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

Volume 1 · Page 424

Translation · EN

AI translation

His statement: "He" is a pronoun for the name of God, majestic be His mention, referring back to His name in His statement: "How can you disbelieve in God." The meaning of His creating what He created, majestic be His praise, is His originating its essence and bringing it forth from the state of non-existence into existence. And "all that" (mā) means "that which" (alladhī).

The meaning of the speech is therefore: How can you disbelieve in God when you were drops of fluid in the loins of your fathers, and He made you living human beings, then He will cause you to die, then He is the One who will give you life after that and resurrect you on the Day of Gathering for reward and punishment, and He is the Bestower of blessings upon you through what He created for you on earth of your livelihoods and your evidences for the oneness of your Lord.

And "How" implies astonishment and reprimand, not interrogation, as if He said: Woe to you, how can you disbelieve in God, just as He said: {So where are you going?} (26) [Sūrat al-Takwīr: 26]. And His statement: "when you were lifeless and He brought you to life" occupies the grammatical position of a circumstantial clause (ḥāl). And it contains the implied particle "qad" (1), but it was omitted because of the evidence for it in the speech. That is because when a past tense verb (faʿala) occupies the position of a circumstantial clause, it is known that it requires "qad", as He, majestic be His praise, said: {or who come to you, their hearts shrinking} (90) [Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: 90], meaning: their hearts having shrunk (qad ḥaṣirat). And just as you say to a man: "You woke up, your livestock increased," meaning: your livestock has increased (qad kathurat).

And similar to what we said regarding His statement: "He it is Who created for you all that is on earth," Qatāda used to say:

587- Bishr b. Muʿādh narrated to us, he said: Yazīd narrated to us, from Saʿīd, from Qatāda, regarding His statement: "He it is Who created for you all that is on earth," yes, by God, He subjected for you what is on earth (2).

Notes

(1) In the printed edition: "and in it is an implicit suppression of qad", and he did not mean by the pronoun what the grammarians conventionally mean, but rather he meant that which is concealed and hidden. See Maʿānī al-Qurʾān by al-Farrāʾ 1: 23–25.
(2) Report: 587 - In al-Durr al-Manthūr 1: 42, and al-Shawkānī 1: 48, and in both of them there is an addition to what is in the manuscripts of al-Ṭabarī, which is: "...all that is on earth, as an honor from Allah and a blessing for the son of Adam as enjoyment, a means of sustenance, and a benefit for an appointed term." Furthermore, they both added another report, stating that Ibn Jarīr narrated it from Mujāhid, which is: "Regarding His statement: {It is He who created for you all that is on the earth}, he said: He subjected for you all that is on the earth." And the Chain of transmission of this report is the one that comes under number: 591, because it is part of its completion, as is clear in what al-Suyūṭī and al-Shawkānī cited. It is likely that in the copies of al-Ṭabarī available to us there is an omission caused by scribes due to the length of the book, as a similar omission and addition occurred previously.

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Arabic (Source)

وقوله:"هو" مكنيّ من اسم الله جل ذكره عائد على اسمه في قوله:"كيف تكفرون بالله". ومعنى خلقه ما خلق جلّ ثناؤه، إنشاؤه عينه، وإخراجه من حال العدم إلى الوجود. و"ما" بمعنى"الذي".فمعنى الكلام إذًا: كيف تكفرون بالله وكنتم نُطفًا في أصلاب آبائكم فجعلكم بشرًا أحياءً، ثم يميتكم، ثم هو مُحييكم بعد ذلك وباعثكم يوم الحشر للثواب والعقاب، وهو المنعمُ عليكم بما خلق لكم في الأرض من معايشكم وأدلتكم على وحدانية ربكم.و"كيف" بمعنى التعجب والتوبيخ، لا بمعنى الاستفهام، كأنه قال: ويْحَكم كيف تكفرون بالله، كما قال: (فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ) [سورة التكوير: ٢٦] . وحل قوله:"وكنتم أمواتًا فأحياكم" محلّ الحال. وفيه ضميرُ"قد" (١) ، ولكنها حذفت لما في الكلام من الدليل عليها. وذلك أن"فعل" إذا حلت محلّ الحال كان معلومًا أنها مقتضية"قد"، كما قال ثناؤه: (أَوْ جَاءُوكُمْ حَصِرَتْ صُدُورُهُمْ) [سورة النساء: ٩٠] ، بمعنى: قد حَصِرَت صدورهم. وكما تقول للرجل: أصبحتَ كثرت ماشيتك، تريد: قد كثرت ماشيتك.وبنحو الذي قلنا في قوله:"هو الذي خلقَ لكم ما في الأرض جميعًا"، كان قتادة يقول:٥٨٧- حدثنا بشر بن معاذ، قال: حدثنا يزيد، عن سعيد، عن قتادة، قوله:"هو الذي خلقَ لكم ما في الأرض جميعًا"، نَعَمْ والله سخر لكم ما في الأرض (٢) .* * *

Notes

(١) في المطبوعة"وفيه إضمار قد"، ولم يرد بالضمير ما اصطلح عليه النحويون، وإنما أراد المضمر الذي أخفى وستر. وانظر معاني القرآن للفراء ١: ٢٣ - ٢٥.(٢) الأثر: ٥٨٧- في الدر المنثور ١: ٤٢، والشوكاني ١: ٤٨، وفيهما زيادة على الذي في أصول الطبري، وهي: ". . ما في الأرض جميعًا، كرامةً من الله ونعمةً لابن آدم متاعًا، وبُلْغةً ومنفعة إلى أجل".هذا وقد زادا معًا أثرًا آخر قالا أخرجه ابن جرير عن مجاهد، هذا هو: "في قوله: هو الذي خلق لكم ما في الأرض جميعًا، قال: سخّر لكم ما في الأرض جميعًا". وإسناد هذا الأثر، هو الذي يأتي برقم: ٥٩١، لأنه من تمامه، كما هو بين فيما نقله السيوطي والشوكاني. ويوشك أن يكون في نسخ الطبري التي بين أيدينا حذف ألجأ النساخ إليه طول الكتاب، فقد مضى آنفًا مثل هذا النقص، ومثل هذه الزيادة