Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: عالِيَهُمْ ("above them"), that is to say: above these, namely above these righteous ones, are garments of fine silk (sundus). Some interpreters of the Scripture explained His saying عالِيَهُمْ ("above them") thus: above the canopied couches (ḥijāl) set up for them are ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ ("garments of fine silk"). And that is not a reprehensible interpretation, for if that is above the canopied couches in which they are, then it is above them, and is "above them."

   The reciters differed concerning the reading of this. Most of the reciters of Medina and Kufa and some of the reciters of Mecca read it as عَالِيهُمْ ("ʿālīhim") with sukūn on the yāʾ. But ʿĀṣim, Abū ʿAmr, and Ibn Kathīr read it with fatḥa on the yāʾ. Whoever read it with fatḥa made of His saying عالِيَهُمْ a noun that puts the "garments" in the nominative, as when someone says: "the outward [appearance] of them [is] garments of fine silk."

   And the correct judgment concerning this, in my view, is that these are two well-known readings with closely related meaning, and with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he has done right.

   And His saying ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ ("garments of fine silk") means: garments of fine, beautiful brocade (dībāj); and sundus is the fine [kind] of brocade.

   And concerning His saying خُضرٌ ("green") the reciters differed in their reading. Abū Jaʿfar the reciter and Abū ʿAmr read it in the nominative: خُضْرٌ ("khuḍrun"), as an attribute of the "garments," and in the genitive إستَبْرَقٍ ("istabraqin"), as an appositive to sundus, with the meaning: "and garments of heavy brocade (istabraq)." And ʿĀṣim and Ibn Kathīr read it خُضْرٍ ("khuḍrin") in the genitive and وإسْتَبْرَقٌ ("wa-istabraqun") in the nominative, with istabraq being an appositive to the "garments," with the meaning: "above them [is] istabraq," and with khuḍr being made an attribute of sundus. And Nāfiʿ read it: خُضْرٌ ("khuḍrun") in the nominative as an attribute of the "garments," and وإسْتَبْرَقٌ ("wa-istabraqun") in the nominative as an appositive to the "garments." And most of the reciters of Kufa read it: خُضْرٍ وإسْتَبْرَقٍ ("khuḍrin wa-istabraqin"), both in the genitive. And Ibn Muḥayṣin read it without inflection of istabraq: وإسْتَبْرَقَ ("wa-istabraqa") with fatḥa, with the meaning: "and garments of istabraq," and he read it with fatḥa because he took it to be a foreign (aʿjamī) noun. All these readings we have mentioned have a [valid] basis and direction, except for what we mentioned earlier from Ibn Muḥayṣin, for that is far removed from the known usage of speech of the Arabs; and that is because istabraq is indefinite (nakira), and the Arabs inflect indefinite nouns, even if they are foreign. And istabraq is the heavy [kind] of brocade. We have already mentioned the statements of the interpreters of the Scripture concerning this earlier, so that repetition here is unnecessary.

   Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: istabraq is heavy brocade.

   And His saying وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ ("and they are adorned with bracelets of silver") means: and their Lord adorned them with bracelets — asāwir is the plural of aswira — of silver.

   And His saying وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ("and their Lord gives them a pure drink to drink"), the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and their Lord gave these righteous ones a pure drink to drink; and part of its purity is that it does not turn into impure urine, but rather it becomes an exhalation from their bodies like the exuding of musk.

   Such as what Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, both saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, concerning وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ("and their Lord gives them a pure drink to drink"), he said: sweat that flows from their [bodies], like the scent of musk.

   Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, the same.

   He said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, who said: to the man among the inhabitants of the Garden is allotted the desire of a hundred men among the inhabitants of this world, and [likewise] their appetite and their longing; and when he eats, he is given a pure drink to drink, which becomes an exhalation that comes out of his skin, more fragrant than penetrating musk; then his desire returns.

   Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, 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: شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ("a pure drink"), he said: that which Allah has mentioned of the drinks.

   Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Abān, on the authority of Abū Qilāba: when the inhabitants of the Garden have eaten and drunk what they wished, they ask for the pure drink and drink it; through it their bellies are purified, and what they have eaten and drunk becomes an exhalation and a scent of musk, so that their bellies become slender thereby.

   ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya al-Riyāḥī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra or another — "Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī was uncertain" — who said: Jibrāʾīl ascended with the Prophet ﷺ on the night in which he was carried away on the night journey, to the seventh heaven, and sought admission. It was said to him: who is this? He said: Jibrāʾīl. It was said: and who is with you? He said: Muḥammad. They said: has he then already been sent for? He said: yes. They said: may Allah greet him as brother and successor; what an excellent brother and what an excellent successor, and what an excellent coming he has come. He said: he entered, and behold, there was a man with greying hair, seated upon a throne by the gate of the Garden, and with him was a group of people seated with white faces like parchments, and a group in whose colors there was something [of discoloration]. Those in whose colors there was something stood up and entered a river and washed themselves in it; they came out while something of their colors had been washed away. Then they entered another river and washed themselves in it; they came out while their colors had been [completely] purified and became equal to the colors of their companions; and they came and sat with their companions. He said: O Jibrāʾīl, who is this greying one, and who are these people with the white faces, and who are these in whose colors there was something, and what are these rivers in which they washed themselves and from which they came out while their colors had been purified? He said: this is your father Ibrāhīm, the first to turn grey upon the earth. And as for these with the white faces, they are people who did not mix their faith (īmān) with wrongdoing. And as for these in whose colors there was something, they are people who had mixed a good deed and another, evil [deed] and then repented, whereupon Allah accepted their repentance. And as for the rivers: the first of them is the mercy of Allah, the second is the grace of Allah, and the third [concerns] "their Lord gave them a pure drink to drink."

   Show original Arabic

   يقول تعالى ذكره: فوقهم، يعني فوق هؤلاء الأبرار ثياب سُنْدُسٍ. وكان بعض أهل التأويل يتأوّل قوله: ( عالِيَهُمْ ) فوق حِجَالهم المثبتة عليهم ( ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ ) وليس ذلك بالقول المدفوع، لأن ذلك إذا كان فوق حجالٍ هم فيها، فقد علاهم فهو عاليهم. وقد اختلف أهل القراءة في قراءة ذلك فقرأته عامة قرّاء المدينة والكوفة وبعض قرّاء مكة ( عَالِيهُمْ ) بتسكين الياء. وكان عاصم وأبو عمرو وابن كثير يقرءونه بفتح الياء، فمن فتحها جعل قوله ( عالِيَهُمْ ) اسما مرافعا للثياب، مثل قول القائل: ظاهرهم ثياب سندس. والصواب من القول في ذلك عندي أنهما قراءتان معروفتان متقاربتا المعنى، فبأيتهما قرأ القارئ فمصيب. وقوله: ( ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ ) يعني: ثياب ديباج رقيق حسن، والسندس: هو ما رقّ من الديباج. &; 24-113 &; وقوله: ( خُضرٌ ) اختلف القرّاء في قراءة ذلك، فقرأه أبو جعفر القارئ وأبو عمرو برفع: ( خُضْرٌ ) على أنها نعت للثياب، وخفض ( إستَبْرَقٍ ) عطفا به على السندس، بمعنى: وثياب إستبرق. وقرأ ذلك عاصم وابن كثير ( خُضْرٍ ) خفضا( وإسْتَبْرَقٌ ) رفعا، عطفا بالإستبرق على الثياب، بمعنى: عاليهم إستبرق، وتصييرا للخضر نعتا للسندس. وقرأ نافع ذلك: ( خُضْرٌ ) رفعا على أنها نعت للثياب ( وإسْتَبْرَقٌ ) رفعا عطفا به على الثياب. وقرأ ذلك عامة قرّاء الكوفة: ( خُضْرٍ وإسْتَبْرَقٍ ) خفضا كلاهما. وقرأ ذلك ابن محيصن بترك إجراء الإستبرق: ( وإسْتَبْرَقَ ) بالفتح بمعنى: وثياب إستبرق، وفَتَحَ ذلك أنه وجَّهه إلى أنه اسم أعجميّ. ولكلّ هذه القراءات التي ذكرناها وجه ومذهب غير الذي سبق ذكرنا عن ابن محيصن، فإنها بعيدة من معروف كلام العرب، وذلك أن الإستبرق نكرة، والعرب تجري الأسماء النكرة وإن كانت أعجمية، والإستبرق: هو ما غَلُظ من الديباج. وقد ذكرنا أقوال أهل التأويل في ذلك فيما مضى قبل فأغنى ذلك عن إعادته هاهنا. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة، قال: الإستبرق: الديباج الغليظ. وقوله: ( وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ ) يقول: وحلاهم ربهم أساور، وهي جمع أسورة من فضة. وقوله: ( وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وسقى هؤلاء الأبرار ربُّهُم شرابا طهورا، ومن طهره أنه لا يصير بولا نجسا، ولكنه يصير رشحا من أبدانهم كرشح المسك. كالذي حدثنا محمد بن بشار، قال: ثنا يحيى بن سعيد وعبد الرحمن، قالا ثنا سفيان، عن منصور، عن إبراهيم التيمي ( وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ) قال: عرق يفيض من أعراضهم مثل ريح المسك. حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا مهران، عن منصور، عن إبراهيم التيمي، مثله. قال: ثنا جرير، عن مغيرة، عن إبراهيم التيمي، قال: إن الرجل من أهل الجنة يقسَمُ له شهوة مئة رجل من أهل الدنيا، وأكلهم وهمتهم، فإذا أكل سقي شرابا طهورا، فيصير رشحا يخرج من جلده أطيب ريحًا من المسك الأذفر، ثم تعود شهوته. &; 24-114 &; حدثنا 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: ( شَرَابًا طَهُورًا ) قال: ما ذكر الله من الأشربة. حدثنا ابن عبد الأعلى، قال: ثنا ابن ثور، عن معمر، عن أبان، عن أبي قِلابة: إن أهل الجنة إذا أكلوا وشربوا ما شاءوا دَعَوا بالشراب الطهور فيشربونه، فتطهر بذلك بطونهم ويكون ما أكلوا وشربوا رَشْحا وريحَ مسك، فتضمر لذلك بطونهم. حدثنا عليّ بن سهل، قال: ثنا حجاج، قال: ثنا أبو جعفر الرازي، عن الربيع بن أنس، عن أبي العالية الرياحي، عن أبي هريرة أو غيره " شكّ أبو جعفر الرازي" قال: صعد جبرائيل بالنبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة أُسري به إلى السماء السابعة، فاستفتَح، فقيل له: من هذا؟ فقال: جبرائيل، قيل: ومن معك؟ قال: محمد، قالوا: أو قد أُرسل إليه؟ قال: نعم، قالوا: حياه الله من أخ وخليفة، فنعم الأخ ونعم الخليفة، ونعم المجيءُ جاء، قال: فدخل فإذا هو برجل أشمط جالس على كرسيّ عند باب الجنة، وعنده قوم جلوس بيض الوجوه أمثال القراطيس، وقوم في ألوانهم شيء، فقام الذين في ألوانهم شيء، فدخلوا نهرًا فاغتسلوا فيه، فخرجوا وقد خَلَص من ألوانهم شيء ثم دخلوا نهرًا آخر فاغتسلوا فيه، فخرجوا وقد خَلَصت ألوانهم، فصارت مثل ألوان أصحابهم، فجاءوا فجلسوا إلى أصحابهم، فقال: يا جبريل من هذا الأشمط، ومن هؤلاء البيض الوجوه، ومن هؤلاء الذين في ألوانهم شيء، وما هذه الأنهار التي اغتسلوا فيها، فجاءوا وقد صفت ألوانهم؟ قال: هذا أبوك إبراهيم، أوّل من شَمِط على الأرض، وأما هؤلاء البيض الوجوه، فقوم لم يَلْبِسوا إيمانهم بظلم: وأما هؤلاء الذين في ألوانهم شيء فقوم خلطوا عملا صالحا وآخر سيئا فتابوا، فتاب الله عليهم. وأما الأنهار، فأوّلها رحمة الله، والثاني نعمة الله، والثالث سقاهم ربهم شرابا طهورا.