Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأَشْهَادُ (Indeed, We will surely help Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life and on the Day when the witnesses arise) (40:51).

   A speaker might say: What is the meaning of ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) (Indeed, We will surely help Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life), while we know that among them are those who were killed and mutilated by their enemies, such as Isaiah (Shaʿyāʾ) and John the son of Zacharias (Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā) and their like? And among them are those whose people wanted to kill him, so that the best of his condition was that he escaped from them until he left them, saving his life, such as Abraham (Ibrāhīm), who emigrated to Syria (al-Shām) from his land, leaving his people, and Jesus (ʿĪsā), who was raised up to heaven when his people wanted to kill him. So where, then, is the help of which He has informed us, that He helps His messengers and those who believe in Him in the worldly life, while these prophets of His underwent from their people what you know, and they were not helped against the one who did to them what he did to them?

   It is said: Indeed, regarding His saying ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) (Indeed, We will surely help Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life), there are two interpretations, both of which are correct in meaning. The first is that its meaning is: Indeed, We help Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life—either by making them prevail over those who denied Us and granting them victory over them, so that they overwhelm them with the upper hand and humiliate them through the conquest, as was done with David (Dāwūd) and Solomon (Sulaymān), to whom He gave of kingship and dominion by which they overwhelmed every disbeliever, and as was done with Muḥammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—by granting him victory over those of his people who had denied him; or by Our retribution upon those who opposed them and resisted them, by destroying them and saving the messengers from those who denied them and were hostile to them, as the Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, did with Noah (Nūḥ) and his people, by drowning his people and saving him from them, and as He did with Moses (Mūsā) and Pharaoh and his people, when He destroyed them by drowning and saved Moses, together with those who believed in him among the Children of Israel and others, and the like; or by Our retribution in the worldly life upon their deniers, after the passing of Our messenger, after their destruction, as We did with Our help to Isaiah after his destruction, by causing those whom We empowered to rule over his killers, until We took retribution through them from his murderers; and as We did with the murderers of John, by causing Nebuchadnezzar (Bukhtnaṣṣar) to rule over them, until We took retribution through him from those who had killed him; and as Our help to Jesus against those who wanted to kill him, by means of the Romans (al-Rūm), until We destroyed them through them. This is one of the two interpretations of it. And some of the exegetes directed the meaning thereof to this interpretation.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning the saying of Allah: ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) (Indeed, We will surely help Our messengers and those who believe in the worldly life). The prophets and the believers were killed in this world, while they were helped; and that is because that community which did that to the prophets and the believers did not pass away until Allah sent a people and through them took retribution for those of them who had been killed.

   And the other interpretation is that this saying is by way of the report concerning the totality of the messengers and the believers, while one is intended. The explanation of the saying is then: Indeed, We help Our messenger Muḥammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and those who believe in him in the worldly life and on the Day when the witnesses arise, as we have previously clarified that the Arabs express the report in the plural form while one is intended, when they do not designate a specific person for the report.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأَشْهَادُ (51) يقول القائل: وما معنى: ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) وقد علمنا أن منهم من قتله أعداؤه, ومثَّلوا به, كشعياء ويحيى بن زكريا وأشباههما. ومنهم من همّ بقتله قومه, فكان أحسن أحواله أن يخلص منهم حتى فارقهم ناجيا بنفسه, كإبراهيم الذي هاجر إلى الشام من أرضه مفارقا لقومه, وعيسى الذي رفع إلى السماء إذ أراد قومه قتله, فأين النصرة التي أخبرنا أنه ينصرها رسله, و المؤمنين به في الحياة الدنيا, وهؤلاء أنبياؤه قد نالهم من قومهم ما قد علمت, وما نصروا على من نالهم بما نالهم به؟ قيل: إن لقوله: ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) وجهين كلاهما صحيح معناه. أحدهما أن يكون معناه: إنا لننصر رسلنا والذين آمنوا في الحياة الدنيا إما بإعلائناهم على من كذّبنا وإظفارنا بهم, حتى يقهروهم غلبة, ويذلوهم بالظفر ذلة, كالذي فعل من ذلك بداود وسليمان, فأعطاهما من المُلْك والسلطان ما قهرا به كل كافر, وكالذي فعل بمحمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم بإظهاره على من كذّبه من قومه, وإما بانتقامنا ممن حادّهم وشاقهم بإهلاكهم وإنجاء الرسل ممن كذّبهم وعاداهم, كالذي فعل تعالى ذكره بنوح وقومه, من تغريق قومه وإنجائه منهم, وكالذي فعل بموسى وفرعون وقومه, إذ أهلكهم غرقا, ونجى موسى ومن آمن به من بني إسرائيل وغيرهم ونحو ذلك, أو بانتقامنا في الحياة الدنيا من مكذّبيهم بعد وفاة رسولنا من بعد مهلكهم, كالذي فعلنا من نصرتنا شعياء بعد مهلكه, بتسليطنا على قتله من سلطنا حتى انتصرنا بهم من قتلته, وكفعلنا بقتلة يحيى, من تسليطنا بختنصر عليهم حتى انتصرنا به من قتله له وكانتصارنا لعيسى من مريدي قتله بالروم حتى أهلكناهم بهم, فهذا أحد وجهيه. وقد كان بعض أهل التأويل يوجه معنى ذلك إلى هذا الوجه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن الفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ قول الله: ( إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ) قد كانت الأنبياء والمؤمنون يقتلون في الدنيا وهم منصورون, وذلك أن تلك الأمة التي تفعل ذلك بالأنبياء والمؤمنين لا تذهب حتى يبعث الله قوما فينتصر بهم لأولئك الذين قتلوا منهم. والوجه الآخر: أن يكون هذا الكلام على وجه الخبر عن الجميع من الرسل والمؤمنين, والمراد واحد, فيكون تأويل الكلام حينئذ: إنا لننصر رسولنا محمدا صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم والذين آمنوا به في الحياة الدنيا, ويوم يقوم الأشهاد, كما بيَّنا فيما مضى أن العرب تخرج الخبر بلفظ الجميع, والمراد واحد إذا لم تنصب للخبر شخصا بعينه.