Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: En zij die hun Heer vreesden zullen in groepen naar het paradijs gedreven worden, totdat, wanneer zij daar aankomen en de poorten ervan geopend worden, de bewakers ervan tot hen zeggen: Vrede zij met jullie, jullie zijn goed geweest; treedt het binnen, eeuwig verblijvend (73)

   He, exalted is His mention, says: And those who feared their Lord, by fulfilling His obligations and avoiding acts of disobedience to Him in the worldly life, and who held the godhead purely for Him and devoted worship to Him alone, so that they associated nothing with Him in their worship of Him, shall be gathered ( to the Garden in groups ), that is to say: in throngs. The driving of these to their dwelling-places in the Garden will take place as an honored escort (wafd), as we have previously explained in Sūrat Maryam, upon choice mounts from among the choice mounts of the Garden; whereas the driving of the others to the Fire takes place with pushing and shoving, as Allah has said.

   And similar to what we have said concerning this, the people of the explanation have said. That has already been mentioned in the appropriate places in this book.

   And Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups , and concerning His saying: ( And those who feared their Lord will be driven to the Garden in groups ). He said: the driving of those was done with harshness, fatigue and shoving, and he recited: On the Day when they will be thrust into the fire of Hell with a thrusting (52:13). He said: they are thrust forward with a thrust, and he recited: That is the one who thrusts away the orphan (107:2). He said: he thrusts him away, and he recited: And We drive the criminals to Hell as toward a watering-place (19:86) — and We gather the God-fearing to the Most Merciful as an honored escort (wafd) (19:85). Then he said: these, then, are the honored escort of Allah.

   Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allāh informed us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍamra, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning His saying: ( And those who feared their Lord will be driven to the Garden in groups ): until, when they arrive at its gate, they are there at a tree from the root of which two springs gush forth; they go to one of the two and drink from it as though they had been commanded to do so, whereupon whatever filth, harm or impurity is in their bellies comes out; then they go to the other and perform ablution from it as though they had been commanded to do so, whereupon the freshness of bliss flows over them, so that the hair of their heads will never again become disheveled and their garments will never again wear out. Then they enter the Garden, and the youths receive them like hidden pearls and say: "Rejoice, Allah has prepared for you such-and-such." Then he looks at the foundation of his edifice, formed of gemstone of red, yellow and green pearls, gleaming like lightning; and were it not that Allah has decreed that his eyesight would not pass away, it would pass away. Then one of them comes to one of his wives, and he says: "Rejoice, so-and-so the son of so-and-so has arrived," naming him by his name and the name of his father, whereupon she says: "Have you seen him? Have you seen him?" and joy so overcomes her that she rises and sits upon the threshold of her gate; then he enters, reclines upon his couch, and recites this verse: Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us ... the verse.

   Mohammed related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Abū Isḥāq mentioned, on the authority of al-Ḥārith, on the authority of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: they are driven to the Garden, and when they arrive there, they find at its gate a tree from the foot of whose trunk two springs flow; they go to one of the two and wash themselves from it, whereupon the freshness of bliss flows over them, so that the hair of their heads will never again become disheveled and their skin will never again be covered with dust, as though they had been rubbed with oil; and they go to the other and drink from it, whereupon whatever impurity or harm is in their bellies disappears. Then they come to the gate of the Garden and ask for it to be opened, whereupon it is opened for them; the keepers of the Garden receive them and say: Peace be upon you; enter the Garden for what you used to do (16:32). He said: and the eternally abiding youths receive them, hovering about them just as the youths of the people of the worldly life hover about their beloved when he returns from a journey, saying: "Rejoice, Allah has prepared this for you, and prepared that for you." Then one of them goes to his wife and gladdens her with him, and says: "So-and-so has arrived," by the name by which he was called in the worldly life. He said: and joy so overcomes her that she rises upon the threshold of her gate, and says: "Have you seen him? Have you seen him?" He said: and he says: "Yes." He said: then he comes until he arrives at his dwelling, and behold, its foundations are of gemstone of pearls, yellow, red and green. He said: then he enters, and behold, the goblets are set out, the cushions arranged in rows, and the carpets spread out. He said: then he enters in upon his wife from the wide-eyed houris (al-ḥūr al-ʿīn), and were it not that Allah had prepared her for him, his eyesight would be blinded by her light and her beauty. He said: then he reclines beside her and says: Praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us . He said: then the angels call out to them: That is the Garden, which you have been given as inheritance for what you used to do (7:43).

   Mohammed related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, saying: al-Suddī mentioned something similar, except that he said: he is better acquainted with the way to his dwelling in the Garden than with the way to his dwelling in the worldly life. Then al-Suddī recited: and He admits them into the Garden, which He has made known to them (47:6).

