Tarikh (al-Tabari) 10
Creation of the heavens and the earth
قَالَ الْبُخَارِيُّ: بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ ، وَقَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا [ الطَّلَاقِ: 12 ]. ثُمَّ قَالَ: بسنده عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَكَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ نَاسٍ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ لَهَا ذَلِكَ فَقَالَتْ: يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الْأَرْضَ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ. وَذَكَرَ الْبُخَارِيُّ هَاهُنَا حَدِيثَ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي بَكْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: إِنَّ الزَّمَانَ قَدِ اسْتَدَارَ كَهَيْئَتِهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ السَّنَةُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا. الْحَدِيثَ. وَمُرَادُهُ - وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ - تَقْرِيرُ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ [ الطَّلَاقِ: 12 ]. أَيْ فِي الْعَدَدِ كَمَا أَنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ الْآنَ اثْنَا عَشَرَ مُطَابَقَةً لِعِدَّةِ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فِي كِتَابِهِ الْأَوَّلِ فَهَذِهِ مُطَابَقَةٌ فِي الزَّمَنِ كَمَا أَنَّ تِلْكَ مُطَابَقَةٌ فِي الْمَكَانِ. وَالْأَحَادِيثُ في هذه المسألة كَالْمُتَوَاتِرَةِ فِي إِثْبَاتِ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ، وَالْمُرَادُ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ فَوْقَ الْأُخْرَى، وَالَّتِي تَحْتَهَا فِي وَسَطِهَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْهَيْئَةِ حَتَّى يَنْتَهِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَى السَّابِعَةِ، وَهِيَ صَمَّاءُ لَا جَوْفَ لَهَا، وَفِي وَسَطِهَا الْمَرْكَزُ، وَهُوَ نُقْطَةٌ مُقَدَّرَةٌ مُتَوَهَّمَةٌ، وَهُوَ مَحَطُّ الْأَثْقَالِ إِلَيْهِ يَنْتَهِي مَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِبٍ إِذَا لَمْ يُعَاوِقْهُ مَانِعٌ. وَاخْتَلَفُوا هَلْ هُنَّ مُتَرَاكِمَاتٌ بِلَا تُفَاصُلٍ أَوْ بَيْنَ كُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ وَالَّتِي تَلِيهَا خَلَاءٌ ؟ عَلَى قَوْلَيْنِ. وَهَذَا الْخِلَافُ جَارٍ فِي الْأَفْلَاكِ أَيْضًا. وَالظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ بَيْنَ كُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ وَبَيْنَ الْأُخْرَى مَسَافَةً لِظَاهِرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ [ الطَّلَاقِ: 12 ]. الْآيَةَ. وَقَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ: بسنده عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: بَيْنَا نَحْنُ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذْ مَرَّتْ سَحَابَةٌ، فَقَالَ: أَتَدْرُونَ مَا هَذِهِ ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: الْعَنَانُ وَزَوَايَا الْأَرْضِ، يَسُوقُهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى مَنْ لَا يَشْكُرُونَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَلَا يَدْعُونَهُ. أَتَدْرُونَ مَا هَذِهِ فَوْقَكُمْ ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ قَالَ: الرَّقِيعُ مَوْجٌ مَكْفُوفٌ وَسَقْفٌ مَحْفُوظٌ. أَتَدْرُونَ كَمْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهَا ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ: مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الَّذِي فَوْقَهَا ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ. حَتَّى عَدَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَتَدْرُونَ مَا فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: الْعَرْشُ. أَتَدْرُونَ كَمْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ عَامٍ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَتَدْرُونَ مَا هَذِهِ تَحْتَكُمْ ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: أَرْضٌ. أَتَدْرُونَ مَا تَحْتَهَا ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: أَرْضٌ أُخْرَى أَتَدْرُونَ كَمْ بَيْنَهُمَا ؟ قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: مَسِيرَةُ سَبْعِمِائَةِ عَامٍ. حَتَّى عَدَّ سَبْعَ أَرَضِينَ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَايْمُ اللَّهِ لَوْ دَلَّيْتُمْ أَحَدَكُمْ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ السُّفْلَى السَّابِعَةِ لَهَبَطَ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ [ الْحَدِيدِ: 3 ].. وَرَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ. وَذَكَرَهُ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ أَنَّ بُعْدَ مَا بَيْنَ كُلِّ أَرْضَيْنِ خَمْسُمِائَةِ عَامٍ، وَقَدْ تَقَدَّمَ عِنْدَ صِفَةِ الْعَرْشِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْأَوْعَالِ مَا يُخَالِفُ هَذَا فِي ارْتِفَاعِ الْعَرْشِ عَنِ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ، وَمَا يَشْهَدُ لَهُ. وَفِيهِ: " وَبُعْدُ مَا بَيْنَ كُلِّ سَمَاءَيْنِ خَمْسُمِائَةِ عَامٍ، وَكِثَفُهَا أَيْ سُمْكُهَا خَمْسُمِائَةِ عَامٍ ". وَأَمَّا مَا ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهِ بَعْضُ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ عَلَى حَدِيثِ " طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ " أَنَّهَا سَبْعَةُ أَقَالِيمَ ; فَهُوَ قَوْلٌ يُخَالِفُ ظَاهِرَ الْآيَةِ وَالْحَدِيثَ الصَّحِيحَ، وَصَرِيحَ كَثِيرٍ مِنْ أَلْفَاظِهِ مَعَ مَا ذَكَرْنَا مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي أَوْرَدْنَاهُ مِنْ طَرِيقِ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ. ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ حَمَلَ الْحَدِيثَ وَالْآيَةَ عَلَى خِلَافِ ظَاهِرِهِمَا بِلَا مُسْتَنَدٍ وَلَا دَلِيلٍ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَهَكَذَا مَا يَذْكُرُهُ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ، وَتَلَقَّاهُ عَنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ عُلَمَائِنَا مِنْ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأَرْضَ مِنْ تُرَابٍ، وَالَّتِي تَحْتَهَا مِنْ حَدِيدٍ، وَالْأُخْرَى مِنْ حِجَارَةٍ مِنْ كِبْرِيتٍ، وَالْأُخْرَى مِنْ كَذَا. فَكُلُّ هَذَا إِذَا لَمْ يُخْبَرْ بِهِ وَيَصِحَّ سَنَدُهُ إِلَى مَعْصُومٍ فَهُوَ مَرْدُودٌ عَلَى قَائِلِهِ. وَهَكَذَا الْأَثَرُ الْمَرْوِيُّ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: فِي كُلِّ أَرْضٍ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ مِثْلُ مَا فِي هَذِهِ الْأَرْضِ حَتَّى آدَمَ كَآدَمِكُمْ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ كَإِبْرَاهِيمِكُمْ. فَهَذَا ذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ مُخْتَصَرًا، وَاسْتَقْصَاهُ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالصِّفَاتِ، وَهُوَ مَحْمُولٌ إِنْ صَحَّ نَقْلُهُ عَنْهُ عَلَى أَنَّ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ ؓ أَخَذَهُ عَنِ الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وقيل أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ كَانَ طَبَقًا وَاحِدًا، فَشَقَّهَا سُبْحَانَهُ سَبْعًا، وَكَذَلِكَ السَّمَاءُ . قَالَ كَعْبٌ: هَذِهِ الْأَرْضُ عَلَى صَخْرَةٍ خَضْرَاءَ فِي كَفِّ مَلَكٍ، وَذَلِكَ الْمَلَكُ قَائِمٌ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْحُوتِ، وَذَلِكَ الْحُوتُ مُنْطَوٍ بِالسَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ مِنْ تَحْتِ الْأَرْضِ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: الصَّخْرَةُ عَلَى مَنْكِبَيْ مَلَكٍ وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى الثَّوْرِ وَالثَّوْرُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ، وَالْمَاءُ مَتْنُ الرِّيحِ. وَقَالَ وَهْبٌ: اسْمُ الْحُوتِ بَهَمُوتُ.
