3:177

Salaam all,

This is 3:177
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الْكُفْرَ بِالإِيمَانِ لَن يَضُرُّواْ اللّهَ شَيْئًا وَلهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Inna allatheena ishtarawoo alkufra bialeemani lan yadurroo Allaha shayan walahum AAathabun aleemun

The Aya says:
Verily, those who took the rejection in place of the safety (in Allah) will never harm Allah. And to them belongs painful suffering.

My personal note:
There is a great subtle message in this Aya. It suggests that the default for humans is the safety in Allah. Those who reject God are ones who gave up their default safety in Allah to receive the rejection and that is a loosing form of trade.

It also suggests that deep inside all of us humans, we have the urge, conscious or unconscious, to respond to God’s message. When we reject it, it is because of an active process of rejecting or silencing that deep urge.

Alternatively, the Aya may be talking about people who accepted the message and then rejected it. Both meanings are possible and are compatible with each other.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Inna: verily/ indeed
Allatheena: those who
Ishtarawoo: took --- in exchange for---/ bought --- in exchange for ---
Note: the root is SH-R-Y and it means selling something to get something in return or buying something and paying with something else or taking something and giving in return something else. ISHTARAWOO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of taking an object (Alkufr= the rejection) in exchange for (IMAN= safety in Allah) happened by the subject (third person plural) for the subject (third person plural).
Alkufra: the rejection
Note: ALKUFR is derived from the root K-F-R and it means burying the seed in the ground for planting. It is used to mean rejection of an idea because that means covering the brain in the ground from the idea or covering the idea so that it is not known or seen. ALKUFR means the rejection.
Bialeemani: by the safety/ by the making safety/ in place of the safety
Note: Bi denotes that what comes after is a tool and/or an object or an association with an action that was mentioned. If it is an object of the action then it makes it stronger. ALEEMANI is derived from the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. ALEEMANI is the safety or trust.
Lan: : never
Yadurroo: will they harm/ will they cause harm/ will they cause no benefit
Note: the root is Dhad-R-R and it means harm or no benefit. YADURROO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of causing harm or lack of benefit is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural) to the object (Allah, coming next). LAN YADURROO ALLAHA means: They will never cause harm to Allah.
Allaha: Allah
Shayan: entity/ anything
Note: the root is SH-Y-Hamza and it means entity. SHAYAN means entity. It is taken here to mean a thing.
Walahum: and to them belongs
AAathabun: suffering
Note: the root is Ain-TH-B and it means an easy to swallow food or drink. AAaTHAB is what makes one not take an easy to swallow food or drink. That is suffering.
Aleemun: painful
Note: the root is Hamza-L-M and it means pain. ALEEMUN means painful.

Salaam all and have a great day.


Hussein