Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His — exalted is He — word: وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ("And he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true — those are the God-fearing") (33)

   The exegetes differed concerning who it is that came with the truth and held it to be true, and what that is. Some of them said: he who came with the truth is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They said: and the truth with which he came is "there is no god but Allah"; and the one who also held it to be true is the Messenger of Allah himself, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

   * Mention of who said that:

   ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ("and he who has come with the truth"). He says: he who came with "there is no god but Allah." وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and who has held it to be true"), that is to say: His messenger.

   And others said: he who came with the truth is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and the one who held it to be true is Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn Muṣʿad al-Marwazī related to us, he said: ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Khālid related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, on the authority of Asīd ibn Ṣafwān, on the authority of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ("and he who has come with the truth"), he said: Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and "who has held it to be true," he said: Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.

   And others said: he who came with the truth is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and the truth is the Qurʾān; and those who held it to be true are the believers.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ("and he who has come with the truth"), he said: this is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; he came with the Qurʾān, and the believers held it to be true.

   Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ("and he who has come with the truth"): the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and the Muslims held it to be true.

   And others said: he who came with the truth is Jibrīl, and the truth is the Qurʾān which he brought from Allah; and the one who held it to be true is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true"): Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

   And others said: those who came with the truth are the believers, and the truth is the Qurʾān, and they are the ones who held it to be true.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true"), he said: those who come with the Qurʾān on the Day of Resurrection, and then say: this is what You gave us, and we have followed what is in it.

   He said: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true"), he said: they are the people of the Qurʾān; they come with it on the Day of Resurrection and say: this is what You gave us, and we have followed what is in it.

   And what is correct concerning this matter is to say: Allah — exalted is His mention — meant by His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true") everyone who called to the profession of Allah's oneness, and to holding His messengers to be true, and to acting upon that with which He sent His messenger — among the messengers of Allah, their followers, and those who believed in him. And one should say: the truth is the Qurʾān, and the testimony that there is no god but Allah; and the one who held it to be true: those who believe in the Qurʾān, from among all the creatures of Allah, whoever they may be, from Allah's prophet down to their followers.

   We have said that this is the most correct, because His word — exalted is His mention — وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and he who has come with the truth and has held it to be true") immediately follows His word فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَبَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَذَّبَ بِالصِّدْقِ إِذْ جَاءَهُ ("Who then is more unjust than he who lies against Allah and denies the truth when it comes to him?"). That is a reproach from Allah's side against those who fabricate against Him, who deny His revelation and His inspiration and reject His oneness. It is then fitting that thereafter there should immediately follow a praise for whoever stands in contrast to the description of these reproached ones — and those are they who called them to the profession of Allah's oneness, and described Him with the description that befits Him, and who held Allah's revelation and inspiration to be true. And those who were such on the day this verse was sent down were the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his companions, and those who came after them — those who in every era and age arise with the call to the profession of Allah's oneness and the judgement of His Book. For Allah — exalted is His mention — did not restrict His describing with this description that is in this verse to particular persons by name, nor to the people of a particular age rather than others. Rather, He described them with a description and praised them therewith, namely coming with the truth and holding it to be true. Everyone, then, whose description is thus, falls under the totality of this verse, provided he is of the children of Adam.

   And among the proof for the correctness of what we have said is that it is thus in the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: "وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقُوا بِهِ" ("and those who came with the truth and held it to be true"). His reading has made clear that by "he who" in His word وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ("and he who has come with the truth") no single particular person was meant, but rather the totality of those with that description was meant by it; only it was expressed in the singular form, because it was not bound to a particular [individual]. Some of the Arabic linguists of Basra have claimed that "alladhī" ("he who") in this place has taken on the meaning of a plural, in place of "man" ("whoever / those who"). And what also supports our statement is His word أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ("those are the God-fearing"); He made the predicate concerning "he who" a plural form, because it has the meaning of a plural. As for those who said that by His word وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ("and who has held it to be true") someone other than he who came with the truth was meant — that is an opinion far removed from what can be understood. For if it were as they said, then the revelation would have been: "and he who came with the truth, and he who held it to be true, those are the God-fearing," so that "alladhī" ("he who") would be repeated at the holding-to-be-true, in order that the one who held it to be true would be someone other than the one who [came with the truth]. But since it is not repeated, then what is understood from the words is that the holding-to-be-true belongs to the description of him who came with the truth; no other interpretation of the words is possible. And if that is so, and "alladhī" has the meaning of a plural, as we have expounded, then the correct view concerning its interpretation is what we have expounded.

   And His word أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ("those are the God-fearing"). The Exalted — exalted be His praise — says: these, whose description is this, are those who feared Allah by professing His oneness, freeing themselves from the idols and associates, fulfilling His obligations and avoiding His acts of disobedience, so that they feared His punishment.

   As ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ("those are the God-fearing"). He says: they feared shirk (the assigning of associates to Allah).

