KHUTAB V: 19. ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBĀS (4)
19. ABDULLAH IBN ‘ABBĀS (4)
Ibn
‘Abbas (d. 68/687) as a mufassir (commentator of the Qur’ān) there are two books attributed to him:
(a)
Tanwīr al-Miqbās
min Tafsīr Ibn Abbās (تنوير المقباس
من تفسير بن عباس), also called “Tafsīr Ibn Abbās”.
It was collected by Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb
al-Fīrūzābādī (d. 817/1414). However, recent evidence shows that: (1) this book
had existed in 545 AH much earlier, long before al-Fīrūzābādī
died, and (2) it is a concise version of Ibn al-Kalbi's Tafsīr by al-Dinawari
where it contained the controversial Isrā’īliyyāt (Jewish legends).
(b)
Tafsīr
Ibn Abbās, published by Dārul Fikr in Beirut,
Lebanon. It is considered more authentic since its version's
chain of narration goes back to the companion ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭalḥah.
Another
book which we shall deal with here is كِتَابُ غَرِيْبِ
الْقُرْآن (Kitāb Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Book on Difficult
Words in the Qur’ān), edited by Dr.
Ahmed Būlūṭ, Cairo, 1993. It contains
435 words in 51 tribal languages of the Arabs including some foreign words,
such as: Hebrew (2 words), Syriac (5
words), Nabataean (11 words), Chinese (1 word), Persian (3 words), Coptic (3 words), Roman (2 words), Ethiopian
(6 words), and Berber (1 word).
In his book Ibn ‘Abbas did not refer to lines of poetry as
evidence of his interpretation of the meanings of the difficult words, as he
did with Nāfi‘ ibn al-Azraq. The book was edited by Dr. Aḥmad Būlūṭ, former
Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Rhetoric, Faculty of Divine,
Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey. It was published for the first time in 1993,
twenty years ago. The book was based on three manuscripts: (a) As‘ad Effendi’s
manuscript, the most complete one; (b) ‘Ᾱṭif Effendi’s manuscript, and (c) al-Ẓāhiriyyah
manuscript, the least complete of the three.
The Qur’ān was revealed in the language of the Quraysh
tribe which was the most eloquent one, called by the Qur’ān itself “clear
Arabic” (بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ
مُبِينٍ). However,
there were many words it adopted from other tribal languages, even from foreign
languages. On the other hand, there were also some words of the Quraysh
language which were not understood by other tribes. Ibn ‘Abbās explained the
meanings of 124 words mentioned in the verses of the Qur’ān, namely, more than
a quarter of the total number of words he explained in his book. Words from the
language of the Hudhayl tribe was 52 in number, followed by that of Kinānah, 40
words.
Some examples of the words belonging to the Quraysh
tribe explained by Ibn ‘Abbās are as
follows:
1.
The word لَوَّاحَةٌ (lawwāḥah), which means حَرَّاقَة ) burning)
in the following verse:
) .وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ.لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ .
لَوَّاحَةٌ لِلْبَشَرِ (المدثر:29-26
And what
will make you know (exactly) what Hell-
fire
is?) It spare not (any sinner), nor does
it leave
(anything unburnt)! Burning and blackening
the skins! (Q. 74:26-29)
This will be the condition of those who deny the revelation.
2.
The word السَّاقُ (al-sāq), which means الشِّدَّة (hardship) in the following verse: وَالْتَفَّتِ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ (القيامة:29)
And one leg will be joined with another
leg
(shrouded) (Q.
75:29)
What is
meant here by Ibn ‘Abbas is الشِّدَّة بالشِّدَّة , “hardship
upon hardship”, as pointed out by the Qur’ānic commentator al-Ṭabarī, as follows:
“Or it may mean: hardship and distress will be joined with another hardship and
distress (i.e., distress of death, and of the thought as to what is going to
happen to him in the Hereafter.”
3.
The word زَمْهَريرًا (zamharīr), which meansقَمَر (moon) in the following verse:
مُتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ لَا يَرَوْنَ فِيهَا
شَمْسًا وَلَا زَمْهَرِيرًا (الإنسان:13)
Reclining therein on raised thrones, they will see there neither the
excessive heat of the sun, nor the excessive bitter cold, (as in Paradise here
is no sun no moon).(Q.
76:13)
4.
The word (al-mu‘ṣirāt),
which means ب سَحَا (clouds) in the following verse: وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا (
النبأ:14)
And We have sent down from the rainy clouds
abundant water (Q. 78:14)
5.
The word عَسْعَسَ (‘as‘asa), which means أَدْبَرَ (depart) in
the following verse: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ (التكوير:17)
And by the night as it departs (Q. 81:17)
The word عَسْعَسَ belongs to al-aḍdād
(words which have two opposite meanings), the approaching (the beginning)
of the night and its departure (end), twilight, dawn and dusk (Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī,
Mufradāt, sv. عَسْعَسَ). The use of “depart” as its meaning here,
is because the verse is followed by (وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ (18) “And by the dawn as it brightens.” (Q. 81:18). The term تَنَفَّسَ literally
means “to breathe”, so that the verse literally means, “By the dawn when it
starts breathing,” as if it dies at night.
6.
The word تَرَدَّى (taraddā),
which means مَات (die) in the following verse: وَمَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّى (الليل:11)
And what will his wealth avail him when he goes
down (in destruction)? (Q. 92:11)
The word تَرَدَّى literally
means "to fall, tumble; to decline, to fall off; to deteriorate”. Its root
is رَدِيَ, “to perish”. This word “perish” is also
used in English to mean “to die”.
7.
The word إِمْرًا (imran), which means عَجَب (strange, weird) as in
the following verse:
فَانْطَلَقَا
حَتَّى إِذَا رَكِبَا فِي السَّفِينَةِ خَرَقَهَا قَالَ أَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ أَهْلَهَا
لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا إِمْرًا ( الكهف :71)
So they
both proceeded [Prophet Moses and al-Khiḍr],
till, when
they embarked the ship he (al-Khiḍr) scuttled it.
(Moses) said: “Have you scuttled it in order
to drown its
people? Verily, you have committed a thing
imra
(a
munkar-evil, bad dreadful thing)” (Q. 18:71)
The basic meaning of إِمْرًا is
"dreadful, terrible thing".
Some words in the Qur’ān understood in the Quraysh
language were slightly different from their basic meanings. In such case, the
two meanings are applicable, although the dominant one is in the language of
the Quraysh, as it was revealed in the Quraysh language. For example, the word حَرَج (ḥaraj) means: “narrowness,
constriction, distress, anguish, difficulty”. But this word, according to Ibn
‘Abbas, means الشَّكَ (“doubt, uncertainty”) in the Quraysh
language in the following verses:
فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ
لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا
يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا
يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأنعام:125)
And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; and
whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted,
as if he is climbing up to the sky… (Q. 6:125)
By using
the two meanings of حَرَج (ḥaraj) we can say that his breast
is in doubt of the truth of Islam that makes it constricted, difficult to
breath, as if he is climbing a mountain. The higher he goes the more he needs
oxygen to breath, until he dies of lack of oxygen. This is a scientific interpretation
of this verse.
The other
verse runs as follows:
كِتَابٌ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَا يَكُنْ فِي صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ
مِنْهُ لِتُنْذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (الأعراف:2)
(This is a) Book (the Qur’ān)
sent down to you (O Muhammad),
so let not your breast be narrow
[be doubtful] therefrom , that you warn thereby; and a reminder to the
believers.(Q. 7:2)
The
word حَرَج (ḥaraj) itself contains the sense
of الشَّكَ (“doubt,
uncertainty”), such as the expression لا يَرَى حَرَجًا مِنْهُ which means “he feels no hesitation about it.” Hesitation indicates doubt.
However, in another verse of the Qur’ān, Ibn ‘Abbas was asked the meaning of the
word حَرَج (ḥaraj) “constriction, distress,
anguish, difficulty,” as follows:
... هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ
مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا
...(الحج:78)
He has chosen you(to convey his Message of Islamic
Monotheism to mankind…) and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship.It
is the religion of your father Ibrahim (Abraham). It is He Who has named you
Muslims both before and in this (Qur’ān)… (Q. 78)
Ibn ‘Abbas answered: “If you have difficulty in
understanding the words of the Qur’ān,
find it in poetry, because it is Arabic.” Then he called a Bedouin, and asked
him: “What is حَرَج (ḥaraj)?” He answered: الضِّيْق
(“narrowness, anguish, distress, worry, weariness”). Ibn ‘Abbas said to him”
“You are right.” So, here ḥaraj
means “distress”, rather than “doubt”.
Before the Prophet emigrated to Madinah, formerly
called “Yathrib”, there had been two dominant tribes fighting against
each other for supremacy, the Aws and the Khazraj. When the Prophet emigrated to Madinah the
term (līnah) meaning نَخْلَة (palm tree) belonging to the language of Aws
tribe was used the verse (Q. 59:5), and
the term انْفَضُّوا meaningذَهَبُوا (they went) and يَنْفَضُّوا meaningيَذْهَبُوا (“they go away") belonging the language of Khazraj tribe were used in the verse
(Q. 62:11) and (Q. 63: 7).
When
the Qur’ān related the story of Prophet
Moses a.s. and that of Pharaoh it used the term اليَمّ coincided with the Coptic language used in
Egypt at that time, meaning البَحْر (sea, large
river), as in Q. 7:136; 20:39,97; 28: 7,
40; and 51:40)
When
the Qur’ān talked about Mt. Sinai, it
used the term طُوْر
which was the Syriac word instead of جَبَل meaning
“mountain”, as in the verse Q.2:63 and 93; 4:154; 19:52; 20:80; 28: 29, 40.
Syriac was the mother-tongue of Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus) a.s.
The
pre-Islamic Arabs in Arabia preferred sons to daughters. They were not happy
when they had baby girls. When the Quraysh idolaters alleged that the angels
were the daughters of Allah, whereas they had sons, the Qur’ān rejected it. It considered it unfair,
using a Chinese word (and the only one used in the Qur’ān), which was not easy to pronounce, not
nice to hear, and meant “strange and unfair”; a strange word for an unfair
allegation. The verse runs as follows:
أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الْأُنْثَى . تِلْكَ إِذًا قِسْمَةٌ
ضِيزَى ( النجم:22)
Is it for
you the males and for Him the females? That
indeed is a
division most unfair (Q. 53:21-22)
Unfortunately,
as there are many Chinese languages, we do not know which one among many
Chinese languages meant by Ibn ‘Abbas. This reminds us of the statement
of late Ahmad Deedat, may Allah bless him, when he said that the aborigines of
Australia believed in the Oneness of God called Atnatu which means “the
One who has no orifice, namely, the one who does not eat, does not need food to
live.” Ahmad Deedat did not tell us which of the aboriginal languages the word Atnatu
came from. In late 18th century there were between 350 and 750
aboriginal groupings and languages. At the start of the 21th century fewer than
150 indigenous languages remain, and all are highly endangered except roughly
20. (CIVIC, 21.06.13)
Bibliography:
Ibn ‘Abbas, Kitāb Gharīb
al-Qur’ān
Al-Maktabah
al-Shāmilah
Al-Raghib al-Iṣfahānī,
al-Mufradāt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_languages
http://www.almaaref.org/maarefdetails.php?subcatid=37&id=170
5&cid=20&supcat=5&bb=0&number=18
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