2:145

Salaam all,

This is 2:145
وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ وَمَا بَعْضُهُم بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَاً لَّمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Walain atayta allatheena ootoo alkitaba bikulli ayatin ma tabiAAoo qiblataka wama anta bitabiAAin qiblatahum wama baAAduhum bitabiAAin qiblata baAAdin walaini ittabaAAta ahwaahum min baAAdi ma jaaka mina alAAilmi innaka ithan lamina aththalimeen

The Aya says:
And if you brought to the people of the book every sign, they won’t follow your direction of facing, and you are not following their direction of facing, and some of them are not following the direction of some. And if you followed the footsteps of their empty desires after what came to you of knowledge, then you are of the misplacers of right and wrong.

My personal note:
This Aya continues the theme about the QIBLA and that is understood as the direction that we face in our prayers as muslims. The Aya mentions that the people of the book will not follow it even when the signs of proof are presented to them. It also mentions that they will have disagreements with each other.

Here, the QIBLA gets the feeling of concrete as in direction of prayer, but it also has with it an abstract meaning as in the direction to find GOD, or towards GOD, or in trying to get the acceptance of GOD. As if saying that each group will have it’s own way of reaching GOD

The AYA ends up informing the prophet that he will make a mistake if he followed the directions of others, especially after the knowledge that he received.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Walain: And if
Atayta: you made come to
Note: the root is Hamza-T-Y and it means coming as in coming with determination. ATAYTA is the second person singular past tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means made come to.
Allatheena: Those that
Ootoo: were brought
Note: the root is Hamza-T-Y and it means coming with determination. The concrete word is for the water that flows in a place where it did not rain, therefore suggesting that the water came from somewhere else. OOTOO is a third person plural past tense of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means literally were brought/something was made to come to them.
Alkitaba: The book/the process of writing
Note: The root is K-T-B and it means writing. ALKITAB is anything that is involved in writing. Therefore is the process of writing with all that is involved in it. This term often is used to mean the people that were given a book of GOD as the Christians and the jews but also the Gnostics and may extend to others as well.
Bikulli: With all/by all/with every
Note: BI means with or by. KULL is derived from the root K-L-L and it means the parts that make the whole together. Therefore it means all at times and each or every at others depending on the situation. Here, it means every.
Ayatin: Sign
Note: the root is Hamza-Y-H and it means sign. AYATIN is a sign.
Ma: Not
tabiAAoo: follow footsteps of
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or following behind. TABiAAOO is the third person plural past tense of a verb that is derived from the same root. This verb means arrive following literally and that means follow footsteps or just follow.
Qiblataka: Your direction of facing/your direction of acceptance
Note: the root is Qaf-B-L and it means front. QIBLATA is fronting and that means front facing front. This means direction of acceptance. KA means your
Wama: And not
Anta: You
bitabiAAin: follower of footsteps of
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or following behind. TABiAAIN means follower of footsteps.
Qiblatahum: their direction of facing/their direction of acceptance
Note: the root is Qaf-B-L and it means front. QIBLATA is fronting and that means front facing front. This means direction of acceptance. HUM means their.

Wama: And not
baAAduhum: Some of them
Note: the root is B-Ain-Dhad and it means some. BaAAD means some. HUM means them.
bitabiAAin: follower of footsteps of
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or following behind. TABiAAIN means follower of footsteps.
Qiblata: direction of facing/ direction of acceptance
Note: the root is Qaf-B-L and it means front. QIBLATA is fronting and that means front facing front. It also leaves the meaning of direction of acceptance since we give our front to what we accept.
baAAdin: Some
Note: the root is B-Ain-Dhad and it means some. BaAAD means some.
Walaini: And if
ittabaAAta: you followed footsteps of
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or following behind. ITTABaAATA is the second person singular past tens of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb literally means made yourself arrive following footsteps. This all means you followed footsteps.
Ahwaahum: Their empty desires
Note: The root is H-W-Y and it means what is between the earth and the sky. This is then the air that we breath and it is also considered emptiness as well as something that cannot hold weight. AHWAAHUM means their airs or empty desires in an abstract fashion.
Min: From
baAAdi: After
Note: the root is B-Ain-D and it means further in time or place. In time this means later or after.
Ma: What
Jaaka: Came to you
Note: the root is J-Y-Hamza and it means coming. JAA is the third person past tense singular of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means came. KA means to you.
Mina: of/from
alAAilmi: knowledge
Note: The root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing. ALAAiLM means the knowledge
Innaka: You (Singular with stress)
Ithan: then/therefore
Lamina: Of/from (with stress)
Aththalimeen: The misplacers of right and wrong.
Note: the root is THA-L-M and it means darkening for the concrete and misplacing right and wrong for the abstract. That is because people misplace right and wrong in darkness.

Salaam all and have a great day

Hussein