Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَلِذَلِكَ فَادْعُ وَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَقُلْ آمَنْتُ بِمَا أَنـزلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ لَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ اللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ (So to that, then, call, and stand firm as you have been commanded, and do not follow their desires, and say: I believe in what Allah has sent down of the Book, and I have been commanded to judge justly between you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord; for us our deeds and for you your deeds. There is no dispute between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and to Him is the return) (15).

   The Exalted, exalted be His remembrance, says: to this religion which He has prescribed for you, and which He enjoined upon Nūḥ, and which He has revealed to you, O Muḥammad — to that call the servants of Allah, and stand firm in acting upon it, and do not deviate from it, and hold fast to it unwaveringly, just as your Lord has commanded you to be steadfast. It has been said: ( فَلِذَلِكَ فَادْعُ ) (So to that, then, call), and the meaning is: so to that (fa-ilā dhālik). The lām is thus placed in the position of ilā, just as it is said: بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَى لَهَا (because your Lord has revealed to it). And we have already expounded that in more than one place in this our book.

   And some of the philologists gave to the meaning of it, regarding His saying: ( فَلِذَلِكَ فَادْعُ ) (So to that, then, call), the import of this meaning, and they said: the meaning of the word is: to this Qurʾān, then call and stand firm. And what he has said by this statement is, in meaning, close to what we have said, except that what we have said about it is more fitting to the explanation of the word, for it comes in the context of Allah's report — exalted be His praise — about what He has prescribed for you of the religion to His prophet Muḥammad — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — namely standing firm in it; and there has come in the word nothing to indicate that it turns away from that to something else.

   And His saying: ( وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ) (and do not follow their desires): the Exalted, exalted be His remembrance, says: and do not follow, O Muḥammad, the desires of those who doubted the truth which Allah has prescribed for you — of those who inherited the Book after the bygone generations before them — lest you should doubt it, just as they doubted it.

   The Exalted, exalted be His remembrance, says: and say to them, O Muḥammad: I have believed in what Allah has sent down of the Book, whatever that Book was — whether it was the Torah, or the Gospel, or the Psalms, or the scrolls of Ibrāhīm — I deny nothing of it, just as you, O company of the confederates (al-aḥzāb), deny a part of it and hold a part of it to be true.

   And His saying: ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) (and I have been commanded to judge justly between you): the Exalted, exalted be His remembrance, says: and say to them, O Muḥammad: and my Lord has commanded me to judge justly between you, O company of the confederates, and to act among you all according to the truth which He has commanded me and to which He has sent me to call.

   As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) (and I have been commanded to judge justly between you), he said: the prophet of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — was commanded to judge justly, and he judged justly until he died, the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him. And justice is the balance of Allah on earth; by it He obtains for the wronged their due from the wrongdoer, and for the weak from the strong, and by justice Allah confirms the truthful as truthful, and brands the liar as a liar, and by justice He repels the transgressor and punishes him.

   We have been told that the prophet of Allah, Dāwūd — peace be upon him — used to say: three qualities, in whomever they are found, please me greatly: moderation in poverty and wealth, justice in contentment and anger, and fear of God in secret and in public; and three qualities, in whomever they are found, destroy him: stinginess that is obeyed, a desire that is followed, and a person's self-conceit. And four qualities, to whomever they are given, to him has been given the good of the worldly life and the Hereafter: a tongue practicing remembrance, a grateful heart, a patient body, and a believing wife.

   And the philologists differed concerning the meaning of the lām in His saying ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) (and I have been commanded to judge justly between you). Some of the grammarians of Basra said: its meaning is: in order that (kay), "and I have been commanded in order that I judge justly." And another said: the meaning of the word is: and I have been commanded to justice, and the command falls upon what follows it, and the lām in "li-aʿdil" is not a condition. He said: ( وَأُمِرْتُ ) (and I have been commanded) falls upon "an" and upon "kay" and upon the lām: "I have been commanded that I worship" (an aʿbud), and "in order that I worship" (kay aʿbud), and "to worship" (li-aʿbud). He said: and likewise with every verb that seeks the future, these three possibilities apply.

   And the correct view about it, in my opinion, is that the command acts upon the meaning of "li-aʿdil," for its meaning is: and I have been commanded to justice between you.

   And His saying: ( اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ ) (Allah is our Lord and your Lord), he says: Allah is our Owner and your Owner, O company of the confederates among the people of the two Books, the Torah and the Gospel.

   He says: for us is the reward of what we have earned of deeds, and for you is the reward of what you have earned of them.

   And His saying: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ) (There is no dispute between us and you), he says: there is no contention between us and you. As:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُم ) (There is no dispute between us and you), he said: there is no contention.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the saying of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ) (There is no dispute between us and you): there is no contention between us and you. And he recited: وَلا تُجَادِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ (And do not dispute with the People of the Book except in the best manner).... to the end of the verse.

