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

Volume 1 · Page 253

Translation · EN

AI translation

As for the view of him who interpreted regarding that what al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas said, it is that when Allah, exalted be His mention, informed concerning a group among the people of disbelief that they do not believe, and that warning does not benefit them, and then there were among the disbelievers those whom Allah did benefit through the Prophet's—peace and blessings of God be upon him—warning him, due to his belief in Allah and in the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and what he brought from Allah after the revelation of this Surah (1)—it was not permissible for the verse to have been revealed except regarding specific ones among the disbelievers. And since that was so—and the leaders of the Confederates were beyond doubt among those whom Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not benefit through the Prophet's—peace and blessings of God be upon him—warning them, until Allah, Blessed and Exalted, killed them at the hands of the believers on the day of Badr—it is known that they were among those intended by Allah, majestic be His praise, in this verse.

As for our reason for selecting the interpretation we chose regarding that, it is that the statement of Allah, majestic be His praise, {Indeed, those who disbelieve—it is all the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe}, follows immediately upon Allah's, majestic be His praise, report about the believers among the People of the Book, and upon describing them, characterizing them, and praising them for their faith in Him, His scriptures, and His messengers. Therefore, the most appropriate thing according to Allah's wisdom was to follow that with the report concerning their disbelievers and their descriptions, the condemnation of their motives and states (2), and the declaration of reviling them and disavowing them; because their believers and their polytheists—even if their circumstances differed due to the difference in their religions—are all united as a class by their being the Children of Israel.

Allah, majestic be His praise, only argued at the beginning of this Surah for His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, against the polytheists among the Jews from the rabbis of the Children of Israel—who, despite their knowledge of his prophethood, were deniers of his prophethood—by acquainting His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, with what the rabbis among them used to keep secret and conceal, which the main body of the Jews was ignorant of while the rabbis among them knew it (3)—so that they would know that the One who disclosed that knowledge to him is the One who sent down the Book to Moses, since that was among the matters which Muhammad

Notes

(1) The phrasing of his sentence is: "It is that when God, exalted be His mention, informed about a people... it was not permissible..."
(2) Al-Asbāb is the plural of sabab (cause); he meant by it ways and means.
(3) The bulk of the Jews (ʿuẓm al-Yahūd): the majority and most of them.

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Arabic (Source)

فأما مذهب من تأوَّل في ذلك ما قاله الربيع بن أنس، فهو أنّ الله تعالى ذكره لمّا أخبرَ عن قوم من أهل الكفر بأنهم لا يؤمنون، وأن الإنذارَ غيرُ نافعهم، ثم كانَ من الكُفّار من قد نَفَعه الله بإنذار النبي ﷺ إيّاه، لإيمانه بالله وبالنبي ﷺ وما جاء به من عند الله بعد نزول هذه السورة (١) - لم يَجُز أن تكون الآية نزلت إلا في خاصٍّ من الكفار وإذ كان ذلك كذلك - وكانت قادةُ الأحزاب لا شك أنَّهم ممن لم ينفعه الله عز وجل بإنذار النبي ﷺ إياه، حتى قتلهم الله تبارك وتعالى بأيدي المؤمنين يوم بدرٍ - عُلم أنهم مِمّن عنَى الله جل ثناؤه بهذه الآية.وأمَّا عِلَّتُنا في اختيارنا ما اخترنا من التأويل في ذلك، فهي أنّ قول الله جل ثناؤه (إن الذين كفروا سواء عليهم أأنذرتهم أم لم تنذرهم لا يؤمنون) ، عَقِيبَ خبر الله جل ثناؤه عن مؤمني أهل الكتاب، وعَقِيبَ نعتهم وصِفتهم وثنائه عليهم بإيمانهم به وبكتبه ورسله. فأوْلى الأمور بحكمة الله، أن يُتلِيَ ذلك الخبرَ عن كُفّارهم ونُعُوتهم، وذمِّ أسبابهم وأحوالهم (٢) ، وإظهارَ شَتْمهم والبراءةَ منهم. لأن مؤمنيهم ومشركيهم -وإن اختلفت أحوالهم باختلاف أديانهم- فإن الجنس يجمع جميعَهم بأنهم بنو إسرائيل.وإنما احتجّ الله جلّ ثناؤه بأوّل هذه السورة لنبيِّه ﷺ على مشرِكي اليهود من أحبار بني إسرائيل، الذين كانوا مع علمهم بنبوّته مُنْكِرين نبوّته - بإظهار نبيِّه ﷺ على ما كانت تُسِرُّه الأحبار منهم وتكتُمه، فيجهلُهُ عظْم اليهود وتعلمُه الأحبار منهم (٣) - ليعلموا أن الذي أطلعه على علم ذلك، هو الذي أنزل الكتابَ على موسى. إذْ كان ذلك من الأمور التي لم يكنْ محمد

Notes

(١) سياق عبارته"فهو أن الله تعالى ذكره لما أخبر عن قوم. . . لم يجز. . . "(٢) الأسباب جمع سبب: وأراد بها الطرق والوسائل.(٣) عظم اليهود: معظمهم وأكثرهم.