Salaam all,
This is 4:154
وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَهُمُ الطُّورَ بِمِيثَاقِهِمْ وَقُلْنَا لَهُمُ ادْخُلُواْ الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ لاَ تَعْدُواْ فِي السَّبْتِ وَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُم مِّيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا
WarafaAAna fawqahumu alttoora bimeethaqihim waqulna lahumu odkhuloo albaba sujjadan waqulna lahum la taAAdoo fee alssabti waakhathna minhum meethaqan ghaleethan
The Aya says:
And We raised above them the mountain by their oath and We said to them: “enter the gate prostrating”. And We said to them: “Do not overstep in the Sabath” and We took from them strong assurance.
My personal note:
The Aya continues the theme of the previous Aya regarding the signs that God gave to Moses and his people. It mentions that God raised the mountain above them (for protection and otherwise) and reminds of the oath between God and the Israelites as well the orders to enter the gates of the city in a state of submission/prostration, as well as the order to preserve the sanctity of the Sabath.
Here, one recognizes that the Sabbath was truly imposed on the Israelites. However, it was made easier on the Muslims where Muslims are expected to have the communal prayer on the Friday (see Sura Aljumaa= Friday) but can work otherwise on that day and on Saturday. So, one can say that the Sabbath was an order from God on the Israelites that was later abrogated partially for the Muslims.
Translation of the transliterated words:
WarafaAAna: and We raised
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. RAFaAANA is derived from the root R-F-ain and it means raising in all the aspects of concrete and abstract. RAFaAANA is an action that is completed and that is derived from the root. It means raising of the object (ALTTOORA= the mountain) happened by the subject (first person plural).
Fawqahumu: above them
Note: the root is F-W-Qaf and it means above or rising (aboving). This is used for waking up from sleep because it is a form of rising, but it is also used in many other forms according to the plane of thought of the sentence. FAWQA means above. HUM means them.
Alttoora: the mountain
Note: the root is TTA-W-R and it means a mountain. It can mean a separate mountain or well defined mountain. This root is also used to mean a stage or phase, separate from others. ALTTOORA means the mountain here.
Bimeethaqihim: by their assurance/ commitment/oath.
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. MEETHAQIHIM is derived from the root W-TH-Qaf and it means in concrete terms, the secure tying of a knot or the pasture that has lots of grass and therefore is assured of providing enough nutrition. So, the other meanings of the term are assurance and security. MEETHAQI is an assurance or trust and security of. HIM means them.
Waqulna: And We said/ Communicated
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. QULNA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QULNA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (first person plural). This, in turn means: We said or We happened to say or communicate.
Lahumu: to them
Odkhuloo: enter
Note: the root is D-KH-L and it means entering. ODKHULOO is an order or a request addressed to a group of people. It means: enter.
Albaba: the door
Note: the root is B-W-B and it means door or gate. ALBABA means the door or the gate.
Sujjadan: prostrating
Note: the root is S-J-D and in concrete it means in one concrete form: a tree that is tilting downward due to a heavy load of fruits. It therefore is used conceptually to mean tilting downward of the face or the body including prostration as well as showing any sign of submission to a higher power. The range of meaning all those meanings together and one needs to understand it as both unless there is a strong reason in the sentence or elsewhere in the Qur’an to make one meaning inappropriate or impossible. SUJJADAN means in a state of submission or prostration.
Waqulna: And We said/ Communicated
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. QULNA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QULNA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (first person plural). This, in turn means: We said or We happened to say or communicate.
Lahumu: to them
La: not
taAAdoo: you (plural) overstep/ transgress
Note: the root is Ain-D-W and it means running or overstepping boundaries since the running is a form of overstepping a boundary. Conceptually, it is also used to point to animosity since animosity stems from overstepping boundaries or enemies overstep boundaries of each other. TaAADOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of overstepping boundaries or transgressing is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural). LA TaAADOO is an order not to overstep boundaries.
Fee: in
Alssabti: the Sabath
Note: the word here is the Sabbath, or the day of rest. The root here is S-B-T and it means to rest.
Waakhathna: and We took
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. AKHATHNA is derived from the root Hamza-KH-TH and it means taking. AKHATHNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of taking the object (MEETHAQAN= assurance/Oath) is completed by the subject (first person plural)
Minhum: from them
meethaqan: oath/ assurance
Note: the root is W-TH-Qaf and it means in concrete terms, the secure tying of a knot or the pasture that has lots of grass and therefore is assured of providing enough nutrition. So, the other meanings of the term are assurance and security. MEETHAQAN is an assurance or trust and security. In this context, it is an oath.
Ghaleethan: thick/hard/ strong
Note: the root is Gh- L-THA and it means thick or hard in a conceptual manner. The meaning becomes specific by the context of the sentence. GHALEETHA means thick or hard and it points to strength.
Salaam all and have a great day.
Hussein
2 comments:
Assalaamu `aleykum Brother Hussein,
Regarding
1. “enter the gate prostrating” in
“And We raised above them the mountain by their oath and We said to them: “enter the gate prostrating”. And We said to them: “Do not overstep in the Sabath” and We took from them strong assurance.”
2. and your note “as well as showing any sign of submission to a higher power” regarding SUJJADAN, in your commentary here.
The English dictionary meaning of “prostrate” is similar to your explanation of SUJJADAN:
“to put (oneself) in a humble and submissive posture or state”.
However, I am not sure that all Muslim readers of the Qur`aan take SUJUUD to mean “any sign of submission”.
3. Recently, I saw a news picture of the Dalai Lama associated Tibetan Buddhism, in which there was a shot of a woman worshipper entering what was presumably a concrete road like entrance to a temple.The picture was a photographic description of a kind of “prostrating”. It was a body position that I had not seen before: the woman devotee was on her belly and moving forward in that position, her head lifted up, gazing at what was possibly the gate of the place of worship.
I was struck by the image, even though it was only a mini-second picture on my computer.
It is interesting that in this verse, the Qur`aan refers to entering the gate prostrating; i.e. moving while prostrating. The image of sujuud that most of us Muslims are accustomed to is an immobile, one place position. The Tibetan picture I saw, however, was of someone literally moving and entering a gate while prostrating.
4. I have previously wondered what exactly was the body position meant by the mention in the Qur`aan of the primordial genesis scene in which it is said that all the angels made sujuud to Adam, and Iblees refused. The question in my mind had been whether sujuud always means the position that Muslims assume when making salaat. Your note, in a sense, answers that in the negative.
5. It is known that other forms of physical prostration are practised in different religions and cultures around the world. For instance children may make prostration to parents; wives to husbands, subjects to monarchs, and so forth. I have also been told of certain “sufi” sheikhs requring some of their disciples to make sujuud to them, in the manner found in the Muslim salaat.
6. You have said, “SUJJADAN means in a state of submission or prostration.” Is it your understanding that the word refers to an inner, state of mind only? Or that it refers to an inner as well as outer state of the body and the mind?
7. There is also a historical question here about whether Moses or his disciples appeared and preached to Tibetans.
Salaam brother and sorry for the delay,
I appreciate your input in the understanding of the word SJD. Yu are right in your observation. It seems that because we muslims perform sujud= prostration, several times a day then that picture sticks to our mind as the only Sujud. However, the meaning is wider and that is agreed upon by the older scholars. Here are examples:
1- In the tafsir of Tabari of this Aya, he said that they entered the door crawling, something close to the picture that you saw with this Buddhist pilgrim.
2- In other tafsirs of this Aya and it's sister Aya of Sura Baqara the meaning of "Enter the door prostrating" is understood by Ibn Abbas as entering the door with the head down and the body bending forward as if in Ruku. So, the traditional tafsirs understand this Sujud as something consistent with this understanding.
3- In Sura hajj, Aya 18 it mentions all things prostrating. Here, one will have to understand that each prostrates in it's own fashion.
4- Even amongst muslims, when a person is disabled or praying sitting down, then their prostration is also different from the prostration of all of the others.
So, Sujud continues to be understood as "External manifestation of internal submission". There are reports of people in the past who understood the Aya as internal submission, however, my linguistic understanding seems to push for both internal and external submission.
The word that closely resembles internal submission is the word KHSUHOO.
I hope this helps and take care brother.
Hussein
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