Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the words of the Exalted: هَاأَنْتُمْ هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ (38) (Behold, you are those who are called upon to spend in the way of Allah; yet among you are those who are miserly. And whoever is miserly is only miserly toward himself. Allah is the Self-Sufficient and you are the needy. And if you turn away, He will replace you with another people, and they will not be like you (38))

   The Exalted, whose renown is great, says to the believers: ( هاأنْتُمْ ) behold, you are — O people — ( هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ) who are called upon to spend in the way of Allah — He says: you are called upon to spend in the fighting (qitāl) against the enemies of Allah and in the support of His religion — ( فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ ) yet among you are those who are miserly — with spending therein. And "hā" is inserted in two places, because the Arabs, when they wish to express proximity (taqrīb), place the referential pronoun between "hā" and "dhā," and they say: "hā anta dhā qāʾiman" (behold, you are standing), because the expression of proximity is a response to the utterance. So sometimes they repeat "hā" together with "dhā," and sometimes they suffice with the first and the second is omitted. They do not place "antum" before "hā," because "hā" is a response, and so one does not express proximity with it after the word.

   Some of the grammarians of Basra said: the word of drawing attention (tanbīh) is placed in two positions for emphasis.

   His words ( وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ) and whoever is miserly is only miserly toward himself — the Exalted, whose renown is great, says: and whoever is miserly with spending in the way of Allah is only miserly out of the miserliness of his own soul, for had his soul been generous, it would not have been miserly with spending in the way of Allah, but would have been generous with it. ( وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ) Allah is the Self-Sufficient and you are the needy — the Exalted, whose renown is great, says: and Allah, O people, has no need of your possessions, nor of your spending, for He is the Self-Sufficient with respect to His creatures, and the creatures are the needy with respect to Him. And you are among His creatures, so you are the needy with respect to Him. He has only urged you to spend in His way so that He might thereby cause you to attain from Him the abundant reward.

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said about His words ( هَاأَنْتُمْ هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ): he said: Allah, the Exalted whose renown is great, has no need of you, while you have greater need of Him.

   And the words of the Exalted, whose renown is great: ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) and if you turn away, He will replace you with another people — the Exalted, whose renown is great, says: and if you turn away, O people, from this religion with which Muḥammad — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — has come to you, and so you become apostate and turn back from it, ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) He will replace you with another people — He says: He will cause you to perish and thereafter bring in your place a people other than you who will believe in it and act according to its precepts. ( ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) and they will not be like you — He says: then they will not be miserly with that which is commanded of them, namely spending in the way of Allah, and they will not neglect anything of the limits of their religion, but they will fulfill all of that in accordance with what is commanded of them.

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) — he says: if you turn away from My Book and My obedience, I will replace you with a people other than you. And by Allah, our Lord is able to do that: to cause them to perish and to bring after them one who is better than they.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) — he said: if they turn away from obedience to Allah.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said about His words ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ).

   And it has been mentioned that by His words ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) He will replace you with another people He meant the non-Arabs, the non-Arabs of Persia.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Ibn Bazīʿ al-Baghdādī Abū Saʿīd related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr related to us, on the authority of Muslim ibn Khālid, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: "When ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) was revealed, Salmān was at the side of the Messenger of Allah — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. They said: O Messenger of Allah, who are those people who will be set in our place if we turn away? He said: then the Prophet — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — struck the shoulder of Salmān and said: this man and his people. By Him in whose hand my soul is, if the religion were to hang from the Pleiades, then men of the people of Persia would attain it."

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Muslim ibn Khālid informed me, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra: "that the Messenger of Allah — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — recited this verse ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ). They said: O Messenger of Allah, who are these who will be set in our place if we turn away and who will then not be like us? Then he struck the thigh of Salmān and said: this man and his people. And if the religion were to be found at the Pleiades, then men of the Persians would attain it."

   Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Tirmidhī related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Walīd al-ʿAdanī related to us, saying: Muslim ibn Khālid related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: "This verse was revealed while Salmān al-Fārisī was at the side of the Messenger of Allah — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — so that his knee rubbed against his knee: ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ). They said: O Messenger of Allah, and who are these who will be set in our place if we turn away and who will then not be like us? He said: then he struck the thigh of Salmān and then said: this man and his people."

   And Mujāhid said about this what 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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) He will replace you with another people: whomever He wills.

   And others said: they are the people of Yemen.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAwf al-Ṭāʾī related to me, saying: Abū al-Mughīra related to us, saying: Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Rāshid ibn Saʿd and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Jubayr and Shurayḥ ibn ʿUbayd related to us about His words ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ): he said: the people of Yemen.

   End of the tafsīr of Surah Muḥammad — Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.

