Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The statement concerning the explanation of His words, the Exalted: الَّذِينَ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي آيَاتِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ سُلْطَانٍ أَتَاهُمْ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعِنْدَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ (35) (Those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah without any authority having come to them — great is that as an abomination in the sight of Allah and in the sight of those who believe; thus does Allah seal every heart of an arrogant tyrant.)

   Allah, exalted be His mention, says, while informing about the words of the believer from the people of Pharaoh: ( those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah without any authority having come to them ). The word "those who" (al-ladhīna) refers back to "whoever" (man) in His statement مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ (whoever is extravagant). The explanation of the statement is: thus does Allah leave the people of extravagance and excess to stray in their error because of their disbelief in Allah and their audacity in His acts of disobedience — those who doubt the reports of His messengers, who contend against His proofs which His messengers brought them, in order to refute them with false arguments. ( without any authority having come to them ) means: without any proof that has come to them from their Lord by which they could ward off the validity of the proofs that the messengers brought them. And "those who" (al-ladhīna), when the meaning of the statement is as we have mentioned, stands in the accusative (naṣb) as a reference to "whoever" (man).

   And His statement: ( great is that as an abomination in the sight of Allah ) means: great is that disputation by which they dispute concerning the signs of Allah as an abomination in the sight of Allah, ( and in the sight of those who believe ) in Allah. The word ( abomination ) (maqtan) stands in the accusative on account of the implicit pronoun contained within ( great is ) (kabura), which refers back to "the disputation." This is similar to His statement: كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ (great is the word that comes out of their mouths); whoever places "word" (kalimatan) in the accusative does so because he has placed within ( great is ) (kaburat) the implicit pronoun of their statement اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا (Allah has taken a child). But whoever does not imply that places "word" in the nominative (rafʿ).

   And His statement: ( thus does Allah seal every heart of an arrogant tyrant ) means: just as Allah has sealed the hearts of the extravagant ones who dispute concerning the signs of Allah without any authority having come to them, so does Allah seal every heart that is arrogant toward Allah, refusing to acknowledge Him as the One and to affirm His messengers. "Tyrant" (jabbār): this means one who deems himself too great to follow the truth.

   The reciters differ over its reading. The generality of the reciters of the cities, with the exception of Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ, read it as: ( كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ ) by annexing "heart" to "arrogant" (in a genitive construction), with the meaning of the report that Allah has sealed the hearts of all the arrogant. And whoever held to that as his reading, for him "tyrant" (jabbār) is an adjectival qualifier of "arrogant" (mutakabbir). And it is related from Ibn Masʿūd that he read this as: "كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللهُ على قَلْبِ كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ" (thus does Allah seal the heart of every arrogant tyrant).

   Ibn Yūsuf related that to me, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Hārūn, that it stands so in the reading of Ibn Masʿūd. And what is mentioned from Ibn Masʿūd concerning his reading confirms the reading of the one who read it by annexing "heart" to "arrogant," because placing "every" (kull) before "heart" or after it does not change the meaning; rather, the meaning is one and the same in both cases. And it is related from some of the Arabs, as a heard expression: "he combs his hair every day of Friday" (yawma kulli jumʿatin), by which is meant: every Friday. As for Abū ʿAmr, he read it with nunation on "heart" (qalbin) and without annexing it to "arrogant," and he made "arrogant" and "tyrant" attributes of the "heart."