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ (33) اختلف أهل التأويل في الذي جاء بالصدق وصدّق به, وما ذلك, فقال بعضهم: الذي جاء بالصدق رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. قالوا: والصدق الذي جاء به: لا إله إلا الله, والذي صدق به أيضا, هو رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني عليّ, قال: ثنا أبو صالح, قال: ثني معاوية, عن عليّ, عن ابن عباس, قوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ) يقول: من جاء بلا إله إلا الله ( وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) يعني: رسوله. وقال آخرون: الذي جاء بالصدق: رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , والذي صدّق به: أبو بكر رضي الله عنه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني أحمد بن منصور, قال: ثنا أحمد بن مصعد المروزي, قال: ثنا عمر بن إبراهيم بن خالد, عن عبد الملك بن عمير, عن أسيد بن صفوان, عن عليّ رضي الله عنه , في قوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ) قال: محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , وصدّق به, قال: أبو بكر رضي الله عنه. وقال آخرون: الذي جاء بالصدق: رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , والصدق: القرآن, والمصدّقون به: المؤمنون * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ) قال: هذا رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم جاء بالقرآن, وصدّق به المؤمنون. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ) رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , وصدّق به المسلمون. وقال آخرون: الذي جاء بالصدق جبريل, والصدق: القرآن الذي جاء به من عند الله, وصدّق به رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, في قوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. وقال آخرون: الذي جاء بالصدق: المؤمنون, والصدق: القرآن, وهم المصدِّقون به. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا جرير, عن منصور, عن مجاهد قوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) قال: الذين يجيئون بالقرآن يوم القيامة, فيقولون: هذا الذي أعطيتمونا فاتبعنا ما فيه. قال: ثنا حكام, عن عمرو, عن منصور, عن مجاهد ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) قال: هم أهل القرآن يجيئون به يوم القيامة يقولون: هذا الذي أعطيتمونا, فاتبعنا ما فيه. والصواب من القول في ذلك أن يقال: إن الله تعالى ذكره عنى بقوله: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) كلّ من دعا إلى توحيد الله, وتصديق رسله, والعمل بما ابتعث به رسوله من بين رسل الله وأتباعه والمؤمنين به, وأن يقال: الصدق هو القرآن, وشهادة أن لا إله إلا الله, والمصدّق به: المؤمنون بالقرآن, من جميع خلق الله كائنا من كان من نبيّ الله وأتباعه. وإنما قلنا ذلك أولى بالصواب, لأن قوله تعالى ذكره: ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) عَقيب قوله: فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَبَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَذَّبَ بِالصِّدْقِ إِذْ جَاءَهُ وذلك ذم من الله للمفترين عليه, المكذبين بتنـزيله ووحيه, الجاحدين وحدانيته, فالواجب أن يكون عَقيب ذلك مدح من كان بخلاف صفة هؤلاء المذمومين, وهم الذين دعوهم إلى توحيد الله, ووصفه بالصفة التي هو بها, وتصديقهم بتنـزيل الله ووحيه, والذي كانوا يوم نـزلت هذه الآية, رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم وأصحابه ومن بعدهم, القائمون في كل عصر وزمان بالدعاء إلى توحيد الله, وحكم كتابه, لأن الله تعالى ذكره لم يخص وصفه بهذه لصفة التي في هذه الآية على أشخاص بأعيانهم, ولا على أهل زمان دون غيرهم, وإنما وصفهم بصفة, ثم مدحهم بها, وهي المجيء بالصدق والتصديق به, فكل من كان كذلك وصفه فهو داخل في جملة هذه الآية إذا كان من بني آدم. ومن الدليل على صحة ما قلنا أن ذلك كذلك في قراءة ابن مسعود." وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقُوا بِهِ" فقد بين ذلك من قراءته أن الذي من قوله ( وَالَّذِي جَاءَ بِالصِّدْقِ ) لم يعن بها واحد بعينه, وأنه مراد بها جِمَاع ذلك صفتهم, ولكنها أخرجت بلفظ الواحد, إذ لم تكن موقتة. وقد زعم بعض أهل العربية من البصريين, أن " الذي" في هذا الموضع جُعل في معنى جماعة بمنـزلة " مَن ". ومما يؤيد ما قلنا أيضا قوله: ( أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ) فجعل الخبر عن " الذي" جماعا, لأنها في معنى جماع. وأما الذين قالوا: عني بقوله: ( وَصَدَّقَ بِهِ ) : غير الذي جاء بالصدق, فقول بعيد من المفهوم, لأن ذلك لو كان كما قالوا لكان التنـزيل: والذي جاء بالصدق, والذي صدق به أولئك هم المتقون ، فكانت تكون " الذي" مكررة مع التصديق, ليكون المصدق غير المصدق، فأما إذا لم يكرّر, فإن المفهوم من الكلام, أن التصديق من صفة الذي جاء بالصدق، لا وجه للكلام غير ذلك. وإذا كان ذلك كذلك, وكانت " الذي" في معنى الجماع بما قد بيَّنا, كان الصواب من القول في تأويله ما بيَّنا. وقوله: ( أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ) يقول جل ثناؤه: هؤلاء الذين هذه صفتهم. هم الذين اتقوا الله بتوحيده والبراءة من الأوثان والأنداد, وأداء فرائضه, واجتناب معاصيه, فخافوا عقابه. كما حدثني عليّ, قال: ثنا أبو صالح, قال: ثني معاوية, عن عليّ, عن ابن عباس ( أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ ) يقول: اتقوا الشرك.