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

Volume 1 · Page 18

Translation · EN

AI translation

and so that those of understanding and discernment may take heed. Thus He supported them with His aid, and set them apart from the rest of His creation through the evidences by which He demonstrated their truthfulness, and reinforced them with conclusive proofs and miraculous signs, lest any speaker among them say: (1) ﴿This is nothing but a human being like you; he eats of what you eat and drinks of what you drink. And if you obey a human being like yourselves, you will indeed be losers.﴾ [Sūrat al-Muʾminūn: 33-34]. So He made them emissaries between Himself and His creation, and trustees over His revelation, and singled them out with His grace, and chose them for His message. Then He placed them—in what He specially bestowed upon them of His gifts and granted them of His honorifics—in different ranks and distinct stations, raising some of them above others in degrees, varying and distinct. So He honored some of them by speaking to them directly and in private council, supported some with the Holy Spirit and distinguished him by raising the dead and healing the born-lame and the blind, and favored our Prophet Muḥammad, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, with the highest degrees and the greatest stations. Thus He bestowed upon him the finest portion of His honorifics, (2) singled him out for the most abundant share of the degrees of prophethood, and granted him the fullest portion of followers and Companions. And He sent him with the complete call and the universal message, guarding him when he was alone and protecting him when he was singular from every obstinate tyrant and every rebellious devil, (3) until He made the religion manifest through him, clarified the path, made clear the landmarks of truth, and eradicated through him the beacons of polytheism. And falsehood vanished through him, error slipped away, as did the deceptions of Satan and the worship of idols and fetishes, (4) supported as he was by proof that remains throughout the days, stands firm across ages and epochs, and endures over the passage of months and years—its light gaining radiance with the turning of time, and with the passage of nights and days

Notes

(1) In the printed edition: "the one who says regarding them" (al-qā'il fīhim). Such substitutions are frequent in the printed edition; I shall ignore whatever I wish of them due to their abundance, and seeking brevity in commenting on what is of no essential benefit.
(2) Al-aqsām: plural of qism (with kasra then sukūn), which is the share and portion of good.
(3) Al-jabbār al-ʿanīd and al-ʿānid: the one who strays and deviates from the path of truth, then becomes tyrannical, transgresses, and exceeds his bounds. Al-mārid: the one accustomed to evil until he reaches the ultimate limit, exalting himself in tyranny and arrogance.
(4) In the manuscript: "and judaʿa" with a ḍamma on the jīm, from jadʿ al-anf, which is cutting it off, a metaphor for humiliation. I do not think it fits well here. Al-khudaʿ: plural of khudʿa (with ḍamma then sukūn), which is that by which one deceives through guile and trickery.

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Arabic (Source)

وليذَّكَّر أولو النهي والحلم. فأمدَّهم بعوْنه، وأبانهم من سائر خلقه، بما دل به على صدقهم من الأدلة، وأيدهم به من الحجج البالغة والآي المعجزة، لئلا يقول القائل منهم (١) ﴿مَا هَذَا إِلا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يَأْكُلُ مِمَّا تَأْكُلُونَ مِنْهُ وَيَشْرَبُ مِمَّا تَشْرَبُونَ * وَلَئِنْ أَطَعْتُمْ بَشَرًا مِثْلَكُمْ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا لَخَاسِرُونَ﴾ [سورة المؤمنون: ٣٣-٣٤] فجعلهم سفراءَ بينه وبين خلقه، وأمناءه على وحيه، واختصهم بفضله، واصطفاهم برسالته، ثم جعلهم -فيما خصهم به من مواهبه، ومنّ به عليهم من كراماته- مراتبَ مختلفة، ومنازل مُفترقة، ورفع بعضهم فوق بعض درجات، متفاضلات متباينات. فكرَّم بعضهم بالتكليم والنجوى، وأيَّد بعضهم برُوح القدس، وخصّه بإحياء الموتى، وإبراء أولى العاهة والعمى، وفضَّل نبينا محمدًا ﷺ، من الدرجات بالعليا، ومن المراتب بالعُظمى. فحباه من أقسام كرامته بالقسم الأفضل (٢) وخصه من درجات النبوّة بالحظ الأجزَل، ومن الأتباع والأصحاب بالنصيب الأوفر. وابتعثه بالدعوة التامة، والرسالة العامة، وحاطه وحيدًا، وعصمه فريدًا، من كل جبار عاند، وكل شيطان مارد (٣) حتى أظهر به الدّين، وأوضح به السبيل، وأنهج به معالم الحق، وَمَحق به منار الشِّرك. وزهق به الباطلُ، واضمحل به الضلالُ وخُدَعُ الشيطان وعبادةُ الأصنام والأوثان (٤) مؤيدًا بدلالة على الأيام باقية، وعلى الدهور والأزمان ثابتة، وعلى مَرِّ الشهور والسنين دائمة، يزداد ضياؤها على كرّ الدهور إشراقًا، وعلى مرّ الليالي والأيام

Notes

(١) في المطبوع: "القائل فيهم"، ومثل هذا التبديل كثير في المطبوع، سأغفل منه ما شئت لكثرته، وطلبا للاختصار في التعليق بما لا غناء فيه.(٢) الأقسام: جمع قسم (بكسر فسكون) ، وهو الحظ والنصيب من الخير.(٣) الجبار العنيد والعاند: الذي جار ومال عن طريق الحق، ثم عتا وطغا وجاوز قدره. والمارد: الذي مرن على الشر حتى بلغ الغاية، فتطاول عتوا وتجبرًا.(٤) في المخطوطة: "وجدع" بالجيم مضمومة، من جدع الأنف، وهو قطعها، كناية عن الإذلال. ولا أظنها جيدة هنا. والخدع جمع خدعة (بضم فسكون) : وهي ما يخدع به من المكر والختل.