Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   And His word ( they will not taste death therein, except the first death ) — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: these God-fearing ones will not taste death in Paradise after the first death which they tasted in this world.

   And some grammarians used to construe "illā" (except) in this position with the meaning of "siwā" (other than, apart from), and they said: the meaning of the expression is: they will not taste death therein other than the first death. And they likened this to His word, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted: and do not marry the women whom your fathers have married, except what has already passed , in the meaning of: other than what your fathers have done. But for what he has said about this there is, in my view, no intelligible ground, for the predominant sense in the utterance of someone who says: "today I will taste no food except the food I tasted before today," is that he wishes to inform about himself that on that day he has food which he tastes and eats, to the exclusion of all other food besides it.

   And since that is the predominant of its meaning, it must be that by his word ( except the first death ) he has affirmed a death of the kind of the first which they will taste. And it is known that this is not so, for Allah, mighty and exalted is He, has made the dwellers of Paradise secure from death in Paradise when they enter it. Rather, it is as I have described its meaning. And it was only permissible to place "illā" in the position of "baʿd" (after) because of the closeness of their two meanings in this position; for when the speaker says: "today I will not address any man except a man after a man at ʿAmr's," he has obligated himself not to address any man that day after addressing the man who is at ʿAmr's.

   And likewise, when he says: "today I will not address any man after a man at ʿAmr's," he has obligated himself not to address any man that day except a man at ʿAmr's. So "baʿd" and "illā" are close in meaning in this position. And it belongs to the custom of the Arabs to place one word in the position of another when their two meanings approach each other, as their placing of al-rajāʾ (hope) in the position of al-khawf (fear) because of what lies in the meaning of hope of fear, for hope is not certainty, it is merely longing, which sometimes comes true and sometimes proves false, just as fear sometimes comes true and sometimes proves false. Concerning that Abū Dhuʾayb said:

   When the wasp stings him, he does not fear its sting, and he has withstood it, while in the house of the honeybees are workers. (6)

   He said: "lam yarju lasʿahā," and the meaning of it is: he did not fear its sting. And as their placing of al-ẓann (supposition) in the position of al-ʿilm (knowledge) that is not obtained by sight, but is obtained only by inference or report, as the poet said:

   Then I said to them: be certain of two thousand heavily-armed men, whose leaders are clad in the Persian coat of mail. (7)

   In the meaning of: be certain of two thousand heavily-armed men and know it. Thus he placed al-ẓann in the position of certainty, because those to whom that was said had not seen or beheld with their own eyes two thousand heavily-armed men; it was only that this informant conveyed it to them, and he said to them: suppose the knowledge of what is not beheld — an act of the heart. Thus he placed the one in the position of the other because of the closeness of their two meanings, in comparable cases which I have mentioned and which are numerous to enumerate, just as the meaning of the two words is close to each other in some meanings, while in other matters they differ in meaning; then the Arabs place the one in the position of its companion in the position where their two meanings approach each other.

   Thus, then, is His word ( they will not taste death therein, except the first death ): "illā" is placed in the position of "baʿd" because of what we have described of the closeness of the meaning of "illā" and "baʿd" in this position. And likewise and do not marry the women whom your fathers have married, except what has already passed : the meaning of it is only: after what has passed of you in the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya). But when one construes "illā" in this position with the meaning of "siwā," then that is merely an interpretation of the passage and an explanation of it with something even more confusing for whoever wishes to obtain the knowledge of its meaning from it.

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   Footnotes:

   (6) The verse is by Abū Dhuʾayb. It is a testimony that "lam yarju" means: he did not fear. It has already been cited earlier in this tafsīr as a testimony, and it has been discussed there at length (see it in 5:264 of this edition). And in its rhyme there stands "ʿawāsil" in the position of "ʿawāmil." Both are correct.

   (7) The verse is by Durayd ibn al-Ṣimma al-Jushamī (al-Lisān: ẓnn). Al-Jawharī said: al-ẓann is well known, and it is sometimes placed in the position of al-ʿilm. Durayd ibn al-Ṣimma said: "fa-qultu lahum ẓunnū…" the verse: that is to say: be certain; he merely frightens his enemy with certainty, not with doubt. And the testimonial value in the verse lies, for the author, in this: that al-ʿilm is sometimes placed in the position of al-ẓann, just as al-rajāʾ is sometimes placed in the position of al-khawf.

   Show original Arabic

   وقوله: ( لا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلا الْمَوْتَةَ الأولَى ) يقول تعالى ذكره: لا يذوق هؤلاء المتقون في الجنة الموت بعد الموتة الأولى التي ذاقوها في الدنيا. وكان بعض أهل العربية يوجه " إلا " في هذا الموضع إلى أنها في معنى سوى, ويقول: معنى الكلام: لا يذوقون فيها الموت سوى الموتة الأولى, ويمثله بقوله تعالى ذكره: وَلا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ بمعنى: سوى ما قد فعل آباؤكم, وليس للذي قال من ذلك عندي وجه مفهوم, لأن الأغلب من قول القائل: لا أذوق اليوم الطعام إلا الطعام الذي ذقته قبل اليوم أنه يريد الخبر عن قائله أن عنده طعاما في ذلك اليوم ذائقه وطاعمه دون سائر الأطعمة غيره. وإذ كان ذلك الأغلب من معناه وجب أن يكون قد أثبت بقوله ( إِلا الْمَوْتَةَ الأولَى ) موتة من نوع الأولى هم ذائقوها, ومعلوم أن ذلك ليس كذلك, لأن الله عزّ وجلّ قد آمَن أهل الجنة في الجنة إذا هم دخلوها من الموت, ولكن ذلك كما وصفت من معناه. وإنما جاز أن توضع " إلا " في موضع " بعد " لتقارب معنييهما في هذا الموضع وذلك أن القائل إذا قال: لا أكلم اليوم رجلا إلا رجلا بعد رجل عند عمرو قد أوجب على نفسه أن لا يكلم ذلك اليوم رجلا بعد كلام الرجل الذي عند عمرو. وكذلك إذا قال: لا أكلم اليوم رجلا بعد رجل عند عمرو, قد أوجب على نفسه أن لا يكلم ذلك اليوم رجلا إلا رجلا عند عمرو, فبعد, وإلا متقاربتا المعنى في هذا الموضع. ومن شأن العرب أن تضع الكلمة مكان غيرها إذا تقارب معنياهما, وذلك كوضعهم الرجاء مكان الخوف لما في معنى الرجاء من الخوف, لأن الرجاء ليس بيقين, وإنما هو طمع, وقد يصدق ويكذب كما الخوف يصدق أحيانا ويكذب, فقال في ذلك أبو ذُؤَيْب: إذا لَسَـعَتْهُ الدَّبْـرُ لَـمْ يَـرْجُ لَسْـعَها وَخَالَفهَـا فِـي بَيْـتِ نُـوبٍ عَـوَامِلُ (6) فقال: لم يرج لسعها, ومعناه في ذلك: لم يخف لسعها, وكوضعهم الظنّ موضع العلم الذي لم يدرك من قِبل العيان, وإنما أدرك استدلالا أو خبرا, كما قال الشاعر: فَقُلْــتُ لَهُـمْ ظُنُّـوا بـألْفَيْ مُدَجَّـجٍ سَــرَاتُهُمُ فــي الفَارِسِـيّ المُسَـرَّدِ (7) بمعنى: أيقنوا بألفي مدجَّج واعلموا, فوضع الظنّ موضع اليقين, إذ لم يكن المقول لهم ذلك قد عاينوا ألفي مدجج, ولا رأوهم, وإن ما أخبرهم به هذا المخبر, فقال لهم ظنوا العلم بما لم يعاين من فعل القلب, فوضع أحدهما موضع الآخر لتقارب معنييهما في نظائر لما ذكرت يكثر إحصاؤها, كما يتقارب معنى الكلمتين في بعض المعاني, وهما مختلفتا المعنى في أشياء أخر, فتضع العرب إحداهما مكان صاحبتها في الموضع الذي يتقارب معنياهما فيه. فكذلك قوله ( لا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا الْمَوْتَ إِلا الْمَوْتَةَ الأولَى ) وضعت " إلا " في موضع " بعد " لما نصف من تقارب معنى " إلا ", و " بعد " في هذا الموضع, وكذلك وَلا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إنما معناه: بعد الذي سلف منكم في الجاهلية, فأما إذا وجهت " إلا " في هذا الموضع إلى معنى سوى, فإنما هو ترجمة عن المكان, وبيان عنها بما هو أشدّ التباسًا على من أراد علم معناها منها. ------------------------ الهوامش: (6) البيت لأبي ذؤيب . وهو شاهد على أن لم يرج : أي لم يخف . وقد سبق الاستشهاد به في هذا التفسير ، وتقدم الكلام عليه مفصلا (انظره في 5 : 264 من هذه الطبعة) . وفي قافيته :"عواسل" في موضع عوامل. وكلتاهما صحيحة. (7) البيت لدريد بن الصمة الجشمي . (اللسان : ظنن) . قال : الجوهري : الظن معروف . وقد يوضع موضع العلم . قال دريد ابن الصمة :"فقلت لهم ظنوا..." البيت : أي استيقنوا ، وإنما يخوف عدوه باليقين لا بالشك . والشاهد في البيت عند المؤلف أن العلم قد يوضع في موضع الظن ، كما أن الرجاء قد يوضع موضع الخوف.