3:104

Salaam all,

This is 3:104
وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
Waltakun minkum ommatun yadAAoona ila alkhayri wayamuroona bialmaAAroofi wayanhawna AAani almunkari waolaika humu almuflihoona

The Aya says:
And let there be amongst you people who call towards the good, including (that) they order to implement by the recognized as good, and order to stop away from the unrecognized as good. And those are the ones who bring success.

My personal note:
I chose to translate OMMATUN as people here, although it is usually translated as nation. This is because it fits better with people who share the common goal, which is the action. It would have been better translated if I wrote “people with shared goal”, but that would make it too long.
The calling towards the good is linked through inclusion to order to implement by the good and order to stop away from the not good. This means that the calling towards the good is not limited by the above two areas, and it can be extended to any activity that falls under “calling towards good”. Ordering to implement by the good can include in it the implementation of goodness as well as ordering it as well as giving advice to do it, according to the ability, knowledge and respectability of the person.

It is important to note that the Aya did not mandate this on all of the Muslims. This is because a person should not be involved in the above activity unless he or she is very knowledgeable in what they are saying. The reason is that a person with little or no knowledge may end up causing more harm than good, especially when their advice is not consistent with the message.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Waltakun: and let there be
Note: WA links between what is before and what is after through inclusion, either that one is included in the other or that all is included in one bigger picture. In here, it takes the meaning of and. L is a letter that signifies that what it coming after it is in the form of an order. TAKUN is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. TAKUN is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being is happening or will be happening by the subject (third personal singular feminine pointing to Ommatun= a nation/ a group). This in turn means: and let she be
Minkum: from you (plural)/ of you (plural)
Ommatun: a nation/ a group that shares same origin and same goal
Note: the root is Hamza-M-M and it means mother or sources/origin if said as UMM and destination if said as AMM. OMMA are literally people of the same mother or source and possibly of the same destination. The word, in Arabic is used to mean nation, but it can apply to any group that may share the same goal or origin or both.
yadAAoona: They call/ they invite
Note: D-Ain-W and it means to call upon for the verb and Calling upon for the noun. This is the conceptual background and it can be used to mean calling for help or invitation and others according to the context. YADAAooNA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of calling is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
Ila: to
Alkhayri: the good/ the good choice
Note: the root is KH-Y-R and it means choice. It is also understood as good or as better, because one would chose the good over the bad. ALKHAYRI means: the good or the goodness or the good choice.
Wayamuroona: and they order to implement/ and they implement
Note: WA links between what is before and what is after through inclusion, either that one is included in the other or that all is included in one bigger picture. YAMUROONA is derived from the root Hamza-M-R and it means ordering something and the implementation of it. Sometimes it attains the implementation part or matter as in personal matter and so forth, and at times it is the order and implementation of the order, depending on the situation in the sentence. YAMUROONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of ordering to implement is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
bialmaAAroofi: By the recognized to be good/ the acceptable
Note: Bi denotes that what comes after is a tool and/or an object or an association with an action that was mentioned or any combination of the three. In here the action is ordering to implement. ALMaAAROOF is derived from the root Ain-R-F and it means the elevated place that will be known or recognized from a distance. ALMaAAROOF is what is recognized. This is also used to mean what it good. This is because, in the Arab mind, what you recognize and acknowledge should be good to you, whereas what you do not recognize or not acknowledge is considered bad to you.
Wayanhawna: and they forbid/ and they make end or stop
Note: Wa links what is before with what is after through inclusion, either that one is included in the other or that both are included in a whole big picture. YANHAWNA is derived from the root N-H-Y and it means stopping or ending. This then takes different form according to the plane of thought of the sentence. YANHAWNA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making the object (undeclared and therefore includes the subject and others as well) stop or end is made to happen by the subject (third person plural).
AAani: from/ away from
Almunkari: the unacceptable/ the unrecognized as being good
Note: The root is N-K-R and it means no recognition. This is the concept and it takes several meanings according to the context. They can mean not recognized as unknown. It can also mean not recognized as being good or acceptable and so forth. This is what the context here dictates. ALMUNKAR is the unrecognized as being good or acceptable.
Waolaika: and those
Humu: they
Almuflihoona: the ones who bring success (to themselves and others)
Note:F-L-H means Till the earth as in preparing it for planting seeds. It is used in Arabic to mean success and that is because the ones that till the earth reap the better harvest. Other derivatives of the word are used to relate to agriculture FALLAH means Farmer. ALMUFLIHOONA are the ones who bring success and that would be mainly to themselves, but also to others.

Salaam all and have a great day.


Hussein