   The linguists differed concerning the location of the answer to "idhā" (when) in His saying ( until, when they arrive there ). Some of the grammarians of Basra said: it is said that His saying ( and its keepers say to them ) has the meaning of: say to them, as though one omits the wāw (and). In poetry there has occurred something resembling the wāw being redundant, as the poet said:

   For at that time — and that, O Kubaysha, was not there —

   it was but the fancy of a dreamer with a dream-image (2)

   It seems he means: for at that time that was not there. He said: and some of them said: the report (al-khabar) is thus omitted (left implicit). The leaving of the report implicit is in this verse also more elegant, and the leaving of the report implicit is frequent in speech. Another of them said: it is withheld from its report. He said: and the Arabs do something of the kind. ʿAbd Manāf ibn Rabʿ said at the close of a poem:

   Until, when they had made them enter into Qutāʾida,

   as a driving like the camel-drivers drive forth the scattered ones (3)

   And al-Akhṭal said at the close of the poem:

   Except that a tribe of Quraysh distinguished itself

   above mankind, or that the nobles are Nahshal (4)

   And some of the grammarians of Kufa said: the wāw in the answer to "ḥattā idhā" (until, when) and "fa-lammā" (then) is both inserted and omitted. As for whoever omits it, there is nothing wrong with that; and whoever inserts it likens the first parts to wonderment, and makes the second a conjoining upon the first, even though the second is an answer, as though he said: marvel at this and that.

   And the most correct of the sayings concerning this, in my view, is the saying of the one who says: the answer is omitted — even though the other saying is not to be refuted. That is because His saying: ( and its keepers say to them: Peace be upon you, you have been good; enter it, abiding eternally ) indicates that something has been omitted in the speech, since there follows upon it: ( and they say: Praise be to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us ). When that is so, the meaning of the saying is: until, when they arrived and its gates were opened and its keepers said to them: Peace be upon you, you have been good, enter it, abiding eternally — they entered it and said: Praise be to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us. By His saying ( Peace be upon you ) He means: a security from Allah for you that you would not be afflicted after this by anything unpleasant or by harm. And His saying ( you have been good ) — He says: your deeds were good in the worldly life, so today your dwelling-place is good.

   And Mujāhid used to say concerning that what Mohammed ibn ʿUmar 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, who says concerning ( you have been good ): you were good in obedience to Allah.

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   Footnotes:

   (2) We have not been able to identify the poet of this verse. The author cited it in connection with His saying, exalted is He: "until, when they arrive there and it is opened," as evidence that the wāw is redundant in His saying, exalted is He: "and its gates are opened," just as it is redundant in the saying of the poet: "for at that time — and that," because the poet means: "for at that time that," without a wāw.

   (3) The verse is by ʿAbd Manāf ibn Rabʿ al-Hudhalī (al-Lisān: jml), and (Khizānat al-adab al-kubrā of al-Baghdādī 3:170) as evidence that the answer to "idh," according to al-Raḍī, the commentator on the Kāfiya of Ibn al-Ḥājib, is omitted in order to make the matter weighty. (It has already been cited previously as evidence for this and for other matters in volume 14:9), consult it there. And in Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda (folio 217) he said: and His saying "until, when they arrive there, and its keepers say to them: Peace be upon you, you have been good, enter it, abiding eternally": is withheld from its report (that is to say: its report is omitted), and the Arabs do something of the kind. ʿAbd Manāf said: "until, when they make them enter ... the verse." And in Khizānat al-adab of al-Baghdādī (3:171): and he said in al-Ṣiḥāḥ: "idhā" is redundant; or it is withheld from its report, on account of the hearer's knowledge. End. His saying has been refuted with the argument that "idhā" is a noun, and a noun cannot be a redundant filler-word. End.

   (4) The verse is by al-Akhṭal; Abū ʿUbayda said so in Majāz al-Qurʾān (folio 217) and mentioned the verse following on from the verse before it, without clarifying the place of the evidence in it, namely his saying "or that the nobles are Nahshal ..." — for he did not mention the report (predicate) of the second "anna," just as he also did not mention the answer to "idhā" in the verse of ʿAbd Manāf before it. And the Arabs do that when it is understood from the context. The implicit completion of what is omitted in this verse is: or that the nobles, Nahshal, distinguished themselves above mankind.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ (73) يقول تعالى ذكره: وحُشر الذين اتقوا ربهم بأداء فرائضه, واجتناب معاصيه في الدنيا, وأخلصوا له فيها الألوهة, وأفردوا له العبادة, فلم يشركوا في عبادتهم إياه شيئا( إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ) يعني جماعات, فكان سوق هؤلاء إلى منازلهم من الجنة وفدا على ما قد بيَّنا قبل فى سورة مريم على نجائب من نجائب الجنة, وسوق الآخرين إلى النار دعًّا ووردا, كما قال الله. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. وقد ذكر ذلك في أماكنه من هذا الكتاب. وقد حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله: وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا , وفي قوله: ( وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ) قال: كان سوق أولئك عنفا وتعبا ودفعا, وقرأ: يَوْمَ يُدَعُّونَ إِلَى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ دَعًّا قال: يدفعون دفعا, وقرأ: فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ . قال: يدفعه, وقرأ وَنَسُوقُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ وِرْدًا - و نَحْشُرُ الْمُتَّقِينَ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ وَفْدًا . ثم قال: فهؤلاء وفد الله. حدثنا مجاهد بن موسى, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: أخبرنا شريك بن عبد الله, عن أبي إسحاق, عن عاصم بن ضمرة, عن عليّ بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه قوله: ( وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ) حتى إذا انتهوا إلى بابها, إذا هم بشجرة يخرج من أصلها عينان, فعمدوا إلى إحداهما, فشربوا منها كأنما أمروا بها, فخرج ما في بطونهم من قذر أو أذى أو قذى, ثم عمدوا إلى الأخرى, فتوضئوا منها كأنما أمروا به, فجرت عليهم نضرة النعيم, فلن تشعث رءوسهم بعدها أبدا ولن تبلى ثيابهم بعدها, ثم دخلوا الجنة, فتلقتهم الولدان كأنهم اللؤلؤ المكنون, فيقولون: أبشر, أعد الله لك كذا, وأعد لك كذا وكذا, ثم ينظر إلى تأسيس بنيانه جندل اللؤلؤ الأحمر والأصفر والأخضر, يتلألأ كأنه البرق, فلولا أن الله قضى أن لا يذهب بصره لذهب, ثم يأتي بعضهم إلى بعض أزواجه, فيقول: أبشري قد قدم فلان بن فلان, فيسميه باسمه واسم أبيه, فتقول: أنت رأيته, أنت رأيته! فيستخفها الفرح حتى تقوم, فتجلس على أسكفة بابها, فيدخل فيتكئ على سريره, ويقرأ هذه الآية: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ ... الآية. حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قال: ذكر أبو إسحاق عن الحارث, عن عليّ رضي الله عنه قال: يساقون إلى الجنة, فينتهون إليها, فيجدون عند بابها شجرة في أصل ساقها عينان تجريان, فيعمدون إلى إحداهما, فيغتسلون منها, فتجري عليهم نضرة النعيم, فلن تشعث رءوسهم بعدها أبدا, ولن تغبر جلودهم بعدها أبدا, كأنما دهنوا بالدهان ، ويعمدون إلى الأخرى, فيشربون منها, فيذهب ما في بطونهم من قذى أو أذى, ثم يأتون باب الجنة فيستفتحون, فيفتح لهم, فتتلقاهم خزنة الجنة فيقولون سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ قال: وتتلقاهم الولدان المخلدون, يطيفون بهم كما تطيف ولدان أهل الدنيا بالحميم إذا جاء من الغيبة, يقولون: أبشر أعد الله لك كذا, وأعد لك كذا, فينطلق أحدهم إلى زوجته, فيبشرها به, فيقول: قدم فلان باسمه الذي كان يسمى به في الدنيا, وقال: فيستخفها الفرح حتى تقوم على أسكفة بابها, وتقول: أنت رأيته, أنت رأيته ؟ قال: فيقول: نعم, قال: فيجيء حتى يأتي منـزله, فإذا أصوله من جندل اللؤلؤ من بين أصفر وأحمر وأخضر, قال: فيدخل فإذا الأكواب موضوعة, والنمارق مصفوفة, والزرابيّ مبثوثة قال: ثم يدخل إلى زوجته من الحور العين, فلولا أن الله أعدها له لالتمع بصره من نورها وحسنها، قال: فاتكأ عند ذلك ويقول: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ قال: فتناديهم الملائكة: أَنْ تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ . حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, قال: ذكر السديّ نحوه أيضا, غير أنه قال: لهو أهدى إلى منـزله في الجنة منه إلى منـزله في الدنيا, ثم قرأ السديّ: وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ . واختلف أهل العربية في موضع جواب " إذا " التي في قوله ( حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوهَا ) فقال بعض نحويي البصرة: يقال إن قوله ( وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا ) في معنى: قال لهم, كأنه يلغي الواو, وقد جاء في الشعر شيء يشبه أن تكون الواو زائدة, كما قال الشاعر: فــإذَا وَذلـكَ يـا كُبَيْشَـةُ لَـمْ يَكُـنْ إلا تَــــوَهُّمَ حَـــاِلمٍ بِخَيـــالٍ (2) فيشبه أن يكون يريد: فإذا ذلك لم يكن. قال: وقال بعضهم: فأضمر الخبر, وإضمار الخبر أيضا أحسن في الآية, وإضمار الخبر في الكلام كثير. وقال آخر منهم: هو مكفوف عن خبره, قال: والعرب تفعل مثل هذا ، قال عبد مَناف بن ربع في آخر قصيدة: حــتى إذَا أسْــلَكُوهُمْ فِـي قُتـائِدَةٍ شَـلا كمـا تَطْـرُدُ الجَمَّالَـةُ الشُّـرُدا (3) وقال الأخطل في آخر القصيدة: خَـلا أنَّ حيَّـا مـن قُـرَيْشٍ تَفَصَّلُـوا عـلى النَّـاسِ أوْ أنَّ الأكـارِمَ نَهْشَـلا (4) وقال بعض نحويِّي الكوفة: أدخلت في حتى إذا وفي فلما الواو في جوابها وأخرجت, فأما من أخرجها فلا شيء فيه, ومن أدخلها شبه الأوائل بالتعجب, فجعل الثاني نسقا على الأوّل, وإن كان الثاني جوابا كأنه قال: أتعجب لهذا وهذا. وأولى الأقوال في ذلك عندي بالصواب قول من قال: الجواب متروك, وإن كان القول الآخر غير مدفوع, وذلك أن قوله: ( وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ ) يدلّ على أن في الكلام متروكا, إذ كان عقيبه ( وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ ) ، وإذا كان ذلك كذلك, فمعنى الكلام: حتى إذا جاءوا وفتحت أبوابها وقال لهم خزنتها: سلام عليكم طبتم فادخلوها خالدين, دخلوها وقالوا: الحمد لله الذي صدقنا وعده. وعنى بقوله ( سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ) : أمنة من الله لكم أن ينالكم بعدُ مكروه أو أذى. وقوله ( طِبْتُمْ ) يقول: طابت أعمالكم في الدنيا, فطاب اليوم مثواكم. وكان مجاهد يقول في ذلك ما حدثنا محمد بن عمر, قال: ثنا أبو عاصم. قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث, قال: ثنا الحسن, قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا، عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد يقول في ( طِبْتُمْ ) قال: كنتم طيبين في طاعة الله. ------------------------ الهوامش: (2) هذا البيت لم نقف على قائله . استشهد به المؤلف عند قوله تعالى" حتى إذا جاءوها وفتحت" على أن الواو زائدة في قوله تعالى" وفتحت أبوابها" كزيادتها في قول الشاعر :" فإذا وذلك" لأن الشاعر يريد :" فإذا ذلك" بدون واو . (3) البيت لعبد مناف بن ربع الهذلي ( اللسان : جمل ) . و ( خزانة الأدب الكبرى للبغدادي 3 : 170 ) شاهد على أن جواب إذ عند الرضي شارح كافية ابن الحاجب محذوف لتفخيم الأمر . ( وقد تقدم الاستشهاد به على هذا وغيره في الجزء 14 : 9 ) فراجعه ثمة . وفي مجاز القرآن لأبي عبيدة ( الورقة 217 ) قال : وقوله" حتى إذا جاءوها ، وقال لهم خزنتها سلام عليكم طبتم فادخلوها خالدين" : مكفوف عن خبره ( أي محذوف خبره ) والعرب تفعل مثل هذا . قال عبد مناف :" حتى إذا أسلكوهم ... البيت" . وفي خزانة الأدب للبغدادي ( 3 : 171) : وقال في الصحاح : إذا : زائدة. أو يكون قد كف عن خبره ، لعلم السامع . هـ . ورد قوله بأن إذا اسم ، والاسم لا يكون لغوا . ا هـ . (4) البيت للأخطل ، قاله أبو عبيدة في مجاز القرآن ( الورقة 217) وذكر البيت بعقب البيت الذي قبله ، ولم يبين موضع الشاهد فيه وهو قوله" أو أن المكارم نهشلا ..." فلم يذكر خبر أن الثانية ، كما لم يذكر جواب" إذا" في بيت عبد مناف قبله . والعرب تفعل ذلك إذا كان مفهوما من السياق . وتقدير المحذوف في هذا البيت : أو أن الأكارم نهشلا تفضلوا على الناس .