Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His word, the Exalted: قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah, so that He may recompense a people for what they used to earn") (14)

   The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to His Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: Say, O Muḥammad, to those who held Allah to be truthful and followed you, that they should be forgiving toward those who do not fear the tremendous punishment of Allah, His retributions and His vengeance, when these befall them with affliction and horror. لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ("so that He may recompense a people for what they used to earn") — he says: so that Allah may recompense these polytheists (mushrikīn) who inflict affliction upon them in the Hereafter, that His punishment may befall them for the sin they used to earn in the life of this world, and then for the affliction they inflicted upon those who believe in Allah.

   And in accordance with what we have said concerning this the exegetes have spoken.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah, so that He may recompense a people for what they used to earn"), he said: the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to turn away from the polytheists when they inflicted affliction upon him, and they used to mock him and deny him. Then Allah, mighty and exalted is He, commanded him to fight all the polytheists. Thus this belongs to the abrogated portion (al-mansūkh).

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("toward those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: they are not concerned with the favors of Allah, nor with the retributions of Allah.

   Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("they do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: they are not concerned with the favors of Allah. And this verse is abrogated (mansūkh) by the command of Allah to fight the polytheists. And we have only said: it is abrogated, on account of the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the exegetes that it is so.

   * Mention of who said that:

   And we have already mentioned the narration concerning this from Ibn ʿAbbās. Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His word قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: it has been abrogated by what is in al-Anfāl: فَإِمَّا تَثْقَفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ فَشَرِّدْ بِهِمْ مَنْ خَلْفَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ("So if you encounter them in war, scatter by means of them those who are behind them, that perhaps they may take heed") and in Barāʾa (al-Tawba): قَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَافَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ كَافَّةً ("Fight the polytheists all together, just as they fight you all together") — He commanded them to fight until they would bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is the messenger of Allah.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: it has been abrogated by فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ ("So kill the polytheists").

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: this is abrogated; Allah commanded them to fight in the sūra of Barāʾa.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, saying: ʿAnbasa related to us, on the authority of someone he mentioned, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: it has been abrogated by that which is in al-Ḥajj: أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا ("Permission is given to those who are fought, because they have been wronged").

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ("Say to those who believe that they should forgive those who do not look forward to the days of Allah"), he said: those are the polytheists. He said: and this is abrogated, and jihād against them and harshness toward them has been made obligatory.

   And the jussive form (jazm) of His word (yaghfirū, "that they should forgive") is by way of comparison with the reward-and-condition pattern, although it is not that; rather it is because of the fact that in the utterance it appears according to its example, and so it has been inflected by analogy to it. And the exposition of that has already passed previously.

   And the reciters differed over the reading of His word لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا ("so that He may recompense a people"). Some of the reciters of Medina, Basra, and Kūfa read it (li-yajziya, "so that He may recompense") with the yāʾ, in the manner of the report about Allah, namely that He recompenses and rewards them. And some of the generality of the reciters of Kūfa read it "li-najziya" ("so that We may recompense") with the nūn, in the manner of Allah's report about Himself. And it has been transmitted from Abū Jaʿfar the reciter that he read it لِيُجْزَى قَوْمًا ("so that a people may be recompensed") in the passive voice whose agent is not named, and that, according to the speech of the Arabs, is a grammatical error (laḥn) (1), unless he intended: so that the recompense may recompense a people, with "the recompense" being kept implicit and placed in the nominative (li-yujzī), whereby it would be a valid manner of reading, even if it is far-fetched (2).

   And the correct view of the matter concerning this, according to us, is that the reading of it with the yāʾ and with the nūn, according to what I have mentioned of the reading of the various regions, is permissible; with whichever of those two readings the reciter recites. As for his reading according to what I have mentioned about Abū Jaʿfar, that, according to me, is not permissible for two reasons: the first is that it contradicts that upon which the authoritative reciters rely, and it is not, according to me, permissible to deviate from that which is widely transmitted among them. And the second is its remoteness from correctness in the Arabic language, except by bending the utterance by force toward something other than its known manner.

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   Footnotes:

   (1) The speech of the Arabs is no proof against the Qurʾān-reading (qirāʾa); rather, the Qurʾān-reading is a proof against their speech.

   (2) It is possible that the deputy agent (nāʾib al-fāʿil) is His word, the Exalted: (bimā kānū yaksibūn, "for what they used to earn").

   (3) His word: "that is not permissible" — this is incorrect, for the reading is a correct, uninterrupted mass-transmitted (mutawātir) reading of the ten, equal in strength to that of the seven.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (14) يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: قل يا محمد للذين صدّقوا الله واتبعوك, يغفروا للذين لا يخافون بأس الله ووقائعه ونقمه إذا هم نالوهم بالأذى والمكروه ( لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ) يقول: ليجزي الله هؤلاء الذين يؤذونهم من المشركين في الآخرة, فيصيبهم عذابه بما كانوا فى الدنيا يكسبون من الإثم, ثم بأذاهم أهل الإيمان بالله. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: ثني عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس, قوله ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ) قال: كان نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يعرض عن المشركين إذا آذوه, وكانوا يستهزئون به, ويكذّبونه, فأمره الله عزّ وجلّ أن يقاتل المشركين كافَّة, فكان هذا من المنسوخ. حدثني محمد بن عمرو, قال: ثنا أبو عاصم, قال: ثنا عيسى, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد, في قول الله ( لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: لا يُبالون نِعم الله, أو نِقم الله. حدثني الحارث, قال: ثنا الحسن, قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعا, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد ( لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: لا يُبالون نِعم الله. وهذه الآية منسوخة بأمر الله بقتال المشركين. وإنما قُلنا: هي منسوخة لإجماع أهل التأويل على أن ذلك كذلك. * ذكر من قال ذلك: وقد ذكرنا الرواية في ذلك عن ابن عباس، حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة في قوله ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: نسختها ما في الأنفال فَإِمَّا تَثْقَفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ فَشَرِّدْ بِهِمْ مَنْ خَلْفَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ وفي براءة قَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَافَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ كَافَّةً أمر بقتالهم حتى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسول الله. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا ابن ثور, عن معمر, عن قتادة, في قوله ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: نسختها فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ . حُدثت عن الحسين, قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: أخبرنا عبيد, قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: هذا منسوخ, أمر الله بقتالهم في سورة براءة. حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا حكام, قال: ثنا عنبسة عمن ذكره عن أبي صالح ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: نسختها التي في الحج أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا . حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ ) قال: هؤلاء المشركون, قال: وقد نسخ هذا وفرض جهادهم والغلظة عليهم. وجزم قوله (يَغْفِرُوا) تشبيها له بالجزاء والشرط وليس به, ولكن لظهوره في الكلام على مثاله, فعرّب تعريبه, وقد مضى البيان عنه قبل. واختلفت القرّاء في قراءة قوله ( لِيَجْزِيَ قَوْمًا ) فقرأه بعض قرّاء المدينة والبصرة والكوفة: (لِيَجْزِي) بالياء على وجه الخبر عن الله أنه يجزيهم ويثيبهم وقرأ ذلك بعض عامة قرّاء الكوفيين " لنجزي" بالنون على وجه الخبر من الله عن نفسه. وذُكر عن أبي جعفر القارئ أنه كان يقرؤه ( لِيُجْزَى قَوْمًا ) على مذهب ما لم يسمّ فاعله, وهو على مذهب كلام العرب لحن، (1) إلا أن يكون أراد: ليجزي الجزاء قوما, بإضمار الجزاء, وجعله مرفوعا( لِيُجْزِي ) فيكون وجها من القراءة, وإن كان بعيدا (2) . والصواب من القول في ذلك عندنا أن قراءته بالياء والنون على ما ذكرت من قراءة الأمصار جائزة بأيّ تينك القراءتين قرأ القارئ. فأما قراءته على ما ذكرت عن أبي جعفر, فغير (3) جائزة عندي لمعنيين: أحدهما: أنه خلاف لما عليه الحجة من القرّاء, وغير جائز عندي خلاف ما جاءت به مستفيضا فيهم. والثاني بعدها من الصحة فى العربية إلا على استكراه الكلام على غير المعروف من وجهه. ------------------------ الهوامش: (1) ليس كلام العرب حجة على القراءة ولكن القراءة حجة على كلامهم. (2) يجوز أن يكون الفاعل نائب فاعل هو قوله تعالى (بما كانوا يكسبون). (3) قوله: فغير جائزة، هذا خطأ لأن القراءة عشرية صحيحة متواترة في قوة السبعة.