Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ (7) (Those who bear the Throne and those around it glorify the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who believe: "Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way, and guard them against the punishment of the Hellfire" (40:7)).

   He, whose mention is exalted, says: those who bear the Throne of Allah among His angels, and whoever is around His Throne among the angels who surround it, يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ (glorify the praise of their Lord) — He says: they perform prayer to their Lord with His praise and His thanks. وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ (and they believe in Him) — He says: and they acknowledge concerning Allah that there is for them no god besides Him, and they bear witness to that; they are not too arrogant to worship Him. وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (and they ask forgiveness for those who believe) — He says: and they ask their Lord to forgive the sins of those who have acknowledged the same as they have acknowledged, namely the oneness of Allah (tawḥīd) and freeing oneself from every object worshipped besides Him, so that He may remit those sins for them.

   As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (and they ask forgiveness for those who believe): for the people of "lā ilāha illā Allāh" (there is no god but Allah).

   And His statement: رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا (Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge) — in this sentence something has been omitted, namely "they say"; the meaning of the sentence is: and they ask forgiveness for those who believe, while they say: "O our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge." And by His statement وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا (You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge) He means: Your mercy and Your knowledge encompass every thing of Your creation, so that You know everything and nothing is hidden from You, and You have mercy upon Your creation and encompass them with Your mercy.

   The linguists have differed over the manner of the naṣb (accusative ending) in "raḥmatan" (mercy) and "ʿilman" (knowledge). Some of the grammarians of Basra said: putting them in the accusative is like putting them in the accusative in the expression "laka mithluhu ʿabdan" (you have the like of it as a slave), for you have made "wasiʿat kulla shayʾin" (it encompassed every thing), and that is a direct object, while the agent is the tāʾ (the ending of the second person), and He brought "al-raḥma" and "al-ʿilm" as an explanation (tafsīr), while the verb had already been derived from them, just as "al-mithl" had been taken up by the hāʾ; therefore he put it in the accusative, by way of correspondence with the direct object after the agent. Another said: it is of the transferred type (al-manqūl) and is explanatory (mufassir): "wasiʿat raḥmatuhu wa-ʿilmuhu" (His mercy and His knowledge encompassed), and "wasiʿa huwa kulla shayʾin raḥmatan" (He encompassed every thing in mercy), as you say: "ṭābat bihi nafsī, ṭibta bihi nafsan" (my soul was content with it — you were content with it in soul). He said: as for "laka mithluhu ʿabdan", the measures are always known, like "ʿindī raṭlun zaytan" (I have a pound of oil), while "al-mithl" is not known, but its form is the form of a definite noun (maʿrifa), and "al-ʿabd" is an indefinite noun (nakira); therefore "al-ʿabd" was put in the accusative, although it is also permissible to put it in the nominative. And he adduced in support of that statement the verse of the poet:

   "There is in Maʿadd and all the tribes together, nor among Qaḥṭān, a single one equal to you that counts." (5)

   And he said: he made "al-wāḥid" (the one) refer back to "mithl" (equal), because it is an indefinite noun. He said: and if you were to say "mā mithluka rajulun" (there is no man equal to you), "mithluka rajulun" and "mithluka rajulan", then all three are permissible, for "mithl" can be an indefinite noun, even though its form is that of a definite noun.

   And His statement: فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ (so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way) — He says: forgive the crime of whoever among Your servants has repented of assigning partners to You (shirk) and has returned to Your oneness (tawḥīd) and followed Your command and Your prohibition.

   As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا (forgive those who have repented): of shirk.

   And His statement: وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ (and followed Your way) — He says: and they walked the way which You commanded them to walk, and they held fast to the path to which You commanded them to hold fast, and that is entering into Islam.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning that, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ (and followed Your way): that is, Your obedience. And His statement: وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ (and guard them against the punishment of the Hellfire) — He says: and turn away from those who have repented of shirk and followed Your way the punishment of the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.

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   Footnotes:

   (5) I have not been able to identify its poet. The author adduced it in connection with His statement, the Exalted: "Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge", where the linguists differed over the accusative of "raḥma" … and so forth. The evidentiary point in the verse lies in his words "mithluka wāḥidun"; for with "wāḥid" it is permissible that it refers back to "mithluka" by way of substitution (badal) for it. It is also permissible that it be an explanation (tafsīr), that is, a specification (tamyīz) for "mithl", for even though it is in its form a definite noun, it is in its meaning an indefinite noun, and it therefore had need of the explanation, the specification, as you say: "laka mithluhu arḍan" (you have the like of it as land), "ʿindī faddānun arḍan" (I have a faddān of land) and "raṭlun zaytan" (a pound of oil). For the measures are always known, and his word "mithluka" is in meaning of the nature of the measure-words. As for the accusative of "raḥma" in the verse, the author has already expounded that.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ (7) يقول تعالى ذكره: الذين يحملون عرش الله من ملائكته, ومن حول عرشه, ممن يحفّ به من الملائكة ( يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ ) يقول: يصلون لربهم بحمده وشكره ( وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ) يقول: ويقرّون بالله أنه لا إله لهم سواه, ويشهدون بذلك, لا يستكبرون عن عبادته ( وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ) يقول: ويسألون ربهم أن يغفر للذين أقرّوا بمثل إقرارهم من توحيد الله, والبراءة من كلّ معبود سواه ذنوبهم, فيعفوها عنهم. كما حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قوله: ( وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ) لأهل لا اله إلا الله. وقوله: ( رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا ) , وفي هذا الكلام محذوف, وهو يقولون; ومعنى الكلام ويستغفرون للذين آمنوا يقولون: يا ربنا وسعت كلّ شيء رحمة وعلما. ويعني بقوله: ( وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا ) : وسعت رحمتك وعلمك كل شيء من خلقك, فعلمت كل شيء, فلم يخف عليك شيء, ورحمت خلقك, ووسعتهم برحمتك. وقد اختلف أهل العربية في وجه نصب الرحمة والعلم, فقال بعض نحويّي البصرة: انتصاب ذلك كانتصاب لك مثله عبدا, لأنك قد جعلت وسعت كلّ شيء, وهو مفعول له, والفاعل التاء, وجاء بالرحمة والعلم تفسيرا, وقد شغلت عنهما الفعل كما شغلت المثل بالهاء, فلذلك نصبته تشبيها بالمفعول بعد الفاعل; وقال غيره: هو من المنقول, وهو مفسر, وسعت رحمته وعلمه, ووسع هو كلّ شيء رحمة, كما تقول: طابت به نفسي, طبت به نفسا, . قال: أما لك مثله عبدا, فإن المقادير لا تكون إلا معلومة مثل عندي رطل زيتا, والمثل غير معلوم, ولكن لفظه لفظ المعرفة والعبد نكرة, فلذلك نصب العبد, وله أن يرفع, واستشهد لقيله ذلك بقول الشاعر: مــا فــي مَعَــدّ والقبـائِلِ كُلِّهـا قَحْطَــانَ مِثْلُــكَ وَاحِــدٌ مَعْـدُودُ (5) وقال: ردّ" الواحد " على " مثل " لأنه نكرة, قال: ولو قلت: ما مثلك رجل, ومثلك رجل, ومثلك رجلا جاز, لأن مثل يكون نكرة, وإن كان لفظها معرفة. وقوله: ( فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ ) يقول: فاصفح عن جرم من تاب من الشرك بك من عبادك, فرجع إلى توحيدك, واتبع أمرك ونهيك. كما حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتاده ( فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا ) من الشرك. وقوله: ( وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ ) يقول: وسلكوا الطريق الذي أمرتهم أن يسلكوه, ولزموا المنهاج الذي أمرتهم بلزومه, وذلك الدخول في الإسلام. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ ) : أي طاعتك وقوله: ( وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ ) يقول: واصرف عن الذين تابوا من الشرك, واتبعوا سبيلك عذاب النار يوم القيامة. ------------------------ الهوامش: (5) لم اقف على قائله . واستشهد به المؤلف عند قوله تعالى :" ربنا وسعت كل شيء رحمة وعلما" وقد اختلف أهل العربية في نصب رحمة .... الخ . والشاهد في البيت قوله" مثلك واحد" ؛ فيجوز في" واحد" أن يرد على" مثلك" بطريق البدل منه . ويجوز أيضا أن يكون تفسيرا . أي تمييزا لمثل ، لأنه وإن كان معرفة في لفظه ، فهو نكرة في معناه ، فاحتاج من أجل ذلك إلى التفسير" التمييز" مثل قولك : لك مثله أرضا ، وعندي فدان أرضا ، ورطل زيتا . لأن المقادير لا تكون إلا معلومة ، وقوله" مثلك" في المعنى ألفاظ المقادير . وأما نصب رحمة في الآية ، فقد بينه المؤلف .