Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   Explanation of the words of Allah: فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ لِيُبْدِيَ لَهُمَا مَا وُورِيَ عَنْهُمَا مِنْ سَوْآتِهِمَا ("Then Satan whispered to them both, in order to show them what had been kept hidden from them of their private parts").

   Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted is His praise, means by His words (fa-waswasa lahumā), "he whispered to them," "he whispered toward them." And that "whispering" (waswasa) consisted of his words to them both: مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ ("Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become two angels or become of those who abide eternally"), and of the oath which he swore to them concerning that.

   * * *

   It is said: "waswasa lahumā" ("he whispered for them"), while the meaning is that which I have mentioned, just as one says: "gharidtu ilayhi" ("I longed for him"), in the meaning of: "I yearned for him," while one actually means: "I became restless because of these [and longed] for him." Such likewise is the meaning of this.

   Thus Satan whispered to them both, out of his own soul, the lie in words, in order to show them what had been kept hidden from them of their private parts, as Ruʾba said:

   * "He whispered, while in sincerity he called upon the Lord of the daybreak" *

   * * *

   And the meaning of the words is: Iblīs drew Adam and Eve [Ḥawwāʾ] toward himself, and put before them: "Your Lord has only forbidden you the eating of the fruit of this tree lest you become two angels or become of those who abide eternally" — in order to show them what Allah had kept hidden from them of their nakedness and what He had covered up with His covering by which He had covered them.

   * * *

   And Wahb ibn Munabbih used to say, concerning the covering with which Allah had covered them, what follows:

   14393- Ḥawthara ibn Muḥammad al-Minqarī related to me, saying: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, from Ibn Munabbih, concerning His words فَبَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا ("Then their private parts became visible to them"). He said: There was light over them, so that their private parts could not be seen.

   * * *

   Explanation of the words of Allah: وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ (20) ("And he said: Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become two angels or become of those who abide eternally").

   Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted is His praise, says: And Satan said to Adam and his wife Eve: Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree, namely that you should eat of its fruit, lest you become two angels.

   * * *

   = The particle "lā" ("not") has been omitted from the sentence structure, because that which appears points to it, just as it has also been omitted from His words: يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا [Surah Al-Nisāʾ: 176]. The meaning is: Allah makes [this] clear to you lest you go astray.

   * * *

   And some of the philologists of Basra claimed that the meaning of the words is: Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree out of aversion to your becoming two angels, just as one says: "Iyyāka an tafʿala" ("Beware that you do it"), [in the sense of] out of aversion to your doing it.

   * * *

   = "or become of those who abide eternally" — in Paradise, namely those who dwell in it eternally and do not die.

   * * *

   And the [accepted] reading is with fatḥa on the "lām" [malakayni], in the meaning: two angels of the angels.

   * * *

   And it is related from Ibn ʿAbbās what follows:

   14394- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Ḥammād related to us, saying: ʿĪsā al-Aʿmā related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās used to read: "illā an takūnā malikayni," with kasra on the "lām" [i.e. "two kings"].

   * * *

   And from Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr what follows:

   14395- Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to me, saying: Al-Qāsim ibn Sallām related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, who said: Yaʿlā ibn Ḥakīm related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, that he read it as: "malikayni," with kasra on the "lām" [i.e. "two kings"].

   * * *

   It is as if Ibn ʿAbbās and Yaḥyā directed the explanation of the words to the meaning that Satan said to them both: Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become two kings among the kings — and that they explained this by means of the words of Allah in another place: قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لا يَبْلَى ("He said: O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and to a kingdom that does not perish?") [Surah Ṭā Hā: 120].

   * * *

   Abū Jaʿfar said: And the reading for which I do not deem any other reading permissible is the reading which the reciters of the [various] regions uphold, namely the fatḥa on the "lām" of "malakayni," in the meaning: two angels of the angels — because of what we have set forth earlier, that everything that is commonly widespread in the reading of Islam is the correct thing from which deviation is not permitted.

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

   Footnotes:

   (48) In the printed edition it reads: "just as one says: ʿaradtu lahu, in the meaning of: istabantu ilayhi," which completely alters the text of the manuscript and sets before us a flat, meaningless nonsense. In the manuscript it read: "just as one says: gharidtu ilayhi, in the meaning of: ishtaqtu ilayhi," thus, and its correct reading is what has been established.