   And His saying: ( اللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا ) (Allah will bring us together), he says: Allah will bring us together on the Day of Resurrection, and He will judge between us in truth concerning that about which we differed. ( وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ ) (and to Him is the return), he says: and to Him is the return and the homecoming after our death.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : فَلِذَلِكَ فَادْعُ وَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَقُلْ آمَنْتُ بِمَا أَنـزلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ لَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ اللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ (15) يقول تعالى ذكره: فإلى ذلك الدين الذي شَرَع لكم, ووصّى به نوحا, وأوحاه إليك يا محمد, فادع عباد الله, واستقم على العمل به, ولا تزغ عنه, واثبت عليه كما أمرك ربك بالاستقامة. وقيل: فلذلك فادع, والمعنى: فإلى ذلك, فوضعت اللام موضع إلى, كما قيل: بِأَنَّ رَبَّكَ أَوْحَى لَهَا وقد بيَّنا ذلك في غير موضع من كتابنا هذا. وكان بعض أهل العربية يوجه معنى ذلك, في قوله: ( فَلِذَلِكَ فَادْعُ ) إلى معنى هذا, ويقول: معنى الكلام: فإلى هذا القرآن فادع واستقم. والذي قال من هذا القول قريب المعنى مما قلناه, غير أن الذي قلنا في ذلك أولى بتأويل الكلام, لأنه في سياق خبر الله جلّ ثناؤه عما شرع لكم من الدين لنبيه محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم بإقامته, ولم يأت من الكلام ما يدلّ على انصرافه عنه إلى غيره. وقوله: ( وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ولا تتبع يا محمد أهواء الذين شكُّوا في الحقّ الذي شرعه الله لكم من الذين أورثوا الكتاب من بعد القرون الماضية قبلهم, فتشك فيه, كالذي شكوا فيه. يقول تعالى ذكره: وقل لهم يا محمد: صدّقت بما أنـزل الله من كتاب كائنا ما كان ذلك الكتاب, توراة كان أو إنجيلا أو زبورا أو صحف إبراهيم, لا أكذب بشيء من ذلك تكذيبكم ببعضه معشر الأحزاب, وتصديقكم ببعض. وقوله: ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وقل لهم يا محمد: وأمرني ربي أن أعدل بينكم معشر الأحزاب, فأسير فيكم جميعا بالحق الذي أمرني به وبعثني بالدعاء إليه. كالذي حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قوله: ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) قال: أمر نبي الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم أن يعدل, فعدل حتى مات صلوات الله وسلامه عليه. والعدل ميزان الله في الأرض, به يأخذ للمظلوم من الظالم, وللضعيف من الشديد, وبالعدل يصدّق الله الصادق, ويكذّب الكاذب, وبالعدل يردّ المعتدي ويوبخه. ذكر لنا أن نبي الله داود عليه السلام: كان يقول: ثلاث من كن فيه أعجبني جدا: القصد في الفاقة والغنى, والعدل في الرضا والغضب, والخشية في السر والعلانية; وثلاث من كن فيه أهلكه: شح مطاع, وهوى متبع, وإعجاب المرء بنفسه. وأربع من أعطيهن فقد أعطي خير الدنيا والآخرة: لسان ذاكر, وقلب شاكر, وبدن صابر, وزوجة مؤمنة. واختلف أهل العربية في معنى اللام التي في قوله: ( وَأُمِرْتُ لأعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمُ ) فقال بعض نحويي البصرة: معناها: كي, وأمرت كي أعدل; وقال غيره: معنى الكلام: وأمرت بالعدل, والأمر واقع على ما بعده, وليست اللام التي في لأعدل بشرط; قال: ( وَأُمِرْتُ ) تقع على " أن " وعلى " كي" واللام أمرت أن أعبد, وكي أعبد, ولأعبد. قال: وكذلك كلّ من طالب الاستقبال, ففيه هذه الأوجه الثلاثة. والصواب من القول في ذلك عندي أن الأمر عامل في معنى لأعدل, لأن معناه: وأمرت بالعدل بينكم. وقوله: ( اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ ) يقول: الله مالكنا ومالكم معشر الأحزاب ما أهل الكتابين التوراة والإنجيل. يقول: لنا ثواب ما اكتسبناه من الأعمال, ولكم ثواب ما اكتسبتم منها. وقوله: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ) يقول: لا خصومة بيننا وبينكم. كما: حدثني محمد بن عمرو, قال: ثنا أبو عاصم, قال: ثنا عيسى; والحارث, قال: ثنا الحسن, قال ثنا ورقاء جميعا, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد, في قوله: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُم ) قال: لا خصومة. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قول الله عز وجل: ( لا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ) لا خصومة بيننا وبينكم, وقرأ: وَلا تُجَادِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ .... إلى آخر الآية. وقوله: ( اللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا ) يقول: الله يجمع بيننا يوم القيامة, فيقضي بيننا بالحقّ فيما اختلفنا فيه.( وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ ) يقول: وإليه المعاد والمرجع بعد مماتنا.