4:147

Salaam all,

This is 4:147
مَّا يَفْعَلُ اللّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ وَكَانَ اللّهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًا
Ma yafAAalu Allahu biAAathabikum in shakartum waamantum wakana Allahu shakiran AAaleeman

The Aya says:
What will Allah do with your suffering?! If you thanked and made yourselves safe?! And Allah is thankful, knowledgeable.

My personal note:
The word SH-K-R means thanking. In the Arabic language this is defined as thanking an entity in words or deeds for words and deeds done by that entity.
So, when we thank God, it is because of actions God had done for us and we thank Him in our words and deeds. Therefore, any act of worship done by human beings is considered an act of thanking God.

The Aya ends with declaring Allah, thankful and knowledgeable. This means that He knows when we thank him and He will respond by thanking us in His actions. This then gives the answer to the question that was posed at the beginning: What will Allah do with our suffering if we thanked? He will thank us through loving us, putting us under his mercy, protective cover and forgiveness. There is no suffering for us if we thank God the way He should be thanked.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Ma: what
Note: here is a question and exclamation.
yafAAalu: does/ will do
Note: the root is F-Ain-L and it means doing. YAfaAAL is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of doing is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah).
Allahu: Allah/ the one worthy of worship
biAAathabikum: by your suffering/ with your suffering
Note: Bi suggests that what comes after it is either an association with the action, a tool of the action or an object of the action or any combination of the three. If bi serves as an object of the action that it serves as an emphasis of the action. AAaTHABIKUM is derived from the root 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. AAaTHABI means suffering of. KUM means plural you.
In: if
Shakartum: you (plural) thanked
Note: the root is SH-K-R and it means thanking and it is generally understood as thanking in words or deeds. SHAKARTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of thanking the object (not mentioned but points to Allah) in words or deeds happened by the subject (second person plural).

Waamantum: and made yourselves safe/ including making yourselves safe
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. AMANTUM is derived from the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. Conceptually, it can also be extended to trust as well, because we feel safe in the entity we trust. AMANTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making oneself safe happened by the subject (second person plural).

Wakana: and happened to be
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. KANA is derived from the root 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 pointing to Allah). This in turn means: He was or He happened to be.
Allahu: Allah
Shakiran: thankful
Note: the root is SH-K-R and it means thanking and it is generally understood as thanking in words or deeds. SHAKIRAN means thankful in word or deed.
Aaaleeman: knowledgeable
Note: the root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. AAaLEEM is the one that is very knowledgeable.

Salaam all and have a great day.


hussein