Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying: قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ (He said: What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you? He said: I am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay) (7:12).

   Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, whose mention is exalted, concerning His saying to Iblīs when the latter disobeyed Him and did not prostrate before Ādam, while He had commanded him to prostrate before him. He says: Allah said to Iblīs: (What prevented you), what thing prevented you, (from prostrating), from omitting the prostration before Ādam, (when I commanded you), to bow down. "He said: I am better than he," he says: Iblīs said: I am better than Ādam, "You created me from fire and You created him from clay."

   * * *

   If someone were to ask: Inform us about Iblīs, did blame befall him on account of the prostration, or on account of omitting the prostration? If blame befell him on account of omitting the prostration, then how was it said to him: (What prevented you from not prostrating when I commanded you)? And if the censure pertained to the prostration, then that contradicts what the revelation has brought in the rest of the Qurʾān, and contradicts what the Muslims know!

   Then it is said: Blame befell Iblīs only on account of his disobedience to his Lord by his omission of the prostration before Ādam, while He had commanded him to prostrate before him.

   But concerning the explanation of His saying (What prevented you from not prostrating when I commanded you) there is disagreement among the experts of the Arabic language. I begin by mentioning what they have said, and then mention that which is most in accord with the correct view.

   Some of the grammarians of Basra said: The meaning of it is: what prevented you from prostrating — and the "lā" (not) here is redundant, as the poet said:

   His generosity refused "no" — stinginess — and the "yes" hastened toward him, from a youth whose valor does not restrain hunger from whoever would kill him.

   He said: The Arabs have interpreted it as: "his generosity refused stinginess," and they made "lā" here a redundant filler by which they linked the sentence. He said: And Yūnus claimed that Abū ʿAmr placed "al-bukhl" (stinginess) in the genitive, and added "lā" to it, in the sense of: his generosity refused the "lā" (the "no") that belongs to stinginess. He made "lā" an addition, because "lā" can stand for both generosity and stinginess, for if one were to say to him: "Refuse the right and give the needy nothing," and he were to say "no," then that would be generosity on his part.

   * * *

   Some of the grammarians of Kufa said something similar to what we have mentioned from the Basrans concerning its meaning and explanation, except that he claimed that the reason for the entry of "lā" into His saying (that you do not prostrate) is that there is a negation at the beginning of the text — by which he means His saying: لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ (he was not among those who prostrated). For the Arabs sometimes, in a text that contains a negation, repeat the negation, for confirmation and reinforcement of it. He said: That is like their saying:

   We have not seen their like among any people, with black heads — there are two-humped camels and elephants.

   So he repeated, over the negation, which is "mā," a negation, namely his saying "in," and joined both together for reinforcement.

   * * *

   Another of them said: "Lā" in this place is neither a filler nor redundant, but "prevention" (al-manʿ) here has the meaning of "saying" (al-qawl), and the explanation of the text is in reality: Who said to you: do not prostrate, when I commanded you to prostrate? But "an" entered into the text because "prevention" here has the meaning of "saying," not in its literal wording — as occurs in all expressions that resemble "saying" while differing from it in wording, such as their sayings: "I called out that you should not stand up," and "I swore that you should not sit down," and the like. He said: And the one who transmits "his generosity refused lā stinginess," placed "al-bukhl" in the genitive in the sense of: the word of stinginess, for "lā" is the word of stinginess; it is as if he said: the word of stinginess.

   * * *

   Some of them said: The meaning of "prevention" is the coming between the person and what he wants. He said: And the one who is prevented is compelled to the opposite of that from which he is prevented, like the one who is prevented from standing up while he wants it — he is compelled in his action to something that is the opposite of standing up, for the one who freely chooses in his action is the one who has the way to both a thing and its opposite, so that he prefers the one over the other and does it. He said: Now since the nature of "prevention" is this, and Iblīs was addressed with the prevention, and it was said to him: (What prevented you from prostrating), the meaning of it is as if it were said to him: What thing compelled you to not prostrate?

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct position in this, in my view, is that one says: In the text something has been omitted for which the indication of the explicit wording suffices, namely that the meaning of it is: What prevented you from prostrating, so that it constrained you to not prostrate? The mention of "constrained you" was thus omitted, because one was content with the hearers' familiarity with His saying: إِلا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ (except Iblīs; he was not among those who prostrated), namely that this is the meaning of the text, for whoever mentions it. Then His saying (What prevented you) operated upon "an" with the same operation it would have had before "constrained you," had that been visible, since it took its place.

   And we have said only that this position is the most in accord with the correct view, because of what has previously preceded of our indication that it is not permissible for there to be in the Book of Allah anything that has no meaning, and that every word has a correct meaning. By that the untenability becomes clear of the saying of whoever says: "lā" in the text is a filler without meaning.

   As for the saying of whoever says that the meaning of "prevention" here is "saying," and that "lā" therefore entered together with "an" — well, even though "prevention" may sometimes be an utterance and sometimes an act, nevertheless it is not customary among people to use "prevention" in the sense of the command to omit something, for of the one who is commanded to omit an act, while he is able to perform it and omit it, and who then performs it, one does not say: "he performed it" while he is prevented from performing it — except in a forced manner of speech. That is because the prevention of an act is an interposition between him and that act, and it is not permissible that he, while there is interposition between him and that act, perform that act, for if that were permissible, then he would have to be at once both hindered and not hindered, and both prevented and not prevented.

   Moreover, Iblīs did not obey the command of Allah, whose mention is exalted, to prostrate before Ādam, out of arrogance. How then would he obey another in omitting Allah's command and obedience by omitting the prostration before Ādam, so that it could be said to him: "What thing said to you: do not prostrate before Ādam, when I commanded you to prostrate before him?" But the meaning of it is, if Allah wills, what I have said: "What prevented you from prostrating before him, so that it constrained you — or: pressed you — or: compelled you — to not prostrate before him," in the manner that I have expounded.

   * * *

   As for His saying (I am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay), that is a report from Allah, whose praise is exalted, concerning the answer of Iblīs to Him, when He asked him what had prevented him from prostrating before Ādam, and had led him to not prostrate before him, and had compelled him to the opposite of what He commanded him, and to the omission of his obedience — namely that what prevented him from prostrating, and what incited him to the opposite of the command of his Lord therein, was this: that he was stronger in might than he, and more powerful in capacity than he, and more excellent in rank than he, on account of the excellence of the genus from which he was created, namely fire, over that from which Ādam was created, namely clay. Thus the enemy of Allah was ignorant of the way of truth, and missed the path of the correct. For it is known that among the nature of fire are lightness, fickleness, restlessness, and rising upward, and that very thing in his nature is what incited the corrupt one — after the misfortune that had been foreordained for him with Allah in the preceding Book — to arrogantly withdraw from the prostration before Ādam and to make light of the command of his Lord, so that it brought him ruin and destruction. And it is known that among the nature of clay are gravity, calmness, gentleness, modesty, and steadfastness, and that very thing in his nature is what incited Ādam — after the felicity that had been foreordained for him by his Lord in the preceding Book — to repentance over his lapse, and led him to ask his Lord for pardon and forgiveness. For this reason al-Ḥasan and Ibn Sīrīn used to say: "The first to apply analogy (qiyās) was Iblīs" — by which they mean: the faulty analogy, namely this one that we have mentioned of his faulty saying, and his straying from attaining the truth, concerning the excellence with which Allah preferred Ādam over the rest of His creatures: that He created him with His hand, and breathed into him of His spirit, and made the angels prostrate before him, and taught him the names of all things, besides all else with which He preferred him in honor. All of this the ignorant one turned away from, and he directed himself to the argument that he was created from fire and Ādam from clay!! And in that too he was not his equal, even if Ādam had had from Allah, whose mention is exalted, no other honor than this; how then, since the honor with which He preferred him is too abundant to enumerate and too wearisome to count?

   14355 — ʿAmr ibn Mālik related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Sulaym al-Ṭāʾifī related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, who said: The first to apply analogy was Iblīs, and the sun and the moon were worshipped only by means of analogies.

   14356 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Kathīr related to us, on the authority of Ibn Shawdhab, on the authority of Maṭar al-Warrāq, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning his saying: (You created me from fire and You created him from clay), he said: Iblīs applied analogy, and he was the first to apply analogy.

   * * *

   And in accordance with what we have said about it, the scholars of the explanation have spoken.

   Mention of who said that:

   14357 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Bishr ibn ʿImāra related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When Allah created Ādam, He said to the angels who were specifically with Iblīs — not the angels who are in the heavens —: اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ (Prostrate before Ādam), and they all prostrated together, except Iblīs; he displayed arrogance, on account of what he had deliberated within himself of pride and self-deception, and he said: "I will not prostrate before him, for I am better than he, and older in years, and stronger in creation; You created me from fire and You created him from clay!" By this he says: that fire is stronger than clay.

   14358 — 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 saying: (You created me from fire), he said: then He made his offspring from water.

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And this which the enemy of Allah said is no answer to that about which He asked him. That is because Allah, whose mention is exalted, said to him: What prevented you from prostrating? And he did not answer that what prevented him from prostrating was that he was created from fire and Ādam created from clay, but he began a report about himself, in which lies an indication in the place of the answer, and said: (I am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay).

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ (12) قال أبو جعفر: وهذا خبر من الله تعالى ذكره عن قيله لإبليس، إذ عصاه فلم يسجد لآدم إذ أمره بالسجود له. يقول: قال الله لإبليس: =(ما منعك)، أيّ شيء منعك =(ألا تسجد)، أن تدع السجود لآدم =(إذ أمرتك)، أن تسجد =" قال أنا خير منه "، يقول: قال إبليس: أنا خير من آدم =" خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين ". * * * فإن قال قائل: أخبرنا عن إبليس, ألحقته الملامة على السجود، أم على ترك السجود؟ فإن تكن لحقته الملامة على ترك السجود, فكيف قيل له: (ما منعك ألا تسجد إذ أمرتك) ؟ وإن كان النكير على السجود, فذلك خلافُ ما جاء به التنـزيل في سائر القرآن, وخلاف ما يعرفه المسلمون! قيل: إن الملامة لم تلحق إبليس إلا على معصيته ربه بتركه السجود لآدم إذ أمره بالسجود له. غير أن في تأويل قوله: (ما منعك أن لا تسجد إذ أمرتك)، بين أهل المعرفة بكلام العرب اختلافًا، أبدأ بذكر ما قالوا, ثم أذكر الذي هو أولى ذلك بالصواب . فقال بعض نحويي البصرة: معنى ذلك: ما منعك أن تسجد = و " لا " ها هنا زائدة, كما قال الشاعر: (1) أبَـى جُـودُهُ لا البُخْـلَ, وَاسْتَعْجَلَتْ بِهِ نَعَـمْ, مِـنْ فَتًـى لا يَمْنَعُ الجُوعَ قَاتِلهْ (2) وقال: فسرته العرب: " أبى جوده البخل ", وجعلوا " لا " زائدةً حشوًا ها هنا، وصلوا بها الكلام. قال: وزعم يونس أن أبا عمرو كان يجر " البخل ", ويجعل " لا " مضافة إليه, أراد: أبى جوده " لا " التي هي للبخل, ويجعل " لا " مضافة, لأن " لا " قد تكون للجود والبخل, لأنه لو قال له: " امنع الحق ولا تعط المسكين " فقال: " لا " كان هذا جودًا منه. * * * وقال بعض نحويي الكوفة نحو القول الذي ذكرناه عن البصريين في معناه وتأويله, غير أنه زعم أن العلة في دخول " لا " في قوله: (أن لا تسجد)، أن في أول الكلام جحدا = يعني بذلك قوله: لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ ، فإن العرب ربما أعادوا في الكلام الذي فيه جحد، الجحدَ, كالاستيثاق والتوكيد له . قال: وذلك كقولهم: (3) مَــا إنْ رَأَيْنَــا مِثْلَهُــنَّ لِمَعْشَـرٍ سُــودِ الــرُّؤُوسِ, فَـوَالِجٌ وَفُيُـولُ (4) فأعاد على الجحد الذي هو " ما " جحدًا, وهو قوله " إن "، فجمعهما للتوكيد. * * * وقال آخر منهم: ليست " لا "، بحشو في هذا الموضع ولا صلة, (5) ولكن " المنع " هاهنا بمعنى " القول "، وإنما تأويل الكلام: مَنْ قال لك لا تسجد إذ أمرتك بالسجود = ولكن دخل في الكلام " أن "، إذ كان " المنع " بمعنى " القول "، لا في لفظه, كما يُفعل ذلك في سائر الكلام الذي يضارع القول, وهو له في اللفظ مخالف، كقولهم: " ناديت أن لا تقم ", و " حلفت أن لا تجلس ", وما أشبه ذلك من الكلام. وقال: خفض " البخل " من روى: " أبى جوده لا البخل "، (6) بمعنى: كلمة البخل, لأن " لا " هي كلمة البخل, فكأنه قال: كلمة البخل. * * * وقال بعضهم: معنى " المنع "، الحول بين المرء وما يريده. قال: والممنوع مضطّر به إلى خلاف ما منع منه, كالممنوع من القيام وهو يريده, فهو مضطر من الفعل إلى ما كان خلافًا للقيام, إذ كان المختار للفعل هو الذي له السبيل إليه وإلى خلافه, فيوثر أحدهما على الآخر فيفعله . قال: فلما كانت صفة " المنع " ذلك, فخوطب إبليس بالمنع فقيل له: (ما منعك ألا تسجد)، كان معناه كأنه قيل له: أيّ شيء اضطرك إلى أن لا تسجد؟ * * * قال أبو جعفر: والصواب عندي من القول في ذلك أن يقال: إن في الكلام محذوفًا قد كفى دليلُ الظاهر منه, وهو أن معناه: ما منعك من السجود فأحوجك أن لا تسجد = فترك ذكر " أحوجك "، استغناء بمعرفة السامعين قوله: إِلا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ ، أن ذلك معنى الكلام، من ذكره. (7) ثم عمل قوله: (ما منعك)، في" أن " ما كان عاملا فيه قبل " أحوجك " لو ظهر، إذ كان قد ناب عنه. وإنما قلنا إن هذا القول أولى بالصواب، لما قد مضى من دلالتنا قبل على أنه غير جائز أن يكون في كتاب الله شيء لا معنى له, وأن لكل كلمة معنًى صحيحًا, فتبين بذلك فسادُ قول من قال: " لا " في الكلام حشو لا معنى لها. وأما قول من قال: معنى " المنع " ههنا " القول ", فلذلك دخلت " لا " مع " أن " = فإن " المنعَ" وإن كان قد يكون قولا وفعلا فليس المعروف في الناس استعمالُ" المنع "، في الأمر بترك الشيء, لأن المأمور بترك الفعل إذا كان قادرًا على فعله وتركه ففعله، لا يقال: " فعله "، وهو ممنوع من فعله، إلا على استكراه للكلام . وذلك أن المنع من الفعل حَوْلٌ بينه وبينه, فغير جائز أن يكون وهو مَحُولٌ بينه وبينه فاعلا له, لأنه إن جاز ذلك، وجب أن يكون مَحُولا بينه وبينه لا محولا وممنوعًا لا ممنوعًا. (8) وبعدُ, فإن إبليس لم يأتمر لأمر الله تعالى ذكره بالسجود لآدم كبرًا, فكيف كان يأتمر لغيره في ترك أمر الله وطاعته بترك السجود لآدم, فيجوز أن يقال له: " أي شيء قال لك: لا تسجد لآدم إذ أمرتك بالسجود له؟" ولكن معناه إن شاء الله ما قلت: " ما منعك من السجود له فأحوجك, أو: فأخرجك, أو: فاضطرك إلى أن لا تسجد له "، على ما بيَّنت. * * * وأما قوله: (أنا خير منه خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين)، فإنه خبرٌ من الله جل ثناؤه عن جواب إبليس إياه إذ سأله: ما الذي منعه من السجود لآدم, فأحوجه إلى أن لا يسجد له, واضطره إلى خلافه أمرَه به، وتركه طاعته = أنّ المانعَ كان له من السجود، والداعيَ له إلى خلافه أمر ربه في ذلك: أنه أشد منه أيْدًا، (9) وأقوى منه قوة، وأفضل منه فضلا لفضل الجنس الذي منه خلق، وهو النارُ, على الذي خلق منه آدم، (10) وهو الطين . فجهل عدوّ الله وجه الحق, وأخطأ سبيل الصواب. إذ كان معلومًا أن من جوهر النار الخفة والطيش والاضطراب والارتفاع علوًّا, والذي في جوهرها من ذلك هو الذي حملَ الخبيث بعد الشقاء الذي سبق له من الله في الكتاب السابق، على الاستكبار عن السجود لآدم، والاستخفاف بأمر ربه, فأورثه العطبَ والهلاكَ. وكان معلومًا أن من جوهر الطين الرزانة والأناة والحلم والحياء والتثبُّت, وذلك الذي هو في جوهره من ذلك، (11) كان الداعي لآدم بعد السعادة التي كانت سبقت له من ربه في الكتاب السابق، إلى التوبة من خطيئته, ومسألته ربَّه العفوَ عنه والمغفرة . ولذلك كان الحسن وابن سيرين يقولان: " أول مَنْ قاسَ إبليس ", يعنيان بذلك: القياسَ الخطأ, وهو هذا الذي ذكرنا من خطأ قوله، وبعده من إصابة الحق، في الفضل الذي خص الله به آدم على سائر خلقه: من خلقه إياه بيده, ونفخه فيه من روحه, وإسجاده له الملائكة, وتعليمه أسماء كلِّ شيء، مع سائر ما خصه به من كرامته . فضرب عن ذلك كلِّه الجاهلُ صفحًا, وقصد إلى الاحتجاج بأنه خُلق من نار وخلق آدم من طين!! (12) وهو في ذلك أيضًا له غير كفء, لو لم يكن لآدم من الله جل ذكره تكرمة شيء غيره, فكيف والذي خصّ به من كرامته يكثر تعداده، ويملّ إحصاؤه؟ 14355- حدثني عمرو بن مالك قال، حدثنا يحيى بن سليم الطائفي, عن هشام, عن ابن سيرين قال: أوّل من قاس إبليس, وما عُبِدت الشمس والقمر إلا بالمقاييس. (13) 14356- حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثنا محمد بن كثير, عن ابن شوذب, عن مطر الورّاق, عن الحسن قوله: (خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين)، قال: قاس إبليس وهو أول من قاس. * * * وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 14357- حدثنا أبو كريب قال، حدثنا عثمان بن سعيد قال، حدثنا بشر بن عمارة, عن أبي روق, عن الضحاك عن ابن عباس قال: لما خلق الله آدم قال للملائكة الذين كانوا مع إبليس خاصة، دون الملائكة الذين في السموات: اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ ، فسجدوا كلهم أجمعون إلا إبليس استكبر, لما كان حدَّث نفسه، من كبره واغتراره, فقال: " لا أسجد له, وأنا خير منه, وأكبر سنًّا, وأقوى خلقًا, خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين!" يقول: إنّ النار أقوى من الطين. 14358- حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج, عن ابن جريج, عن مجاهد قوله: (خلقتني من نار)، قال: ثم جعل ذريته من ماء. * * * قال أبو جعفر: وهذا الذي قاله عدوّ الله ليس لما سأله عنه بجواب. وذلك أن الله تعالى ذكره قال له: ما منعك من السجود؟ فلم يجب بأن الذي منعه من السجود أنه خُلِقَ من نار وخلق آدم من طين, (14) ولكنه ابتدأ خبرًا عن نفسه, فيه دليل على موضع الجواب فقال: (أنا خير منه خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين) ------------------ الهوامش : (1) لا يعرف قائله . (2) اللسان ( نعم ) ، أمالي ابن الشجري 2 : 228 ، 231 ، شرح شواهد المغنى 217 ، وكان في المخطوطة والمطبوعة : (( لا يمنع الجوع )) ، كما أثبته ، وكذلك ورد عن الفارسي في اللسان . وأما في المراجع الأخرى فروايته : (( لا يمنع الجود )) . (3) لم يعرف قائله . (4) معاني القرآن للفراء 1 : 176 ، 374 و (( الفوالج )) جمع (( فالج )) ، وهو جمل ذو سنامين كان يجلب من السند للفحلة . و (( الفيول ) ، جمع (( فيل )) . (5) (( الصلة )) : الزيادة ، كما سلف ، انظر فهارس المصطلحات . (6) في المطبوعة : (( وقال بعض من روى : أبي جود لا البخل )) ، فغير ما في المخطوطة ، وأفسد الكلام إفسادًا . (7) السياق : (( استغناء بمعرفة السامعين ... من ذكره )) . (8) يعني أنه يجمع الصفتين معًا (( محول بينه وبينه ، وغير محول = وممنوع ، وغير ممنوع )) ، وهو تناقض . (9) في المطبوعة : (( أشد منه يدا )) ، والصواب من المخطوطة ، و (( الأيد )) ، القوة . (10) في المطبوعة : (( من الذي خلق منه آدم )) ، زاد (( من )) ، والمخطوطة سقط منها حرف الجر المتعلق بفضل الجنس ، والصواب ما أُبت . (11) في المطبوعة : (( وذلك الذي في جوهره ... )) حذف (( هو )) ، وفي المخطوطة : (( وذلك الذي هو من جوهره من ذلك )) ، وصوابها (( في جوهره )) ، وإنما هو خطأ من الناسخ . (12) في المطبوعة : (( بأنه خلقه من نار )) ، واليد ما في المخطوطة . (13) الأثر : 14355 - (( عمرو بن مالك الراسبي الغبري )) ، أبو عثمان البصري ، شيخ الطبري . قال ابن عدي : (( منكر الحديث عن الثقات ، ويسرق الحديث )) ، وقال ابن أبي حاتم : (( ترك أبي التحديث عنه )) . مترجم في التهذيب ، وابن أبي حاتم 3 /1 / 259 . و (( يحيى بن سليم الطائفي )) ، ثقة ، روى له الجماعة ، مضى برقم : 4894 ، 7831 . (14) في المطبوعة : (( أنه خلقه من نار )) ، والجيد في المخطوطة .