4:94

Salaam all,

This is 4:94
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ لِمَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلاَمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ اللّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo itha darabtum fee sabeeli Allahi fatabayyanoo wala taqooloo liman alqa ilaykumu alssalama lasta muminan tabtaghoona AAarada alhayati alddunya faAAinda Allahi maghanimu katheeratun kathalika kuntum min qablu famanna Allahu AAalaykum fatabayyanoo inna Allaha kana bima taAAmaloona khabeeran

The Aya says:
O you who make themselves safe (in Allah and the message) if you hit in the path of Allah, then act with clarity and do not say to the one who casts at you the peace: you are not one who makes self safe (in Allah and the message). You desire offering of this life, then at Allah’s numerous gains. Like that you were from before then Allah bestowed his great favor upon you therefore act with clarity. Indeed Allah, in what you do, happened to be well informed.

My personal note:
Hitting in the path of Allah includes fighting and so on, but the term that was used was DARAB which carries the work or hit of the limb for a purpose and with appropriate measure.
Here, there is the mention of Alqa ilaykum Assalaama which was used in Aya 4:91 in the meaning of casting non aggression or peace. This is the widest coverage of the meaning and it encompasses within it the declaration of Islam. The use in 4:91 pointed mainly to the non aggression part because the people in that Aya were officially Muslim but were involved in fighting Muslims. In this context, it is pointing to a fight with someone who is not Muslim and who declared Islam to save his life at the moment of his greatest weakness (this is the suggestion that comes from the statement “lasta Muminan= you are not one who makes self safe in Allah”). The order to the Muslim fighter is to leave this person alone and not assume that this declaration of Islam is only to save his life without Iman or a feeling of safety in Allah.

This understanding may also be extended to someone who declares that he does not want to fight any more and surrenders as happened when the prophet (pbuh) took back Mecca and as happened when the Muslims took prisoners of war in the battle of Badr of the people who just surrendered and did not want to fight. This is important aspect to be repeated and that is the principle of fighting, when applied in the Qur’an and Sunna, is only to achieve the goal of removing obstacles in the face of the message or the practice of religion. It has never been for the purpose of killing the enemy or for the purpose of becoming martyrs. Therefore Muslims act under the obligation of never overkilling.

The term “like that you were from before” may be pointing to the fact that the Muslims started from a point of weakness and therefore to have consideration of their enemies when they are in the same place. It also could be pointing that the Iman (Safety in Allah and the message) is not something that is completely mature at the time of entering Islam and matures and grows with time. So, a Muslim should not look down at the one who enters Islam recently because of the weakness of their Iman, even if the reason for entering Islam is under question, but should help them mature their Iman and grow it and nurture it.

There is another important message in the Qur’an and it comes a lot in the Qur’an. It is that while God judges us by looking at our hearts, we are supposed to judge by what is apparent and never try to guess what is in people’s hearts and pass judgment according to that guess. So, if someone said that he is Muslim, we take his word for it without making assumptions.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Ya ayyuha allatheena: O those who
Note: the three words used here are callings.
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.
Itha: if/ when
Darabtum: you (plural) hit with measure and purpose/ fought with measure and purpose
Note: the root is Dhad-R-B and it means hitting of the limbs to serve a function. The word carries mainly three components to the meaning, the hitting of the limbs, a measure and a purpose. This then has many meanings including hitting, or traveling or working with the limbs and so on and so forth. In this context, it points to fighting in a sense. DARABTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of hitting of the limbs happened by the subject (second person plural). This takes the meaning of fighting with purpose and measure.
Fee: in
Sabeeli: path of
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. SABEELI is the flowing water or the path of. It takes the meaning of path or even the trip on the path.
Allahi: Allah
Fatabayyanoo: then make clear for yourselves/ clarify to yourselves/ act with clarity
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. TABAYYANOO is derived from the root B-Y-N and it means in concrete between. The action of the verb is betweening. This betweening can mean clarifying because one can know better the difference between two things. It also can mean distancing because the betweening makes things become apart. TABAYYANOO is an order or a request addressing a group. It means: make clear for yourselves or clarify to yourselves.
Wala: and not/ including not
Taqooloo: you (plural) say/ communicate
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. TAQOOLOO 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 (second person plural).
Liman: to who
alqa: casted/ offered
Note: ALQA is derived from the root L-Qaf-Y and it means receiving as a concept which would be understood more specifically according to the sentence. Concrete uses of the word are a female that gets pregnant easily, therefore she received the sperm well. It is also used for the birds that hunt because they receive the prey easily and so forth. ALQA is an action that is completed. It means the action of making the object (Alssalama= their peace/ non aggression) received was made to happen by the subject (third person plural). This takes the meaning of casting peace or non aggression.
Ilaykumu: to you (plural)
Alssalama: the peace/ the non aggression
Note: the root is S-L-M and it means dissociation from an entity to re-associate with another that is usually better. This carries the meaning of health and safety. It also carries the meaning of delivery from one to another and it carries the meaning of peace, since it is the dissociation from harm or anything that leads to harm. The context helps in determining the meaning. ALSSALAMA means the dissociation from aggression in this context and that is peace. It can also means the dissociation from Kufr to Islam. This meaning is included in the casting the non aggression as well.
Lasta: you (singular) not
muminan: one who makes himself safe (in Allah and the message)
Note: MUMINAN is derived from the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. MUMINAN means one who makes himself safe (in Allah and His message).
Tabtaghoona: you (plural) desire/ want
Note: the root is B-GH-Y and it means the young animal or the still unripe fruit. This is the concrete word and the derived words attain the other meanings of youth and desire as well as immature and ugly acts depending on the word and the place in the sentence. Here, it is used to mean desire. TABTAGHOONA is an action that is happening or will be happening. It means: the action of desiring or wanting for oneself is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
AAarada: offer of/ matter of/ enjoyment of/ presentation of.
Note: The root is Ain-R-Dhad and it means width. As a conceptual meaning it has many applications such as: standing in the way or closing the road, but it also means presenting and make something seen, because things are seen better if one sees their width. AAaRADA in this context carries the meaning of offer of/presentation of and so forth.
Alhayati: the life
Note: the root Ha-Y-W and it means life or living. ALHAYATI means the life
Alddunya: the near/ the nearer
Note: the root is D-N-W and it means nearness or nearing. ALDUNYA means the near. In this case, it points to this life that we are living in as the near. ALHAYATI ALDDUNYA means the near life or this life that we are living as opposed to the coming life.
faAAinda: then at/ at presence of
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. AAiNDA 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
Maghanimu: easy gains/ easy earnings.
Note: the root is Ghain-N-M and it means sheep or a heard of sheep. This is the concrete. Conceptually, the word may then be taken to mean gains or easy gains or earnings because the sheep provide a lot with not much work. MAGHANIMU means easy gains or easy earnings.
Katheeratun: numerous
Note: the root is K-TH-R and it means many or numerous in all the planes of thought. KATHEERATAN means: numerous or many or a lot.
Kathalika: like that
Kuntum: you were/ 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 or you were.
Min: from
Qablu: before
Note: the root Qaf-B-L and it means front. This is then carried in time or space or any plain of thought. If it is in time, then front means before, while place would be in front. It is used to mean acceptance and reception since we receive and accept using our fronts. QABLU here is front in time and that is before.
Famanna: then He provided amply/ bestowed great favors
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. MANNA is derived from the root M-N-N and it means in concrete when the rope becomes weak or broken. This is used when someone is weakened, or when someone is strong to make the rope get weaker or when someone does a great favor to another which makes the receiver feel greatly indebted to the giver. MANNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of providing greatly happened by the subject (third person singular).
Allahu: Allah
AAalaykum: upon you (plural)
Fatabayyanoo: then make clear for yourselves/ clarify to yourselves/ act with clarity
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. TABAYYANOO is derived from the root B-Y-N and it means in concrete between. The action of the verb is betweening. This betweening can mean clarifying because one can know better the difference between two things. It also can mean distancing because the betweening makes things become apart. TABAYYANOO is an order or a request addressing a group. It means: make clear for yourselves or clarify to yourselves.
Inna; indeed
Allaha: Allah
Kana: 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 happened to be
Bima: by what/ with what
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. MA means what
taAAmaloona: you (plural) do
Note: the root is Ain-M-L and it means doing or work. TaAAaMALOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of doing or making is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
Khabeeran: Well informed
Note: the root is KH-B-R and it means information or informing. KHABEER is the one that is well informed and who informs others as well.


Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein