Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The statement concerning the exegesis of His word, the Exalted: وَلَمَّا جَاءَ عِيسَى بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ("And when ʿĪsā came with the clear proofs, he said: 'I have come to you with wisdom, and to make clear to you a part of that concerning which you differ; so fear Allah and obey me'") (43:63).

   The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and when ʿĪsā came to the Children of Israel with the clear proofs, that is, with the manifest proofs. And it was said: by "the clear proofs" the Gospel was meant.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلَمَّا جَاءَ عِيسَى بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ("And when ʿĪsā came with the clear proofs"): that is, with the Gospel. And His statement: قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ("he said: 'I have come to you with wisdom'"): it was said that by "wisdom" in this place prophethood was meant.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad related to me, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ("he said: 'I have come to you with wisdom'"), he said: prophethood.

   And I have already previously set forth the meaning of "wisdom" (al-ḥikma) in this book of ours together with its evidential passages, and I have mentioned the disagreement of those who disagreed concerning its exegesis, so that that absolves us from repeating it.

   And His statement: وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ("and to make clear to you a part of that concerning which you differ"). He says: and to make clear to you, O company of the Children of Israel, a part of that concerning which you differ regarding the rulings of the Tawrāh (Torah).

   As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ("and to make clear to you a part of that concerning which you differ"), he said: regarding the distortion of the Tawrāh.

   And it has been said: the meaning of "a part" (al-baʿḍ) in this place is in the sense of "the whole" (al-kull), and they considered that analogous to the saying of Labīd:

   "A forsaker of places when they do not please me, or [until] his appointed death seizes a part of the souls."

   They said: death does not seize [only] a part of the souls; rather the meaning is: or [until] his appointed death seizes the souls. But what this speaker said has no great significance, for ʿĪsā said to them only: وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ("and to make clear to you a part of that concerning which you differ"), because there was much disagreement among them concerning the matters of their religion and their worldly affairs; so he said to them: I shall make clear to you a part of that, namely the matter of their religion, not that concerning which they differed regarding their worldly affairs; therefore he restricted that of which he informed them that he would make clear to them. And as for the saying of Labīd, "or [until] he seizes a part of the souls" — he said that likewise so, because he meant: or [until] his appointed death seizes his soul; and his soul, among the souls, is undoubtedly a part and not the whole.

   And His statement: فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ("so fear Allah and obey me"). He says: so fear your Lord, O people, by obeying Him, and fear Him by avoiding disobedience to Him, and obey me in what I have commanded you regarding the fear of Allah, the following of His command, and the acceptance of my sincere counsel to you.

   -------------------

   Footnotes:

   (1) The verse is by Labīd (Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda, folio 221). He cited it in connection with His statement, the Exalted: لأبين لكم بعض الذي تختلفون فيه ("to make clear to you a part of that concerning which you differ"). He said: "a part" (al-baʿḍ) here means: the whole of it. Labīd said: "A forsaker of... [the verse]". And in the commentary of al-Zawzanī on the seven Muʿallaqāt (p. 116) he says: I am a forsaker of places when they do not please me, unless my appointed death binds my soul, so that departure is not possible for it. And by "a part of the souls" he means here: his soul. This is the most fitting and best of the statements. And whoever takes "a part of the souls" in the sense of "all the souls" has erred, for "a part" does not indicate generality and comprehensiveness. And the precise meaning is: I forsake the places, I despise them and turn away from them, unless I die. And al-Tibrīzī said in the commentary on the ten Qaṣīdas (p. 160): he says: I forsake the places when I see in them what is reprehensible, unless death reaches me. And by "the souls" he means his soul; and "yaʿtaliq" means: binds fast. And "al-ḥimām" is death, and it is also said: destiny. And his saying "aw yaʿtaliq" (or binds) is in the jussive form, in agreement with his saying "when they do not please me". End.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَمَّا جَاءَ عِيسَى بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ (63) يقول تعالى ذكره: ولم جاء عيسى بني إسرائيل بالبينات, يعني بالواضحات من الأدلة. وقيل: عُني بالبيِّنات: الإنجيل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَلَمَّا جَاءَ عِيسَى بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ) أي بالإنجيل. وقوله: ( قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ) قيل: عُني بالحكمة في هذا الموضع: النبوّة. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد, قال: ثنا أحمد, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ( قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ ) قال: النبوّة. وقد بيَّنت معنى الحكمة فيما مضى من كتابنا هذا بشواهده, وذكرت اختلاف المختلفين في تأويله, فأغنى ذلك عن إعادته. وقوله: ( وَلأبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ) يقول: ولأبين لكم معشر بني إسرائيل بعض الذي تختلفون فيه من أحكام التوراة. كما حدثني محمد بن عمرو, قال: ثنا أبو عاصم, قال: ثنا عيسى; وحدثني الحارث, قال: ثنا الحسن قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد, قوله: ( وَلأبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ) قال: من تبديل التوراة. وقد قيل: معنى البعض في هذا الموضع بمعنى الكلّ, وجعلوا ذلك نظير قول لبيد? تَــرَّاكُ أمْكِنَــةٍ إذَا لَــمْ أرْضَهَـا أوْ يَعْتَلِـقْ بَعْـضَ النُّفـوسِ حِمامُهـا (1) قالوا: الموت لا يعتلق بعض النفوس, وإنما المعنى: أو يعتلق النفوس حمامها, وليس لما قال هذا القائل كبير معنى, لأن عيسى إنما قال لهم: ( وَلأبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ), لأنه قد كان بينهم اختلاف كثير في أسباب دينهم ودنياهم, فقال لهم: أبين لكم بعض ذلك, وهو أمر دينهم دون ما هم فيه مختلفون من أمر دنياهم, فلذلك خص ما أخبرهم أنه يبينه لهم. وأما قول لبيد: " أو يعتلق بعض النفوس ", فإنه إنما قال ذلك أيضا كذلك, لأنه أراد: أو يعتلق نفسه حمامها, فنفسه من بين النفوس لا شكّ أنها بعض لا كل. وقوله: ( فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ) يقول: فاتقوا ربكم أيها الناس بطاعته, وخافوه باجتناب معاصيه, وأطيعون فيما أمرتكم به من اتقاء الله واتباع أمره, وقبول نصيحتي لكم. ------------------- الهوامش : (1) البيت للبيد ( مجاز القرآن لأبي عبيدة . الورقة 221 ) أنشده عند قوله تعالى : ( لأبين لكم بعض الذي تختلفون فيه ) قال : البعض هاهنا : كله . قال لبيد :" تراك ... البيت" . وفي شرح الزوزني للمعلقات السبع ( ص 116 ) يقول : إني تراك أماكن إذا لم أرضها إلا أن يرتبط نفسي حمامها ، فلا يمكنها البراح . وأراد ببعض النفوس هنا : نفسه . هذا أوجه الأقوال وأحسنها . ومن جعل بعض النفوس بمعنى كل النفوس ، فقد أخطأ لأن بعضا لا يفيد العموم والاستيعاب . وتحرير المعنى : إني لا أترك الأماكن أجتويها وأقلبها ، إلا أن أموت . وقال التبريزي في شرح القصائد العشر ، ( ص 160 ) يقول : أترك الأمكنة إذا رأيت فيها ما يكره إلا أن يدركني الموت . وأراد بالنفوس نفسه ، ويعتلق : يحبس . والحمام : الموت . ويقال القدر . وقوله أو يعتلق مجزوم عطفا على قوله : إذا لم أرضها . ا هـ .