Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: the likeness of those who were given the Torah among the Jews and the Christians, and who were charged with the duty of acting upon it ( ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا ) — He says: but who then did not act according to what is in it, and who denied the Prophet ﷺ, although they had been commanded therein to believe in him, to follow him, and to hold him to be truthful ( كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) — He says: is like the likeness of the donkey that carries books of knowledge upon its back, without it benefiting from them or understanding what is in them. So too are those who were given the Torah, in which is the exposition of the matter of the Prophet ﷺ: their likeness, when they derived no benefit from what was in it, is like the likeness of the donkey that carries books in which there is knowledge, while it does not understand them and derives no benefit from them.

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

   * Mention of who said that:

   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 words ( يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): he said: he carries books without knowing what is in them, and without understanding them.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): he said: he carries a book without knowing what rests upon it and what is in it.

   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 ( كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): he said: like the likeness of the donkey that carries books, without knowing what rests upon its back.

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words ( كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): books; and the book is called "sifr" in Nabatean. Allah gave this likeness for those who were given the Torah and then became disbelievers.

   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, his words ( مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): and the "asfār" are the books. Allah made the likeness of whoever reads the Book but does not follow what is in it like the likeness of the donkey that carries the heavy Book of Allah without knowing what is in it. Then He said: ( بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ) ("Wretched is the likeness of the people who denied the signs of Allah") ... to the end of the verse.

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word of Allah ( كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): he said: the "asfār" is the Torah which the donkey carries upon its back, just as the copies of the Qurʾān (maṣāḥif) are carried upon the beasts of burden, like the likeness of the man who sets out on a journey and carries his Qurʾān with him. He said: the donkey derives no benefit from it when it carries it upon its back; so too these derived no benefit from it when they did not act according to it, although it had been given to them, just as this (donkey) derived no benefit from it while it lay upon its back.

   ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words ( كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ): he says: books. And the "asfār" is the plural of "sifr", and these are the great books.

   And His words ( بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ) — He says: wretched is this likeness, the likeness of the people who denied the signs of Allah, that is to say His proofs and His arguments ( وَاللَّهُ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and Allah does not guide the people who wronged themselves by becoming disbelievers in the signs of their Lord.

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره: مثل الذين أوتوا التوراة من اليهود والنصارى، فحملوا العمل بها(ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا ) يقول: ثم لم يعملوا بما فيها، وكذّبوا بمحمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم، وقد أمروا بالإيمان به فيها واتباعه والتصديق به (كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) يقول: كمثل الحمار يحمل على ظهره كتبًا من كتب العلم، لا ينتفع بها، ولا يعقل ما فيها، فكذلك الذين أوتوا التوراة التي فيها بيان أمر محمد صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم مثلهم إذا لم ينتفعوا بما فيها، كمثل الحمار الذي يحمل أسفارًا فيها علم، فهو لا يعقلها ولا ينتفع بها. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك : حدثني محمد بن عمرو ، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى؛ وحدثني الحارث، قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء جميعًا عن ابن أَبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، في قوله: (يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) قال: يحمل كتبًا لا يدري ما فيها، ولا يعقلها. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) قال: يحمل كتابًا لا يدري ماذا عليه، ولا ماذا فيه. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر، عن قتادة، في قوله: (كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) قال: كمثل الحمار الذي يحمل كتبًا، لا يدري ما على ظهره. حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: ثنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله: (كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) كتبًا، والكتاب بالنبطية يسمى سفرًا؛ ضرب الله هذا مثلا للذين أعطوا التوراة ثم كفروا. حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أَبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال : ثني أَبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، قوله: (مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) والأسفار: الكتب ، فجعل الله مثل الذي يقرأ الكتاب ولا يتبع ما فيه، كمثل الحمار يحمل كتاب الله الثقيل، لا يدري ما فيه، ثم قال: (بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ) ... الآية. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال، قال ابن زيد، في قول الله: (كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) قال: الأسفارُ: التوراة التي يحملها الحمار على ظهره، كما تحمل المصاحف على الدواب، كمثل الرجل يسافر فيحمل مصحفه، قال: فلا ينتفع الحمارُ بها حين يحملها على ظهره، كذلك لم ينتفع هؤلاء بها حين لم يعملوا بها وقد أوتوها، كما لم ينتفع بها هذا وهي على ظهره. حدثني علي، قال: ثنا أبو صالح، قال: ثني معاوية، عن عليّ عن ابن عباس في قوله: (كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ) يقول: كتبًا. والأسفار: جمع سفر، وهي الكتب العظام. وقوله: (بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ) يقول: بئس هذا المثل، مثل القوم الذين كذبوا بآيات الله، يعني بأدلته وحججه (وَاللَّهُ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: والله لا يوفِّق القوم الذين ظلموا أنفسهم، فكفروا بآيات ربهم.