Tafsir at-Tabari: Jami' al-Bayan - Dar al-Tarbiyah wa al-Turath Edition

Volume 1 · Page 179

Translation · EN

AI translation

And from it is the statement of the rajaz poet:

So he was turned away from the direct path of the way (1) *

And the poetic evidences for that are too numerous to count, and what we have mentioned suffices over what we have omitted.

Then the Arabs borrow "the Path (Sirat)", using it for every speech and deed described as being straight or crooked; so they describe the straight as straight, and the crooked as crooked.

And that which is most worthy of the Interpretation of this verse, in my view—meaning: {Guide us to the straight Path (Sirat)}—is that the intended meaning is: Grant us success to remain steadfast upon that which You are pleased with and upon which You granted success to those among Your servants whom You have favored, in speech and deed; and that is the straight Path (Sirat). For whoever is granted success in that which God's favored ones—among the Prophets, the truthful ones, and the martyrs—were granted success in, has indeed been granted success in Islam, affirming the truth of the Messengers, adhering to the Book, acting upon what God has commanded, refraining from what He has prohibited, and following the methodology of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and the way of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī, and every righteous servant of God; and all of that is part of the straight Path (Sirat).

The translators of the Qurʾān have differed regarding what is meant by the straight Path (Sirat) (2). The Interpretation that we have chosen encompasses all of their meanings in that regard.

And among what was said concerning that is what was narrated from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, that he said, when mentioning the Qurʾān: "It is the straight Path (Sirat)."

174 - Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī narrated to us, he said: Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī narrated to us, from Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, from Abū al-Mukhtār al-Ṭāʾī, from the nephew of al-Ḥārith, from al-Ḥārith, from ʿAlī, from the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him (3).

Notes

(1) Al-Qurṭubī narrated it in his Tafsīr (1/128) as "the clear path" (al-ṣirāṭ al-wāḍiḥ).
(2) Interpreters of the Qurʾān (tarājimat al-Qurʾān): plural of translator/interpreter (turjumān); he means the exegetes (al-mufassirīn). See what passed: 70, comment: 1.
(3) Hadith 174 — Its chain of transmission is very Da'if (Weak). Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī: trustworthy, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Khuzayma, and others narrated from him. He died in the year 258; his biography is in al-Tahdhīb. Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī: he is Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Walīd, a well-known trustworthy narrator; Aḥmad, Ibn Maʿīn, and others narrated from him, and indeed Ibn ʿUyayna narrated from him although he was older than him. The authors of the Six Books produced narrations through him. Ḥamza al-Zayyāt: he is Ḥamza ibn Ḥabīb, the famous Qurʾān reciter. Some spoke against his narration, but the truth is that he is trustworthy, and Muslim narrated through him in his Ṣaḥīḥ. Abū al-Mukhtār al-Ṭāʾī: it is said his name was Saʿd, and he is unknown; al-Madīnī and Abū Zurʿa declared him unknown. The nephew of al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar is even more obscure than that; neither he nor his father was named. His uncle al-Ḥārith: he is ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Aʿwar al-Hamdānī, and he is very Da'if (Weak). The scholars differed greatly concerning him, to the extent that al-Shaʿbī and others described him as having been "a liar," and I have preferred in the commentary on Hadith 565 and elsewhere in the Musnad that he is very Da'if (Weak).
As for the Matn of the hadith: Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated it — in meaning — from al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa from Yaḥyā ibn Yamān from Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, with this chain of transmission, as quoted by Ibn Kathīr (1/50), where a corruption of the chain of transmission occurred. It is part of a long hadith on the virtue of the Qurʾān — narrated by al-Tirmidhī (4/51–52 of Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī) from ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd from Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī with this chain of transmission. Al-Tirmidhī said: "This is a Singular hadith; we do not know it except from the hadith of Ḥamza al-Zayyāt, its chain of transmission is unknown, and concerning the hadith of al-Ḥārith there is criticism." Likewise, al-Dārimī narrated it in his Sunan (2/435) from Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Rifāʿī from Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī. Al-Suyūṭī quoted it (1/15) and attributed it also to Ibn Abī Shayba, Ibn al-Anbārī in al-Maṣāḥif, and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān. Al-Dhahabī referred to it in al-Mīzān (3/380) under the biography of Abū al-Mukhtār al-Ṭāʾī, saying: "His hadith concerning the virtues of the Qurʾān is disclaimed." Ibn Kathīr quoted it in al-Faḍāʾil (pp. 14–15) from al-Tirmidhī, quoting his grading of it as weak, then said: "Ḥamza ibn Ḥabīb al-Zayyāt was not solitary in narrating it; rather, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq narrated it from Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī from al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar. Thus, Ḥamza is cleared of its responsibility, given that although he was Da'if (Weak) in hadith, he was an imam in Qurʾānic recitation. The hadith is well-known from the narration of al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar, and they spoke regarding him; indeed, some declared him a liar due to his opinion and belief, but as for intentionally lying in hadith — no. The furthest this hadith goes is to be from the words of the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī, May God be pleased with him, and some erred in elevating it to Marfu' status, and it is Hasan (Good) Sahih (Authentic) speech." And it will come in 175 and 176 through two other chains of transmission, Mawquf, from the words of ʿAlī, May God be pleased with him. And the narration of Ibn Isḥāq — to which Ibn Kathīr referred — is the hadith of Aḥmad in the : 565, from Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd from his father from Ibn Isḥāq. We weakened its chain of transmission there due to al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar and due to the break in transmission between Ibn Isḥāq and Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb. And it does not contain the wording that is here in the commentary on "the straight path."

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Arabic (Source)

ومنه قول الراجز:* فَصُدَّ عَنْ نَهْجِ الصِّراطِ القَاصدِ (١) *والشواهد على ذلك أكثرُ من أن تُحصى، وفيما ذكرنا غنًى عما تركنا.ثم تستعيرُ العرب "الصراط" فتستعمله في كل قولٍ وعمل وُصِف باستقامة أو اعوجاج، فتصفُ المستقيمَ باستقامته، والمعوجَّ باعوجاجه.والذي هو أولى بتأويل هذه الآية عندي، أعني: (اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ) ، أن يكونا معنيًّا به: وَفّقنا للثبات على ما ارتضيتَه ووَفّقتَ له مَنْ أنعمتَ عليه من عبادِك، من قولٍ وعملٍ، وذلك هو الصِّراط المستقيم. لأن من وُفّق لما وفق له من أنعم الله عليه من النبيِّين والصديقين والشهداء، فقد وُفّق للإسلام، وتصديقِ الرسلِ، والتمسكِ بالكتاب، والعملِ بما أمر الله به، والانزجار عمّا زَجره عنه، واتّباع منهج النبيّ ﷺ، ومنهاج أبي بكر وعمر وعثمان وعلي. وكلِّ عبدٍ لله صالحٍ، وكل ذلك من الصراط المستقيم.وقد اختلفتْ تراجمةُ القرآن في المعنيِّ بالصراط المستقيم (٢) . يشمل معاني جميعهم في ذلك، ما اخترنا من التأويل فيه.ومما قالته في ذلك، ما رُوي عن علي بن أبي طالب، عن النبي ﷺ، أنه قال، وذكر القرآن، فقال: هو الصراط المستقيم.١٧٤ - حدثنا بذلك موسى بن عبد الرحمن المسروقي، قال: حدثنا حسين الجُعْفي، عن حمزة الزيات، عن أبي المختار الطائي، عن ابن أخي الحارث، عن الحارث، عن عليّ، عن النبي ﷺ (٣) .

Notes

(١) رواه القرطبي في تفسيره ١: ١٢٨ "الصراط الواضح".(٢) تراجمة القرآن: جمع ترجمان: وأراد المفسرين، وانظر ما مضى: ٧٠ تعليق: ١(٣) الحديث ١٧٤ - إسناده ضعيف جدًا. موسى بن عبد الرحمن المسروقي: ثقة، روى عنه الترمذي، والنسائي، وابن خزيمة، وغيرهم. مات سنة ٢٥٨، مترجم في التهذيب. حسين الجعفي: هو حسين بن علي بن الوليد، ثقة معروف، روى عنه أحمد، وابن معين، وغيرهم، بل روى عنه ابن عيينة وهو أكبر منه. وأخرج له أصحاب الكتب الستة. حمزة الزيات: هو حمزة بن حبيب، القارئ المعروف. وتكلم في رواية بعضهم، والحق أنه ثقة، وأخرج له مسلم في صحيحه. أبو المختار الطائي: قيل اسمه: سعد، وهو مجهول، جهله المديني وأبو زرعة. ابن أخي الحارث الأعور: أشد جهالة من ذلك، لم يسم هو ولا أبوه. عمه الحارث: هو ابن عبد الله الأعور الهمداني، وهو ضعيف جدا. وقد اختلف فيه العلماء اختلافا كثيرا، حتى وصفه الشعبي وغيره بأنه "كان كذابًا"، وقد رجحت في شرح الحديث ٥٦٥ وغيره من المسند أنه ضعيف جدا.