   And the more correct of the two readings therein, in my view, is the reading of the one who read it by annexing "heart" to "arrogant," because arrogance is the act of the agent with his heart — just as the killer, when he kills a slain person, even though he kills him with his hand, the act is nevertheless attributed to him, while the heart is merely one of the limbs of the arrogant one. And even though arrogance takes place by means of it, the act is nevertheless attributed to its agent, comparable to what we have said about killing. And even though that is as we have said, the other reading is not objectionable, because the Arabs do not forbid saying: "so-and-so's hand seized," and "his eyes saw such-and-such," and "his heart understood," attributing the acts to the limbs, even though in reality they belong to their owners.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : الَّذِينَ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي آيَاتِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ سُلْطَانٍ أَتَاهُمْ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعِنْدَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ (35) يقول تعالى ذكره مخبرا عن قيل المؤمن من آل فرعون: ( الَّذِينَ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي آيَاتِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ سُلْطَانٍ أَتَاهُمْ ) فقوله " الذين " مردود على " من " في قوله مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ . وتأويل الكلام: كذلك يضلّ الله أهل الإسراف والغلوّ في ضلالهم بكفرهم بالله, واجترائهم على معاصيه, المرتابين في أخبار رسله, الذين يخاصمون في حججه التي أتتهم بها رسله ليدحضوها بالباطل من الحُجَج ( بِغَيْرِ سُلْطَانٍ أَتَاهُمْ ) يقول: بغير حجة أتتهم من عند ربهم يدفعون بها حقيقة الحُجَج التي أتتهم بها الرسل; و " الذين " إذا كان معنى الكلام ما ذكرنا في موضع نصب ردًّا على " مَن ". وقوله: ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ) يقول: كبر ذلك الجدال الذي يجادلونه في آيات الله مقتا عند الله,( وَعِنْدَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ) بالله; وإنما نصب قوله: ( مَقْتا ) لما في قوله ( كَبُرَ ) من ضمير الجدال, وهو نظير قوله: كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ فنصب كلمة من نصبها, لأنه جعل في قوله: ( كَبُرَتْ ) ضمير قولهم: اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا وأما من لم يضمر ذلك فإنه رفع الكلمة. وقوله: ( كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ ) يقول: كما طبع الله على قلوب المسرفين الذين يجادلون في آيات الله بغير سلطان أتاهم, كذلك يطبع الله على كل قلب متكبر على الله أن يوحده, ويصدّق رسله. جبار: يعني متعظم عن اتباع الحقّ. واختلفت القرّاء في قراءة ذلك, فقرأته عامة قرّاء الأمصار, خلا أبي عمرو بن العلاء, على: ( كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ ) بإضافة القلب إلى المتكبر, بمعنى الخبر عن أن الله طبع على قلوب المتكبرين كلها; ومن كان ذلك قراءته, كان قوله " جبار ". من نعت " متكبر ". وقد روي عن ابن مسعود أنه كان يقرأ ذلك " كَذَلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللهُ على قَلْبِ كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ". حدثني بذلك ابن يوسف, قال: ثنا القاسم, قال: ثني حجاج, عن هارون أنه كذلك في حرف ابن مسعود, وهذا الذي ذُكر عن ابن مسعود من قراءته يحقق قراءة من قرأ ذلك بإضافة قلب إلى المتكبر, لأن تقديم " كل " قبل القلب وتأخيرها بعده لا يغير المعنى, بل معنى ذلك في الحالتين واحد. وقد حُكي عن بعض العرب سماعا: هو يرجِّل شعره يوم كلّ جمعة, يعني: كلّ يوم جمعة. وأما أبو عمرو فقرأ ذلك بتنوين القلب وترك إضافته إلى متكبر, وجعل المتكبر والجبار من صفة القلب. وأولى القراءتين في ذلك عندي بالصواب قراءة من قرأه بإضافة القلب إلى المتكبر, لأن التكبر فعل الفاعل بقلبه, كما أن القاتل إذا قتل قتيلا وإن كان قتله بيده, فإن الفعل مضاف إليه, وإنما القلب جارحة من جوارح المتكبر. وإن كان بها التكبر, فإن الفعل إلى فاعله مضاف, نظير الذي قلنا في القتل, وذلك وإن كان كما قلنا, فإن الأخرى غير مدفوعة, لأن العرب لا تمنع أن تقول: بطشت يد فلان, ورأت عيناه كذا, وفهم قلبه, فتضيف الأفعال إلى الجوارح, وإن كانت في الحقيقة لأصحابها.