Tabari (1 passage)

1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

   The word concerning the explanation of His statement: "If you do not help him, then Allah has already helped him when those who disbelieved drove him out, the second of two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion: 'Do not grieve, indeed Allah is with us'" (9:40).

   Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a notification from Allah to the companions (ṣaḥāba) of His Messenger ﷺ that He is the One who takes it upon Himself to help His Messenger against the enemies of His religion and to give him the upper hand over them without them, whether they help him or do not help him, = and it is a reminder from Him to them [of the fact] that He did that for him while he was few in number and the enemy was numerous. How then would it be with him while he is numerous in number and the enemy few?

   He, exalted be His praise, says to them: If you do not march out, O believers, with My Messenger when he calls you to battle, so that you help him — then Allah is his helper and his support against his enemy, and He makes him independent of you and of your support and help, just as He helped him = "when those who disbelieved drove him out" — [the disbelievers] in Allah, from the Quraysh, [drove him out] from his dwelling place and his house = "the second of two". He says: they drove him out while he was one of the two, that is to say: one out of the two.

   * * *

   And thus the Arabs say: "he is the second of two", by which is meant: one of the two, and "the third of three, the fourth of four", by which is meant: one of the three, and one of the four. And that is different from their statement: "he is the brother of six, and the servant of seven", because "the brother" and "the servant" are something other than the six and the seven, whereas "the third of the three" is one of the three.

   * * *

   And He, exalted be His praise, meant by His statement "the second of two" the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, because they were both the ones who set out fleeing from the Quraysh when the latter resolved to kill the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they both hid in the cave.

   * * *

   And His statement "when they were both in the cave". He says: when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr, the mercy of Allah be upon him, were in the cave.

   * * *

   And "the cave" (al-ghār) is the large opening that is in the mountain.

   * * *

   = "when he said to his companion". He says: when the Messenger of Allah said to his companion Abū Bakr: "Do not grieve". And that was because he feared the pursuit, that they would discover their hiding place, and he was anxious about that. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: "Do not grieve", for Allah is with us and Allah is our helper, and the polytheists (mushrikīn) will not discover us and will not reach us.

   He, exalted be His praise, says: Allah has already helped him against his enemy while he was in this state of fear and smallness of number. How then would He forsake him and leave him to your help, while Allah has multiplied his helpers and [increased] the number of his troops?

   * * *

   And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.

   * Mention of who said that:

   16725 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid: "If you do not help him" — He mentioned what there was at the beginning of his affair, when He sent him forth. Allah says: I am the One who does that for him and helps him, just as I helped him then, while he was the second of two.

   16726 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, [concerning] His statement: "If you do not help him, then Allah has already helped him". He said: He mentioned what there was at the beginning of his affair, when he was sent forth. Allah will thus do so for him, helping him just as He helped him then, "the second of two when they were both in the cave".

   16727 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, [concerning] His statement: "If you do not help him, then Allah has already helped him", the verse. He said: his companion was Abū Bakr, and as for "the cave", that is a mountain at Mecca that is called "Thawr".

   16728 - ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: Abān al-ʿAṭṭār related to us, saying: Hishām ibn ʿUrwa related to us, on the authority of ʿUrwa, he said: When the Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, departed, Abū Bakr had a loaned flock of sheep (manīḥah) that went [back] to his family. Abū Bakr sent ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayra with the sheep to [the mountain] Thawr. And ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayra used to go in the evening with those sheep to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave at Thawr, and that is "the cave" that Allah has mentioned in the Qurʾān.

   16729 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Jubayr al-Wāsiṭī related to me, saying: ʿAffān and Ḥabbān related to us, both of them saying: Hammām related to us, on the authority of Thābit, from Anas, that Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, related to them, saying: While I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the cave and the feet of the polytheists were above our heads, I said: O Messenger of Allah, if one of them were to lift his foot, he would see us! Then he said: O Abū Bakr, what do you think of two of whom Allah is the third?

   16730 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, from Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir, from Mujāhid, he said: Abū Bakr stayed with the Prophet ﷺ in the cave three [days].

   16731 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, from al-Zuhrī: "when they were both in the cave". He said: in the mountain that is called Thawr; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr stayed in it three nights.

   16732 - Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith informed me, on the authority of his father: that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, the mercy of Allah the Exalted be upon him, when he was delivering a sermon, said: Which of you recites "Sūrat al-Tawba"? A man said: I. He said: recite. When he came to: "when he said to his companion: 'Do not grieve'", Abū Bakr wept and said: by Allah, I am his companion.

   * * *

   The word concerning the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: "Then Allah sent down His tranquility (sakīnah) upon him and strengthened him with troops you did not see, and He made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah is the highest; and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise".

   Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Then Allah sent down His reassurance and His calm upon His Messenger = and it has also been said: upon Abū Bakr = "and strengthened him with troops you did not see". He says: and He reinforced him with troops from Himself from among the angels, whom you did not see = "and He made the word of those who disbelieved", and that is the word of ascribing partners to Allah (shirk), = "the lowest", because it was overcome and humiliated, and Allah, the Exalted, abolished it and destroyed its adherents. And whoever is overcome and defeated is lower than the victor, and the victor is the highest = "while the word of Allah is the highest". He says: and the religion of Allah, His oneness (tawḥīd) and the saying of "there is no god but Allah" — and that is His word = "the highest", above the shirk and its adherents, the triumphant — as:

   16733 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, from Ibn ʿAbbās, [concerning] His statement: "and He made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest" — and that is: the shirk against Allah = "while the word of Allah is the highest" — and that is: "there is no god but Allah".

   * * *

   And His statement "while the word of Allah is the highest" is a new, independent statement, not referred back to (i.e. not grammatically connected with) His statement "and He made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest", because if it had been referred back to the first "word", it would have stood in the accusative (naṣb).

   * * *

   As for His statement "and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise", by it He means: "and Allah is Almighty" in His vengeance upon the people of disbelief in Him; no overpowerer overpowers Him, no victor defeats Him, and no helper helps the one whom He punishes = "All-Wise" in the governance of His creatures and the directing of them according to His will.

   [The footnotes contain references to the explanation of various terms ("maʿa", "al-sakīna", "al-taʾyīd", "al-aʿlā", "ʿazīz", "ḥakīm") in the foregoing, as well as extensive ḥadīth-critical (isnād) and text-critical notes: that narration 16728 is part of the letter of ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr to ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān (previously published under no. 16083 and elsewhere; this part is in Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī 2:246); biographical data on the narrators of 16729 (Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Jubayr al-Wāsiṭī, the teacher of al-Ṭabarī, for whom no biography has been found outside al-Jarḥ wa-l-taʿdīl of Ibn Abī Ḥātim; ʿAffān ibn Muslim ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣaffār, trustworthy (thiqa), one of the teachers of Aḥmad and al-Bukhārī; Ḥabbān ibn Hilāl al-Bāhilī, trustworthy, from whom the [six] collections narrate — "Ḥabbān" with fatḥa on the ḥāʾ, not with kasra; Hammām ibn Yaḥyā ibn Dīnār al-Azdī, trustworthy; Thābit ibn Aslam al-Bunānī, trustworthy), with the mention that this report is narrated via ʿAffān ibn Muslim by Ibn Saʿd in the Ṭabaqāt, by Aḥmad in his Musnad, and by al-Tirmidhī in the tafsīr of the verse, and via Ḥabbān ibn Hilāl by al-Bukhārī in his Ṣaḥīḥ and by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ, and that al-Tirmidhī said: "this is a ṣaḥīḥ-gharīb narration, which is narrated exclusively via the narration of Hammām", and that al-Suyūṭī included it in al-Durr with attribution to several collectors; for narration 16732 that the manuscript erroneously had "Sūrat al-Baqara", which is an all too obvious error, and biographical data on ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Yaʿqūb al-Anṣārī al-Miṣrī (trustworthy) and his father al-Ḥārith ibn Yaʿqūb (trustworthy). For narration 16547 the notes mention textual variants between the printed edition and the manuscript.]

   Show original Arabic

   القول في تأويل قوله : إِلا تَنْصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا قال أبو جعفر: وهذا إعلامٌ من الله أصحابَ رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنّه المتوكّل بنصر رسوله على أعداء دينه وإظهاره عليهم دونهم, أعانوه أو لم يعينوه, = وتذكيرٌ منه لهم فعلَ ذلك به, وهو من العدد في قلة، والعدوُّ في كثرة, فكيف به وهو من العدد في كثرة، والعدو في قلة؟ يقول لهم جل ثناؤه: إلا تنفروا، أيها المؤمنون، مع رسولي إذا استنفركم فتنصروه, فالله ناصره ومعينه على عدوّه ومغنيه عنكم وعن معونتكم ونصرتكم; كما نصره =(إذ أخرجه الذين كفروا)، بالله من قريش من وطنه وداره =(ثاني اثنين)، يقول: أخرجوه وهو أحد الاثنين، أي: واحد من الاثنين. * * * وكذلك تقول العرب: " هو ثاني اثنين " يعني: أحد الاثنين, و " ثالث ثلاثة, ورابع أربعة ", يعني: أحد الثلاثة, وأحد الأربعة. وذلك خلاف قولهم: " هو أخو ستة، وغلام سبعة ", لأن " الأخ "، و " الغلام " غير الستة والسبعة, " وثالث الثلاثة "، أحد الثلاثة. * * * وإنما عنى جل ثناؤه بقوله: (ثاني اثنين)، رسولَ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبا بكر رضي الله عنه, لأنهما كانا اللذين خرجَا هاربين من قريش إذ همُّوا بقتل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم واختفيا في الغار. * * * وقوله: (إذ هما في الغار)، يقول: إذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبو بكر رحمة الله عليه، في الغار. * * * و " الغار "، النقب العظيم يكون في الجبل. * * * =(إذ يقول لصاحبه)، يقول: إذ يقول رسول الله لصاحبه أبي بكر، (لا تحزن)، وذلك أنه خافَ من الطَّلَب أن يعلموا بمكانهما, فجزع من ذلك, فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " لا تحزن "، لأن الله معنا والله ناصرنا, (33) فلن يعلم المشركون بنا ولن يصلوا إلينا. يقول جل ثناؤه: فقد نصره الله على عدوه وهو بهذه الحال من الخوف وقلة العدد, فكيف يخذله ويُحْوِجه إليكم، وقد كثَّر الله أنصاره, وعدد جنودِه؟ * * * وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: 16725- حدثني محمد بن عمرو قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم قال، حدثنا عيسى, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد: (إلا تنصروه)، ذكر ما كان في أول شأنه حين بعثَه. يقول الله: فأنا فاعلٌ ذلك به وناصره، كما نصرته إذ ذاك وهو ثاني اثنين. 16726- حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج, عن ابن جريج, عن مجاهد قوله: (إلا تنصروه فقد نصره الله)، قال: ذكر ما كان في أول شأنه حين بُعثَ, فالله فاعلٌ به كذلك، ناصره كما نصره إذ ذاك (ثانيَ اثنين إذ هما في الغار). 16727- حدثنا بشر قال، حدثنا يزيد قال، حدثنا سعيد, عن قتادة قوله: (إلا تنصروه فقد نصره الله)، الآية, قال: فكان صاحبَه أبو بكر، وأما " الغار "، فجبل بمكة يقال له: " ثَوْر ". 16728- حدثنا عبد الوارث بن عبد الصمد قال، حدثني أبي قال، حدثنا أبان العطار قال، حدثنا هشام بن عروة, عن عروة قال: لما خرج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبو بكر رضي الله عنه, وكان لأبي بكر مَنِيحةٌ من غَنَم تروح على أهله, (34) فأرسل أبو بكر عامر بن فهيرة في الغنم إلى ثور. وكان عامر بن فهيرةَ يروح بتلك الغنم على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بالغار في ثور, وهو " الغار " الذي سماه الله في القرآن. (35) 16729- حدثني يعقوب بن إبراهيم بن جبير الواسطي قال، حدثنا عفان وحَبَّان قالا حدثنا همام, عن ثابت، عن أنس, أن أبا بكر رضي الله عنه حدَّثهم قال: بينا أنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في الغار وأقدامُ المشركين فوق رؤوسنا, فقلت: يا رسول الله, لو أن أحدهم رفع قَدَمَه أبصرنا! فقال: يا أبا بكر، ما ظنك باثنين الله ثالثهما؟ (36) 16730- حدثنا ابن وكيع قال، حدثنا أبي, عن شريك, عن إبراهيم بن مهاجر, عن مجاهد قال: مكث أبو بكر مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في الغار ثلاثًا. 16731- حدثنا محمد بن عبد الأعلى قال، حدثنا محمد بن ثور, عن معمر, عن الزهري: (إذ هما في الغار)، قال: في الجبل الذي يسمَّى ثورًا, مكث فيه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبو بكر ثلاث ليالٍ. 16732- حدثنا يونس قال، أخبرنا ابن وهب, قال: أخبرني عمرو بن الحارث, عن أبيه: أن أبا بكر الصديق رحمة الله تعالى عليه حين خطب قال: أيُّكم يقرأ " سورة التوبة "؟ (37) قال رجل: أنا. قال: اقرأ. فلما بلغ: (إذ يقول لصاحبه لا تحزن)، بكى أبو بكر وقال: أنا والله صاحبُه. (38) * * * القول في تأويل قوله تعالى: فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: فأنـزل الله طمأنينته وسكونه على رسوله (39) = وقد قيل: على أبي بكر =(وأيده بجنود لم تروها)، يقول: وقوّاه بجنودٍ من عنده من الملائكة، لم تروها أنتم (40) =(وجعل كلمة الذين كفروا)، وهي كلمة الشرك =(السُّفْلى)، لأنها قُهِرَت وأذِلَّت، وأبطلها الله تعالى، ومحق أهلها, وكل مقهور ومغلوب فهو أسفل من الغالب، والغالب هو الأعلى =(وكلمة الله هي العليا)، يقول: ودين الله وتوحيده وقولُ لا إله إلا الله, وهي كلمتُه =(العليا)، على الشرك وأهله, الغالبةُ، (41) كما:- 16733- حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا أبو صالح قال، حدثني معاوية, عن علي, عن ابن عباس قوله: (وجعل كلمة الذين كفروا السفلى)، وهي: الشرك بالله =(وكلمة الله هي العليا)، وهي: لا إله إلا الله. * * * وقوله: (وكلمة الله هي العليا)، خبر مبتدأ، غيرُ مردودٍ على قوله: (وجعل كلمة الذين كفروا السفلى)، لأن ذلك لو كان معطوفًا على " الكلمة " الأولى، لكان نصبًا. (42) * * * وأما قوله: (والله عزيز حكيم)، فإنه يعني: (والله عزيز)، في انتقامه من أهل الكفر به, لا يقهره قاهر، ولا يغلبه غالب، ولا ينصر من عاقبه ناصر =(حكيم)، في تدبيره خلقَه، وتصريفه إياهم في مشيئته. (43) ------------------------ الهوامش: (33) انظر تفسير "مع" فيما سلف ص : 240 ، تعليق : 2، والمراجع هناك. (34) " المنيحة" ، شاة أو ناقة يعيرها الرجل أخاه، يحتلبها وينتفع بلبنها سنة، ثم يردها إليه. (35) الأثر: 16728 - هذا جزء من كتاب عروة بن الزبير إلى عبد الملك بن مروان، والذي خرجته فيما سلف برقم : 16083 ، ومواضع أخرى كثيرة. وهذا الجزء من الكتاب في تاريخ الطبري 2 : 246. (36) الأثر : 16729 - " يعقوب بن إبراهيم بن جبير الواسطي" ، شيخ الطبري ، لم أجد له ترجمة في غير الجرح والتعديل لابن أبي حاتم 4 2 302 . و "عفان" هو "عفان بن مسلم بن عبد الله الصفار"، ثقة، من شيوخ أحمد والبخاري، مضى برقم : 5392 . و "حبان"، هو "حبان بن هلال الباهلي" ، ثقة، روى له الجماعة. مضى برقم : 5472 . " حبان " بفتح الحاء لا بكسرها. و "همام" هو "همام بن يحيى بن دينار الأزدي" ، ثقة روى له الجماعة ، مضى مرارًا، آخرها: 16306. و "ثابت" هو "ثابت بن أسلم البناني" ، ثقة روى له الجماعة، مضى برقم : 2942 ، 7030 . وهذا الخبر رواه من طريق عفان بن مسلم، ابن سعد في الطبقات 3 1 123 ، وأحمد في مسنده رقم : 11، والترمذي في تفسير الآية. ورواه من طريق حبان بن هلال، البخاري في صحيحه ( الفتح 8 : 245 ) ، ومسلم في صحيحه 15 : 149 . ورواه البخاري من طريق محمد بن سنان ، عن هلال في صحيحه (الفتح 7 : 9) . وقال الترمذي: "هذا حديث صحيح غريب، إنما يروى من حديث همام . وقد روى هذا الحديث حبان بن هلال ، وغير واحد ، عن همام ، نحو هذا " . وخرجه السيوطي في الدر 3 : 242 ، وزاد نسبته إلى ابن أبي شيبة ، وأبي عوانة ، وابن حبان ، وابن المنذر ، وابن مردويه. (37) في المخطوطة: "سورة البقرة" ، وهو خطأ أبين من أن يدل على تصحيحه. (38) الأثر : 16732 - " عمرو بن الحارث بن يعقوب الأنصاري المصري"، ثقة، روى له الجماعة، مضى برقم : 5973 . وأبوه "الحارث بن يعقوب بن ثعلبة، أو : ابن عبد الله ، الأنصاري المصري". ثقة. مترجم في التهذيب ، والكبير 1 2 282 ، وابن أبي حاتم 1 2 93. (39) انظر تفسير "السكينة" فيما سلف ص : 189، تعليق: 1 ، والمراجع هناك. (40) انظر تفسير " التأييد " فيما سلف ص : 44 ، تعليق : 3 ، والمراجع هناك. (41) انظر تفسير "الأعلى" فيما سلف 7 : 234. (42) انظر تفصيل ذلك في معاني القرآن للفراء 1: 438 ، وهو فصل جيد واضح. (43) انظر تفسير "عزيز" و "حكيم"، فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة (عزز) ، (حكم).