Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ (It is a great cause of detestation with Allah.) There were men who, in battle, gave reports of something they had not done and had not accomplished, whereupon Allah admonished them concerning that in eloquent fashion and said: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?) ... up to His words: كَأَنَّهُمْ بُنْيَانٌ مَرْصُوصٌ (as though they were a compact, solidly joined structure).

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words: لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (why do you say what you do not do?): Allah revealed this concerning the man who, in battle, says what he has not done in the way of striking, stabbing, and killing. Allah said: كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (It is a great cause of detestation with Allah that you say what you do not do.)

   Others said: No, this is a rebuke from Allah against a group of hypocrites (munāfiqīn) who promised the believers victory while they were lying.

   * Mention of who said that:

   Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the words of Allah: كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (It is a great cause of detestation with Allah that you say what you do not do.): they said to the Prophet ﷺ and his companions: if you march out, we will march out with you and we will support you, and such and such. Then He informed them that it كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (is a great cause of detestation with Allah that you say what you do not do).

   The most correct of these statements regarding the interpretation of the verse is the statement of the one who said: by it are meant those who said: if we knew the deed most beloved to Allah, we would perform it; and who then, after they knew it, fell short in performing it.

   We have said only that this statement is the most correct here, because Allah, exalted be His praise, addressed by it the believers and said: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (O you who believe). Had it been revealed concerning the hypocrites, they would not have been so named nor characterized with faith (īmān). And had they characterized themselves with the performance of what they had not performed, they would have spoken a deliberate lie, and that was not the characteristic of these people. Rather, in my view, by their statement — if we knew the deed most beloved to Allah, we would perform it — they harbored the expectation that, if they were to know it, they would perform it. But when they came to know it, the strength of some of them weakened to carry out what, prior to their knowledge, they had supposed they wished to carry out, while others remained strong and carried it out, and to them came the merit and the honor.

   The Arabic philologists differed concerning its meaning and concerning the reason for the accusative (naṣb) in His words: كَبُرَ مَقْتًا (great as a cause of detestation). Some grammarians of Basra said: He said كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ — that is: great is your detestableness as a cause of detestation; then He said أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (that you say what you do not do) — the evil of your words. And some grammarians of Kufa said concerning His words يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?): the Muslims used to say: if we knew which deed is most beloved to Allah, we would accomplish it, even if our lives and our possessions were to be lost thereby. But when the day of Uḥud came, they abandoned the Prophet ﷺ until he was wounded and his front tooth was broken. Thereupon He said: لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ (why do you say what you do not do?), and then: كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ (It is a great cause of detestation with Allah) — great is that as a cause of detestation. That is: the particle "an" (that) is in the nominative (rafʿ), because "kabura" (great is) is like His expression: "what an evil man is your brother" (biʾsa rajulan akhūka).

   And His words: كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ (It is a great cause of detestation with Allah) — and with those who believe; in "kabura" there is an implicit noun in the nominative.

   The correct view concerning this, in my opinion, is that His words مَقْتًا (as a cause of detestation) are in the accusative as an explicative specification (tafsīr), like the expression of one who says: "great as an utterance is this utterance" (kabura qawlan hādhā al-qawl).

   Show original Arabic

   ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ) وكانت رجال تخبر في القتال بشيء لم يفعلوه ولم يبلغوه، فوعظهم الله في ذلك موعظة بليغة، فقال: ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) .. إلى قوله: كَأَنَّهُمْ بُنْيَانٌ مَرْصُوصٌ . حُدثت عن الحسين ، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: ثنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله: ( لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) أنـزل الله هذا في الرجل يقول في القتال ما لم يفعله من الضرب والطعن والقتل، قال الله ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) . وقال آخرون: بل هذا توبيخ من الله لقوم من المنافقين، كانوا يَعِدُونَ المؤمنين النصر وهم كاذبون. * ذكر من قال ذلك : حدثنا يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال، قال ابن زيد، في قول الله ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) يقولون للنبيّ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم وأصحابه: لو خرجتم خرجنا معكم، وكنا في نصركم، وفي، وفي؛ فأخبرهم أنه ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) . وأولى هذه الأقوال بتأويل الآية قول من قال: عنى بها الذين قالوا: لو عرفنا أحبّ الأعمال إلى الله لعملنا به، ثم قصروا في العمل بعد ما عرفوا. وإنما قلنا: هذا القول أولى بها، لأن الله جلّ ثناؤه خاطب بها المؤمنين، فقال: ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ) ولو كانت نـزلت في المنافقين لم يسمْوا، ولم يوصفوا بالإيمان، ولو كانوا وصفوا أنفسهم بفعل ما لم يكونوا فعلوه، كانوا قد تعمدوا قيل الكذب، ولم يكن ذلك صفة القوم، ولكنهم عندي أمَّلوا بقولهم: لو علمنا أحبّ الأعمال إلى الله عملناه أنهم لو علموا بذلك عملوه؛ فلما علموا ضعفت قوى قوم منهم، عن القيام بما أملوا القيام به قبل العلم، وقوي آخرون فقاموا به، وكان لهم الفضل والشرف. واختلفت أهل العربية في معنى ذلك، وفي وجه نصب قوله: ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا ) فقال بعض نحويي البصرة: قال: ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ) : أي كبر مقتكم مقتًا، ثم قال: ( أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) أذى قولكم. وقال بعض نحويي الكوفة: قوله: ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) . كان المسلمون يقولون: لو نعلم أيّ الأعمال أحبّ إلى الله لأتيناه، ولو ذهبت فيه أنفسنا وأموالنا؛ فلما كان يوم أحد، نـزلوا عن النبي صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم حتى شُجّ، وكُسرت رباعيته، فقال ( لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لا تَفْعَلُونَ ) ، ثم قال: ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ) كبر ذلك مقتًا: أي فأن في موضع رفع، لأن كبر كقوله: بئس رجلا أخوك. وقوله: ( كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ) وعند الذين آمنوا، أُضْمِر في كبر اسم يكون مرفوعًا. والصواب من القول في ذلك عندي أن قوله: ( مَقْتًا ) منصوب على التفسير، كقول القائل: كبر قولا هذا القول.