Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   And His statement: وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ("And the good deed and the evil deed are not equal"). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and not equal are the good deed of those who said "Our Lord is Allah" and then remained steadfast, and who acted well in their word and in their giving ear to and turning toward that to which He called them of His obedience, and who called the servants of Allah to the like of that in which they gave ear to their Lord — and the evil deed of those who said: لا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ ("Do not listen to this Qurʾān, and make clamor amid it, that perhaps you may prevail"). Thus their states and their ranks with Allah are not equal, but they differ, just as the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, has described that He has distinguished between the two. And the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, said: وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ("And the good deed and the evil deed are not equal"), and He repeated "lā" (not); and the meaning is: not equal are the good deed and the evil deed. For everything that is not equal to a thing, to it that thing to which it is not equal is in turn not equal — just as everything that is equal to a thing, to which that other is in turn equal, is equal to it. One says: so-and-so is equal to so-and-so, and so-and-so is equal to him; likewise: so-and-so is not equal to so-and-so, nor is so-and-so equal to him. For this reason "lā" was repeated with "the evil deed"; and even had it not been repeated with it, the sentence would have been correct.

   And one of the grammarians of Basra used to say: it is permissible to say that the second "lā" is redundant, by which he means: not equal are ʿAbd Allāh and Zayd, "lā" having been added for emphasis, as He said: لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَلا يَقْدِرُونَ ("so that the People of the Book may know that they have no power"), that is to say: so that they may know; and as He said: لا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ * وَلا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ ("I swear by the Day of Resurrection * and I swear by the self-reproaching soul"). And some of them rejected this statement concerning لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ ("so that the People of the Book may know") and concerning His statement لا أُقْسِمُ ("I swear"), and they said: the second "lā" in His statement لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ ("so that the People of the Book may know") — namely "an lā yaqdirūn" ("that they have no power") — is restored to its own place, for the negation attaches only to "yaqdirūn" (they have power), not to "the knowing," just as one says: "I do not think that Zayd does not stand up," in the meaning: "I think that Zayd does not stand up." He said: and sometimes they reinforce the expression and place it both at the front and at the rear; and sometimes they suffice with the first in place of the second.

   And it has been related — as heard from the Arabs: "mā ka-annī aʿrifuhā" ("it is not as though I know her"), that is to say: "as though I do not know her." He said: and as for the "lā" in His statement لا أُقْسِمُ ("I swear"), that is merely a response (to something preceding), and the oath after it is a fresh beginning; and the particle of negation cannot be an inceptive subject (mubtadaʾ) that introduces a clause (ṣila).

   And what is intended by His statement وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَة ("And the good deed and the evil deed are not equal") is only: and not equal are belief in Allah and acting according to His obedience, and the ascribing of partners to Him (shirk) and acting according to His disobedience.

   And His statement: ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ("Repel by that which is better"). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: repel, O Muḥammad, by your forbearance the foolishness of whoever behaves foolishly toward you, and by your forgiveness toward whoever did you wrong the wrongdoing of the wrongdoer, and by your patience toward them the detestable thing that you experience from them and what befalls you from their side.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning that, the scholars of interpretation have spoken, with mutual difference in their interpretation of it.

   * The mention of who said that:

   ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ("Repel by that which is better"), he said: Allah has commanded the believers to patience at the moment of anger, and to forbearance and forgiveness at the moment of wrongdoing; and when they do that, Allah protects them from the satan, and their enemy submits to them as though he were an intimate protector (walī ḥamīm).

   And others said: the meaning of that is: repel by the greeting of peace the wrongdoing of whoever did you wrong.

   * The mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ṭalḥa ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ("Repel by that which is better"), he said: by the greeting of peace.

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jazarī, on the authority of Mujāhid: ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ("Repel by that which is better"), he said: "peace be upon you" when you meet him.

   And His statement: فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ("and behold, then he between whom and you there was enmity is as though an intimate protector"). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: do this which I have commanded you, O Muḥammad, namely the repelling of the evil deed of whoever does you wrong by your good-doing which I have commanded you toward him; then he who did you wrong, between whom and you there is enmity, becomes — through his kindness toward you and his benevolence toward you — as an intimate protector for you, as one of the sons of your paternal uncles, close to you in kinship; and "al-ḥamīm" is the nearest relative.

