4:143

Salaam all,

This is 4:143
مُّذَبْذَبِينَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ لاَ إِلَى هَـؤُلاء وَلاَ إِلَى هَـؤُلاء وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللّهُ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ سَبِيلاً
Muthabthabeena bayna thalika la ila haolai wala ila haolai waman yudlili Allahu falan tajida lahu sabeelan

The Aya says:
(They are) unsteady between that, not towards those and not towards those. And whoever Allah makes lost, then you (singular) will never find a path for him.

My personal note:
This Aya brings about a feature of some of the Hypocrites. It is the fact that they are unsteady/ unstable or unable to commit one way or the other. Not completely on the path of God but not completely rejecting. The previous Ayat tell us that they were playing both sides in a sense. This combination of not committing and then playing both sides is a situation that is considered here blameworthy.

Of course the conclusion here is that it is best to be steady on the path of God, or at least aim to be steady on that path. God shows that path to whoever wants to find God’s path with total sincerity in his heart and mind. It is blameworthy of course to be totally committed against the path of God, but the context here was touching on a group of people who played both sides and that is why they were blameworthy. One conclusion one can get from this is that if you are unable to decide which of the two paths is better, then it is better to be absolutely neutral or aim for reconciliation rather than play both sides.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Muthabthabeena: unstable/ unsatisfied/ uncommitted/ hesitant/ unsteady
Note: the root is TH-B-B and in concrete it is the word for the wild bull because who does not stick to one particular place. THUBAB is the name for flies or any small flying insect also with the lack of staying put in one place and the rapid movement of the wings. MUTHABTHABEEN are those people who do not commit to one thing or who are hesitant or unstable between two entites.
Bayna: not
Thalika: that
La: not
Ila: towards
Haolai: those
Wala: and not
Ila: towards
Haolai: those
Waman: and whomever
Yudlili: He makes lost
Note: the root is Dhad-L-L and it means getting lost as in lost the road or losing something. YUDILLI is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making the object (man=who) loose the path or become misguided is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah, coming next).
Allahu: Allah
Falan: then never
Tajida: will you (singular) find
Note: the root is 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. TAJIDA is an action that is derived from the root. It means: the action of finding is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person singular).
Lahu: to him/ for him
Sabeelan: a path
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. SABEELAN is the flowing water or the path of. It takes the meaning of path or even the trip on the path.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein