed, and another time treated as the absent one. And this I have already explained earlier in its proper place.

   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, saying: it reads in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh: "قالُوا ما نَعْبُدُهُمْ" (they said: we worship them).

   And just as we have said this, so too said the people of interpretation.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, 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: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah): he said: Quraysh says this concerning the idols, and those who were before them say it concerning the angels, concerning ʿĪsā the son of Maryam and concerning ʿUzayr.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (And those who have taken besides Him protectors [say]: "We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah"): they said: we worship these only that they may bring us nearer, only that they may intercede for us with Allah.

   Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah): he said: it [zulfā] is a high station.

   ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (And those who have taken besides Him protectors [say]: "We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah").

   And His word: وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُوا (And if Allah had willed, they would not have associated partners) — He, the Exalted, says: if I had willed it, I would have brought them all together upon right guidance.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) (We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah): he said: they said: they are our intercessors with Allah, and they are the ones who will bring us nearer to Allah on the Day of Resurrection — [meaning] the idols. And al-zulfā means: the means of nearness (al-qurab).

   And His word: ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي مَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ) (Verily, Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ) — the Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: verily, Allah will render a decision on the Day of Resurrection between these parties who in the worldly life took protectors besides Allah, concerning that wherein they differed in the worldly life regarding their worship of what they worshipped therein, by causing them all to burn in Hell (jahannam), except him who made the religion pure for Allah, acknowledged Him as One, and associated nothing with Him as a partner.

   The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says: ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي ) (Verily, Allah does not guide) — to the truth and His religion, Islam, and to the acknowledgment of His oneness, and grants no success thereto — ( مَنْ هُوَ كَاذِبٌ ) (whoever is a liar), who fabricates against Allah, who speaks falsehood about Him and ascribes to Him what does not belong to His attributes, and who claims that He has a child, as a fabrication against Him, ungrateful for His favors and denying His sovereignty.

   The interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: لَوْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا لاصْطَفَى مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ (Had Allah willed to take a child, He would have chosen from what He creates whatever He willed. Glory be to Him! He is Allah, the One, the Subjugator) (4).

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله: ( أَلا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ألا لله العبادة والطاعة وحده لا شريك له, خالصة لا شرك لأحد معه فيها, فلا ينبغي ذلك لأحد, لأن كل ما دونه ملكه, وعلى المملوك طاعة مالكه لا من لا يملك منه شيئا. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( أَلا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ ) شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله. وقوله: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) يقول تعالى ذكره: والذين اتخذوا من دون الله أولياء يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُم, ويعبدونهم من دون الله, يقولون لهم: ما نعبدكم أيها الآلهة إلا لتقربونا إلى الله زُلْفَى, قربة ومنـزلة, وتشفعوا لنا عنده في حاجاتنا، وهي فيما ذُكر في قراءة أبي: " ما نَعْبُدُكُمْ", وفي قراءة عبد الله: ( قالوا ما نعبدهم ) وإنما حسن ذلك لأن الحكاية إذا كانت بالقول مضمرا كان أو ظاهرا, جعل الغائب أحيانا كالمخاطب, ويترك أخرى كالغائب, وقد بيَّنت ذلك في موضعه فيما مضى. حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قال: هي في قراءة عبد الله: "قالُوا ما نَعْبُدُهُمْ". وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا 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, في قوله: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) قال: قريش تقوله للأوثان, ومن قبلهم يقوله للملائكة ولعيسى ابن مريم ولعزَير. حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قوله: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) قالوا: ما نعبد هؤلاء إلا ليقرّبونا, إلا ليشفعُوا لنا عند الله. حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, في قوله: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) قال: هي منـزلة. حدثني عليّ, قال: ثنا أبو صالح, قال: ثنا معاوية, عن عليّ, عن ابن عباس, في قوله: ( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) . وقوله: وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكُوا يقول سبحانه: لو شئت لجمعتهم على الهدى أجمعين. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد في قوله: ( مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ) قال: قالوا هم شفعاؤنا عند الله, وهم الذين يقربوننا إلى الله زلفى يوم القيامة للأوثان, والزلفى: القُرَب. وقوله: ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي مَا هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: إن الله يفصل بين هؤلاء الأحزاب الذين اتخذوا في الدنيا من دون الله أولياء يوم القيامة, فيما هم فيه يختلفون في الدنيا من عبادتهم ما كانوا يعبدون فيها, بأن يصليهم جميعا جهنم, إلا من أخلص الدين لله, فوحده, ولم يشرك به شيئا. يقول تعالى ذكره: ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي ) إلى الحق ودينه الإسلام, والإقرار بوحدانيته, فيوفقه له ( مَنْ هُوَ كَاذِبٌ ) مفتر على الله, يتقول عليه الباطل, ويضيف إليه ما ليس من صفته, ويزعم أن له ولدا افتراء عليه, كفار لنعمه, جحودا لربوبيته. القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : لَوْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا لاصْطَفَى مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ (4)