3:113

Salaam all,

This is 3:113
لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ
Laysoo sawaan min ahli alkitabi ommatun qaimatun yatloona ayati Allahi anaa allayli wahum yasjudoona

The aya says:
They are not equal. Amongst people of the book a group that is upright. They recite/ apply Allah’s signs risings of the night and they prostrate.

My personal note:
This statement is important in pointing differences between the people of the book that God mentioned in the negative light in the previous Ayat and this group that God mentions positively.

“People of the book” is a name that is more encompassing. It is generally used to mean any group that uses a text from God for it’s spiritual guidance. This will include, but is not necessarily limited to, Christians and Jews. Muslims are also people of the book. Some may extend this term even further to Zoroastrians or even others.

The last part of the Aya has the potential for two understandings. Both understandings are correct and one of them encompasses the other inside it: they come as follows:

1- They recite Allah’s signs risings of the night and they prostrate.
2- They apply Allah’s signs risings of the night, including they prostrate.

The second encompasses the first within it. This is because recitation is part of application of the signs. The other reason is that prostration is included in the application of the signs.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Laysoo: they not
Sawaan: equal/ comparable/ balanced
Note: the root is S-W-Y and it means balance or equality. SAWAIN is the balance or what makes things balanced/cause of balance. Here, it takes the meaning of something that is balance between the different parties. This would be equal, comparable, or just balance.
Min: from/ of/ amongst
Ahli: people of
Note: the root is Hamza-H-L and one concrete meaning of the word is the fat that surrounds the back of the animal. It is used conceptually to mean family or any of the people that are closely associated with the entity being discussed. This could be because they are like the fat as in they engulf and protect and so forth and gain protection at the same time. AHLI means people of.
Alkitabi: the book
Note: the root is K-T-B and it means writing. ALKITAB means the process of writing and that means anything that is related to writing from the ink to the paper to the ideas that are written. The most common use of the word is the book, but it can mean the process of writing.
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.

Qaimatun: Standing upright/ upright
Note: the root is Qaf-Y-M and it means standing or standing upright. QAIMATUN means standing upright or just upright. This word carries it’s conceptual meaning as being upright in their actions and conduct.

Yatloona: they recite/ they follow closely/ they apply
Note: the root T-L-W and it means following closely. The concrete word that is derived from the root is the baby animal after it had been weaned from the breast and who follows his mother everywhere closely. The word means the following closely and also reciting, because that involves following each word with another. YATLOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of following closely or reciting is happening by the subject (third person plural) of the object (AYATI ALLAHI= signs of Allah).
Ayati: signs of
Note: AYATU is derived from the root Hamza-Y-H and it means sign. AYATU means signs of. So, here there is emphasis on the act of rejection of the signs.
Allahi: Allah
Anaa: risings of/ burdens of
Note: the root is N-W-Hamza and it means in concrete terms: the star that rises or sets in the night sky. This is then taken conceptually to mean rising in the night or carrying a burden, since rising in the night is a burden. ANAA means here: risings of/ burdens of
Allayli: the night
Note: the root is L-Y-L and it means night. ALLAYLI means the night.
Wahum: and they/ while they/ including they
Yasjudoona: prostrate
Note: the root S-J-D and in concrete it means a tree that is tilting downward due to a heavy load of fruits. It therefore is used to mean tilting downward of the face or the body including prostration. In abstract, it means showing signs of submission to a higher power, basically showing that one is giving in to the higher power. The range of meaning includes the abstract and the concrete together and one needs to understand it as both unless there is a strong reason in the sentence or elsewhere in the Qur’an to make one meaning inappropriate or impossible. YASJUDOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of prostrating is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural)

Salaam all and have a great day.


Hussein