Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ("And whomever Allah leaves to stray, for him there is no protector after Him").

   He says: and whomever Allah abandons to his own devices regarding the right path, for him there is no protector who shows him mercy, guides him to the way of right guidance, and sets him straight after Allah's leading him astray.

   وَتَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ ("And you will see the wrongdoers when they behold the punishment").

   The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: and you will see those who are disbelievers toward Allah, O Muḥammad, on the Day of Resurrection, when they behold the punishment (ʿadhāb) of Allah with their own eyes, while they say to their Lord: هَلْ ("Is there") for us, O Lord, إِلَى مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ("any way to return?"). And that is like His word: وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُو رُءُوسِهِمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا ("And if you could see when the criminals hang their heads before their Lord: 'Our Lord, we have seen and heard'")... the verse. They begged for divine pleasure, the wretched ones, at a time that was not the time for begging for divine pleasure.

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

   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 word: هَلْ إِلَى مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ("Is there any way to return?"). He says: to the worldly life.

   The grammarians (ahl al-ʿarabiyya) differed concerning the manner in which "inna" (إنَّ) enters into His word: إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ ("Verily, that is among the matters of firm resolve"), together with the entry of the lām into His word: وَلَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ ("And whoever is patient and forgives"). The grammarian of the people of Basra said concerning that: as for the lām which stands in His word وَلَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ ("And whoever is patient and forgives"), that is the lām of inception (lām al-ibtidāʾ). And as for "inna dhālika", its meaning is — and Allah knows best —: verily, that from him is among the matters of firm resolve. He said: one may say: "I passed by the house: the cubit for a dirham", that is, a cubit of it for a dirham; and "I passed by wheat: a qafīz for a dirham", that is, a qafīz of it for a dirham. He said: and as for the commencing with "inna" in this place, that is like قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلاقِيكُمْ ("Say: verily, the death from which you flee, verily it will meet you") — the commencing of the statement is permissible, and this applies when the statement in this place is long.

   And some of them held this statement to be incorrect and said: when the Arabs place the lām at the beginning of the conditional clause (al-jazāʾ), they answer it with the answers of oaths: with "mā", "lā", "inna", and the lām. He said: and this belongs to that type, as He said: لَئِنْ أُخْرِجُوا لا يَخْرُجُونَ مَعَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ قُوتِلُوا لا يَنْصُرُونَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ نَصَرُوهُمْ لَيُوَلُّنَّ الأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لا يُنْصَرُونَ ("Surely, if they are expelled, they will not go forth with them, and surely, if they are fought, they will not help them, and surely, if they should help them, they would certainly turn their backs, and then they would not be helped") — thus He brought "lā" and the lām as an answer to the first lām. He said: and were one to say "surely, if I rise, verily I rise", that would be permissible, and it does not require a referential pronoun (ʿāʾid), because the answer in the oath sometimes contains a referential pronoun and sometimes does not. Do you not see that you say: "surely, if I rise, verily I shall rise", and "I do not rise", and "verily I rise" — without bringing a referential pronoun? He said: and as for their saying "I passed by the house: the cubit for a dirham", and "wheat: a qafīz for a dirham", there it is unavoidable that the second be connected to the first by a referential pronoun; and the referential pronoun is omitted therein only because the second is a partitive designation (tabʿīḍ) of the first: "I passed by wheat: a part of it for a dirham, and a part of it for a dirham". So because the meaning was the partitive designation, the referential pronoun was omitted. He said: and as for commencing with "inna" in every place when the statement is long, it is not permissible to commence except with the meaning of: "Say: verily, the death from which you flee" — for it is an answer to the conditional clause, as though He said: that from which you flee in the way of death, verily it will meet you.

   And this second statement is, in my judgment, the most fitting and the correct one therein, on account of the reasons we have mentioned.

   Show original Arabic

   ( وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ) يقول: ومن خذله الله عن الرشاد, فليس له من ولي يليه, فيهديه لسبيل الصواب, ويسدده من بعد إضلال الله إياه ( وَتَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم: وترى الكافرين بالله يا محمد يوم القيامة لما عاينوا عذاب الله يقولون لربهم: ( هَلْ ) لنا يا رب ( إِلَى مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ) وذلك كقوله وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُو رُءُوسِهِمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا ... الآية, استعتب المساكين في غير حين الاستعتاب. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ, في قوله: ( هَلْ إِلَى مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ) يقول: إلى الدنيا. واختلف أهل العربية في وجه دخول " إنَّ" في قوله: ( إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ ) مع دخول اللام في قوله: (وَلَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ ) فكان نحوي أهل البصرة يقول في ذلك: أما اللام التي في قوله: (وَلَمَنْ صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ ) فلام الابتداء, وأما إن ذلك فمعناه والله أعلم: إن ذلك منه من عزم الأمور, وقال: قد تقول: مررت بالدار الذراع بدرهم: أي الذراع منها بدرهم, ومررت ببرّ قفيز بدرهم, أي قفيز منه بدرهم. قال: وأما ابتداء " إنَّ" في هذا الموضع, فمثل قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلاقِيكُمْ يجوز ابتداء الكلام, وهذا إذا طال الكلام في هذا الموضع. وكان بعضهم يستخطئ هذا القول ويقول: إن العرب إذا أدخلت اللام في أوائل الجزاء أجابته بجوابات الأيمان بما, ولا وإنَّ واللام: قال: وهذا من ذاك, كما قال: لَئِنْ أُخْرِجُوا لا يَخْرُجُونَ مَعَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ قُوتِلُوا لا يَنْصُرُونَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ نَصَرُوهُمْ لَيُوَلُّنَّ الأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لا يُنْصَرُونَ فجاء بلا وباللام جوابا للام الأولى. قال: ولو قال: لئن قمت إني لقائم لجاز ولا حاجة به إلى العائد, لأن الجواب في اليمين قد يكون فيه العائد, وقد لا يكون; ألا ترى أنك تقول: لئن قمت لأقومنّ, ولا أقوم, وإني لقائم فلا تأتي بعائد. قال: وأما قولهم: مررت بدار الذراع بدرهم وببرّ قفيز بدرهم, فلا بد من أن يتصل بالأوّل بالعائد, وإنما يحذف العائد فيه, لأن الثاني تبعيض للأولّ مررت ببر بعضه بدرهم, وبعضه بدرهم; فلما كان المعنى التبعيض حذف العائد. قال: وأما ابتداء " إن " فى كل موضع إذا طال الكلام, فلا يجوز أن تبتدئ إلا بمعنى: قل إن الموت الذي تفرّون منه, فإنه جواب للجزاء, كأنه قال: ما فررتم منه من الموت, فهو ملاقيكم. وهذا القول الثاني عندي أولى في ذلك بالصواب للعلل التي ذكرناها.