4:171

Salaam all,

This is 4:171
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لاَ تَغْلُواْ فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ عَلَى اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْحَقِّ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ فَآمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ ثَلاَثَةٌ انتَهُواْ خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ إِنَّمَا اللّهُ إِلَـهٌ وَاحِدٌ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَات وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ وَكِيلاً
Ya ahla alkitabi la taghloo fee deenikum wala taqooloo AAala Allahi illa alhaqqa innama almaseehu AAeesa ibnu maryama rasoolu Allahi wakalimatuhu alqaha ila maryama waroohun minhu faaminoo biAllahi warusulihi wala taqooloo thalathatun intahoo khayran lakum innama Allahu ilahun wahidun subhanahu an yakoona lahu waladun lahu ma fee alssamawati wama fee alardi wakafa biAllahi wakeelan

The Aya says:
O people of the book do not inflate in your religion and do not say upon Allah except the binding truth. The Messiah Jesus son of Mary was none other than Allah’s envoy and His statement, He casted it towards Mary including a life giving breath from Him (Allah). Therefore, make your selves safe in Allah and His envoys and do not say three. Desist, it is better for you. Allah is none other than one worthy of worship. He is above having a child of his. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient of a guarantor.

My personal note:
The issue of His statement needs to be explained. The word KALIMATUN is the product of the action of speech. This product is the word or statement that comes from it. It also can be the product of those actions that come from those statements. In the case of Jesus, the Islamic understanding is that He is the product of Allah’s statement. The statement is BE and IT IS.

The other term is ROOHUN MINHU and this I translated as a “life giving breath from HIM”. This, to me, is the closest meaning to how I understood the aya to be saying.

The Aya is also adamant about the denying of trinity, including the idea of a one divided by three.


Translation of the transliterated words:

Ya: O you
Ahla: people of
Note: the root is Hamza-H-L and one concrete meaning of the word is the fat that surrounds the back of the animal. It is used conceptually to mean family or any of the people that are closely associated with the entity being discussed. This could be because they are like the fat as in they engulf and protect and so forth and gain protection at the same time. AHLA means people of or family of.
Alkitabi: the book
Note: the root K-T-B and it means putting things together as in grouping the herd together or closing the lips or writing (the most common use), because in writing, one puts the letters and the ideas together. ALKITABI means, the process of writing or the book or anything related to it from the ideas to the ink and paper to the place where all is put together.
La: not/ do not
Taghloo: exaggerate/ inflate/ overstep
Note: the root is GHain-L-W and it means in concrete when the water boils over. Conceptually, it is used for things that become inflated and overstepping their usual place and for higher price than normal. TAGHLOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of inflating or overstepping the object (Fee Deenikum= in your religion/law/obligation to God) is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural). LA TAGHLOO is an order not to overstep or inflate and exaggerate.
Fee: in
Deenikum: your religion/law/ obligation to God
Note: the root is D-Y-N and it means debt or law or religion. What groups them together is the concept of obligation, since religion is the obligation of man towards God. DEENI is obligation of or religion of, with religion being the obligation of man towards God. In this context, KUM means plural you.

Wala: and not/ and do not
Taqooloo: say (plural you)/ communicate
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. TAQOOLOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of saying or communicating is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
AAala: upon/ on
Allahi: Allah
Illa: except/ if not
Alhaqqa: the binding right/ truth
Note: ALHAQQ is derived from the root Ha-Qaf-Qaf and it means binding right where right means correct as well s what is due to one person (rights and obligations). ALHAQQ is the binding right or binding truth.
Innama: it is indeed non other
Note: this term INNAMA means that everything is untrue about a subject except what is coming next.
Almaseehu: The messiah the Messiah/ the anointed one
Note: the root is M-S-Ha and it means swipe one surface opposite another or rub. It could also mean anoint. ALMASEEHA means the Messiah or the anointed one or rubbed one.
AAeesa: Jesus
ibnu: son of
Maryama: Mary/ Miriam
Rasoolu: messenger of/ envoy of
Note: RASOOLU is derived from the root R-S-L and it means to envoy someone or a group of people or animals. The concrete word is RASL and it means a group of people or animals that were sent by their owners or senders. RASOOLU means the envoy or the messenger of.