Translation
✧ Al-Bukhārī said: Chapter on what has been related concerning the seven earths, and the statement of the Exalted: "It is Allah who created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. The command descends between them, that you may know that Allah is over all things competent and that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge" [al-Ṭalāq: 12]. Then he said, with his chain of transmission from Abū Salamah b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who had a dispute with some people over a piece of land. He entered upon ʿĀʾishah and mentioned that to her. She said: O Abū Salamah, avoid the land, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever wrongs someone of a handspan of land will be made to wear it around his neck from seven earths." Al-Bukhārī mentioned here the ḥadīth of Muḥammad b. Sīrīn from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakrah, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Time has returned to its form as it was on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months..." to the end of the ḥadīth. His purpose—and Allah knows best—was to establish the statement of the Exalted: "It is Allah who created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof" [al-Ṭalāq: 12], meaning in number, just as the number of months now is twelve, corresponding to the number of months with Allah in His first book. This is a correspondence in time, just as that is a correspondence in place. The ḥadīths on this matter are close to mutawātir in affirming seven earths. The meaning is that each one is above the other, and the one beneath it is in its center, according to the astronomers, until the matter ends at the seventh, which is solid with no hollow. In its center is the center point, which is an estimated, imagined point; it is the point to which heavy things descend from every side when no obstacle prevents them. They differed as to whether they are stacked without separation or whether between each one and the next there is empty space. There are two views. This disagreement applies also to the celestial spheres. The apparent meaning is that between each of them and the next there is a distance, based on the apparent meaning of the statement of the Exalted: "It is Allah who created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. The command descends between them" [al-Ṭalāq: 12], to the end of the verse. Al-Imām Aḥmad said, with his chain of transmission from Abū Hurayrah, who said: While we were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a cloud passed by. He said: "Do you know what this is?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "It is the ʿanān and the corners of the earth; Allah drives it to those of His servants who do not thank Him and do not call upon Him. Do you know what is above you?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "The raqīʿ, a restrained wave and a protected roof. Do you know how much is between you and it?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "A journey of five hundred years." Then he said: "Do you know what is above it?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "A journey of five hundred years." Until he counted seven heavens. Then he said: "Do you know what is above that?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "The Throne. Do you know how much is between it and the seventh heaven?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "A journey of five hundred years." Then he said: "Do you know what is beneath you?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "An earth. Do you know what is beneath it?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "Another earth. Do you know how much is between them?" We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "A journey of seven hundred years." Until he counted seven earths. Then he said: "By Allah, if you let one of you down to the seventh lowest earth, he would fall." Then he recited: "He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He is over all things Knowing" [al-Ḥadīd: 3]. Al-Tirmidhī narrated it from Abū Hurayrah and mentioned it, except that he mentioned that the distance between every two earths is five hundred years. It was mentioned earlier, in describing the Throne, from the ḥadīth of the mountain goats, what contradicts this concerning the height of the Throne above the seventh heaven, and what supports it. In it: "And the distance between every two heavens is five hundred years, and its thickness—meaning its depth—is five hundred years." As for the view adopted by some theologians regarding the ḥadīth "will be made to wear it around his neck from seven earths," that they are seven climes, this is a statement that contradicts the apparent meaning of the verse, the authentic ḥadīth, and the explicit wording of many of its versions, along with the ḥadīth we cited from the path of al-Ḥasan from Abū Hurayrah. Moreover, he interpreted the ḥadīth and the verse contrary to their apparent meanings without any support or evidence. And Allah knows best. Similarly, what many of the People of the Book mention—and a group of our scholars adopted from them—that this earth is from dust, the one beneath it from iron, the other from stones of sulfur, and the other from such-and-such: all of this, if it is not reported and its chain is not sound to an infallible source, is rejected against its proponent. Likewise, the report narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: "In every earth there are creatures like those on this earth, even Adam like your Adam and Ibrāhīm like your Ibrāhīm." This was mentioned by Ibn Jarīr in abbreviated form and fully by al-Bayhaqī in al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt. If its transmission from him is sound, it is to be interpreted that Ibn ʿAbbās ؓ took it from the Israelite traditions. And Allah knows best. It was said that the earth was a single layer, and He, Glorified, split it into seven; and likewise the heaven. Kaʿb said: This earth is upon a green rock in the palm of an angel, and that angel stands on the back of a fish, and that fish is coiled with the seven heavens beneath the earth. Ibn ʿAbbās said: The rock is on the shoulders of an angel; the angel is on the bull; the bull is on water; and the water is the back of the wind. Wahb said: The name of the fish is Bahamūt.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.