4:51

Salaam all,

This is 4:51
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَؤُلاء أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ سَبِيلاً
Alam tara ila allatheena ootoo naseeban mina alkitabi yuminoona bialjibti waalttaghooti wayaqooloona lillatheena kafaroo haolai ahda mina allatheena amanoo sabeelan

The Aya says:
Have you (singular) not seen to those who were given a portion of the book, they make themselves safe in false belief and transgressing worship?! And they say about those who rejected (Allah’s message): “Those (the rejecters) have a better guided path than the ones who made themselves safe (in Allah)”.

My personal note:
This Aya informs the followers of the Qur’an that some of the ones who followed the scriptures before us fell in false beliefs and worshipped false Gods in one way or another. They may have at times considered the rejecters of God and His message as better than the ones who have safety in Him. This is related to an incident where some of the people of the book of the time of the prophet told the rejecters that their religion is better than the religion that came with Muhammad (pbuh).
However, there is another message that is very important. Just as the ones who were given the book before us fell into this form of grave error, we may fall into this same error, consciously or unconsciously. We have to keep our guard up to maintain correct belief and worship and correct perspective.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Alam: did not?!
Note: this is a question form that brings the attention of the listener to what is being asked.
Tara: You (singular) see?
Note: the root R-Hamza-Y and it means viewing or seeing. TARA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of vision is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person singular). ALAM TARA takes the meaning of : Did you not see?
Ila: to/ about
Allatheena: those who
Ootoo: were given/ were brought
Note: the root is Hamza-T-Y and it means coming with determination. The concrete word is for the water that flows in a place where it did not rain, therefore suggesting that the water came from somewhere else. OOTOO is a completed action that is derived from the root. It means: the action of coming happened to the object (third person plural) by an undisclosed subject. It then means literally: they were brought/something was made to come to them.
Naseeban: A part/ A portion
Note: The root is N-Sad-B and it means something elevated that it can be seen. It then can take many other meanings as in pursuit of something elevated, uphill or difficult and tiring effort and a worshipped stature since it is usually elevated or pursued. NASEEB is used to mean a portion or part of something. When one places an entity on an elevated area, then it is ready to be picked by some and that may be the relation to portion to be picked and so on
Mina: of
Alkitabi: the book
Note: the root K-T-B and it means putting things together as in grouping the herd together or closing the lips or writing (the most common use), because in writing, one puts the letters and the ideas together. ALKITABA means, the process of writing or the book or anything related to it from the ideas to the ink and paper to the place where all is put together.
Yuminoona: they make themselves safe/ they trust
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).
bialjibti: in false beliefs
Note: Bi denotes that what comes after is a tool and/or an object or an association with an action that was mentioned. If is the object of the action then it makes it stronger. In here the action is making become safe. ALJIBTI is a word that the dictionary considers not of Arabic origin. It is used to point to entities that are followed or worshipped by people for no benefit, such as idols, magic and astrology.
Waalttaghooti: and transgressing worship/ including transgressing worship/
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. ALTTAGHOOTI is derived from the root TTa-Ghain-Y and it means overwhelming to bad effect. It is used for the flood waters when they cause damage and destruction and so forth in the concrete sense and for any matter that overwhelms and leads to bad effects. ALTTAGHOOT points to the big matters that lead to bad effects. This can mean the idols that people worship or the leaders who actively fight God and his message.
Wayaqooloona: and they say/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).
Lillatheena: to those who/ about those who
Kafaroo: rejected/ discarded
rejected/ discarded (the message or God).
Note: the root is 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. KAFARO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of rejection or discarding of the object (not declared, but understood from the context to point to God and/or the message) happened by the subject (third person plural).
Haolai: those
Ahda: more guided
Note: the root is H-D-Y and it means gift in all it’s forms and it carries the meaning of guidance since guidance is a gift. AHDA is more guided or more gifted with guidance.
Mina: from/ than
Allatheena: those who
Amanoo: made themselves safe
Note: the root is Hamza-M-N and it means safe or safety. AMANOO is an action that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (not mentioned and therefore the subject and the object can be the same entity here) become safe happened by the subject (third person plural). So, it ends up meaning: they made themselves safe.
Sabeelan: path
Note: the root is S-B-L and it means and it means flowing water from the falling rain from the sky to the flowing water in the river and so forth. This is the concrete and the other uses are related as in path, which allows the flow, to soft flowing hair and so forth. SABEELAN is the flowing water or the path. It takes the meaning of path or even the trip on the path.

Salaam all and have a great evening

Hussein