Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (23)

   (And that thought of yours which you entertained about your Lord has ruined you, so you have become among the losers.) (41:23)

   The Exalted says: and this which proceeded from you in the worldly life, namely your thought that Allāh would not know much of what you do of your shameful and evil deeds — that is your thought which you entertained about your Lord in the worldly life, [and that] has ruined you, that is to say: it has destroyed you. One says of this: ardā fulānan kadhā wa-kadhā (such-and-such ruined so-and-so), when it destroys him; and radiya huwa (he perished), when he perishes; so he yardā radā. To this belongs the saying of al-Aʿshā:

   Was it on the journey that you feared destruction for me, while many a perished one whose people did not depart [lay so]? (1)

   He means: and many a perished one whose people have not departed.

   And as we have said concerning this, so have the exegetes said.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying: ( أَرْدَاكُمْ ) (it has ruined you) — he said: it has destroyed you.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, saying: al-Ḥasan recited: ( وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ ) (And that thought of yours which you entertained about your Lord has ruined you) and said: indeed, people act only according to the measure of their thoughts about their Lord. As for the believer, he entertained a good thought about Allāh, and therefore he performed good deeds; and as for the unbeliever (kāfir) and the hypocrite (munāfiq), they both entertained an evil thought, and therefore they performed evil deeds. Your Lord has said: وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلا أَبْصَارُكُمْ (And you did not conceal yourselves out of fear that your hearing and your eyes would testify against you) ... until he reached ( الخاسرين ) (the losers). Maʿmar said: and a man related to me that a man is commanded to be driven to the Fire, whereupon he turns around and says: O Lord, this was not my thought about You. He says: and what was your thought about Me? He says: my thought was that You would forgive me and would not punish me. He says: indeed, I am according to your thought about Me.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, saying: thought is of two kinds: a saving thought and a ruining thought. He said [concerning the believers]: الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُو رَبِّهِمْ (Those who think that they will meet their Lord), and He said [concerning the blessed one]: إِنِّي ظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُلاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ (Indeed, I thought that I would meet my reckoning) — and this saving thought is a thought of certainty. And here He said: ( وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ ) (And that thought of yours which you entertained about your Lord has ruined you) — this is a ruining thought.

   And His saying: and the unbelievers said: إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلا ظَنًّا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ (We think only a thought, and we are not convinced). And it has been mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, used to say, relating this from his Lord: "I am with My servant according to his thought about Me, and I am with him when he calls upon Me." The position of His word ( ذَلِكُمْ ) (that) is in the nominative by His word ظنكم (your thought). And when that is so, then His word ( أَرْدَاكُمْ ) (it has ruined you) is in the position of the accusative with the meaning: ruining for you. It is also possible that it stands in the position of the nominative as a new sentence, with the meaning: ruining for you, just as He said: تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ * هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً (These are the verses of the Wise Book * a guidance and a mercy) in the reading of the one who reads it in the nominative. The meaning of the words is thus: this thought which you entertained about your Lord, namely that He would not know much of what you do, is that which destroyed you, for because of this thought you dared to embark upon the forbidden things of Allāh, and you gave yourselves over to them and undertook that which Allāh has forbidden you; that, then, has destroyed you and ruined you. He says: and so you have become today among the perished; you have suffered loss by exchanging your dwellings of Paradise for the dwellings of the inhabitants of the Fire.

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   The footnotes:

   (1) This verse is by al-Aʿshā, in which he addresses his daughter. The commentary on it has already been given at length in part (23 : 62). The point of evidence here is ( الردى ) (al-radā) in the meaning of destruction. It is a verbal noun of radiya (like fariḥa) yardā radā. To this belongs the saying of the Exalted: "wa-dhālikum ẓannukum alladhī ẓanantum bi-rabbikum ardākum".

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ (23) يقول تعالى ذكره: وهذا الذي كان منكم في الدنيا من ظنكم أن الله لا يعلم كثيرا مما تعملون من قبائح أعمالكم ومساويها, هو ظنكم الذي ظننتم بربكم في الدنيا أرداكم, يعني أهلككم. يقال منه: أردى فلانا كذا وكذا: إذا أهلكه, وردي هو: إذا هلك, فهو يردى ردى; ومنه قول الأعشى: أفِـي الطَّـوْفِ خِـفْتِ عَـليَّ الـرَّدَى وكَــمْ مِــنْ ردًى أهْلَـهُ لَـمْ يَـرِمْ (1) يعني: وكم من هالك أهله لم يرم. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, قوله: ( أَرْدَاكُمْ ) قال: أهلككم. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا محمد بن ثور, عن معمر, قال: تلا الحسن: ( وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ ) فقال: إنما عمل الناس على قدر ظنونهم بربهم; فأما المؤمن فأحسن بالله الظن, فأحسن العمل; وأما الكافر والمنافق, فأساءا الظن فأساءا العمل, قال ربكم: وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلا أَبْصَارُكُمْ ... حتى بلغ : ( الخاسرين ) . قال معمر: وحدثني رجل: أنه يؤمر برجل إلى النار, فيلتفت فيقول: يا ربّ ما كان هذا ظني بك, قال: وما كان ظنك بي؟ قال: كان ظني أن تغفر لي ولا تعذّبني, قال: فإني عند ظنك بي". حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قال: الظنّ ظنان, فظنّ منج, وظنّ مُرْدٍ قال: الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُو رَبِّهِمْ قال إِنِّي ظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُلاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ , وهذا الظنّ المنجي ظنا يقينا, وقال ها هنا: ( وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ ) هذا ظنّ مُرْدٍ. وقوله: وقال الكافرون إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلا ظَنًّا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ وذُكر لنا أن نبيّ الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم كان يقول ويروي ذلك عن ربه: " عَبْدِي عِنْدَ ظنِّه بِي, وأنا مَعَهُ إذَا دَعانِي". وموضع قوله: ( ذَلِكُمْ ) رفع بقوله ظنكم. وإذا كان ذلك كذلك, كان قوله: ( أَرْدَاكُمْ ) في موضع نصب بمعنى: مرديا لكم. وقد يُحتمل أن يكون في موضع رفع بالاستئناف, بمعنى: مردٍ لكم, كما قال: تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ * هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً في قراءة من قرأه بالرفع. فمعنى الكلام: هذا الظنّ الذي ظننتم بربكم من أنه لا يعلم كثيرا مما تعملون هو الذي أهلككم, لأنكم من أجل هذا الظنّ اجترأتم على محارم الله فقدمتم عليها, وركبتم ما نهاكم الله عنه, فأهلككم ذلك وأرداكم. يقول: فأصبحتم اليوم من الهالكين, قد غبنتم ببيعكم منازلكم من الجنة بمنازل أهل الجنة من النار. ------------------------ الهوامش: (1) هذا البيت للأعشى يخاطب ابنته . وقد سبق القول فيه مفصلا في الجزء ( 23 : 62 ) وموضع الشاهد هنا هو ( الردى ) بمعنى الهلاك . وهو مصدر ردي ( كفرح ) يردى ردى . ومنه قوله تعالى :" وذلكم ظنكم الذي ظننتم الذي بربكم أرداكم" .