And others said: "I am a creator."
- Mention of those who said that:
598- I was narrated from al-Minjāb ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra narrated to us, from Abū Rawq, who said: Every instance of "made" in the Qur'an means created. (1)
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct view regarding the interpretation of His statement, "I am placing a successor upon the earth," is: that is, appointing a successor upon the earth and causing a replacement to be therein. (2) And this is more similar to the interpretation of the statement of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda.
And it was said: Indeed, the earth that Allah mentioned in this verse is "Mecca".
- Mention of those who said that:
599- Ibn Ḥumayd narrated to us, saying: Jarīr narrated to us, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn Sābiṭ: That the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: The earth was spread out from Mecca, and the angels used to circumambulate the House, so they were the first to circumambulate it, and it is "the earth" regarding which Allah said: "I am placing a successor upon the earth." And whenever a prophet's people perished while he and the righteous survived, he and those with him would come to it and worship Allah there until they died. For indeed, the grave of Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, and Shuʿayb is between Zamzam, the Corner, and the Station. (3)
Notes
- (1) Narration: 598 - al-Suyūṭī 1:44 transmitted it from al-Ṭabarī, but he made it from the speech of al-Ḍaḥḥāk. Abū Rawq frequently narrates Tafsir from al-Ḍaḥḥāk. Perhaps the mention of "al-Ḍaḥḥāk" was dropped by the copyists in some manuscripts of al-Ṭabarī. Whatever the case, this chain of transmission is Da'if (Weak). The explanation of its weakness has preceded: 137. Its weakness is increased here by the anonymity of the sheikh from whom al-Ṭabarī narrated it from al-Minjāb, in his statement "I was told," making the one who told him anonymous.
- (2) In the manuscript: "khalqan" (creation), with a qāf.
- (3) Hadith: 599 - Ibn Kathīr transmitted its meaning in Tafsir 1:127 from the Tafsir of Ibn Abī Ḥātim: "My father narrated to us, Abū Salama narrated to us, Ḥammād narrated to us, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ," and he mentioned it as Marfu' in a similar, abbreviated manner. Ibn Kathīr said: "This is Mursal, and there is weakness in its chain of transmission. It contains an interpolation, which is that what is meant by the earth is Mecca, and God knows best - for the apparent meaning is that what is meant by the earth is more general than that." As for it being Mursal: "ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ" is a Successor (Tabi'i), and he is reliable, but he did not meet the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him; rather, he did not even meet the senior Companions, such as ʿUmar, Saʿd, Muʿādh, and others. It is said that he is "ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sābiṭ." There is intense disagreement regarding this, which is why al-Ḥāfiẓ provided a biography for his father in two places: "Sābiṭ," or "ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sābiṭ," in al-Iṣāba 3:51-52, 4:73. al-Suyūṭī 1:46 transmitted it, attributing it to al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Ibn ʿAsākir, at length like al-Ṭabarī's narration, and al-Shawkānī 1:50 transmitted it abbreviated, like Ibn Abī Ḥātim's narration, and transmitted Ibn Kathīr's identification of its defect.
In the printed edition: "he and those with him came." And in the manuscript: "so that they may worship God in it."
This translation was produced with AI assistance and is part of an ongoing human-review process. Found a mistake? Use the feedback option in the reader menu.
