Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the words of the Exalted: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ (8) (Allah does not forbid you, with regard to those who have not fought you on account of religion and who have not driven you out of your homes, that you treat them with kindness and act justly toward them; indeed, Allah loves the just.) (8)

   The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ (Allah does not forbid you with regard to those who have not fought you on account of religion) — that is, among the people of Mecca — وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ (and who have not driven you out of your homes, that you treat them with kindness and act justly toward them). He says: and that you deal justly with them through your kindness toward them and your goodness to them.

   The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning who is intended by this verse. Some of them said: what is intended are those who had believed in Mecca but had not emigrated; and Allah permitted the believers to treat them with kindness and to be good to them.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, 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 words: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ (Allah does not forbid you with regard to those who have not fought you on account of religion) — that you ask forgiveness for them, أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ (that you treat them with kindness and act justly toward them); he said: and these are those who had believed in Mecca but had not emigrated.

   Others said: what is intended are those who did not belong to the people of Mecca and had not emigrated.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Anmāṭī related to me, saying: Hārūn ibn Maʿrūf related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Muṣʿab ibn Thābit related to us, on the authority of his uncle ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, on the authority of his father, who said: it was revealed concerning Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr. She had, in the time of the jāhilīyya, a mother called Qutayla bint ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā. This woman came to her with gifts: herb-sauce (ṣināb), dried curd (aqiṭ), and clarified butter (samn). She (Asmāʾ) said: I will not accept a gift from you, and you will not enter my house, until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gives permission. ʿĀʾisha mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whereupon Allah revealed: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ (Allah does not forbid you with regard to those who have not fought you on account of religion) ... up to His words: الْمُقْسِطِينَ (the just).

   He said: Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Muṣʿab ibn Thābit related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, on the authority of his father, who said: Qutayla bint ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā ibn Saʿd of the Banū Mālik ibn Ḥisl came to her daughter Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr — and he mentioned something similar.

   Others said: no, what is intended are the polytheists (mushrikīn) of Mecca who had not fought the believers and had not driven them out of their homes; he said: and Allah subsequently abrogated this (nasakha) by the command to fight them.

   * Mention of those who said that:

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: and I asked him about the words of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ (Allah does not forbid you) ... the verse; and he said: this is abrogated, the fighting (qitāl) abrogated it; they were commanded to return to them with the swords and to fight them with it (jihād), to strike them; and Allah fixed for them a term of four months: either the sword, or Islam.

   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 words: لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ (Allah does not forbid you) ... the verse; he said: it was abrogated by فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ (So kill the polytheists wherever you find them).

   The most correct of the statements concerning this is the statement of the one who said: what is intended is: Allah does not forbid you, with regard to those who have not fought you on account of religion — from all kinds of communities and religions — to treat them with kindness, to maintain ties with them, and to be just toward them. For Allah, mighty and exalted is He, by His words الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ (those who have not fought you on account of religion and have not driven you out of your homes), spoke in general terms of all to whom that description applies, and did not thereby single out one over another. And there is no ground for the statement of the one who said that this is abrogated, for the believer's treating with kindness someone from among the warring enemies (ahl al-ḥarb) — whether it be someone between whom and him there exists a tie of kinship, or someone between whom and him there is no kinship or blood relation — is neither forbidden nor prohibited, provided there is in it no indication in favor of him or of the warring party concerning a vulnerability of the people of Islam, nor any strengthening of them with mounts or weapons. The correctness of what we have said concerning this is demonstrated by the report which we have mentioned from Ibn al-Zubayr in the account of Asmāʾ and her mother.

   And His words: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ (indeed, Allah loves the just) He says: indeed, Allah loves the equitable, who do people justice and grant them their right and justice of their own accord, who are kind toward whoever treats them with kindness, and do good to whoever does good to them.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ (8) يقول تعالى ذكره: ( لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ ) من أهل مكة ( وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ) يقول: وتعدلوا فيهم بإحسانكم إليهم، وبرّكم بهم. واختلف أهل التأويل في الذين عُنُوا بهذه الآية، فقال بعضهم: عُني بها: الذين كانوا آمنوا بمكة ولم يهاجروا، فأذن الله للمؤمنين ببرّهم والإحسان إليهم. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أَبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى؛ وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء، جميعًا، عن ابن أَبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، في قوله: ( لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ ) أن تستغفروا لهم، ( أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ) ؛ قال: وهم الذين آمنوا بمكة ولم يهاجروا. وقال آخرون: عني بها من غير أهل مكة من لم يهاجر. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن إبراهيم الأنماطيّ، قال: ثنا هارون بن معروف، قال: ثنا بشر بن السريّ، قال: ثنا مصعب بن ثابت، عن عمه عامر بن عبد الله بن الزبير، عن أبيه، قال: نـزلت في أسماء بنت أبي بكر، وكانت لها أمّ فى الجاهلية يقال لها قّتَيلة ابنة عبد العُزّى، فأتتها بهدايا وصناب وأقط وسَمْن، فقالت: لا اقبل لك هدية، ولا تدخلي عليّ حتى يأذن رسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم فذكرت ذلك عائشة لرسول الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم، فأنـزل الله ( لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ ) ... إلى قوله: ( الْمُقْسِطِينَ ) . قال ثنا إبراهيم بن الحجاج، قال: ثنا عبد الله بن المبارك، قال: ثنا مصعب بن ثابت، عن عامر بن عبد الله بن الزبير، عن أبيه، قال: قَدِمَتْ قُتَيلة بنت عبد العُزّى بن سعد من بني مالك بن حِسْل على ابنتها أسماء بنت أبي بكر، فذكر نحوه. وقال آخرون: بل عُنِي بها من مشركي مكة من لم يقاتل المؤمنين، ولم &;يخرجوهم من ديارهم؛ قال: ونسخ الله ذلك بعدُ بالأمر بقتالهم. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد: وسألته عن قول الله عزّ وجلّ: ( لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ ) ... الآية، فقال: هذا قد نسخ، نَسَخَه، القتال، أمروا أن يرجعوا إليهم بالسيوف، ويجاهدوهم بها، يضربونهم، وضرب الله لهم أجلَ أربعة أشهر، إما المذابحة، وإما الإسلام. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر، عن قتادة، في قوله: ( لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ ) ... الآية، قال: نسختها فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ . وأولى الأقوال في ذلك بالصواب قول من قال: عُنِي بذلك: لا ينهاكم الله عن الذين لم يقاتلوكم في الدين، من جميع أصناف الملل والأديان أن تبرُّوهم وتصلوهم، وتقسطوا إليهم، إن الله عزّ وجلّ عمّ بقوله: ( الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ ) جميع من كان ذلك صفته، فلم يخصصْ به بعضًا دون بعض، ولا معنى لقول من قال: ذلك منسوخ، لأن برّ المؤمن من أهل الحرب ممن بينه وبينه قرابة نسب، أو ممن لا قرابة بينه وبينه ولا نسب غير محرّم ولا منهيّ عنه إذا لم يكن في ذلك دلالة له، أو لأهل الحرب على عورة لأهل الإسلام، أو تقوية لهم بكُراع أو سلاح. قد بين صحة ما قلنا في ذلك، الخبر الذي ذكرناه عن ابن الزبيرفي قصة أسماء وأمها. وقوله: ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ ) يقول: إن الله يحبّ المنصفين الذين ينصفون الناس، ويعطونهم الحقّ والعدل من أنفسهم، فيبرّون من برّهم، ويُحْسنون إلى من أحسن إليهم.