   As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ("as though an intimate protector"): that is to say: as though he were a near blood relative.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله: ( وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ولا تستوي حسنة الذين قالوا ربنا الله ثم استقاموا, فأحسنوا في قولهم, وإجابتهم وبهم إلى ما دعاهم إليه من طاعته, ودعوا عباد الله إلى مثل الذي أجابوا ربهم إليه, وسيئة الذين قالوا: لا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ فكذلك لا تستوي عند الله أحوالهم ومنازلهم, ولكنها تختلف كما وصف جلّ ثناؤه أنه خالف بينهما, وقال جلّ ثناؤه: ( وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ) فكرر لا والمعنى: لا تستوي الحسنة ولا السيئة, لأن كلّ ما كان غير مساو شيئا, فالشيء الذي هو له غير مساو غير مساويه, كما أن كل ما كان مساويا لشيء فالآخر الذي هو له مساو, مساو له, فيقال: فلان مساو فلانا, وفلان له مساو, فكذلك فلان ليس مساويا لفلان, لا فلان مساويا له, فلذلك كرّرت لا مع السيئة, ولو لم تكن مكرّرة معها كان الكلام صحيحا. وقد كان بعض نحويي البصرة يقول: يجوز أن يقال: الثانية زائدة; يريد: لا يستوي عبد الله وزيد, فزيدت لا توكيدا, كما قال لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَلا يَقْدِرُونَ أي لأن يعلم, وكما قال: لا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ * وَلا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ . وقد كان بعضهم ينكر قوله هذا في: لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ , وفي قوله: لا أُقْسِمُ فيقول: لا الثانية في قوله: لِئَلا يَعْلَمَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أن لا يقدرون ردّت إلى موضعها, لأن النفي إنما لحق يقدرون لا العلم, كما يقال: لا أظنّ زيدا لا يقوم, بمعنى: أظن زيدا لا يقوم; قال: وربما استوثقوا فجاءوا به أوّلا وآخرا, وربما اكتفوا بالأول من الثاني. وحُكي سماعا من العرب: ما كأني أعرفها: أي كأني لا أعرفها. قال: وأما " لا " في قوله لا أُقْسِمُ فإنما هو جواب, والقسم بعدها مستأنف, ولا يكون حرف الجحد مبتدأ صلة. وإنما عنى يقوله.( وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَة ) ولا يستوي الإيمان بالله والعمل بطاعته والشرك به والعمل بمعصيته. وقوله: ( ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيّه محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم: ادفع يا محمد بحلمك جهل من جهل عليك, وبعفوك عمن أساء إليك إساءة المسيء, وبصبرك عليهم مكروه ما تجد منهم, ويلقاك من قِبلهم. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل على اختلاف منهم في تأويله. * ذكر من قال ذلك. حدثني عليّ, قال: ثنا أبو صالح, قال ثني معاوية, عن عليّ, عن ابن عباس, قوله: ( ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ) قال: أمر الله المؤمنين بالصبر عند الغضب, والحلم والعفو عند الإساءة, فإذا فعلوا ذلك عصمهم الله من الشيطان, وخضع لهم عدوُّهم, كأنه وليّ حميم. وقال آخرون: معنى ذلك: ادفع بالسلام على من أساء إليك إساءته. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن بشار, قال: ثنا أبو عامر, قال: ثنا سفيان, عن طلحة بن عمرو, عن عطاء ( ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ) قال: بالسلام. حدثنا محمد بن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا محمد بن ثور, عن معمر, عن عبد الكريم الجزري, عن مجاهد ( ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ) قال: السلام عليك إذا لقيته. وقوله: ( فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: افعل هذا الذي أمرتك به يا محمد من دفع سيئة المسيء إليك بإحسانك الذي أمرتك به إليه, فيصير المسيء إليك الذي بينك وبينه عداوة, كأنه من ملاطفته إياك. وبرّه لك, وليّ لك من بني أعمامك, قريب النسب بك, والحميم: هو القريب. كما حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد. قال: ثنا سعيد, , عن قتادة ( كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ) : أي كأنه وليّ قريب.