4:46

Salaam all,

This is 4:46
مِّنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُواْ يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْمَعْ وَانظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ اللّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
Mina allatheena hadoo yuharrifoona alkalima AAan mawadiAAihi wayaqooloona samiAAna waAAasayna waismaAA ghayra musmaAAin waraAAina layyan bialsinatihim wataAAnan fee alddeeni walaw annahum qaloo samiAAna waataAAna waismaAA waonthurna lakana khayran lahum waaqwama walakin laAAanahumu Allahu bikufrihim fala yuminoona illa qaleelan

The Aya says:
Amongst those who were Jewish (some) who edge the statements away from it’s place and they say: we comprehended and we disobeyed and you (singular) listen, not listened to, and you (singular) pay us attention, twisting with their tongues, and stabbing in the religion. And if they said: We comprehended and we obeyed and you (singular) listen and watch over us, then it would have been better for them and more upright. But Allah distanced them from his mercy by their rejection, so they do not make themselves safe (in Him), if not a little.

My personal statement:
The Aya starts with amongst, which points to the fact that it covers some Jews while not covering others, therefore avoiding generalization. According to the books of Tafsir, it relates a response to the message of the prophet by some of the Jews of Medina. The Aya then goes about the statements of that group which are considered wrong. The Aya mentions the issue of Tahrif, which I translated as edging of the statement from it’s place. This could be by playing with the words or playing with the meanings of the words.

The Aya continues with the very complex statement that was said by a group of the Jews of Medina to the prophet (pbuh). The three words that were contestable are “We disobeyed”. The Aya mentioned the preferred one “We obeyed”. Muslims Like others, disobey, but the important is the intention to obey rather than the intention to disobey as in the statement from that group. The other contested word is “RaAAiNA= pay us attention/ treat us preferentially” and the preferred term is “onthurna= watch over us”, also mentioned later in the Aya. The third word is “GHAYRA MUSMAaiN= not listened to and not listening at the same time” and it was addressing the prophet. There was no alternative in the Aya for this because that statement is an attack at the person of the prophet (pbuh).

The end of the Aya was “They do not make themselves safe in Allah, if not a little”. The meaning of this is that the extent of their “Iman= Safety in Allah” ranges from absence to just a little. Basically saying “if there is not a little, then there is nothing.”

Translation of the transliterated words:
Mina: from/ amongst
Allatheena: those who
Hadoo: became Jewish/ were Jewish
Note: the root is H-W-D and it means repentance and return to God. It is used mainly to point to Judaism, often specifically. HADOO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of becoming Jewish happened by the subject (third person plural).
Yuharrifoona: they edge
Note: the root is Ha-R-F and it means conceptually the edge of an entity. It is then used conceptually for many uses, including the letters of the words, because the letters are the edges of the word. YUHARRIFOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of edging the object (alkalim= the word/ statement) is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural). In this context, the “edging “of the word takes the meaning of pushing the word off the edge. This can be due to changing some of it’s letters, or changing the meaning of the word, so that it becomes derailed and off it’s edge in both instances.
Alkalima: the statements/ the words
Note: the root K-L-M and it means wound or opening of the skin and that is the concrete word. It is also used to mean words or statements because those are the products of the opening of the mouth, which is an opening of the skin. Here it is used for word or statement. ALKALIMA are the words or statements.
AAan: from/ away from
Note: this word takes the meaning of from, but at times takes the meaning of away from and so on.
mawadiAAihi: their proper placement
Note: the root is W-Dhad-Ain and it means putting down an entity. The word then takes the meaning according to the context of the sentence and plane of thought. MAWADiAAI are places of putting an entity or timing of putting an entity or both. In short, here, it takes the meaning of proper placement and that includes time, place, meaning and context.
Wayaqooloona: and they say/ communicate
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. YAQOOLOONA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. YAQOOLOON is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of saying or communicating is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
samiAAna: We heard/ we comprehended
Note: The root is S-M-Ain and and it means hearing or hearing and understanding or knowing and retaining at the same time. SAMiAANA is an action that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: The hearing and understanding happened by the subject (first person plural)
waAAasayna: and we disobeyed
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. AAaSAYNA is derived from the root Ain-Sad-Y and it means to go against order/to resist an order, for the verb and the action for the noun. The concrete word is Stick and Staff. The relationship to the above abstract meaning is the fact that the Stick is rigid and unbending, as well as the fact the Stick got detached from the tree. AAaSAYNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of disobeying the object (unmentioned, but points to God’s orders) happened by the subject (first person plural).
waismaAA: and hear/ and listen/ and comprehend
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. ISMaAA is derived from the root S-M-Ain and and it means hearing or hearing and understanding or knowing and retaining at the same time. ISMaAA is an order or a request addressed to an individual. It means: listen, hear, Comprehend.
Ghayra: not/ other than
musmaAAin: listened to/ comprehended/ heard
Note: the root is S-M-Ain and and it means hearing or hearing and understanding or knowing and retaining at the same time. MUSMaAAiN is the one who is heard or comprehended or listened to. It also applies to the one who listens and comprehends as well.
waraAAina: and pay attention to us/ and give us preferential treatment/ give us consideration
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. RaAAINA is derived from the root R-ain-Y and it means herding as in sheepherding in concrete. Conceptually, it covers the sheep grazing in the pasture and the herder watching and taking care of the sheep. This is then taken to mean watching, give preferential treatment and consideration and so on. RaAAiNA is an order or a request to an individual, in here the prophet (pbuh). It means: take us in consideration, give us preferential treatment and so on.
Layyan: twisting
Note: the root is L-W-Y and it means twisting an entity. LAYYAN is twisting.
Bialsinatihim: by their tongues/ with their tongues.
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. ALSINATIHIM is derived from the root L-S-N and it means tongue. This is then conceptually taken to mean speech or language or anything that relates to tongues. ALSINATI means tongues of. HUM means them.
wataAAnan: and stabbing
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. TaAANAN is derived from the root TTA-Ain-N and it means stabbing. This is then taken conceptually according to the context of the sentence. TaAANAN means stabbing in a conceptual manner.
Fee: in
Alddeeni: the obligation (of people towards Allah)/ the law/ the religion
Note: the root is D-Y-N and it means debt or law or religion. What groups them together is the concept of obligation, since religion is the obligation of man towards God. DEENI is obligation of or religion of, with religion being the obligation of man towards God. ALDDEENI is the religion or the obligation of people towards Allah and each other or the law, or all together.
Walaw: and if (with some skepticism)
Annahum: that they
Qaloo: they said
Note: 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).
samiAAna: We heard/ we comprehended
Note: The root is S-M-Ain and and it means hearing or hearing and understanding or knowing and retaining at the same time. SAMiAANA is an action that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: The hearing and understanding happened by the subject (first person plural)
waataAAna: and we disobeyed
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. ATaAANA is derived from the root Ta-W-ain and it means willingly comply. ATaAANA is an action that is completed and that is derived from the root. It means: the action of making oneself willingly comply happened by the subject (first person plural)
waismaAA: and hear/ and listen/ and comprehend
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. ISMaAA is derived from the root S-M-Ain and and it means hearing or hearing and understanding or knowing and retaining at the same time. ISMaAA is an order or a request addressed to an individual. It means: listen, hear, Comprehend.
Waonthurna: and watch us/ and look us/ observe us
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. ONTHURNA is derived from the root N-THa-R and it means seeing/observing/watching with one side of the meaning stronger than the others according to the situation. At times it means giving reprieve or giving time to correct things and that stems from the observing/watching as if it is time of observation/watching. ONTHURNA is a request or demand addressed to an individual. It means: watch us or observe us.
Lakana: then it would have been
Note: la means then in this context. KANA is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. KANA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being happened by the subject (third personal singular). This in turn means: He was or He happened to be. LAKANA carries the meaning of then it would have been.
Khayran: better
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. KHAYRAN means: good or best choice.
Lahum: to them/ for them
Waaqwama: and more upright
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. AQWAMU is derived from the root Qaf-W-M and it means standing upright. AQWAMU means more upright and so forth.
Walakin: but
laAAanahumu: He distanced them/ He expelled them from mercy
Note: the root is L-Ain-N and it means distancing or expelling. It is used to mean curse in the form of distancing or expelling from nearness or mercy. The concrete word is scarecrow because it keeps away or at a distance the undesirable birds from the field. LaAAaNAHUMU is an action that is completed. It means that the action of expelling from mercy or distancing of the object (humu= them) happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah).
Allahu: Allah
Bikufrihim: by their rejection/ by their discarding (of his message)
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. KUFRIHIM is derived from the root root K-F-R and it means cover or bury in the ground, as in put the seed in the ground and cover it. This is then used conceptually for many purposes as in discarding and rejecting as well as burying. KUFRI means act of rejecting by. HIM means them.
Fala: therefore not
Yuminoona: they make themselves safe (in Allah)
Note: the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. Conceptually, it can also be extended to trust as well, because we feel safe in the entity we trust. YUMINOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making oneself safe is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
Illa: except/ if not
Qaleelan: a little
Note: the root is Qaf-L-L and it means becoming few in quality or quantity. QALEELAN is little or few in quality and in quantity.

Salaam all and have a great evening.

Hussein