Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of His word: قُلْ هَلُمَّ شُهَدَاءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ يَشْهَدُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَ هَذَا فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَلا تَشْهَدْ مَعَهُمْ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَالَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالآخِرَةِ وَهُمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ ("Say: Bring forward your witnesses who testify that Allah has forbidden this. Then if they testify, do not testify along with them, and do not follow the desires of those who have denied Our signs, and of those who do not believe in the Hereafter, and who ascribe equals to their Lord") (150)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say, O Muḥammad, to these people who fabricate lies against their Lord, the idol-worshippers, who claim that Allah has forbidden to them that which they themselves declare forbidden of their crops and their cattle — هلم شهداءكم ("Bring forward your witnesses"), He says: bring forward your witnesses who testify concerning Allah that He has forbidden to you that which you claim He has forbidden to you.

   * * *

   The people of the highlands of Tihāma treat "halumma" the same for the singular, the dual, and the plural, and use the same form for the feminine and the masculine. Thus they say to the singular: "halumma yā fulān" (come here, O so-and-so), and to the dual and the plural likewise, and to the feminine likewise. To this belongs the saying of al-Aʿshā:

   And he had made a call to his people: / "Come forth to your affair, which is cut off."

   It is recited: "halumma" and "halummū." As for the people of the lowlands of Najd, they make a singular form for the singular, a dual for the dual, and a plural for the plural. Thus one says to one man: "halumma," to one woman: "halummī," to the dual: "halummā," to a group of men: "halummū," and to the women: "halmumna."

   * * *

   Allah said to His prophet: فإن شهدوا ("Then if they testify"), He says: O Muḥammad, if they bring you witnesses who testify that Allah has forbidden what they claim Allah has forbidden to them — فلا تشهد معهم ("then do not testify along with them"), for they are liars and false witnesses in their testimony with that concerning which they testify about Allah. And with this He, exalted is His praise, addressed His prophet ﷺ, while by it his companions and those who believe in him were intended — ولا تتبع أهواء الذين كذبوا بآياتنا ("and do not follow the desires of those who have denied Our signs"), He says: and do not follow them in what they do of denying Allah's revelation and His sending down, in forbidding what He has forbidden and permitting what He has permitted to them, but follow what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord, to which falsehood has no access, neither from before it nor from behind it — والذين لا يؤمنون بالآخرة ("and of those who do not believe in the Hereafter"), He says: and do not follow the desires of those who do not believe in the Hereafter, so that you would deny what they deny concerning Allah's resurrection of His creation after their death, and His scattering of them after their decay — وهم بربهم يعدلون ("and who ascribe equals to their Lord"), He says: and they, alongside their denial of the resurrection after death and their rejection of the coming of the Hour, equate the idols and the graven images with Allah, and make them an equal to Him and take them as a partner with Him, and worship them instead of Him.

   * * *

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   14133 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: هلم شهداءكم الذين يشهدون أن الله حرم هذا ("Bring forward your witnesses who testify that Allah has forbidden this"), he says: say: show me those who testify that Allah has forbidden this of that which the Arabs declared forbidden and concerning which they said: "Allah has commanded it to us." Allah said to His messenger: فإن شهدوا فلا تشهد معهم ("Then if they testify, do not testify along with them").

   14134 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: هلم شهداءكم الذين يشهدون أن الله حرم هذا ("Bring forward your witnesses who testify that Allah has forbidden this"), he said: the baḥāʾir and the suyyab (the freed she-camels).

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : قُلْ هَلُمَّ شُهَدَاءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ يَشْهَدُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَ هَذَا فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَلا تَشْهَدْ مَعَهُمْ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَالَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالآخِرَةِ وَهُمْ بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ (150) قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: قل، يا محمد، لهؤلاء المفترين على ربهم من عبدة الأوثان, الزاعمين أنّ الله حرم عليهم ما هم محرموه من حروثهم وأنعامهم =(هلم شهداءكم)، يقول: هاتوا شهداءكم الذين يشهدون على الله أنه حرم عليكم ما تزعمون أنه حرمه عليكم . (8) * * * وأهل العالية من تهامة توحِّد " هلم " في الواحد والاثنين والجميع, وتذكر في المؤنث والمذكر, فتقول للواحد: " هلم يا فلان "، وللاثنين والجميع كذلك, وللأنثى مثله، ومنه قول الأعشى: وَكَـــانَ دَعَــا قَوْمَــهُ دَعْــوَةً هَلُــمَّ إلَــى أَمْــرِكُمْ قَـدْ صُـرِمْ (9) ينشد: " هلم "، و " هلموا " . وأما أهل السافلة من نجد، فإنهم يوحِّدون للواحد، ويثنُّون للاثنين، ويجمعون للجميع. فيقال للواحد من الرجال: " هلم " وللواحدة من النساء: " هلمي", وللاثنين: " هلما ", وللجماعة من الرجال: " هلموا ", وللنساء: " هَلْمُمْنَ". (10) * * * قال الله لنبيه: (فإن شهدوا)، يقول: يا محمد, فإن جاءوك بشهداء يشهدون أن الله حَرَّم ما يزعمون أن الله حرمه عليهم =(فلا تشهد معهم)، فإنهم كذبة وشهود زور في شهادتهم بما شهدوا به من ذلك على الله . وخاطب بذلك جل ثناؤه نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم, والمراد به أصحابه والمؤمنون به =(ولا تتبع أهواء الذين كذبوا بآياتنا)، يقول: ولا تتابعهم على ما هم عليه من التكذيب بوحي الله وتنـزيله، في تحريم ما حرم، وتحليل ما أحل لهم, ولكن اتبع ما أوحي إليك من كتاب ربك الذي لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفه =(والذين لا يؤمنون بالآخرة)، يقول: ولا تتبع أهواء الذين لا يؤمنون بالآخرة, فتكذب بما هم به مكذبون من إحياء الله خلقه بعد مماتهم، ونشره إياهم بعد فنائهم =(وهم بربهم يعدلون)، يقول: وهم مع تكذيبهم بالبعث بعد الممات، وجحودهم قيام الساعة، بالله يعدلون الأوثانَ والأصنامَ, فيجعلونها له عِدْلا ويتخذونها له ندًّا يعبدونها من دونه . (11) * * * وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال جماعة من أهل التأويل . * ذكر من قال ذلك: 14133- حدثني محمد بن الحسين قال، حدثنا أحمد بن المفضل قال، حدثنا أسباط, عن السدي قوله: (هلم شهداءكم الذين يشهدون أن الله حرم هذا)، يقول: قل أروني الذين يشهدون أن الله حرم هذا مما حرمت العرب, وقالوا: أمرنا الله به . قال الله لرسوله: (فإن شهدوا فلا تشهد معهم) . 14134- حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج, عن ابن جريج, عن مجاهد قوله: (هلم شهداءكم الذين يشهدون أن الله حرم هذا)، قال: البحائر والسُّيَّب . ---------------------- الهوامش : (8) انظر تفسير (( الشهداء )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة (( شهد )) . (9) ديوانه 34 ، ومجاز القرآن لأبي عبيدة 1 : 208 ، من قصيدة طويلة مضت منها أبيات في مواضع متفرقة ، وهذا البيت داخل في قصة (( الحضر )) ، وما أصاب أهله ، تركت نقل أبياتها لطولها . (10) انظر مجاز القرآن لأبي عبيدة 1 : 208 ، فهذا نص كلامه . (11) انظر تفسير (( العدل )) فيما سلف 11 : 251 - 254 .