Tabari

Tafseer of The Dawn · Al-Fajr · 89:19

وَتَأْكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكْلًۭا لَّمًّۭا

And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether,

Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.

Tabari (1 passage)

  1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

    His statement: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and you devour, O people, the inheritance (mīrāth) with a devouring greed — that is to say: a voracious devouring in which you leave nothing of it remaining. It is derived from their saying: "I devoured (lammamtu) everything that was on the table, I devour it (alummu-hu) with a devouring (lamman)," when one eats up what is on it and consumes the whole of it.

    And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.

    * Mention of who said this:

    ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn Yasār al-Qurashī related to me, saying: al-Anṣārī related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: the inheritance.

    Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ ("and you devour the inheritance") — that is to say: the inheritance. And likewise concerning His statement: أَكْلا لَمًّا ("with a devouring greed").

    * Mention of who said this:

    Muḥammad ibn Saʿd 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: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: you devour with a voracious devouring.

    Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning his statement: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: his own share and the share of his companion.

    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 statement: أَكْلا لَمًّا ("with a devouring greed"), he said: al-lamm is the lapping up (al-saff), the snatching away of everything.

    Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: أَكْلا لَمًّا ("with a devouring greed") — that is to say: voraciously.

    It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: أَكْلا لَمًّا ("with a devouring greed"), he says: a voracious devouring.

    Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the statement of Allah: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: the devouring greed is that one eats everything one finds and does not ask about it; so one devours both what belongs to oneself and what belongs to one's companion. They did not let the women inherit, nor did they let the small children inherit. And he recited: وَيَسْتَفْتُونَكَ فِي النِّسَاءِ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِيهِنَّ وَمَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ فِي يَتَامَى النِّسَاءِ اللاتِي لا تُؤْتُونَهُنَّ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُنَّ وَتَرْغَبُونَ أَنْ تَنْكِحُوهُنَّ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الْوِلْدَانِ ("And they ask you for a ruling concerning the women. Say: Allah gives you a ruling concerning them, and also what is recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls to whom you do not give what is prescribed for them, while you desire to marry them, and concerning the oppressed among the children") — that is to say: them too you did not let inherit. أَكْلا لَمًّا ("with a devouring greed"): one devours one's share of the inheritance, and everything about which one does not ask, and of which one does not know whether it is permitted or forbidden.

    ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: lapping up (saffan).

    Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Barqī related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama al-Bustī related to us, on the authority of Zuhayr, on the authority of Sālim, he said: I heard Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh say concerning this verse: وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ("and you devour the inheritance with a devouring greed"), he said: al-lamm is the transgression in the inheritance: one devours one's own share and the share of another.

    Show original Arabic
    وقوله: ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) يقول تعالى ذكره: وتأكلون أيها الناس الميراث أكلا لمًّا، يعني: أكلا شديدًا لا تتركون منه شيئا، وهو من قولهم: لممت ما على الخِوان أجمع، فأنا ألمه لمًّا: إذا أكلت ما عليه فأتيت على جميعه. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني عمرو بن سعيد بن يسار القرشي، قال: ثنا الأنصاري، عن أشعث، عن الحسن ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) قال: الميراث. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ ) أي الميراث، وكذلك في قوله: ( أَكْلا لَمًّا ). * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثني محمد بن سعد، قال: ثني أبي، قال: ثني عمي، قال: ثني أبي، عن أبيه، عن ابن عباس، ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) يقول: تأكلون أكلا شديدا. حدثني يعقوب، قال: ثنا ابن عُلية، عن يونس، عن الحسن، في قوله: ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) قال: نصيبه ونصيب صاحبه. 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: ( أَكْلا لَمًّا ) قال: اللمّ السفّ، لفّ كل شيء. حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة ( أَكْلا لَمًّا ) أي: شديدا. حُدثت عن الحسين، قال: سمعت أبا معاذ يقول: ثنا عبيد، قال: سمعت الضحاك يقول في قوله: ( أَكْلا لَمًّا ) يقول: أكلا شديدا. حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد في قول الله: ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) قال: الأكل اللمّ: الذي يأكل كلّ شيء يجده ولا يسأل، فأكل الذي له والذي لصاحبه، كانوا لا يُوَرِّثون النساء، ولا يورّثون الصغار، وقرأ: وَيَسْتَفْتُونَكَ فِي النِّسَاءِ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِيهِنَّ وَمَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ فِي يَتَامَى النِّسَاءِ اللاتِي لا تُؤْتُونَهُنَّ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُنَّ وَتَرْغَبُونَ أَنْ تَنْكِحُوهُنَّ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الْوِلْدَانِ أي: لا تورِّثونهنّ أيضا( أَكْلا لَمًّا ) يأكل ميراثه، وكلّ شيء لا يسأل عنه، ولا يدري أحلال أو حرام. حدثني عليّ، قال: ثنا أبو صالح، قال: ثني معاوية، عن عليّ، عن ابن عباس ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ). يقول: سَفًّا. حدثني ابن عبد الرحيم البرقيّ، قال: ثنا عمرو بن أبي سلمة البستيّ، عن زُهير، عن سالم، قال: قد سمعتُ بكر بن عبد الله يقول في هذه الآية: ( وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلا لَمًّا ) قال اللمّ: الاعتداء في المِيراث، يأكل ميراثه وميراث غيره.