4:78

Salaam all,

This is 4:78
أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُواْ يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَةٍ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ حَسَنَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُواْ هَـذِهِ مِنْ عِندِكَ قُلْ كُلًّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللّهِ فَمَا لِهَـؤُلاء الْقَوْمِ لاَ يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ حَدِيثًا
Aynama takoonoo yudrikkumu almawtu walaw kuntum fee buroojin mushayyadatin wain tusibhum hasanatun yaqooloo hathihi min AAindi Allahi wain tusibhum sayyiatun yaqooloo hathihi min AAindika qul kullun min AAindi Allahi famali haolai alqawmi la yakadoona yafqahoona hadeethan

The Aya says:
Wherever you (plural) happen to be, death will reach you even if you were in well protected high castles. And if they are to be hit by an entity of beauty, they say: this is from Allah. And if they are to be hit by a hated entity, they say: this is from you (Muhammad). Say (O Muhammad): all is from Allah then what about those people, they do not nearly reach understanding of happening/ saying?!

My personal note:
This Aya touches on an interesting and important field of what hits us as people of good and bad. The answer is that it all comes from God. However, here, Muslim scholars understand this with detail. The issue is that the action of God can be direct or indirect through the actions of his creation. In this Aya God takes ownership of the direct and of the indirect. We as humans will always have to take ownership of our own actions, the direct and indirect.

The next question then comes: Why does God do to humans things that they hate, or that they consider bad or that hurt? The answers to this have to always take in consideration that God acts with His love, Mercy, Justice and Wisdom at the same time. This reassures the believer that whenever he or she is hit with something that he or she hates, then there is a hidden blessing in it from God and our job is to trust in the presence of this hidden blessing and move on. We should not dwell on our pain.

Translation of the transliterated words:


Aynama: Wherever
Takoonoo: you (plural) happen to be
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. TAKOONOO 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 (second personal plural). This in turn means: you (plural) happen to be.
Yudrikkumu: will reach you (plural)
Note: the root is D-R-K and it means reaching. This is the conceptual meaning and it covers reaching time and place and also ideas or thoughts according to the context. YUDRIKKUMU is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of reaching the object (KUMU= plural you) is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular pointing to ALMAWTU, coming up and it means death.)
Almawtu: the death/ death
Note: the root is M-W-T and it means death or the opposite of life or the lack of voluntary movement. ALMAWTU means the death or just death.
Walaw: even if
Kuntum: you (plural) happened to be
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. KUNTUM is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being happened by the subject (second person plural). This in turn means: you (plural) happened to be
Fee: in
Buroojin: high castles
Note: the root is B-R-J and in concrete it points to something that is high or cannot escape attention. It is given to things on top of a high place or to the constellations high in the sky and that cannot escape attention of the desert dwellers. Conceptually, the context determines the meaning. HERE, BUROOJ means high castles or apparently high and mighty castles.
Mushayyadatin: strongly built/ sealed holes or defects
Note: the root is SH-Y-D and it means in concrete what one covers the walls with in order to block all the holes between the bricks or stones and in order to complete the insulation from wind and rain. Conceptually, it covers the building being strongly built and not leaving any hole or defect, but sealed.
Wain: and if
Tusibhum: Targeted and 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. TUSIBHUM is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means the hitting of the object (HUM= them) is being made to happen or will be made to happen by the subject (third person singular feminine pointing to hasanatun=beauty).
Hasanatun: beauty/ entity of beauty/ goodness
Note: the root is Ha-S-N and it means beauty and goodness in all the aspects of beauty and goodness. HASANATUN is an entity of beauty or goodness which could be an act or a matter or any other entity.
Yaqooloo: they say or communicate
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. YAQOOLOO 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).
Hathihi: this
Min: from
AAindi: at/ at presence of
Note: AAiNDI means at, but carries the meaning of at, or at presence of or at possession of according to the situation. AAiNDI here means at presence of or at in general.
Allahi: Allah
Wain: and if
Tusibhum: Targeted and 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. TUSIBHUM is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means the hitting of the object (HUM= them) is being made to happen or will be made to happen by the subject (third person singular feminine pointing to hasanatun=beauty).
Sayyiatun: a hate worthy or bad entity
Note: the root is S-Y-Hamza and it means hated word or deed. It can also mean ugly or vulnerable. All the meanings are linked somehow by one concept. This word then means different things according to the plane of thought that is being talked about. SAYYIATUNN is the ugly or hated deed or any ugly or hate worthy entity.
Yaqooloo: they say or communicate
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. YAQOOLOO 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).
Hathihi: this
Min: from
AAindika: at/ at presence of
Note: AAiNDI means at, but carries the meaning of at, or at presence of or at possession of according to the situation. AAiNDI here means at presence of or at in general. KA is a singular you.
Qul: say/ communicate/ respond
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. QUL is an order or a request addressed to a singular. It means: say or communicate.
Kullun: each/ all
Note: the root is K-L-L and it means the parts put together. This is the concrete and it means all or every or each. KULLUN means each or every or all.
Min: from
AAindi: at/ at presence of
Note: AAiNDI means at, but carries the meaning of at, or at presence of or at possession of according to the situation. AAiNDI here means at presence of or at in general.
Allahi: Allah
Famali: so what to?!/ so what about?!
Haolai: those
Alqawmi: people/ group
Note: the root is Qaf-Y-M and it means standing or standing upright. ALQAWM are the people that stand together and that makes the group or people or nation, basically, any group of people that stand together. Here. It points to the particular group that wants to get away from their obligation to fight.
La: not
Yakadoona: attempt/ reach/ nearly reach
Note: the root is K-Y-D and it means to plan and start doing something, but not clear if it was done or not/ to nearly do something. For the noun it means scheme. YAKADOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of nearly doing the object (Yafqahoona=understand) is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
Yafqahoona: understand
Note: the root is F-Qaf-H and it means understanding. YAFQAHOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of understanding is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural).
Hadeethan: happening/ saying/ news/ actions
Note: The root is Ha-D-TH and it means to happen for the verb and happening for the noun. This is conceptually then extended to many different understandings that are linked to the context. They carry the meanings of happenings as news, or sayings or new developments or all, as long as the context of the sentence allows it. HADEETHAN here carries the conceptual meanings of happening, which covers sayings and actions of Allah or of people.

Salaam all and have a great evening