4:72

Salaam all,

This is 4:72
وَإِنَّ مِنكُمْ لَمَن لَّيُبَطِّئَنَّ فَإِنْ أَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالَ قَدْ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيَّ إِذْ لَمْ أَكُن مَّعَهُمْ شَهِيدًا
Wainna minkum laman layubattianna fain asabatkum museebatun qala qad anAAama Allahu AAalayya ith lam akun maAAahum shaheedan

The Aya says:
And indeed amongst you (plural) ones who slow down, so if you were hit a bad hit, he said: “Allah has bestowed favor on me, as I was not with them witnessing.

My personal note:
The Aya is casting a not very good shadow on those who slow down so they are not with the group as they travel or march to battle. Those people would then be grateful if something happened to the others but not them because they missed being in the group. However, as coming ayat will show, this group are people who left their commitment to the community and to the order of God of moving together, whether it is travel in a caravan or a march to battle.

The commitment to the well being of the community of faith and to it’s cohesiveness is of utmost importance in the Qur’an.


Translation of the transliterated words:
Wainna: and indeed
Minkum: amongst you (plural)/ from you
Laman: who (with emphasis)
Layubattianna: he will indeed slow
Note: LA is for emphasis. YUBATTIANNA is derived from the root B-TTA-Hamza and it means slowness. YUBATTIANNA is an action that being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of being slow or making slowness happen is happening with emphasis by the subject (third person singular or plural).
Fain: so if
Asabatkum: she hit you (plural)/ targeted and hit you
Note: the root Sad-W-B and it means in one of the concrete usages the rain falling on a place. This word is then used to mean hitting the target correctly or being correct, because the rain is correct in hitting it’s target. ASABAT is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the hitting of the object (KUM= plural you) was made to happen by the subject (third person singular feminine pointing to MUSEEBATUN= incident/hit).
Museebatun: an unpleasant hit/ an unpleasant incident/ a bad hit
Note: the root Sad-W-B and it means in one of the concrete usages the rain falling on a place. This word is then used to mean hitting the target correctly or being correct, because the rain is correct in hitting it’s target. MUSEEBATUN means the object that hits and in this context it takes the meaning of unpleasant hit or incident.
Qala: He said/ 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 singular).
Qad: indeed
ANAAaMA: He made softness happen/ He made blessing happen
Note: the root is 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. Conceptually, it is what is best for us. ANAAaMA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of the subject (Allah, coming up) of making softness or blessing happen to the object (allatheena= those who which came earlier).
Allahu: Allah
AAalayya: upon me.
Note: AnAAama Allahu Alayya takes the meaning of: Allah made His blessing or softness happen upon me.
Ith: as/ when
Lam: not
Akun: I happen to be
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. AKUN is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being is happening or will be happening by the subject (first personal singular). This in turn means: I am or I happen to be.
maAAahum: with them
shaheedan: witnessing
SHAHEED is derived from the root SH-H-D and it means witnessing of truth and it also denotes that the witness knows very well what he or she is witnessing about. The concrete meaning is the honey mixed with wax therefore the wax is the witness of the truth that the honey is the honey. Another concrete meaning is the baby that was just born and is covered with a membrane. In both, there is close association which is proof or witness of the fact. SHAHEEDAN means witness or witnessing.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein