Saturday, August 14, 2010

5:69

Salaam all,



Inna allatheena amanoo waallatheena hadoo waalssabioona waalnnasara man amana biAllahi waalyawmi alakhiri waAAamila salihan fala khawfun AAalayhim wala hum yahzanoona

The aya says:
Indeed, those who made themselves safe and those who were Jewish and the unaffiliated and the Christians whoever made himself safe in Allah and in the Day of Judgment including did deed of benefit, then no fear upon them and they will not be sad.

My personal note:
There is another Aya like this in 2:62. I will cover the term SABIOON which I translated here as unaffiliated. In my previous translation of 2:62 I translated the term as is and called it SABEAN a group that is now living in Iraq and so on. However, my newer understanding of the term is a person unaffiliated with an organized religion that is well known. Therefore it can include that group and is extended to many other groups who do not exactly fit into Christianity or Judaism and so on.

The proper interpretation and application of this Aya ultimately depends on what one understands of the term IMAN Bi Allah. If we are to understand Iman, as Safety and trust, then it is based on love for Allah and knowing Allah in our hearts with such depth that we can know and recognize his message when it rings true and then we have to accept it willingly and lovingly. While such message has lots of hope, it requires of each of us very deep consciousness in ourselves to keep as close to God as possible and to live in harmony and peace with His words and directives. This is the essence of Islam in it’s wider definition.

Muslim scholars argued whether Iman is included in heart, the tongue and the deeds. The majority agreed that Iman is in all three. This Aya emphasizes the importance of the good deeds no matter whether one defines good deeds as part of Iman or not.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Inna: indeed
allatheena: those who
.
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.
Waallatheena: and those who
Hadoo: were Jewish
Note: the root is H-W-D and it means repentance and return to God. It is used mainly to point to Judaism, often specifically. HADOO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of becoming Jewish happened by the subject (third person plural).

Waalssabioona: and the unaffiliated/ and the Sabaeans
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. ALSSABIOONA is derived from the root Sad-B-Hamza and it means in concrete someone who is outside of the fold. In religious terms it points to either people that cannot be labeled as this or that religion because they do not fit in the classical example of it. It also can point to people who left their original religion and adopted another. In this context the name applies to all unaffiliated people to any religion. There is a group of people who are not fitting with Christians or Jews and live in Iraq traditionally. They are called SABIA and the name fits them but is not limited to them.

Waalnnasara: and the Christians
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. ALNNASARA is derived from the root N-Sad-R and it means aid or help at a time of need. ALNNASARA means: the supporters or helpers at the time of need. It is a term that is used for Christians in the Qur’an because they were the ones who supported and aided Jesus (pbuh)
Man: who/ whomever
Amana: made himself safe
Note: 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. AMANA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making oneself safe is happened by the subject (third person singular).
biAllahi: in Allah
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. ALLAH is Allah.
Waalyawmi: and the day
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. ALYAWMI is derived from the root Y-W-M and it means day. YAWM means a day and it spans a day and night cycle. ALYAWMI means: the day.

Alakhiri: the remaining/ the last
Note: the root Hamza-KH-R and it means remaining. ALAKHIRI means the remaining or the later. ALYAWMI ALAKHIRI then means: the remaining day or the last day and that is used for the day of judgment.
waAAamila: and did/ including did
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. AAaMILA is derived from the root Ain-M-L and it means doing or work. AAaMILA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of doing or making happened by the subject (third person singular).

Salihan: the righteous deed/ righteousness/ deed of benefit
Note: SALIHAN is derived from the root Sad-L-Ha and it means becoming helpful or useful in a good direction. This means mainly: becoming one of benefit as in benefiting oneself and others. Included in this meaning is becoming fixed after having been broken. SALIHAN then here is the deed of goodness/ benefit and that would be the definition of the righteous.

Fala: then no
Khawfun: fear
Note: the root is KH-W-F and it means fear. KHAWFUN means fear
AAalayhim: on them
Wala: and not/ and no
Hum: they
Yahzanoona: be worried/ be sad/ be sorry
Note: the root is Ha-Z-N and it means sadness/ being worried or be sorry. All the meanings are related in the sense of sadness or anxiety at the same time. YAHZANOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means the action of sadness or worry or being sorry will happen by the subject (third person plural). However, the WALA HUM YAHZANOONA gives a negation to this action and it means and they will not worry or be sad and sorry.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Great Blog. Salam!

hussein said...

thank you for your kind comment.

Hussein

Unknown said...

is the "whoever" referring to the 3 groups mentioned i.e whoever from among them believed in Allah and the last day...?

or is the ayah switching from past to present when it says "whoever believed...."

obviously the ayah does not contradict this ayah

'Truly, the religion in the eyes of Allah is only Islam'

because as you said it depends on how one understands "iman" , right?

thanks akhee




hussein said...

wa Alaikum Assalaam,

that is correct that it depends on what is meant by Iman and that it is not limited to only belief as people translate it at times. Also, related to the issue of Islam there are two "Islams" one that is general and means to follow Allah's message to the best of one's ability and potential and so if one has not received the message of Islam that is in the Qur'an then the Islam that is required of them is different and it could be following the bible to their best ability and intention.

The other Islam is the Islam that is contained in the message of the prophet Muhammad and it becomes mandatory on people to follow it when and if they received it and understood it.

i hope this helps a little and take care brother

Hussein