4:138

Salaam all,

This is 4:138
بَشِّرِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
Bashshiri almunafiqeena bianna lahum AAathaban aleeman

The Aya says:
Bring glad tidings (O Muhammad) to the hypocrites that indeed, to them belongs painful suffering.

My personal note:
The usage of glad tidings to bring bad news serves as an emphasis of the toughness of the condition. The category of Munafiqeen covers anyone who declares Islam outwardly but hides rejection inside. The coming Aya will give us the specific group this threat applies to amongst the very wide category of Munafiqeena.

This inward rejection of Munafiqeen can be conscious, in which case, the above aya clearly applies. It can be also unconscious as well and then whether the aya applies or not will depend on each individual case. This depends on whether it is complete rejection or partial and whether it is a rejection with which there is not a trace of Iman (safety in Allah and his message) left or not.

This is a call to all of us to be aware of our inside in order to work on purifying it, strengthening it’s Iman, and remove any trace of rejection of Allah and his message from it. May Allah help us and guide us in this endeavour.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Bashshiri: bring (O Muhammad) glad tidings
Note: BASHSHIR is derived from the root B-SH-R and it means the outer skin. This is also a sign of beauty and good news as a concept. BASHSHIR is an order form of the verb addressing an individual. It means make good news arrive to the object (ALMUNAFIQEEN= the Hypocrites). The good news is used in a relatively critical manner to emphasize the bad news in it.

Almunafiqeena: the hypocrites/ the ones who claim safety in God while they are otherwise.
Note: the root is N-F-Qaf and it means tunnel in the concrete sense. This is then used to mean anything that is tunneled from one place to another as in having an apparent picture that is different from the hidden one. Another is tunneling you money to another destination as in giving some of your money to charity or so forth. Here, it is used for the apparent being different from the hidden. ALMUNAFIQEEN in this context are the ones who declare Iman (safety in God) while in truth, they are otherwise.
Bianna: that indeed
Lahum: to them belongs
AAathabun: suffering
Note: the root is Ain-TH-B and it means an easy to swallow food or drink. AAaTHAB is what makes one not take an easy to swallow food or drink. That is suffering.
Aleeman: painful
Note: the root is Hamza-L-M and it means pain. ALEEMAN means painful.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein