2:143

Salaam all,

This is 2:143
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلاَّ لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِن كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلاَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Wakathalika jaAAalnakumommatan wasatan litakoonoo shuhadaa AAala alnnasiwayakoona alrrasoolu AAalaykum shaheedan wamajaAAalna alqiblata allatee kunta AAalayha illalinaAAlama man yattabiAAu alrrasoola mimman yanqalibu AAalaAAaqibayhi wa-in kanat lakabeeratan illa AAalaallatheena hada Allahu wama kanaAllahu liyudeeAAa eemanakum inna Allahabialnnasi laraoofun raheemun

The Aya says:
And that is (how) WE made you into a nation non extreme in order to be witnesses of truth on the people and in order for the envoy/messenger to be a witness of truth on you. And we did not make the direction of facing that you were on except to know who follows the footsteps of the envoy/messenger from who turns upside down on the back of his feet. And it (the old QIBLA or the change of it) is burdensome except on those that GOD gifted guidance. And the GOD was not to make your safety (in him) obsolete. Verily, GOD is compassionate, merciful to the people.

My personal note:
Witnesses of truth on the people, means that they can witness to the people about the truth. This also means that they can judge better between the different paths that people took, because they are a nation non extreme and that makes the best of witnesses because of the lack of bias. The messenger is the one that most non extreme and therefore, he is the witness on the muslims.

WASAT is a very important Islamic principle and it means that we have to always be careful from being on the edge and that is extremism in all it’s forms.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Wakathalika: And that is how/why
jaAAalnakum: We made you into
Note: the root is J-Ain-L and it means making into. JAAaLNA is the first person plural past tense of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means We arrived making which means we made. KUM means you in the plural sense.
Ommatan: nation/group of people that share same origin and same goal
Note: the root is Hamza-M-M and it means mother or source if UMM and goal to reach if AMM and both are related. UMMA is the group of people that share the same origin and same goal. This can be a nation or something like it
Wasatan: non extreme/not on the edge (and that is the best possible place)
Note: the root is W-S-Ta and it means between the two edges, therefore the non extreme. This, in an abstract form is considered to the best position since it the more protected.
Litakoonoo: To be
Note: LI means to, as in, in order to. TAKOONOO is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. TAKOONOO is the second person plural present or future tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means arrive at being. The whole thing ends up meaning to be.
Shuhadaa: Witnesses of truth
Note: the root is SH-H-D and it means witnessing of truth. The concrete meaning is the honey with wax therefore the wax is the witness of the truth that the honey is the honey. SHUHADAA means witnesses.
AAala: on
Alnnasi: The people
Note: the root is Hamza-N-S and it means socializing and so forth. ALNASSI means the society or the people.
Wayakoona: And to be
Note: WA means and. YAKOONAis derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. YAKOONA is the third person singular present or future tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means arrive at being. The whole thing ends up meaning and to be.
Alrrasoolu: The envoy/the messenger
Note: the root is R-S-L and it means the group of animals or people that are moving or being sent. ALRASOOL is the singular person that is being sent a lot to the group. Therefore, bringing messages from the source.
AAalaykum: On you
Shaheedan: Witness of truth
Note: the root is SH-H-D and it means witnessing of truth. The concrete meaning is the honey with wax therefore the wax is the witness of the truth that the honey is the honey. SHAHEEDAN is the singular for witness.
wamajaAAalna: And WE did not make
Note: WAMA means and Not. JaAALNA the root is J-Ain-L and it means making. JAAaLNA is the first person plural past tense of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means We arrived making which means we made.
Alqiblata: The direction one faces/the fronting
Allatee: That
Kunta: You (singular) were
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. KUNTA is the second person singular past tense of a verb derived from the root. This verb means you arrived at being and that means you were. The person addressed here is the prophet
AAalayha: On her
Note: the her is the QIBLA
Illa: except
linaAAlama: So WE arrive at knowing/That WE know
Note: LI means to or in order to. NaAALAMA is derived from the root Ain-L-M and it means knowing or knowledge. NaAALAMA is the first person plural present of future tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means WE arrive at knowing which really means we know or we will know.
Man: Who
yattabiAAu: Follow behind/follow the footsteps of
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or following the path. YATTABIAAu is the third person singular or plural present or future tense of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means literally makes self arrive at following footsteps of. This means following the footsteps or following the path or following behind
Alrrasoola: The envoy/the messenger
Note: the root is R-S-L and it means the group of animals or people that are moving or being sent. ALRASOOL is the singular person that is being sent a lot to the group, therefore, bringing messages from the source.
Mimman: from who
Yanqalibu: gets turned upside down
Note: the root is Qaf-L-B and it means turning upside down or turning 180 degrees for concrete. It also means brain and emotion since those two can turn upside down all the time. YANQALIBU is the third person singular present tense of a verb that is derived from this root and that means is arrived at turning upside down or gets turned upside down.
AAala: On
AAaqibayhi: The back of his two feet
Note: The root is Ain-Qaf-B and it means the back of the foot. AAaQIBAYHI are the backs of the two feet
wa-in kanat: And it was/And it arrived at being
Note: WA means And. IN is for stress of some sort. KANAT is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. KANAT is the third person singular feminine past tense and it means arrived at being and can be understood as It was.
Lakabeeratan: Big/burdernsome
Note: the root is K-B-R and it means bigness/greatness/burdenness in all it’s meanings including physical and spiritual and mental.
Illa: Except
AAala: On
Allatheena: Those that
hada Allahu: the GOD guided
Note: HADA is derived from the root H-D-Y and it means gift for the concrete and guidance for the abstract because guidance is a gift in it’s own way. HADA is the third person past tense singular or plural of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means arrived gift or arrived guidance. ALLAH means the GOD. The combination of the two words HADA ALLAHU means the GOD guided.
Wama: And not
kanaAllahu: Was the GOD
Note: KANA is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. KANA is the third person singular past tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means arrived at being which means here WAS. ALLAHU means the GOD
liyudeeAAa: To make arrive loss/obsoleteness/damage
Note: LI means to. YUDeeAAa is derived from the root Dhad-Y-Ain and it means obsolete/lost/damaged. YUDeeAAa is the third person singular present tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means made arrive loss/damage/obsoleteness which can mean make lost.
Eemanakum: Your safety (in GOD)
Note: The root is Hamza-M-N and it means safety. EEMAN is safety and here it is the safety in GOD.
Inna: This is for stress
Allaha: The GOD
Bialnnasi: by the people
Note: BI means in and by and other meanings depending on the location. ALNAS is derived from the root Hamza-N-S and it means socializing. ALNAS are the society or the people
Laraoofun: Compassionate
Note: La is mentioned for stress. RAOOFUN is derived from the root R-Hamza-F and it means compassion. RAOOF means compassionate.
Raheemun: merciful
Note: the root is R-Ha-M and it means womb. RAHEEM means womb like and that is in abstract means merciful as well as all the positive attributes of the womb.

Salaam all and have a great day


Hussein