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

   Footnotes:

   (3) He did not give the explanation here, because what preceded it pointed to it sufficiently, since the narration in the two aḥādīth runs through Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : هَاأَنْتُمْ هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ (38) يقول تعالى ذكره للمؤمنين: ( هاأنْتُمْ ) أيها الناس ( هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ) يقول: تدعون إلى النفقة في جهاد أعداء الله ونُصرة دينه ( فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ ) بالنفقة فيه, وأدخلت " ها " في موضعين, لأن العرب إذا أرادت التقريب جعلت المكنّى بين " ها " وبين " ذا ", فقالت: ها أنت ذا قائما, لأن التقريب جواب الكلام, فربما أعادت " ها " مع " ذا ", وربما اجتزأت بالأولى, وقد حُذفت الثانية, ولا يقدّمون أنتم قبل " ها ", لأن ها جواب فلا تقرب بها بعد الكلمة. وقال بعض نحويي البصرة: جعل التنبيه في موضعين للتوكيد. وقوله ( وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ومن يبخل بالنفقة في سبيل الله, فإنما يبخل عن بخل نفسه, لأن نفسه لو كانت جوادا لم تبخل بالنفقة في سبيل الله, ولكن كانت تجود بها( وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ولا حاجة لله أيها الناس إلى أموالكم ولا نفقاتكم, لأنه الغنيّ عن خلقه والخلق الفقراء إليه, وأنتم من خلقه, فأنتم الفقراء إليه, وإنما حضكم على النفقة في سبيله, ليُكسبكم بذلك الجزيل من ثوابه. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( هَاأَنْتُمْ هَؤُلاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ) قال: ليس بالله تعالى ذكره إليكم حاجة وأنتم أحوج إليه. وقوله تعالى ذكره: ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وإن تتولوا أيها الناس عن هذا الدين الذي جاءكم. به محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , فترتدّوا راجعين عنه ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) يقول: يهلككم ثم يجيء بقوم آخرين غيركم بدلا منكم يصدّقون به, ويعملون بشرائعه ( ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) يقول: ثم لا يبخلوا بما أُمروا به من النفقة في سبيل الله, ولا يضيعون شيئا من حدود دينهم, ولكنهم يقومون بذلك كله على ما يُؤمرون به. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) يقول: إن توليتم عن كتابي وطاعتي أستبدل قوما غيركم. قادر والله ربنا على ذلك على أن يهلكهم, ويأتي من بعدهم من هو خير منهم. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا ابن ثور, عن معمر, عن قتادة ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) قال: إن تولوا عن طاعة الله. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) (3) . وذُكر أنه عنى بقوله ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) : العجم من عجم فارس. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن بزيع البغدادي أبو سعيد, قال: ثنا إسحاق بن منصور, عن مسلم بن خالد, عن العلاء بن عبد الرحمن, عن أبيه, عن أبي هريرة, قال: " لما نـزلت ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) كان سلمان إلى جنب رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم , فقالوا: يا رسول الله من هؤلاء القوم الذين إن تولينا استبدلوا بنا, قال: فضرب النبي صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم على منكب سلمان, فقال: من هذا وقومه, والذي نفسي بيده لَوْ أنَّ الدّينَ تَعَلَّقَ بالثُّرَيَّا لَنالَتْهُ رِجالٌ من أهْل فارِس ". حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: أخبرني مسلم بن خالد, عن العلاء بن عبد الرحمن, عن أبيه, عن أبي هريرة " أن رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم تلا هذه الآية ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) قالوا: يا رسول الله من هؤلاء الذين إن تولَّينا استبدلوا بنا, ثم لا يكونوا أمثالنا, فضرب على فخذ سلمان قال: هَذَا وَقَوْمُهُ, وَلَوْ كانَ الدِّينُ عِنْدَ الثُّرَيَّا لَتنَاولَهُ رِجالٌ مِنَ الفُرْسِ" . حدثنا أحمد بن الحسن الترمذيّ, قال: ثنا عبد الله بن الوليد العَدَني, قال: ثنا مسلم بن خالد, عن العلاء, عن أبيه, عن أبي هريرة, قال: " نـزلت هذه الآية وسلمان الفارسيّ إلي جنب رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم تحكّ ركبته ركبته ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) قالوا: يا رسول الله ومن الذين إن تولينا استبدلوا بنا ثم لا يكونوا أمثالنا, قال: فضرب فخذ سلمان ثم قال: هَذَا وَقَوْمُهُ". وقال: مجاهد في ذلك ما 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 ( يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ) من شاء. وقال آخرون: هم أهل اليمن. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن عوف الطائيّ, قال: ثنا أبو المغيرة, قال: ثنا صفوان بن عمرو, قال: ثنا راشد بن سعد وعبد الرحمن بن جُبير وشريح بن عبيد, في قوله ( وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ ) قال: أهل اليمن. آخر تفسير سورة محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم . ------------------------ الهوامش: (3) لم يأت بالتأويل هنا ، اكتفاء بدلالة ما قبله عليه ، لأن الرواية في الحديثين عن يونس بن عبد الأعلى .