Allahi: Allah
Wakalimatuhu: and his statement/ including his statement/ product of his statement
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. KALIMATUHU is derived from the root K-L-M and it means wound or opening of the skin and that is the concrete word. It is also used to mean words or statements because those are the products of the opening of the mouth, which is an opening of the skin. Here it is used for word or statement or the product of the word or statement. KALIMATU is the product of the action of speech and therefore covers the words or statements or the products of those words or statements of. HU means him and it points to Allah.
Alqaha: He casted her/it
Note: the root is L-Qaf-Y and it means receiving as a concept which would be understood more specifically according to the sentence. Concrete uses of the word are a female that gets pregnant easily, therefore she received the sperm well. It is also used for the birds that hunt because they receive the prey easily and so forth. ALQA is an action that is completed. It means the action of making the object (HA= her and it points to the word or statement) received was made to happen by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah).
Ila: towards
Maryama: Mary/ Miriam
Waroohun: and product of breath/ spirit/ life
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. ROOHUN is derived from the root R-Y-Ha and it means breath or breeze. ROOH is breath, but it also carries the meaning of life giving breath or the product of that life giving breath. ROOHUN means spirit soul or basically life.
Minhu: from him (Allah)
Faaminoo: therefore make yourself safe (in Allah and his messenger)
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. AMINOO is derived from the root Hamza-M-N and it means safe or safety. AMINOO is an order or a request that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: make yourselves safe or make yourselves trust.
biAllahi: by Allah/ 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

Warusulihi: and his messengers/ envoys
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. RUSULIHI is derived from the root R-S-L and it means to envoy someone or a group of people or animals. The concrete word is RASL and it means a group of people or animals that were sent by their owners or senders. RUSULI means messengers of and is the plural of Rasul who is the one that is sent and is used to mean the messenger because he was sent by the sender to the receiver. HI means his and it points to God.

Wala: and not/ and do not
Taqooloo: say (plural you)/ communicate
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. TAQOOLOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of saying or communicating is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
Thalathatun: three
Note: the root is root Th-L-Th and it means three. THALTHATUN means three.
Intahoo: make yourselves stop/ desist
Note: the root is N-H-Y and it means stopping or ending or desisting. This then takes different form according to the plane of thought of the sentence. INTAHOO is an order or a demand addressed to a group. It means: make your selves stop or desist.
Khayran: good/ choice/better
Note: the root is KH-Y-R and it means choice. It is also understood as good or as better, because one would chose the good over the bad. KHAYRAN means: good or best choice and so on. In this context, it takes the meaning of better.
Lakum: to you/ for you (plural)
Innama: it is indeed non other
Note: this term INNAMA means that everything is untrue about a subject except what is coming next.
Allahu: Allah
Ilahun: a God/ an entity worthy of worship
Note: the root is Hamza-L-H and it means God or one who is worthy of worship. ILAHUN means a God or an entity worthy of worship.
Wahidun: one
Note: the root is W-Ha-D and it means one. WAHIDUN means one
Subhanahu: Glorified is He/ exalted is He/ way above
Note: the root is S-B-Ha and it gives the concrete meaning of swimming above the water or any smooth unhindered motion above an entity or a surface. When it is used for God, it carries the meaning of God being above any entity and unhindered by it. Basically what Glorification or exaltation of God constitutes. In this case, it also carries the meaning of being above and beyond what comes next.
An; that
Yakoona: will be/ happen to be
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. YAKOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being is happening or will be happening by the subject (third personal singular). This in turn means, in this context: He will be or will happen to be
Lahu: to Him/ belong to Him
Waladun: child
Note: the root is W-L-D and it means giving birth or conceiving. WALADUN is the products of giving birth or conceiving.
Lahu: to Him/ belong to Him
Ma: what
Fee: in
Alssamawati: the aboves / the heavens/ the beyond the earth
Note: the root is S-M-W and it means rising. This word is used to mean many things that are related to that meaning. One of the meanings is name because when a person’s name is called, he or she would rise and respond. ALSSAMAWATI are the aboves or what are above, that is the skies or the heavens or any entity from the atmosphere to beyond that.
Wama: and what
Fee: in
alardi: and the earth
Note: ALARDI is derived from the root Hamza-R-Dhad and it means earth or land. ALARDI is the earth/ the land.
Wakafa: and sufficient
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. KAFA is derived from the root K-F-W and it means meeting the challenge or the need in any way as in having done enough to meet that challenge and so forth. In this context, it takes the meaning of being sufficient.
biAllahi: by Allah/ 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
Wakeelan: guarantor
Note: the root is W-K-L and it means entrusting a matter to another, or trusting the guarantee or guardianship of another. WAKEEL is the guarantor which includes takes care of matter to completion and also protection and so on.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein