4:82

Salaam all,

This is 4:82
أَفَلاَ يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللّهِ لَوَجَدُواْ فِيهِ اخْتِلاَفًا كَثِيرًا
Afala yatadabbaroona alqurana walaw kana min AAindi ghayri Allahi lawajadoo feehi ikhtilafan katheeran

The Aya says:
Won’t they study the Qur’an thoroughly, and if it were from other than Allah, then they would have found in it lots of self contradiction.

My personal note:
There are some important points here:
1- That humans will perceive very few self contradictions in the Qur’an, and this would be a proof of it’s provenance from God.
2- One would then say, but God’s work should not have any self contradiction. The answer is that it is true and there is no self contradiction in the Qur’an. However, the Aya points to human perception and humans may perceive self contradiction, although very little, in the Qur’an. This perception of self contradiction is often easily removed through further study and contemplation. This point adds to the depth of the statement, because it does not talk about absolute reality, no contradiction, but about human perception of it.
3- It also brings to our attention that human works will always have many self contradictions and this should help us in scientific and other than scientific study and critique.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Afala: Don’t?!/won't?!
Note: this is a question and also a an exclamation
Yatadabbaroona: thoroughly study/ study to the end
Note: the root is D-B-R and it means the end of an entity in a conceptual manner. This could be the behind of the entity or it could be the conclusion of a matter or business and so forth. YATADABBAROONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of taking the object (AlQur’an= the Qur’an) to the end is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural). Here, taking the Qur’an to the end takes the meaning of thoroughly study it all, or study it all and not part of it.
Alqurana: The Qur’an
Note: the root is Qaf-R-Hamza and it means reading/ reciting or collecting. According to Lisan Al Arab the collecting is the origin of the word. One other concrete word is Menses because it is shedding of the collected blood. The Qur’an therefore means exposure of the collected speech through reading or recitation. AL Qur’an is therefore the collected speech of GOD and that is shared through reading it or listening to it’s recitation or otherwise.
Walaw: and if
Kana: he (the Qur’an) was/ happened to be
Note: the root is 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
Min: from/ of
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.
ghayri: other than
Note: GHAYRI is derived from the root GH-Y-R and it means other or different from. GHAYRI means different or other than.
Allahi: Allah
Lawajadoo: then they would have found
Note: LA means then or therefore. WAJADOO is derived from the root W-J-D and it means in one concrete meaning the water that has accumulated in the desert. This is then used to mean a find that is really important. WAJADOO is an action that is derived from the root. It means: the action of finding happened by the subject (third person plural).
Feehi: in him (Qur’an)
Ikhtilafan: self contradiction/ difference with itself
Note: IKHTILAF is derived from the root KH-L-F and it means behind in time or place or any other plane of thought. For time, it takes the meaning of what happens after or the future. IKHTILAF is the process of putting one entity behind another in time or place or thought or otherwise. In this context, it talks about the one part of the book differing with another or self contradiction.
Katheeran: lots/ many
Note: the root is K-TH-R and it means many or numerous in all the planes of thought. KATHEERAN means: numerous or many or a lot.

Salaam all and have a great day.


Hussein