   His statement "gharidtu ilayhi" in the meaning of "I yearned for him," [and] "one actually means: gharidtu min hāʾulāʾi ilayhi" — this is, as it were, the literal text of al-Akhfash in his explanation of the saying of Ibn Harma:

   Who is a sincere messenger who conveys [my words] / from me to ʿUlayya, other than the words of a liar?

   [Namely] that I longed for the proportionate beauty of her face / as the lover longs for the absent beloved.

   His statement "tanāṣuf wajhihā" means: the beauties of her face which equal one another in beauty. Al-Akhfash said: "The explanation of it is: gharidtu min hāʾulāʾi ilayhi, for the Arabs join the verb with all these particles." Al-Akhfash means that they say: "gharida gharadan," when someone is irritated, restless, and becomes bored; and when "ilā" is inserted with this verb, the meaning becomes: he became irritated by this, [and felt] a yearning and longing for that.

   The point of the evidentiary argument is that the "waswasa" is the hidden sound of the inner speech of the soul; Iblīs thus conveyed what was passing within his own soul to them both, and for that reason the "lām" and "ilā" were inserted with "waswasa." But Abū Jaʿfar has greatly condensed the exposition here.

   (49) His Dīwān: 108, al-Lisān (w-s-s); this is a verse from his rajaz poem of which many verses have already passed. This verse belongs to verses on the description of the concealed hunter who lies in wait for the wild asses in order to capture one of them. He says: when this one perceived the game and wished to shoot at it, he whispered to himself the supplication, out of fear of failure and in hope of a hit.

   (50) Narration 14393 — "Ḥawthara ibn Muḥammad ibn Qudayd al-Minqarī," Abū al-Azhar al-Warrāq; from him narrated Ibn Mājah, Ibn Khuzayma, Ibn Ṣāʿid, and others. Ibn Ḥibbān listed him among the trustworthy. He has a biography in al-Tahdhīb and in Ibn Abī Ḥātim 1/2/283.

   (51) See the explanation of "al-khulūd" earlier in the linguistic indexes (kh-l-d).

