Tabari (1 passage)

1. covers ayat 19–21
   Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The discourse on the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ (١٨) فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (١٩) ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (٢٠) ثُمَّ نَظَرَ (٢١) ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ (٢٢) ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ (٢٣) فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ (٢٤) إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ (٢٥) (Verily, he reflected and he schemed (18). Damned be he, how did he scheme! (19). Again: damned be he, how did he scheme! (20). Then he looked (21). Then he frowned and his face darkened (22). Then he turned away and was arrogant (23). And he said: 'This is nothing but transmitted sorcery (24). This is nothing but the word of a human being' (25)).

   The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Verily, this one whom I created alone reflected upon what was sent down to My servant Muḥammad ﷺ from the Qurʾān, and he schemed what he would say about it. (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ) (Damned be he, how did he scheme) — He says: then he was cursed, how did he scheme about what was sent down concerning him! (ثُمَّ نَظَرَ) (Then he looked) — He says: then he considered that carefully. (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ) (Then he frowned) — He says: then he contracted the area between his eyes. (وَبَسَرَ) (and his face darkened) — He says: his countenance became sullen and gloomy. To this also belongs the saying of Tawba ibn al-Ḥumayyir:

   Verily, there has troubled me concerning her a rejection that I perceived ... and her turning away from my need and her sullenly darkened countenance (1).

   And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken, and the reports about the Solitary One (al-Waḥīd) have been transmitted that he did this.

   Mention of the narration concerning that:

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of ʿAbbād ibn Manṣūr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, that al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he recited the Qurʾān to him, and it was as though he was softened by it. That reached Abū Jahl, who said: 'O uncle, verily, your people wish to collect money for you.' He said: 'Why?' He said: 'They wish to give it to you because you went to Muḥammad to obtain what he has.' He said: 'Quraysh surely knows that I possess the most wealth among them.' He said: 'Then say something about him from which your people will gather that you reject what he says and that you loathe it.' He said: 'And what should I say about him? By Allah, there is no man among you who knows poetry better than I, nor who knows the rajaz verses better than I, nor the qaṣīda, nor the poetry of the jinn. By Allah, what he says resembles none of this. By Allah, verily, his word has a sweetness, and it shatters what is beneath it, and it rises high and is not surpassed.' He said: 'By Allah, your people will not be satisfied until you say something about him.' He said: 'Then leave me, until I reflect upon it.' And when he had reflected upon it, he said: 'This is sorcery which he transmits from another.' Then it was revealed: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا) (Leave Me with him whom I created alone). Qatāda said: he came out alone from his mother's belly. And thus this verse was sent down until He reached the nineteenth.

   Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd 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, concerning His saying: (إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ ...) (Verily, he reflected and he schemed …) up to (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ) (Then he frowned and his face darkened). He said: al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra went in to Abū Bakr ibn Abī Quḥāfa, may Allah be pleased with him, to ask him about the Qurʾān. When he had informed him, he went out to Quraysh and said: 'O wonder, at what Ibn Abī Kabsha says! By Allah, it is not poetry, nor sorcery, nor the gibberish of madness; verily, his word is among the words of Allah.' When that group of Quraysh heard this, they took counsel and said: 'By Allah, if al-Walīd apostatizes, all of Quraysh will apostatize.' When Abū Jahl heard this, he said: 'I, by Allah, will handle his affair for you.' He set out until he entered his house, and he said to al-Walīd: 'Have you not seen that your people have collected charity for you?' He said: 'Am I not the one among them with the most wealth and children?' Then Abū Jahl said to him: 'They relate that you only go in to Ibn Abī Quḥāfa to obtain some of his food.' Al-Walīd said: 'Has my tribe related that? Well then, he shall not fall short of the rest of the Banū Quṣayy: I will not approach Abū Bakr, nor ʿUmar, nor Ibn Abī Kabsha, and his word is nothing but transmitted sorcery.' Then Allah sent down to His Prophet ﷺ: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا ...) (Leave Me with him whom I created alone …) up to (لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ) (It leaves nothing over and spares nothing).

