Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the word of the Exalted: سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ (16) ("We will brand him on the snout (16)").

   And His word: سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ — the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed over the explanation of this. Some of them said: its meaning is: We will strike his nose with the sword, and make of it a lasting sign and a fixed mark as long as he lives.

   * Mention of who said this:

   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: سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ — he fought on the day of Badr, and his nose was struck with the sword in the battle.

   And others said: no, its meaning is: We will mark him with a lasting disgrace.

   * Mention of who said this:

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ : a disgrace that will not leave him until the end of what remains of him.

   And others said: he will be branded on his nose.

   * Mention of who said this:

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ he said: We will brand him on his nose.

   And the more correct of the two views concerning the explanation of this is, in my opinion, the view of the one who says: its meaning is: We will make his affair plainly manifest, so that they recognize him and it is not hidden from them, just as the brand on the snout is not hidden.

   And Qatāda said: its meaning is: a disgrace that will not leave him until the end of what remains of him. And it is also possible that his nose was struck with the sword, so that for him the striking of his nose with the sword coincides with the making manifest of his faults before the people.

   And by His word سَنَسِمُهُ ("We will brand him") is meant: We will sear him. And some of them said: its meaning is: We will mark him with the mark of the people of the Fire (ahl al-nār), that is to say: We will blacken his face.

   And he said: although the snout (al-khurṭūm) was singled out for the mark, it nevertheless falls under the scope of the face, for one part of the face stands for another part of it. And the Arabs say: "By Allah, I shall surely mark you with a mark that will not leave you," by which they mean the nose. He said: and someone recited to me the following:

   Surely I shall mark him with a mark that will not leave him,

   as by the heat of the branding iron the [camel struck by thirst] is incised (1).

   And "al-najr" is a disease that afflicts the camels, whereupon they are branded on their nose.

   ------------

   Footnotes:

   (1) The verse is among the testimonia of al-Farrāʾ in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān (folio 339). He said concerning the word of the Exalted: سنسمه على الخرطوم that is: We will mark him with the mark of the people of the Fire, that is to say: We will blacken his face; for although the snout was singled out for the mark, it nevertheless falls under the scope of the face, because one part of the face stands for another part. And the Arabs say: "Come now, by Allah, I shall surely mark you with a mark that will not leave you," by which they mean the nose. And someone recited to me: "Surely I shall mark him with a mark..." [the verse]. He said "al-mīsam" (the branding iron) and did not mention the nose, because that is the place of the mark. And "al-baḥr" is the camel when "al-baḥr" afflicts it, a disease that afflicts the camel and for which it is branded. End. I [the editor] say: the author of al-Lisān recited the verse with "fī baḥr," and said: al-Farrāʾ said: "al-baḥr" is that the camel overindulges in water and drinks much of it, until a disease thereby afflicts it; one says: "baḥira yabḥaru baḥran," so it is "baḥir"; and he recited the testimonial verse. He said: and when the disease afflicts it, it is branded in various places, and it recovers. End of the words of al-Farrāʾ as in al-Lisān. And al-Azharī remarked thereon: the disease that afflicts the camel, so that it is not slaked by any water, is "al-najr," with the nūn and the jīm, and "al-bajr," with the bāʾ and the jīm. As for "al-baḥr": that is a disease that leads to consumption. And "abḥara al-rajul": when consumption afflicts him. And a man who is "baḥīr" and "baḥir": consumptive, wasting away in flesh. [This] on the authority of Ibn al-Aʿrābī. End. I say: this is confirmed by what is in al-Lisān [under "najr"]: al-Jawharī said: "al-najar," with the vowels, is a thirst that afflicts the camels and the small livestock from eating the [bitter] seed, so that they are scarcely slaked by water. One says: "najarat al-ibil" and also "majarat." End. And in al-Tahdhīb: "najira yanjaru najaran": when it drinks much water and is yet scarcely slaked. Yaʿqūb said: and it can also afflict the human being. End. And "ḥummā al-mīsam" is its heat; and "al-mīsam" is a piece of iron with which one brands.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ (16) وقوله: ( سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في تأويل ذلك، فقال بعضهم: معناه: سنخطمه بالسيف، فنجعل ذلك علامة باقية، وسمة ثابتة فيه ما عاش. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس ( سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ ) فقاتل يوم بدر، فخُطِم بالسيف في القتال. وقال آخرون: بل معنى ذلك سنشينه شينا باقيا. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله: ( سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ ) شَيْن لا يفارقه آخر ما عليه. وقال آخرون: سيمَى على أنفه. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر، عن قتادة ( سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ ) قال: سنسم على أنفه. وأولى القولين بالصواب في تأويل ذلك عندي قول من قال: معنى ذلك: سنبين أمره بيانا واضحا حتى يعرفوه، فلا يخفى عليهم، كما لا تخفي السمة على الخرطوم. وقال قتادة: معنى ذلك: شين لا يفارقه آخر ما عليه، وقد يحتمل أيضا أن يكون خطم بالسيف، فجمع له مع بيان عيوبه للناس الخطم بالسيف. ويعني بقوله: ( سَنَسِمُهُ ) سنكويه. وقال بعضهم: معنى ذلك: سنسمه سِمَة أهل النار: أي سنسوِّد وجهه. وقال: إن الخرطوم وإن كان خصّ بالسمة، فإنه في مذهب الوجه؛ لأن بعض الوجه يؤديّ عن بعض، والعرب تقول: والله لأسمنك وسما &; 23-542 &; لا يفارقك، يريدون الأنف. قال: وأنشدني بعضهم: لأعَلطَنَّـــهُ وَسْـــمًا لا يُفارِقــهُ كمــا يُحَـزُّ بِحَـمْى المِيسَـمِ النَّجِـرُ (1) والنجر: داء يأخذ الإبل فتُكوى على أنفها. ------------ الهوامش : (1) ‌البيت من شواهد الفراء في معاني القرآن (الورقة 339) قال عند قوله تعالى: ( سنسمه على الخرطوم ) أي: سنسمه سمة أهل النار، أي: سنسود وجهه؛ فهو وإن كان الخرطوم قد خص بالسمة، فإنه في مذهب الوجه؛ لأن بعض الوجه يؤدى عن بعض، والعرب تقول: أما والله لأسمنك وسما لا يفارقك، يريدون الأنف، وأنشدني بعضهم: "لأعلطنه وسما." البيت فقال: الميسم ولم يذكر الأنف؛ لأنه موضع السمة. والبحر: البعير إذا أصابه البحر، وهو داء يأخذ البعير فيوسم لذلك. أ.هـ . قلت: وأنشد صاحب اللسان البيت "في بحر" وقال قال الفراء: البحر أن يلغي البعير بالماء، فيكثر منه، حتى يصيبه منه داء، يقال: بحر يبحر بحرا، فهو بحر، وأنشد: بيت الشاهد. قال: وإذا أصابه الداء كوي في مواضع فيبرأ. ا هـ كلام الفراء كما في اللسان. وقال الأزهري معقبا عليه: الداء الذي يصيب البعير فلا يروى من الماء، هو النجر، بالنون والجيم، والبجر بالباء والجيم. وأما البحر: فهو داء يورث السل. وأبحر الرجل: إذا أخذه السل. ورجل بحير وبحر: مسلول ذاهب اللحم. عن ابن الأعرابي . ا هـ. قلت : ويؤيد هذا ما جاء في (اللسان: نجر) قال الجوهري: النجر بالتحريك، عطش يصيب الإبل والغنم عن أكل الحبة، فلا تكاد تروى من الماء. يقال: نجرت الإبل ومجرت أيضا. ا هـ . وفي التهذيب: نجر ينجر نجرا: إذا أكثرت من شرب الماء، ولم يكد يروى قال يعقوب: وقد يصيب الإنسان. ا هـ . وحمى الميسم: حره . والميسم حديدة يكوى بها.