5:21

Salaam all,

This is 5:21
يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الأَرْضَ المُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَلاَ تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَى أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ
Ya qawmi odkhuloo alarda almuqaddasata allatee kataba Allahu lakum wala tartaddoo AAala adbarikum fatanqaliboo khasireena

The Aya says:
O my people, enter the holy land that Allah had written for you and do not make yourself turn backwards so you become flipped into losers.

My personal note:
The term: “The holy land that Allah had written for you” is a term that requires some elaboration since it enters in the politics of today. Had written can carry either of two meanings or a combination of the two:

1- Documentation and reporting.
2- A mandate.

In this context it is documentation of what was to happen. If it is to be taken as a mandate then one would understand it as a ruling binding on the Israelites of Moses to work on entering the land. Both meanings are potentially correct. The question then arises: If it is a mandate then is this mandate applicable for today? And if so, who are the people of Moses of today? And the answer is to be given from a Qur’anic perspective:

1- The Qur’an documents a more encompassing statement in 21:105 that the land/Earth will be inherited by the righteous servants of Allah.
2- The prophet Muhammad indicated clearly in the hadeeths that we (the followers of the message of the Qur’an” are the inheritors of all the prophets including Moses and including any ruling that is still applicable for today. So, if it is a mandate to enter that land and if the mandate is still standing then it is now mandated on the followers of the message of the Qur’an.
3- This is also in the Qur’an where we are not supposed to separate and differentiate between one and another prophet, may Allah’s peace be upon them all.

So, this is a little elaboration in case there was a mandate to enter the land and is still applicable today. However, if the writing is just documentation then it again was documented to be for the people of Moses of then and for the people of Moses now and the followers of the Qur’an will certainly say that they are the followers of Moses of today. This is the understanding of the Muslims of the past and the Muslims of today.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Ya: O
Qawmi: my people
Note: QAWMI is derived from the root Qaf-Y-M and it means standing or standing upright. QAWM are the people that stand together and that makes the group or people or nation, basically, any group of people that stand together or form a group. QAWMI means people of mine of my people in this context.
Odkhuloo: enter
Note: the root is D-KH-L and it means entering. ODKHULOO is an order or a request addressed to a group of people. It means: enter.
alarda: the land/ the earth
Note: the root is Hamza-R-Dhad and it means land or earth. AlARDA is the land or the earth.

Almuqaddasata: that was made holy/ pure/ cleansed
Note: the root is Qaf-D-S and it means pure or cleaned with water. It also means holy in some sense or another. ALMUQADDASATI means: the one that was made holy or pure or cleansed.
Allatee: which
Kataba: He wrote
Note: the root is K-T-B and it means putting together of things or beings and so forth. It is understood as writing because writing is the putting together of letters, words and ideas. KATABA is an action that is completed. It means: writing happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah). Writing can take one of two meanings: one is decree and the other is the meaning of pre-knowledge/documentation but not necessarily a decree or it can be both.
Allahu: Allah
Lakum: to you/ for you
Wala: and not
Tartaddoo: you make yourselves go back/ you make yourselves apostate
Note: the root is R-D-D and it means: making an entity return to a point of beginning. This is the general conceptual meaning and it takes meanings of repelling or other forms of “making return” that are dictated by the context of the text. TARTADDOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the making of oneself return to their point of starting is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural). In this context, it talks about going to non or lesser belief and so on.

AAala: upon
Adbarikum: your behinds/ backwards
Note: the root is D-B-R and it means the end of an entity in a conceptual manner. This could be the behind of the entity or it could be the conclusion of a matter or business and so forth. ADBARIKUM means: your behinds. In this context, it is talking about moving backwards as opposed to forward.
Fatanqaliboo: so you (plural) become flipped / turned upside down
Note: FA means therefore or so or then. TANQALIBOO is derived from the root Qaf-L-B and it means turning 180 degrees or upside down. The word is used for heart, because it is the organ that changes it’s moods often. TANQALIBOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means the action of flipping or turning upside down is happening or will be happening to the object (second person plural) by an undeclared subject.
Khasireena: losers
Note: the root is KH-S-R and it means to lose. KHASIREEN means losers.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein