Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His word: وَمَا لَكُمْ أَلا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُمْ مَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلا مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ ("And what is the matter with you that you should not eat of that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced, while He has already set out in detail for you what He has forbidden you, except that to which you are compelled?")

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The scholars of Arabic usage differed concerning the explanation of His word: "and what is the matter with you that you should not eat" (wa-mā lakum an lā taʾkulū).

   Some of the grammarians of Basra said: Its meaning is: "and what concern do you have in not eating?" He said: That is comparable to His word: وَمَا لَنَا أَلا نُقَاتِلَ [Sūrah al-Baqarah: 246] ("And what is the matter with us that we should not fight?"). He says: What concern do we have in abandoning fighting (qitāl)? He said: And if "lā" were redundant, then the verb would not be transitive. And if it had the meaning of "and what is the matter with us and the like," then it would read: "and what is the matter with us and the not-fighting."

   * * *

   Another said: "lā" has entered here precisely to express prevention, because the explanation of "what is the matter with you" and "what has prevented you" is one and the same. "What has prevented you that you should not do it" and "what is the matter with you that you do not do it" are one and the same. For this reason "lā" has entered. He said: And this is a position in which both "lā" and "an" may occur, as in His word: يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا [Sūrah al-Nisāʾ: 176] ("Allah sets it out for you, lest you go astray"), that is, "an lā taḍillū," that is: He prevents you from going astray through the exposition.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct of the two views concerning that, in my opinion, is the view of the one who said that the meaning of His word "and what is the matter with you" in this place is: "and what thing prevents you from eating of that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced?" That is because Allah, exalted is His mention, had previously addressed the believers with permitting that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced, and licensing the eating of that which is slaughtered according to His religion or the religion of one who adhered to some of the known precepts of His books, and forbidding that over which, at the slaughter, something other than Allah has been invoked, from among the animals — and He restrained them from listening to the embellished words which the devils whisper to one another concerning the carrion (al-mayta), the strangled animal (al-munkhaniqa), the animal that falls to its death (al-mutaraddiya), and all the rest of the foods which Allah has forbidden. Then He said: and what prevents you from eating of that which is slaughtered according to My religion which I deem pleasing, while I have set out for you the permitted from the forbidden in that which you eat, and have made it clear to you by My word: حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْـزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ ("Forbidden to you are the carrion, the blood, the flesh of swine, and that over which, at the slaughter, something other than Allah has been invoked"), up to His word: فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لإِثْمٍ [Sūrah al-Māʾidah: 3] ("But whoever is compelled by hunger, without inclining to sin"), so that there be no confusion for you between the forbidden and the permitted thereof, on account of which you would abstain from eating the permitted out of fear of falling into the forbidden.

   Now then, if that is its meaning, then there is no ground for the view of those who explain it as: "and what concern do you have in not eating," for that is only said to one who abstained from eating it in hope of reward for abstaining from eating it, and that applies to one who abstained out of religious conviction, abstaining thus in compliance with the command of Allah and in submission to His judgment. And we know of no one among the predecessors of this community that he abstained from eating that which Allah has permitted of the slaughter animals, in hope of the reward of Allah for refraining from it, and in the conviction that Allah had forbidden it to him. Thus it is clear, since the matter is as we have described, that the correct of the two explanations concerning it is what we have said.

   * * *

   And we have already previously set out that the meaning of His word "faṣṣala," and "faṣṣalnā" and "fuṣṣila" is: He has set out in detail, or: it has been set out in detail, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat this in this place. Such as:

   13791- Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (and He has set out in detail for you what He has forbidden you), he says: He has made clear to you what He has forbidden you.

   13792- Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, on the authority of Ibn Zayd, the like of it.

   * * *

   The reciters differed concerning the word of Allah, exalted is His praise: (and He has set out in detail for you what He has forbidden you).

   Some of them recited it with a fatḥa on the first letter of both words "faṣṣala" and "ḥarrama," that is: He has set out in detail what He has forbidden of your foods, and has made it clear to you.

   * * *

   And the majority of the reciters of Kūfa recited it: (wa-qad faṣṣala) with a fatḥa on the fāʾ of "faṣṣala" and a doubling of the ṣād, "mā ḥurrima" with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a doubling of the rāʾ, with the meaning: and Allah has set out in detail for you the forbidden of your foods.

   * * *

   And some of the people of Mecca and some of Basra recited it: "wa-qad fuṣṣila lakum" with a ḍamma on the fāʾ and a doubling of the ṣād, "mā ḥurrima ʿalaykum" with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ and a doubling of the rāʾ, in the form of the passive construction (whose agent is not named) in both words.

   * * *

   And it is related from ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī that he used to recite it: "wa-qad faṣala" with a light (undoubled) ṣād and a fatḥa on the fāʾ, with the meaning: and the judgment of Allah has come to you concerning that which He has forbidden you.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct judgment concerning that, in our opinion, is that one says: all these three recitations which we have mentioned — apart from the recitation which we have mentioned from ʿAṭiyya — are well-known recitations recited widely among the reciters of the regions, and they agree in meaning without differing from one another. So with whichever of them the reciter recites, he attains the correct therein.

   * * *

   And as for His word: (except that to which you are compelled), by it He means, exalted is His mention: that that to which we are compelled of the forbidden foods, the forbidding of which He has made clear to us outside the state of compulsion, is permitted to us so long as we are compelled to it, until the compulsion ceases. Such as:

   13793- Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (except that to which you are compelled), of the carrion.

   * * *

   The explanation of His word: وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُعْتَدِينَ (119) ("And indeed, many lead astray by their desires without knowledge. Verily, your Lord knows best the transgressors." (119))

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says: and indeed, many of the people [who] dispute with you concerning the eating of that which Allah has forbidden you, O believers in Allah, namely the carrion, lead their followers astray by their desires, without having any knowledge of the correctness of what they say, and without possessing any proof for that over which they dispute, but only out of following their desires, and out of compliance with the promptings of their souls, out of transgression and in opposition to the command and prohibition of Allah, and out of obedience to the devils. (Verily, your Lord knows best the transgressors), He says: verily, your Lord, O Muḥammad, who has permitted for you what He has permitted and has forbidden for you what He has forbidden, He knows best who has transgressed His limits and overstepped them to that which contravenes them, and He lies in wait for them.

   * * *

   And the reciters differed concerning the recitation of His word: (la-yuḍillūna).

   The majority of the people of Kūfa recited it: (la-yuḍillūna), with the meaning: that they lead others astray.

   * * *

   And some of Basra and the Ḥijāz recited it: "la-yaḍillūna," with the meaning: that they are the ones who go astray from the truth and deviate from it.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct of the two recitations therein is the recitation of the one who recited: (wa-inna kathīran la-yuḍillūna bi-ahwāʾihim), with the meaning: that they lead others astray. That is because Allah, exalted is His praise, informed His Prophet — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — about their leading astray of whoever follows them, and forbade him to obey them and to follow them in that to which they call, so He said: وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ("And if you obey the majority of those on earth, they will lead you astray from the path of Allah"). Then He informed His Companions about them the like of that about which He had informed him concerning them, and forbade them the acceptance of their word in the same manner as He had forbidden it to him, and so He said to them: and indeed, many of them lead you astray by their desires without knowledge — comparable to that which He said to His Prophet — may Allah bless him and grant him peace —: وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ("And if you obey the majority of those on earth, they will lead you astray from the path of Allah").

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : وَمَا لَكُمْ أَلا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُمْ مَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلا مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ قال أبو جعفر: اختلف أهل العلم بكلام العرب في تأويل قوله: (وما لكم أن لا تأكلوا). فقال بعض نحويي البصريين: معنى ذلك: وأي شيء لكم في أن لا تأكلوا. قال: وذلك نظير قوله: وَمَا لَنَا أَلا نُقَاتِلَ ، [سورة البقرة: 246]. يقول: أيّ شيء لنا في ترك القتال؟ قال: ولو كانت " لا "، زائدة لا يقع الفعل. (1) ولو كانت في معنى: " وما لنا وكذا ", لكانت: وما لنا وأن لا نقاتل . * * * وقال غيره: إنما دخلت " لا " للمنع, لأن تأويل " ما لك ", و " ما منعك " واحد." ما منعك لا تفعل ذلك ", و " ما لك لا تفعل "، واحد. فلذلك دخلت " لا " . قال: وهذا الموضع تكون فيه " لا "، وتكون فيه " أنْ"، مثل قوله: يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا ، [سورة النساء: 176]، و " أن لا تضلوا "، يمنعكم من الضلال بالبيان . (2) * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأولى القولين في ذلك بالصواب عندي، قولُ من قال: معنى قوله: (وما لكم)، في هذا الموضع: وأيُّ شيء يمنعكم أن تأكلوا مما ذكر اسم الله عليه؟ وذلك أنّ الله تعالى ذكره تقدّم إلى المؤمنين بتحليل ما ذكر اسم الله عليه، وإباحة أكل ما ذبح بدينه أو دين من كان يدين ببعض شرائع كتبه المعروفة, وتحريم ما أهلّ به لغيره، من الحيوان= وزجرهم عن الإصغاء لما يوحي الشياطين بعضهم إلى بعض من زخرف القول في الميتة والمنخنقة والمتردية, وسائر ما حرم الله من المطاعم . ثم قال: وما يمنعكم من أكل ما ذبح بديني الذي ارتضيته, وقد فصّلت لكم الحلال من الحرام فيما تطعمون, وبينته لكم بقولي: (3) حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْـزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ ، إلى قوله: فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لإِثْمٍ ، [سورة المائدة: 3]، فلا لبس عليكم في حرام ذلك من حلاله, فتتمنعوا من أكل حلاله حذرًا من مواقعة حرامه . فإذ كان ذلك معناه، فلا وجه لقول متأوِّلي ذلك: " وأي شيء لكم في أن لا تأكلوا "، لأن ذلك إنما يقال كذلك، لمن كان كفَّ عن أكله رجاء ثواب بالكفّ عن أكله, وذلك يكون ممن آمن بالكفّ فكف اتّباعًا لأمر الله وتسليمًا لحكمه. ولا نعلم أحدًا من سلف هذه الأمة كفَّ عن أكل ما أحل الله من الذبائح رجاء ثواب الله على تركه ذلك, واعتقادًا منه أن الله حرَّمه عليه . فبيّنٌ بذلك، إذ كان الأمر كما وصفنا، أن أولى التأويلين في ذلك بالصواب ما قلنا . * * * وقد بينا فيما مضى قبل أن معنى قوله: " فصَّل ", و " فَصَّلْنَا " و " فُصِّل " بيَّن, أو بُيِّن, بما يغني عن إعادته في هذا الموضع (4) كما:- 13791- حدثني محمد بن عبد الأعلى, قال: حدثنا محمد بن ثور, عن معمر, عن قتادة: (وقد فصل لكم ما حرم عليكم)، يقول: قد بين لكم ما حرم عليكم . 13792- حدثني يونس قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب, عن ابن زيد, مثله . * * * واختلفت القرأة في قول الله جل ثناؤه: (وقد فصل لكم ما حرم عليكم). فقرأه بعضهم بفتح أول الحرفين من " فَصَّلَ" و " حَرَّم "، أي: فصّل ما حرّمه من مطاعمكم, فبيَّنه لكم . * * * وقرأ ذلك عامة قرأة الكوفيين: (وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ) بفتح فاء " فصل " وتشديد صاده," مَا حُرِّمَ"، بضم حائه وتشديد رائه, بمعنى: وقد فصل الله لكم المحرَّم عليكم من مطاعمكم . * * * وقرأ ذلك بعض المكيين وبعض البصريين: " وَقَدْ فُصِّلَ لَكَمْ"، بضم فائه وتشديد صاده،" مَا حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ"، بضم حائه وتشديد رائه, على وجه ما لم يسمَّ فاعله في الحرفين كليهما . * * * وروي عن عطية العوفي أنه كان يقرأ ذلك: " وَقَدْ فَصَلَ"، بتخفيف الصاد وفتح الفاء, بمعنى: وقد أتاكم حكم الله فيما حَرَّم عليكم . * * * قال أبو جعفر: والصواب من القول في ذلك عندنا أن يقال: إن كل هذه القراءات الثلاث التي ذكرناها، سوى القراءة التي ذكرنا عن عطية، قراءات معروفات مستفيضةٌ القراءةُ بها في قرأة الأمصار, وهن متّفقات المعاني غير مختلفات, فبأيِّ ذلك قرأ القارئ فمصيبٌ فيه الصوابَ . * * * وأما قوله: (إلا ما اضطررتم إليه)، فإنه يعني تعالى ذكره: أن ما أضطررنا إليه من المطاعم المحرّمة التي بيَّن تحريمها لنا في غير حال الضرورة، لنا حلال ما كنا إليه مضطرين, حتى تزول الضرورة . (5) كما:- 13793- حدثنا بشر قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، حدثنا سعيد, عن قتادة: (إلا ما اضطررتم إليه)، من الميتة . * * * القول في تأويل قوله : وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُعْتَدِينَ (119) قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: وإن كثيرًا من الناس [الذين] (6) يجادلونكم في أكل ما حرم الله عليكم، أيها المؤمنون بالله، من الميتة، ليُضلون أتباعهم بأهوائهم من غير علم منهم بصحة ما يقولون, ولا برهان عندهم بما فيه يجادلون, إلا ركوبًا منهم لأهوائهم, واتباعًا منهم لدواعي نفوسهم, اعتداءً وخلافًا لأمر الله ونهيه, وطاعة للشياطين (7) =(إن ربك هو أعلم بالمعتدين)، يقول: إن ربك، يا محمد، الذي أحلَّ لك ما أحلَّ وحرَّم عليك ما حرم, هو أعلم بمن اعتدى حدوده فتجاوزها إلى خلافها, وهو لهم بالمرصاد . (8) * * * واختلفت القرأة في قراءة قوله: (ليضلون). فقرأته عامة أهل الكوفة: (لَيُضِلُّونَ)، بمعنى: أنهم يضلون غيرهم . * * * وقرأ ذلك بعض البصريين والحجازيين: " لَيَضِلُّونَ"، بمعنى: أنهم هم الذين يضلون عن الحق فيجورون عنه . * * * قال أبو جعفر: وأَولى القراءتين بالصواب في ذلك, قراءةُ من قرأ: ( وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَائِهِمْ )، بمعنى: أنهم يضلون غيرهم. وذلك أن الله جل ثناؤه أخبرَ نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم عن إضلالهم من تبعهم، ونهاه عن طاعتهم واتباعهم إلى ما يدعونه إليه, فقال: وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ، ثم أخبر أصحابه عنهم بمثل الذي أخبره عنهم, ونهاهم من قبول قولهم عن مثل الذي نهاه عنه, فقال لهم: وإن كثيرًا منهم ليضلونكم بأهوائهم بغير علم= نظيرَ الذي قال لنبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ . -------------- الهوامش : (1) قوله : (( لا يقع الفعل )) ، أي لا يتعدى ، (( الوقوع )) ، التعدي . (2) استوفى أبو جعفر بحث هذا فيما سلف 5 : 300 - 305 ، والفراء في معاني القرآن 1 : 163 - 166 ، ولم يشر إلى ذلك أبو جعفر كعادته فيما سلف . (3) في المطبوعة : (( بقوله )) ، وفي المخطوطة : (( بقول )) ، وصواب قراءتها ما أثبت . (4) انظر تفسير (( التفصيل )) فيما سلف ص : 60 ، تعليق : 2 ، والمراجع هناك ، وانظر فهارس اللغة ( فصل ) . (5) انظر تفسير (( اضطر )) فيما سلف 3 : 56 ، 322 / 9 : 532 . (6) الزيادة بين القوسين ، يقتضيها السياق . (7) انظر تفسير (( الأهواء )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( هوى ) = = وتفسير (( الضلال )) في فهارس اللغة (ضلل ) . (8) انظر تفسير (( الاعتداء )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( عدا ) .