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

Volume 1 · Page 456

Translation · EN

AI translation

God of that which cannot be an attribute of His (1). And I fear that one of the transmitters of this report is the one who erred concerning the Companion who reported it from him, and that their interpretation was rather: "Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful in what you assumed you had comprehended of knowledge from My informing you that the children of Adam would spread corruption on earth and shed blood, such that you permitted yourselves to say: 'Will You place upon it one who spreads corruption in it and sheds blood?'" Thus, the rebuke would fall upon what they assumed they had comprehended from God's statement to them: "He shall have descendants who spread corruption on earth and shed blood," not upon their reporting what God had informed them would come to pass. That is because God, majestic is His praise, even if He had informed them of what would proceed from some of the descendants of His vicegerent on earth in terms of corruption and bloodshed, had withheld from them news of what would proceed from many of them in terms of their obedience to their Lord, their rectitude on His earth, the sparing of blood, and His raising their status and honoring them—so He did not inform them of that. Thus, the angels said: "Will You place upon it one who spreads corruption in it and sheds blood?" based on their assumption—according to the interpretation of these two reports I mentioned and their apparent sense—that all descendants of the vicegerent He would place on earth would spread corruption therein and shed blood. Thereupon, God said to them—when He taught Adam all the names—: "Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful" that you know that all the children of Adam will spread corruption on earth and shed blood, according to what you assumed within yourselves—out of His disapproval, majestic is His praise, of their applying what they said to all generally, whereas it is a characteristic of specific descendants of the vicegerent among them. What we have mentioned here is our characterization of the report's interpretation, not the view we choose regarding the interpretation of the verse (2).

And among that which points to what we mentioned regarding directing the angels' report about the descendants of the vicegerent spreading corruption and shedding blood as applying generally is what:

608- Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī (3) narrated to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī narrated to us, saying: Sufyān narrated to us, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sābiṭ, regarding His statement: "Will You place upon it one who spreads corruption in it and sheds blood?" He said: They meant mankind (4).

Others said concerning that what:

609- Bishr ibn Muʿādh narrated to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ narrated to us, from Saʿīd, from Qatāda, regarding His statement: "And when your Lord said to the angels, 'I am placing a vicegerent on earth'": He consulted the angels regarding the creation of Adam, so they said: "Will You place upon it one who spreads corruption in it and sheds blood?"—and the angels knew from God's knowledge that nothing is more hateful to God than the shedding of blood and corruption on earth—"while we glorify You with Praise and sanctify You? He said, 'I know that which you do not know.'" Thus, it was in the knowledge of God, majestic is His praise, that from that vicegerent there would come prophets, messengers, righteous people, and inhabitants of Paradise. He said: And it was mentioned to us that Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: When God set about creating Adam, the angels said: God will not create any creation more noble to Him than us, nor more knowledgeable than us. So they were tested with the creation of Adam—and every creation is tested—just as the heavens and the earth were tested with obedience, for God said: {Come, willingly or unwillingly. They said, 'We come willingly.'} (5) [Sūrat Fuṣṣilat: 11].

Notes

(1) Al-Ṭabarī's critique also indicates what we maintained regarding drawing inferences from traditions, just as a reasoner draws inferences from poetry. You see him completely dismantling this report, demonstrating the error in its context and the contradiction in its meaning. This is clear, God willing.
(2) This is also clear proof that al-Ṭabarī's drawing inferences from reports and traditions does not mean he approved of them; rather, it means he cited them to argue for the context of the verse's exegesis on one occasion, and to demonstrate the flaw of the reports themselves on another. Many who quoted from al-Ṭabarī erred in understanding his intent, and others acted unfairly toward him, not knowing his methodology in this Tafsir.
(3) In the printed edition: "Ibn Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī", and the addition of "Ibn" is an error.
(4) Tradition 608: I did not find it.
(5) Tradition 609: In Ibn Kathīr 1:129, and parts of it are in al-Durr al-Manthūr dispersed in 1:45, 46, 50.

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Arabic (Source)

الله ما لا يجور أن يكون له صفة (١) . وأخشى أن يكون بعض نَقَلة هذا الخبر هو الذي غَلِط على من رواه عنه من الصحابة، وأن يكون التأويل منهم كان على ذلك:"أنبئوني بأسماء هؤلاء إن كنتم صادقين فيما ظننتم أنكم أدركتموه من العِلم بخبَري إياكم أنّ بني آدم يفسدون في الأرض ويسفكون الدماء، حتى استجزتم أن تقولوا: أتجعل فيها من يفسد فيها ويسفك الدماء". فيكون التوبيخ حينئذ واقعًا على ما ظنوا أنهم قد أدركوا بقول الله لهم:"إنه يكون له ذرّية يفسدون في الأرض ويسفكون الدماء"، لا على إخبارهم بما أخبرهم الله به أنه كائن. وذلك أن الله جل ثناؤه، وإن كان أخبرهم عما يكون من بعض ذرّية خليفته في الأرض، ما يكون منه فيها من الفساد وسفك الدماء، فقد كانَ طوَى عنهم الخبرَ عما يكون من كثيرٍ منهم ما يكون من طاعتِهم ربَّهم، وإصلاحهم في أرْضه، وحقن الدماء، ورفعِه منزلتَهم، وكرامتِهم عليه، فلم يخبرهم بذلك. فقالت الملائكة:"أتجعلُ فيها من يُفسد فيها ويسفك الدماء"، على ظنٍّ منها -على تأويل هذين الخبرين اللذين ذكرتُ وظاهرِهما- أنّ جميع ذرية الخليفة الذي يجعله في الأرض يُفسدون فيها ويسفكون فيها الدماء، فقال الله لهم -إذ علّم آدم الأسماء كلها -: أنبئوني بأسماء هؤلاء إن كنتم صادقين أنكم تعلمون أنّ جميع بني آدم يُفسدون في الأرض ويسفكون الدماء، على ما ظننتم في أنفسكم - إنكارًا منه جل ثناؤه لقيلهم ما قالوا من ذلك على الجميع والعموم، وهو من صفة خاصِّ ذرّية الخليفة منهم. وهذا الذي ذكرناه هو صفةٌ منا لتأويل الخبر، لا القول الذي نختاره في تأويل الآية (٢) .ومما يدل على ما ذكرنا من توجيه خبر الملائكة عن إفساد ذرية الخليفة وسفكها الدماء على العموم، ما:-٦٠٨- حدثنا به أحمد بن إسحاق الأهوازي (٣) قال: حدثنا أبو أحمد الزبيري، قال: حدثنا سفيان، عن عطاء بن السائب، عن عبد الرحمن بن سابط، قوله:"أتجعل فيها من يفسد فيها ويسفك الدماء"، قال: يعنون الناس (٤) .وقال آخرون في ذلك بما:-٦٠٩- حدثنا به بشر بن معاذ، قال: حدثنا يزيد بن زُرَيع، عن سعيد، عن قتادة قوله:"وإذ قال ربُّك للملائكة إني جاعل في الأرض خليفةً"، فاستشار الملائكة في خلق آدمَ، فقالوا:"أتجعل فيها من يفسد فيها ويسفك الدماء" - وقد علمت الملائكة من علم الله أنه لا شيء أكره إلى الله من سفك الدماء والفساد في الأرض -"ونحن نسبح بحمدك ونقدس لك قال إني أعلم ما لا تعلمون" فكان في علم الله جل ثناؤه أنه سيكون من ذلك الخليفة أنبياءُ ورسل وقوم صالحون وساكنو الجنة. قال: وذكر لنا أن ابن عباس كان يقول: إن الله لما أخذ في خلق آدم قالت الملائكة: ما الله خالقٌ خلقًا أكرم عليه منَّا ولا أعلم منَّا؟ فابتلوا بخلق آدم -وكل خلق مُبْتَلًى- كما ابتليت السموات والأرض بالطاعة، فقال الله: (اِئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ) (٥) [سورة فصلت: ١١] .وهذا الخبر عن قتادة يدل على أن قتادة كان يرى أن الملائكة قالت ما قالت من قولها:"أتجعل فيها من يفسد فيها ويسفك الدماء"، على غير يقين علمٍ تقدم منها بأن ذلك كائن، ولكن على الرأي منها والظنّ، وأن الله جل ثناؤه أنكر ذلك من