Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ (Truly, in that lies a reminder for whoever has a heart, or lends his hearing while he is present) (37).

   The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: truly, in Our destruction of the generations that We destroyed before Quraysh ( لَذِكْرَى ) (lies a reminder) by which one is admonished ( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) (for whoever has a heart) — that is to say: for whoever of this community has understanding, so that he desists from the deed they committed, namely their disbelief in their Lord, out of fear that there may befall them the like of what befell them in punishment.

   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, concerning His saying ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) (Truly, in that lies a reminder for whoever has a heart): that is to say, of this community; and he means by that heart: the living heart.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda ( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) (for whoever has a heart), he said: whoever of this community has a heart.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) (for whoever has a heart), he said: a heart that understands what it has heard of the reports by which Allah gave the parables of the communities that disobeyed Him. And the heart in this place means: the intellect. This is derived from their expression: "so-and-so has no heart," and "his heart is not with him," that is to say: his intellect is not with him; and: "where has your heart gone?", by which is meant: where has your intellect gone.

   His saying ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present): He says: or he lends his ear with his hearing to Our informing him about these generations that We destroyed, so that he hears the report about them, how We dealt with them when they disbelieved in their Lord and disobeyed their messengers ( وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (while he is present). He says: while he understands what is reported to him about them, being a witness to it with his heart, not heedless concerning it and not distracted.

   In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken, even though their wordings differed in it.

   * 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 saying ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (Truly, in that lies a reminder for whoever has a heart, or lends his hearing while he is present): He says: if he listens to the reminder and attends to its matter, he said concerning that: it benefits him if he understands it.

   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, concerning His saying ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ ) (or lends his hearing), he said: while he does not speak to himself, with the heart as witness.

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present), he said: the Arabs say: "so-and-so lent his hearing," that is to say: he listened with both his ears, "while he is present," by which He says: not absent.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (Truly, in that lies a reminder for whoever has a heart, or lends his hearing while he is present), he said: he hears what he says, while his heart is with something other than what he hears.

   Others said: by "ash-shahīd" (witness/present) in this place is meant the testimony (ash-shahāda).

   * Mention of who said that:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present): he means by it the People of the Book, and he is a witness to what he reads in the Book of Allah concerning the sending of Muḥammad ﷺ.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present): a witness concerning what he has in hand of the Book of Allah, namely that he finds the Prophet ﷺ recorded therein.

   He said: Ibn Thawr related to us, saying: Maʿmar said: and al-Ḥasan said: it is a hypocrite (munāfiq) who heard the saying but had no benefit from it.

   Aḥmad ibn Hishām related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of as-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His saying ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present), he said: the believer hears the Qurʾān, and he is a witness to it.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) (or lends his hearing while he is present), he said: he lent his hearing, he hears what has come to pass of that which he has not seen with his own eyes, of the reports about the communities that have passed away, how Allah punished them and dealt with them when they disobeyed their messengers.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ (37) يقول تعالى ذكره: إن في إهلاكنا القرون التي أهلكناها من قبل قريش ( لَذِكْرَى ) يُتذَكَّر بها( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) يعني: لمن كان له عقل من هذه الأمة, فينتهي عن الفعل الذي كانوا يفعلونه من كفرهم بربهم, خوفا من أن يحلّ بهم مثل الذي حل بهم من العذاب. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة, قوله ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) : أي من هذه الأمة, يعني بذلك القلبِ: القلبَ الحيّ. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا ابن ثور, عن معمر, عن قتادة ( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) قال: من كان له قلب من هذه الأمة. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ ) قال: قلب يعقل ما قد سمع من الأحاديث التي ضرب الله بها من عصاه من الأمم. والقلب في هذا الموضع: العقل. وهو من قولهم: ما لفلان قلب, وما قلبه معه: أي ما عقله معه. وأين ذهب قلبك؟ يعني أين ذهب عقلك. وقوله ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) يقول: أو أصغى لإخبارنا إياه عن هذه القرون التي أهلكناها بسمعه, فيسمع الخبر عنهم, كيف فعلنا بهم حين كفروا بربهم, وعصوْا رسله ( وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) يقول: وهو متفهم لما يخبرُ به عنهم شاهد له بقلبه, غير غافل عنه ولا ساه. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل, وإن اختلفت الفاظهم فيه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد, قال: ثني أبي, قال: ثني عمي, قال: ثني أبي, عن أبيه, عن ابن عباس, قوله ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) يقول: إن استمع الذكر وشهد أمره, قال في ذلك: يجزيه إن عقله (3) . 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 ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ ) قال: وهو لا يحدّث نفسه, شاهد القلب. حُدثت عن الحسين, قال: سمعت أبا معاذ, يقول: أخبرنا عبيد, قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) قال: العرب تقول: ألقى فلان سمعه: أي استمع بأذنيه, وهو شاهد, يقول: غير غائب. حدثنا ابن حميد, قال: ثنا مهران, عن سفيان ( إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) قال: يسمع ما يقول, وقلبه في غير ما يسمع. وقال آخرون: عنى بالشهيد في هذا الموضع: الشهادة. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) يعني بذلك أهل الكتاب, وهو شهيد على ما يقرأ في كتاب الله من بعث محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى, قال: ثنا ابن ثور, عن معمر, عن قتادة ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) على ما في يده من كتاب الله أنه يجد النبيّ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم مكتوبا. قال: ثنا ابن ثور, قال: قال معمر, وقال الحسن: هو منافق استمع القول ولم ينتفع. حدثنا أحمد بن هشام, قال: ثنا عبيد الله بن موسى, قال: أخبرنا إسرائيل, عن السديّ, عن أبي صالح في قوله ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) قال: المؤمن يسمع القرآن, وهو شهيد على ذلك. حدثني يونس, قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب , قال: قال ابن زيد, في قوله ( أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ ) قال: ألقى السمع يسمع ما قد كان مما لم يعاين من الأحاديث عن الأمم التي قد مضت, كيف عذّبهم الله وصنع بهم حين عَصوا رسله.