3:173

Salaam all,

This is 3:173

الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً
وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
Allatheena qala lahumu alnnasu inna alnnasa qad jamaAAoo lakum faikhshawhum fazadahum eemanan waqaloo hasbuna Allahu waniAAma alwakeelu

The Aya says:
Those who were told by the people: the people have indeed gathered against you, therefore anticipate/ fear them, so he increased their safety (in Allah), and they responded: Allah is enough for us, and the best to be entrusted with guardianship and guarantee.

My personal note:
The term “He increased their safety” is the literal translation of the term. I kept it the same to keep open the meaning of He, since it is not limited by the text. He can point to Allah. It also can point to what they were told by the people and it can point to both. This is rather common in the Qur’an where more than one understanding is possible. As long as the potential understandings are correct and correspond with the context and as long as they are not contradictory to the rest of the message, then they are considered correct and binding.

This gives the Qur’an a much wider range of meanings than the size of the book itself suggests and this makes for it’s great literary and spiritual and practical values.


Translation of the transliterated words:
Allatheena: those who
Qala: they said/ they communicated
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. QALA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of saying or communicating happened by the subject (third person plural pointing to ALNNASU= the people/society).
Lahumu: to them
Alnnasu: the people/ the society
Note: ALNNASU is derived from the root Hamza-N-S and it means socializing. ALNNAS are the society/the people.
Inna: verily/indeed
Alnnasa: the people/ the society
Note: ALNNASA is derived from the root Hamza-N-S and it means socializing. ALNNAS are the society/the people.
Qad: indeed
Note: this is to stress further
jamaAAoo: gathered/ collected
Note: the root is J-M-Ain and it means gather the different parts together or putting things together. JAMaAAoo is an action that is completed. It means: the action of gathering or collecting happened by the subject (third person plural pointing to Alnnas= the people). The gathering here can carry two meanings which apply: First is gathering themselves. The other is gathering material and resources for a battle and both meanings are correct and apply.
Lakum: to you (singular)/ for you (with the understanding against you)
Faikhshawhum: then fear them/ then anticipate fear
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. IKHSHAWHUM is derived from the root KH-SH-Y and it carries meanings of anticipation and fear. Sometimes, both meanings are together and sometimes only one. When there is anticipation, then there may be an element of hope mixed with the fear. IKHSHAWHUM is an order addressed to a group. It means: Fear them or anticipate them or anticipate fear of them.
Fazadahum: therefore, he increased them/ He gave them provisions for the road
Note: Fa means therefore or so or then. ZADHUM is derived from the root Z-W-D and it means the provision of the road or the food that one packs for travel. It has also the meaning of what is above the need, as if the food of the road is considered a little extra. ZADA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of giving provision for the road or increasing provisions to the object (HUM= them) happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to what people told them or to God).
Eemanan: Safety/ trust (in Allah)
Note: The root is Hamza-M-N and it means safety. EEMANAN is safety or trust.
Waqaloo: and they said/ communicated/ and they responded
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. QALOO is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. QALOO is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means: the saying happened by the subject (third person plural).
Hasbuna: enough for us/ more than adequate for us.
Note: the root is Ha-S-B and it means calculation. This word then takes many other meanings according to the plane of thought that is talked about. It takes the form of thought and so forth. HASBU means enough of a measure or adequate or more than adequate for. NA means us.
Allahu: Allah
waniAAma: and softness/ and best
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. NiAAMA is derived from the root N-Ain-M and it means soft in the concrete sense. In abstract, it means anything that can be understood as soft as in soft to touch and soft in treatment and soft life as in a life that does not have much hardship. NiAAMA means: softness or best.
Alwakeelu: the one entrusted with guardianship and guarantee.
Note: the root is W-K-L and it means entrusting a matter to another, or trusting the guarantee or guardianship of another. ALWAKEEL is the one who is entrusted with guardianship and guarantee.

Salaam all and have a great evening

Hussein