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

Volume 1 · Page 86

Translation · EN

AI translation

that among what God revealed of the Qur'an to His Prophet, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, is that whose interpretation cannot be known except through the clarification of the Messenger, Peace and blessings of God be upon him. That is the interpretation of all that it contains: the aspects of His commands—obligatory, recommended, and guiding—the types of His prohibitions, the functions of His rights and limits, the extents of His obligations, the measures of what is binding upon some of His creation toward others, and similar rulings of its verses, the knowledge of which cannot be grasped except through the clarification of the Messenger of God, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, to his nation. This is an avenue in which it is not permissible for anyone to speak, except through the clarification of its interpretation by the Messenger of God, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, for him (1) by an explicit text from him regarding it, or by an indication he has established, guiding his nation to its interpretation.

And that among it is what no one knows its interpretation except God, the One, the Subduer. That is what it contains of information about impending deadlines and future times, such as the time of the establishment of the Hour, the blowing of the Trumpet, the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, and the like: for those are times whose limits no one knows, and no one knows anything of their interpretation except the information about their signs, because God has kept the knowledge of that exclusively to Himself, away from His creation. And with that, our Lord revealed the decisive verses of His Book (2), saying: {They ask you about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, "Its knowledge is only with God, but most of the people do not know"} [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 187]. And whenever our Prophet Muḥammad, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, mentioned anything of that, he would only indicate it by its signs without specifying its time, such as what was narrated from him, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, that he said to his Companions when he mentioned the Antichrist (al-Dajjāl): "If he emerges while I am among you, I will be his disputant; and if he emerges after me, then God is my successor over you" (3) and similar

Notes

(1) In the printed edition: "to him regarding its Interpretation."
(2) In the printed edition: "and likewise our Lord revealed in the Decisive [part] of His Book," which is an alteration and addition without Benefit.
(3) Ibn Ḥajar said in al-Fatḥ 13:84 in explaining the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar reported by al-Bukhārī, mentioning the Dajjāl: "There was no prophet except that he warned his people about him," saying: "In some of its routes: 'If he comes out while I am among you, I will be his adversary.'" This is an allusion to the hadith of al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān, at length, in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2:376, in which it states: "If he comes out while I am among you, I am his adversary on your behalf; but if he comes out when I am not among you, then every man is his own adversary, and Allah is my successor over every Muslim." See also Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 7:347–348, 350–351.
His saying "his adversary" (ḥajījuh) means the one who argues against him and overcomes him by presenting proof against him.

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Arabic (Source)

أنّ مما أنزل الله من القرآن على نبيه ﷺ، ما لا يُوصل إلى علم تأويله إلا ببيان الرسول ﷺ. وذلك تأويل جميع ما فيه: من وجوه أمره -واجبه ونَدْبِه وإرْشاده-، وصنوفِ نَهيه، ووظائف حقوقه وحدوده، ومبالغ فرائضه، ومقادير اللازم بعضَ خَلْقه لبعض، وما أشبه ذلك من أحكام آية، التي لم يُدرَك علمُها إلا ببيان رسول الله ﷺ لأمَّته. وهذا وجهٌ لا يجوز لأحد القول فيه، إلا ببيان رسول الله ﷺ له تأويلَه (١) بنصٍّ منه عليه، أو بدلالة قد نصَبها، دالَّةٍ أمَّتَه على تأويله.وأنّ منه ما لا يعلم تأويله إلا الله الواحد القهار. وذلك ما فيه من الخبر عن آجال حادثة، وأوقات آتية، كوقت قيام الساعة، والنفخ في الصور، ونزول عيسى بن مريم، وما أشبه ذلك: فإن تلك أوقاتٌ لا يعلم أحدٌ حدودَها، ولا يعرف أحدٌ من تأويلها إلا الخبرَ بأشراطها، لاستئثار الله بعلم ذلك على خلقه. وبذلك أنزل ربُّنا محكم كتابه (٢) فقال: ﴿يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَبِّي لاَ يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَا إِلا هُوَ ثَقُلَتْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ لاَ تَأْتِيكُمْ إِلا بَغْتَةً يَسْأَلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِيٌّ عَنْهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ [سورة الأعراف: ١٨٧] . وكان نبينا محمد ﷺ إذا ذكر شيئًا من ذلك، لم يدلّ عليه إلا بأشراطه دون تحديده بوقته كالذي روى عنه ﷺ أنه قال لأصحابه، إذ ذكر الدجّال: إنْْ يخرجْ وأنا فيكُم، فأنا حَجِيجُه، وإن يخرجْ بعدي، فالله خليفتي عليكم" (٣) وما أشبه

Notes

(١) في المطبوعة: "له بتأويله".(٢) في المطبوعة: "وكذلك أنزل ربنا في محكم كتابه"، وهو تغيير وزيادة لغير فائدة.(٣) قال ابن حجر في الفتح ١٣: ٨٤ في شرح حديث ابن عمر الذي أخرجه البخاري، وذكر الدجال فقال: "وما من نبي إلا أنذره قومه"، قال: "في بعض طرقه: إن يخرج فيكم فأنا حجيجه". وهو إشارة إلى حديث النواس بن سمعان، مطولا، في صحيح مسلم ٢: ٣٧٦، وفيه: "إن يخرج وأنا فيكم فأنا حجيجه دونكم، وإن يخرج ولست فيكم فامرؤ حجيج نفسه، والله خليفتي على كل مسلم". وانظر أيضًا مجمع الزوائد ٧: ٣٤٧-٣٤٨، ٣٥٠-٣٥١.وقوله "حجيجه" أي محاجه ومغالبه بإظهار الحجة عليه.