5:4

Salaam all,

This is 5:4
يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَمَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ الْجَوَارِحِ مُكَلِّبِينَ تُعَلِّمُونَهُنَّ مِمَّا عَلَّمَكُمُ اللّهُ فَكُلُواْ مِمَّا أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاذْكُرُواْ اسْمَ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ
Yasaloonaka matha ohilla lahum qul ohilla lakumu alttayyibatu wama AAallamtum mina aljawarihi mukallibeena tuAAallimoonahunna mimma AAallamakumu Allahu fakuloo mimma amsakna AAalaykum waothkuroo isma Allahi AAalayhi waittaqoo Allaha inna Allaha sareeAAu alhisabi

The Aya says:
They ask you (O Muhammad) what was made permitted for them. Say, the good was made permitted for you including what you taught amongst the animals of hunt, trained to catch but not eat. You (plural) teach them from what Allah taught you, then eat of what they held upon you and mention Allah’s name/appellation upon it. And act consciously of Allah. Allah is indeed quick in the accounting.

My personal note:
There are several issues that come to mind. The word HALA comes in here and it’s range of meaning covers two main areas: enjoined as in encouraged or ordered to do and the other end of the spectrum is permitted. The meaning of the word covers both ends of the spectrum as well as what is in between. The context sometimes limits the meaning to one end or the other. Here, the question that was raised is what was permitted of food or drink as I understand it. The answer is “the good”.

“The good” then encompasses everything that is not forbidden by Allah or by His prophet nor clearly proven harmful of itself. One thing that was mentioned in particular is the hunting by animals or birds. This is important in order to make a big distinction that if those animals killed the hunt, then it is still permitted and it is not considered “dead” which is included in the categories of forbidden food.

The term Amsakna Aaalaykum is translated as “they held upon you”. This term carries two meanings at the same time:
1- They caught the animal in question to give us.
2- They held themselves in control so as not to eat the hunt themselves or eat part of the hunt. This is in fact the point of training those animals.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Yasaloonaka: they ask you (singular)
Note: the root is S-Hamza-L and it means asking. It could be asking a question and it could be asking for help and so forth. YASALOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of asking is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural) to the object (KA= singular you).
Matha: what
Ohilla: was permitted/ enjoined
Note: OHILLA is derived from the root Ha-L-L and it means settling. Conceptually, this settling can be in time or place of quality as in settling or solving a problem, a knot and it can extend to acceptable or enjoined words or deeds. This sentence gives the context of acceptable or enjoined or allowed. OHILLA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (MATHA= what) permitted or enjoined happened by an undeclared subject.

Lahum: to them or for them
Qul: Say/ communicate/respond
Note: the root is Qaf-W-L and it means saying or communicating. QUL is an order or a request addressed to a singular. It means: say or communicate.
Ohilla: was permitted/ enjoined
Note: OHILLA is derived from the root Ha-L-L and it means settling. Conceptually, this settling can be in time or place of quality as in settling or solving a problem, a knot and it can extend to acceptable or enjoined words or deeds. This sentence gives the context of acceptable or enjoined or allowed. OHILLA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (ALTTAYYIBATU= the good) permitted or enjoined happened by an undeclared subject.
Lakumu: to you (plural)/ for you
Alttayyibatu: the good things
Note: the root is TTa-Y-B and it means good according the plane of thought. Conceptually, it is used for any good entity or any entity that is good in it’s nature and effect. Religiously speaking, this suggests that things that are allowed by the religion are good for us, while things that are forbidden are not good for us. ALTTAYYIBATU means: the good things.

Wama: and what/ including what
AAallamtum: you (plural) taught
Note:. AAaLLAMTUM is derived from the root Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. AAaLAMTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (mina Aljawwarihi= of the animals of prey) know happened by the subject (second person plural).
Mina: of/ from/ amongst
Aljawarihi: the animals capable of injury/ animals of hunt
Note: the root is J-R-HA and it means injury caused by a sharp object as knife nail or tooth. ALJAWARIHI are the animals or birds that are capable of inflicting injury. This would be the animals of prey or hunt.
Mukallibeena: training to hunt but not eat/ training them restraint.
Note: the root is K-L-B and it means dog or any animal or bird that can kill other animals. MUKALLIBEEN means training those animals to hunt but not eat.

tuAAallimoonahunna: you (plural) teach them
Note: the root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. TuAAaLLIMUHUNNA is an action that is being complete or will be completed. It means: the action of making the object (HUNNA=them) know is happening of will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
Mimma: of what/ from what
AAallamakumu: He taught you
Note: the root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. AAaLLAMAKUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (KUMU= plural you) know happened by the subject (first person singular pointing to Allah).
Allahu: Allah
Fakuloo: then eat
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. KULOO is derived from the root Hamza-K-L and it means eating. This will then take different meanings depending on the different planes of thought that a person has. KULOO is an order or request addressed to a group. It means: Eat.
Mimma: from what/ of what
Amsakna: they held onto
Note: the root is M-S-K and it means skin or leather. This is the concrete meaning of the word. The concept is holding onto something or someone, very much as the skin is held together or as the skin is the organ of the body that is held usually. AMSAKNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of holding onto the object (Ma=what that just preceded) happened by the subject (third person plural feminine pointing to the animals/birds of prey male or female). Holding onto the animal means two things one is holding the animal and the other is withholding eating from it.

AAalaykum: upon you (plural)
Waothkuroo: and mention and remember
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. OTHKUROO is derived from the root TH-K-R and it means mention and remember, at the same time. The concrete word is something running on the tongue as if speaking it. Another concrete word is male or the male organ. The relationship between the two is not very clear and they can be different words that share the sound but have different root. It could be that the male is considered the active organ and that memory is an active process, but that is only a theory. OTHKUROO is a demand or request addressing a group. It means: mention and remember at the same time.

Isma: name of/ appellation of
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 or appellation because when a the name is called, he or she would rise and respond. The root is used here for name or appellation of. ISMA means name of/ or appellation of.
Allahi: Allah
AAalayhi: upon him (the food)
Waittaqoo: and act consciously of
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 ITTAQOO is derived from the root W-Qaf-W and it means guarding or protecting. Since the best way to guard is through consciousness and action according to consciousness. ITTAQOO is a demand addressing a group of people. It means: make yourselves act consciously of.
Allaha: Allah
Inna: indeed
Allaha: Allah
sareeAAu: fast/ quick
Note: the root is S-R-Ain and it means quick and fast. The concrete words related to this root include the neck and the back of the horse where one taps to make them go faster. SAReeAAu means fast or quick.
Alhisabi: The calculation/ the measure/the accounting
Note: the root is Ha-S-B and it means calculating from all the aspects of it. HISAB is the calculation. The calculation means the end product of an action or the balance of a transaction and so forth.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein