Tuesday, November 22, 2011

6:84

Salaam all,

Wawahabna lahu ishaqa wayaAAqooba kullan hadayna wanoohan hadayna min qablu wamin thurriyyatihi dawooda wasulaymana waayyooba wayoosufa wamoosa waharoona wakathalika najzee almuhsineena

The Aya says:
And We gifted him Isaac and Jacob, each we guided, while Noah we guided from before. And from his descendants are David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron, and as such We reward the doers of goodness/beauty.

My personal note:
The “his” in “his descendants” could apply either to Abraham or to Noah or both since Abraham is a descendant of Noah and his desendants are descendants of Noah as well. The only thing that takes Abraham out is the mention of Lot in the next Aya who is not a descendand of Abraham.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Wawahabna: and We gave / and We gifted
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 is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. WAHABNA is derived from the root W-H-B and it means the giving without taking. WAHABNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of giving or donating or gifting happened by the subject (first person plural) to the object (lahu= to him pointing to Abraham).
Lahu: to him (Abraham)
Ishaqa: Isaac
wayaAAqooba: and Jacob
kullan: each

Note: KULLI is derived from the root K-L-L and it means the parts put together. This is the concrete and it means all or every or each. It can also be extended conceptually to mean the parts surrounding an entity. KULLAN means every, or each.

Hadayna: We guided
Note: the root is root H-D-Y and it means gift in all it’s forms and it carries the meaning of guidance since guidance is a gift. HADAYNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of guiding happened by the subject (first person plural) to the object (Kullan= each).
Wanoohan: and Noah

hadayna We guided
Note: the root is root H-D-Y and it means gift in all it’s forms and it carries the meaning of guidance since guidance is a gift. HADAYNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of guiding happened by the subject (first person plural) to the object (Noah)
Min: from
qablu: before you (singular)
Note: the root Qaf-B-L and it means front. This is then carried in time or space or any plain of thought. If it is in time, then front means before, while place would be in front. It is used to mean acceptance and reception since we receive and accept using our fronts. QABLU here is front in time and that is before.
Wamin: and from
Thurriyyatihi: his offspring/ his descendants
Note: the root is TH-R-R and it means what one pinches with his hands or fingers and disperses. THURRIYATAN is the product of this dispersal and those are the seeds of the man or his garden or the offspring because the offspring is what a person disperses on earth.. THURRIYATI means descendants of. HI means him and it points to Abraham or Noah because the descendants of Abraham are also descendants of Noah.
Dawooda: David
Wasulaymana: and Solomon
Waayyooba: and Job
Wayoosufa: and Joseph
Wamoosa: and Moses
Waharoona: and Aaron
Wakathalika: and as such/ and like that
Najzee: We reward/ we pay back
Note: the root is root J-Z -Y and it means compensation for action that can be good or bad. NAJZEE is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of rewarding or paying back the object (ALMUHSINEEN= the do gooders/ the doers of beauty) is happening or will be happening by the subject (first person plural).
Almuhsineena: the ones causing goodness/ beauty/ the doers of good
Note: the root is Ha-S-N and it means beauty and goodness in all the aspects of beauty and goodness. MUHSINEEN are the ones who cause or make goodness or beauty.


Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein

2 comments:

A. Muhammad Ma`ruf said...

Dear brother Dr. Hussein,

Assalaamu `aleykum.

I have several small collections of notes on your blogs, which I have not had time to write to you about. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to write to you about them in time.

I made some notes on your most recent posts which I feel somewhat compelled to write to you about today. One of them concerns your translation of AL MUHSINEEN in 6:84:

“(ALMUHSINEEN= the do gooders / the doers of beauty).

Almuhsineena: the ones causing goodness/ beauty/ the do gooders

Note: the root is Ha-S-N and it means beauty and goodness in all the aspects of beauty and goodness. MUHSINEEN are the ones who cause or make goodness or beauty.”

My problem is with your use of the common English expression “do-gooder” which is among the expressions used here for AL MUHSINEEN.

I think it is not an appropriate word.

I copy below the meaning of “do-gooder” as in Webster’s on line.

Fr Websters online:
Main Entry: do-good•er
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
: an earnest usually impractical-minded humanitarian bent on promoting welfare work or reform --commonly used with a derogatory implication of naïveté or blundering ineffectualness.

I think MUHSINEEN refers to creators and exemplifiers of good and beauty.

I wonder also whether there is an Arabic equivalent to the usually derogatory implication of “do-gooder” in English.

With my best wishes,

A Muhammad Ma`ruf.

hussein said...

Wa alaikum assalam,

Thank you for sharing this knowledge that I was not aware of about do gooders. I really appreciate it.

hussein