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ لِيُبْدِيَ لَهُمَا مَا وُورِيَ عَنْهُمَا مِنْ سَوْآتِهِمَا قال أبو جعفر: يعني جل ثناؤه بقوله: (فوسوس لهما)، فوسوس إليهما, وتلك " الوسوسة " كانت قوله لهما: مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ ، وإقسامه لهما على ذلك. * * * وقيل: " وسوس لهما ", والمعنى ما ذكرت, كما قيل: " غَرِضت إليه ", بمعنى: اشتقْتُ إليه, وإنما تعني: غَرضت من هؤلاء إليه. (48) فكذلك معنى ذلك. فوسوس من نفسه إليهما الشيطان بالكذب من القيل، ليبدي لهما ما وُوري عنهما من سوءاتهما، كما قال رؤبة: * وَسْوَسَ يَدْعُو مُخْلِصًا رَبَّ الفَلَقْ * (49) * * * ومعنى الكلام: فجذب إبليس إلى آدم حوّاء, وألقى إليهما: ما نهاكما ربكما عن أكل ثمر هذه الشجرة، إلا أن تكونا ملكين أو تكونا من الخالدين = ليبدي لهما ما واراه الله عنهما من عوراتهما فغطاه بستره الذي ستره عليهما. * * * وكان وهب بن منبه يقول في الستر الذي كان الله سترهما به، ما:- 14393- حدثني به حوثرة بن محمد المنقري قال، حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة, عن عمرو, عن ابن منبه, في قوله: فَبَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا قال: كان عليهما نور، لا ترى سوءاتهما. (50) * * * القول في تأويل قوله : وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ إِلا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ (20) قال أبو جعفر: يقول جل ثناؤه: وقال الشيطان لآدم وزوجته حواء: ما نهاكما ربكما عن هذه الشجرة أن تأكلا ثمرَها، إلا لئلا تكونا ملكين. * * * = وأسقطت " لا " من الكلام، لدلالة ما ظهر عليها, كما أسقطت من قوله: يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَضِلُّوا ، [سورة النساء: 176]. والمعنى: يبين الله لكم أن لا تضلوا. * * * وكان بعض أهل العربية من أهل البصرة يزعم أن معنى الكلام: ما نهاكما ربكما عن هذه الشجرة إلا كراهة أن تكونا ملكين, كما يقال: " إياك أن تفعل " كراهيةَ أن تفعل. * * * =" أو تكونا من الخالدين "، في الجنة، الماكثين فيها أبدًا، فلا تموتا. (51) * * * والقراءة على فتح " اللام "، بمعنى: ملكين من الملائكة. * * * وروي عن ابن عباس، ما:- 14394- حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا إسحاق قال، حدثنا ابن أبي حماد قال، حدثنا عيسى الأعمى, عن السدّي قال: كان ابن عباس يقرأ: " إلا أَنْ تَكُونَا مَلِكَيْنِ"، بكسر " اللام ". * * * وعن يحيى بن أبي كثير، ما:- 14395- حدثني أحمد بن يوسف قال، حدثني القاسم بن سلام قال، حدثنا حجاج, عن هارون قال، حدثنا يعلى بن حكيم, عن يحيى بن أبي كثير أنه قرأها: " مَلِكَيْنِ"، بكسر " اللام ". * * * وكأنَّ ابن عباس ويحيى وجَّها تأويل الكلام إلى أن الشيطان قال لهما: ما نهاكما ربكما عن هذه الشجرة إلا أن تكونا ملكين من الملوك = وأنهما تأوّلا في ذلك قول الله في موضع آخر: قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لا يَبْلَى ، [سورة طه: 120]. * * * قال أبو جعفر: والقراءة التي لا أستجيز القراءة في ذلك بغيرها, القراءةُ التي عليها قرأة الأمصار وهي، فتح " اللام " من: " مَلَكَيْنِ", بمعنى: ملكين، من الملائكة ، لما قد تقدم من بياننا في أن كل ما كان مستفيضًا في قرأة الإسلام من القراءة, فهو الصواب الذي لا يجوزُ خلافه. ---------------------- الهوامش : (48) في المطبوعة : (( كما قيل : عرضت له ، بمعنى : استبنت إليه )) ، غير ما في المخطوطة تغييرًا تامًا ، فأتانا بلغو مبتذل لا معنى له . وكان في المخطوطة : (( كما قيل : عرضت إليه بمعنى : اشتقت إليه )) ، هكذا ، وصواب قراءتها ما أثبت . وقوله : (( غرضت إليه )) بمعنى : اشتقت إليه ، (( إنما تعني : غرضت من هؤلاء إليه )) ، هذا كأنه نص قول الأخفش في تفسير قول ابن هرمة : مَــنْ ذَا رَسُــولٌ نــاصِحٌ فَمُبَلِّـغٌ عَنِّـي عُلَيَّـةَ غَـيْرَ قَـوْلِ الكـاذِبِ ? أَنِّـي غَــرِضْتُ إلَـى تَنَاصُفِ وَجْهِهَا غَـرَضَ المُحِـبِّ إلـى الحَبِيبِ الغائِبِ قوله : (( تناصف وجهها )) ، أي محاسن وجهها التي ينصف بعضها بعضًا في الحسن . قال الأخفش : (( تفسيره : غرضت من هؤلاء إليه ، لأن العرب توصل بهذه الحروف كلها الفعل )) ويريد الأخفش أنهم يقولون : (( غرض غرضًا )) ، إذا ضجر وقلق ومل ، فلما أدخل مع الفعل (( إلى )) ، صار معناه : ضجر من هذا نزاعًا واشتياقًا إلى هذا . وموضع الاستشهاد أن (( الوسوسة )) الصوت الخفي من حديث النفس ، فنقل إبليس ما حاك في نفسه إليهما ، فلذلك أدخل على (( الوسوسة )) (( اللام )) و (( إلى )) . ولكن أبا جعفر أدمج الكلام ههنا إدماجًا . (49) ديوانه : 108 ، اللسان ( وسس ) ، وهذا بيت من أرجوزته التي مضت منها أبيات كثيرة . وهذا البيت من أبيات في صفة الصائد المختفي ، يترقب حمر الوحش ، ليصيب منها . يقول لما أحس بالصيد وأراد رميه ، وسوس نفسه بالدعاء حذر بالدعاء حذر الخيبة ورجاء الإصابة . (50) الأثر : 14393 - (( حوثرة بن محمد بن قديد المنقري )) ، أبو الأزهر الوراق روى عنه ابن ماجه ، وابن خزيمة ، وابن صاعد ، وغيرهم . ذكره ابن حبان في الثقات . مترجم في التهذيب ، وابن أبي حاتم 1 /2 / 283 . (51) انظر تفسير (( الخلود )) فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( خلد ) .