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: (إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ) (Verily, he reflected and he schemed). They claimed that he said: 'By Allah, I have indeed considered what this man says, and behold, it is not poetry for him, and verily, it has a sweetness, and verily, there is a luster upon it, and verily, it rises high and is not surpassed, and I do not doubt that it is sorcery.' Then Allah sent down concerning him: (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ ...) (Damned be he, how did he scheme …), the verse. (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ) (Then he frowned and his face darkened): he contracted the area between his eyes and became sullen of countenance.

   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 saying: (فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ) (he reflected and he schemed). He said: it was al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra on the day of Dār al-Nadwa (the House of Council).

   It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا) (Leave Me with him whom I created alone), by which al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra is meant: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ called him to Islam, and he said: 'Until I reflect upon it', and he reflected upon it. (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ) (Then he frowned and his face darkened, then he turned away and was arrogant, and he said: 'This is nothing but transmitted sorcery'). Therefore Allah destined for him Saqar (the Hellfire).

   Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالًا مَمْدُودًا ...) (Leave Me with him whom I created alone and to whom I gave extended wealth …) up to His saying: (إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ) (This is nothing but transmitted sorcery). He said: this was al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra. He said: 'Tonight I will investigate this man for you.' And he came to the Prophet ﷺ and found him standing while performing the prayer and reciting. And he came back to them and they said: 'Well?' He said: 'I have heard a sweet, fresh, fruitful word that seizes the hearts.' They said: 'It is poetry.' He said: 'No, by Allah, it is not poetry; there is no one who knows poetry better than I. Have the poets not laid their poetry before me — Nābigha and so-and-so and so-and-so?' They said: 'Then he is a soothsayer.' He said: 'No, by Allah, he is not a soothsayer; soothsaying has been laid before me.' They said: 'Then this is sorcery of the ancients which he has had written down.' He said: 'I do not know; if it is anything, then perhaps it is transmitted sorcery.' And he recited: (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ) (Damned be he, how did he scheme; again: damned be he, how did he scheme). He said: 'Damned be he, how did he scheme', when he said: 'It is not poetry'; 'again: damned be he, how did he scheme', when he said: 'It is not soothsaying.'

   And His saying: (ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ) (Then he turned away and was arrogant) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: then he turned away from faith and from affirming the truth.

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   القول في تأويل قوله تعالى: ﴿إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ (١٨) فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (١٩) ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (٢٠) ثُمَّ نَظَرَ (٢١) ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ (٢٢) ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ (٢٣) فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ (٢٤) إِنْ هَذَا إِلا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ (٢٥)﴾ . يقول تعالى ذكره: إن هذا الذي خلقته وحيدا، فكَّر فيما أنزل على عبده محمد ﷺ من القرآن، وقدّر فيما يقول فيه (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ) يقول: ثم لعن كيف قدّر النازل فيه (ثُمَّ نَظَرَ) يقول: ثم روّى في ذلك (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ) يقول: ثم قبض ما بين عينيه (وَبَسَرَ) يقول: كلح وجهه؛ ومنه قول توبة بن الحُمَيِّر: وَقَدْ رَابَنِي مِنْها صُدُودٌ رأيتُهُ ... وإعْراضُها عَنْ حاجَتِي وبُسُورُها (١) وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل، وجاءت الأخبار عن الوحيد أنه فعل. ذكر الرواية بذلك: حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر عن عباد بن منصور، عن عكرِمة، أن الوليد بن المُغيرة جاء إلى النبي ﷺ، فقرأ عليه القرآن، فكأنه رقّ له، فبلغ ذلك أبا جهل، فقال: أي عمّ إن قومك يريدون أن يجمعوا لك مالا قال: لِمَ؟ قال: يعطونكه فإنك أتيت محمدا تتعرّض لما قِبَله، قال: قد علمت قريش أني أكثرها مالا قال: فقل فيه قولا يعلم قومك أنَّك مُنكر لما قال، وأنك كاره له؛ قال: فما أقول فيه، فوالله ما منكم رجل أعلم بالأشعار مني، ولا أعلم برجزه مني، ولا بقصيده، ولا بأشعار الجنّ، والله ما يشبه الذي يقول شيئا من هذا، ووالله إن لقوله لحلاوة، وإنه ليحطم ما تحته، وإنه ليعلو ولا يعلى، قال: والله لا يرضى قومك حتى تقول فيه، قال: فدعني حتى أفكر فيه؛ فلما فكَّر قال: هذا سحر يأثره عن غيره، فنزلت (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا) قال قتادة: خرج من بطن أمه وحيدا، فنزلت هذه الآية حتى بلغ تسعة عشر. حدثني محمد بن سعيد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، قوله: (إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ ...) إلى (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ) قال: دخل الوليد بن المغيرة على أبي بكر بن أبي قُحافة ﵁، يسأله عن القرآن، فلما أخبره خرج على قريش فقال: يا عجبا لما يقول ابن أبي كبشة، فو الله ما هو بشعر، ولا بسحر، ولا بهذي من الجنون، وإن قوله لمن كلام الله، فلما سمع بذلك النفر من قريش ائتمروا وقالوا: والله لئن صبأ الوليد لتصبأنّ قريش، فلما سمع بذلك أبو جهل قال: أنا والله أكفيكم شأنه، فانطلق حتى دخل عليه بيته، فقال للوليد: ألم تر قومك قد جمعوا لك الصدقة قال: ألستُ أكثرهم مالا وولدا؟ فقال له أبو جهل: يتحدّثون أنك إنما تدخل على ابن أبي قُحافة لتصيب من طعامه، قال الوليد: أقد تحدثت به عشيرتي، فلا يقصر عن سائر بني قُصيّ، لا أقرب أبا بكر ولا عمر ولا ابن أبي كبشة، وما قوله إلا سحر يؤثر، فأنزل الله على نبيه ﷺ: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا ...) إلى (لا تُبْقِي وَلا تَذَرُ) . حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله: (إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ)، زعموا أنه قال: والله لقد نظرت فيما قال هذا الرجل، فإذا هو ليس له بشعر، وإن له لحلاوة، وإن عليه لطلاوة، وإنه ليعلو وَما يعلى، وما أشكّ أنه سحر، فأنزل الله فيه: (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ ...) الآية (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ): قبض ما بين عينيه وكلح. حدثني محمد بن عمرو، قال: ثنا أبو عاصم، قال: ثنا عيسى، وحدثني الحارث قال: ثنا الحسن، قال: ثنا ورقاء، جميعا عن ابن أبي نجيح، عن مجاهد، قوله: (فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ) قال: الوليد بن المغيرة يوم دار الندوة. حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: أخبرنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا) يعني الوليد بن المغيرة، دعاه نبي الله ﷺ إلى الإسلام، فقال: حتى أنظر، ففكر (ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ فَقَالَ إِنْ هَذَا إِلا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ) فجعل الله له سقر. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد في قوله: (ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالا مَمْدُودًا ...) إلى قوله: (إِنْ هَذَا إِلا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ) قال: هذا الوليد بن المغيرة قال: سأبتار لكم هذا الرجل الليلة، فأتى النبيّ ﷺ، فوجده قائما يصلي ويقترئ، وأتاهم فقالوا: مه، قال: سمعت قولا حلوا أخضر مثمرا يأخذ بالقلوب، فقالوا: هو شعر، فقال: لا والله ما هو بالشعر، ليس أحد أعلم بالشعر مني، أليس قد عَرضت عليّ الشعراء شعرهم نابغة وفلان وفلان؟ قالوا: فهو كاهن، فقال: لا والله ما هو بكاهن، قد عرضت عليّ الكهانة، قالوا: فهذا سحر الأوّلين اكتتبه، قال: لا أدري إن كان شيئا فعسى هو إذا سحر يؤثر، فقرأ: (فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ) قال: قتل كيف قدّر حين قال: ليس بشعر، ثم قتل كيف قدّر حين قال: ليس بكهانة. وقوله: (ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ) يقول تعالى ذكره: ثم ولى عن الإيمان والتصديق