Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The explanation of the saying of Allah: "And the people of Mūsā took, after him, from their ornaments a calf, a body that had a lowing sound. Did they not then see that it did not speak to them, nor guide them to a way? They took it, and they were wrongdoers." (7:148)

   Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His remembrance, says: And the Children of Israel, the people of Mūsā, took — after Mūsā had departed from them and set out toward his Lord for the intimate discourse and to fulfill the promise that his Lord had made to him — "from their ornaments a calf," and that is the young of the cow, and they worshipped it. Then He, exalted be His remembrance, clarified what that calf was, and said: "a body that had a lowing sound" — and "al-khuwār" is the sound of cattle. He, exalted be His remembrance, informs concerning them that they went astray through something by which people of understanding do not go astray. For the Lord, majestic is His majesty, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and Who governs that, can in no way be a body that lows, that speaks to no one and leads to no good. And they, whose tale Allah has here related, said concerning it: "This is our god and the god of Mūsā," and they devoted themselves to its worship, out of ignorance on their part, and out of straying from Allah and error.

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   And we have already set forth the cause of their worship of it, and how the taking of the calf was by whoever among them took it, in what has previously passed, in a manner that makes repeating it unnecessary.

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   And in "al-ḥuliyy" (the ornaments) there exist two linguistic variants: with ḍamma upon the "ḥāʾ," and that is the origin; and with kasra upon it. And so it is also with everything that resembles it, such as "ṣiliyy," "juththiyy," and "ʿutiyy." With whichever of the two the reciter recites, he hits the mark, on account of the widespread transmission of both in the recitation and the agreement of the meanings of both.

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   And His saying: "Did they not then see that it did not speak to them, nor guide them to a way?" He says: Did they who devoted themselves to the calf, which they had taken from their ornaments and which they worshipped, not see that the calf did not speak to them, nor guide them to a way? He says: and did not lead them to any path? And that does not belong to the attributes of their Lord, to Whom worship truly belongs; on the contrary, it is His attribute that He speaks to His prophets and messengers, guides His creatures to the path of good, and forbids them the path of destruction and ruin. Allah, exalted be His praise, says: "They took it," that is to say: they took the calf as a god, and by their taking of it as a worshipped lord they were wrongdoers against themselves, on account of their worship of someone other than Him to Whom worship belongs, and their ascribing divinity to someone other than Him to Whom divinity belongs.

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   And we have already set forth the meaning of "the wrongdoing (al-ẓulm)" in what has previously passed, in a manner that makes repeating it unnecessary.

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : وَاتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى مِنْ بَعْدِهِ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلا جَسَدًا لَهُ خُوَارٌ أَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّهُ لا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلا اتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا ظَالِمِينَ (148) قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: واتخذ بنو إسرائيل قومُ موسى، من بعد ما فارقهم موسى ماضيًا إلى ربه لمناجاته، ووفاءً للوعد الذي كان ربه وعده = " من حليهم عجلا ", وهو ولد البقرة, فعبدوه. (30) ثم بين تعالى ذكره ما ذلك العجل فقال: " جسدًا له خوار "= و " الخوار ": صوت البقر = يخبر جل ذكره عنهم أنهم ضلوا بما لا يضل بمثله أهل العقل. وذلك أن الرب جلّ جلاله الذي له ملك السماوات والأرض، ومدبر ذلك, لا يجوز أن يكون جسدًا له خوار, لا يكلم أحدًا ولا يرشد إلى خير. وقال هؤلاء الذين قص الله قصَصهم لذلك: " هذا إلهنا وإله موسى ", فعكفوا عليه يعبدونه، جهلا منهم، وذهابًا عن الله وضلالا. * * * وقد بينا سبب عبادتهم إياه، وكيف كان اتخاذ من اتخذ منهم العجل، فيما مضى بما أغنى عن إعادته. (31) * * * وفي " الحلي" لغتان: ضم " الحاء " وهو الأصل = وكسرها, وكذلك ذلك في كل ما شاكله من مثل " صلى " و " جثّي" و " عتّي"، وبأيتهما قرأ القارئ فمصيب الصواب, لاستفاضة القراءة بهما في القراءة, ولا تفاق معنييهما. (32) * * * وقوله: " ألم يروا أنه لا يكلمهم ولا يهديهم سبيلا "، يقول: ألم ير الذين عكفوا على العجل الذي اتخذوه من حليهم يعبدونه، أن العجل لا يكلمهم ولا يهديهم سبيلا؟ يقول: ولا يرشدهم إلى طريق؟ (33) وليس ذلك من صفة ربهم الذي له العبادة حقًا, بل صفته أنه يكلم أنبياءه ورسله, ويرشد خلقه إلى سبيل الخير، وينهاهم عن سبيل المهالك والردى. يقول الله جل ثناؤه: " اتخذوه "، أي: اتخذوا العجل إلهًا، وكانوا باتخاذهم إياه ربًّا معبودًا ظالمين لأنفسهم, لعبادتهم غير من له العبادة, وإضافتهم الألوهة إلى غير الذي له الألوهة. * * * وقد بينا معنى " الظلم " فيما مضى بما أغنى عن إعادته. (34) -------------------- الهوامش : (30) (1) مضى ذكر (( العجل )) فيما سلف 2 : 63 ، 72 ، 354 ، 357 / 9 : 356 ، ولم يفسره إلا في هذا الموضع . (31) (2) انظر ما سلف 2 : 63 - 68 / ثم ص : 74 - 78 . (32) (3) في المطبوعة : (( لا تفارق بين معنييهما )) ، غير ما في المخطوطة ، فأفسد الكلام ومسخه . والصواب ما في المخطوطة ، ولكنى زدت الواو ، لأنها حق الكلام . (33) (1) انظر تفسير (( سبيل )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( سبل ) . (34) (2) انظر تفسير (( الظلم )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( ظلم ) .