5:23

Salaam all,

This is 5:23
قَالَ رَجُلاَنِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا ادْخُلُواْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْبَابَ فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمُوهُ فَإِنَّكُمْ غَالِبُونَ وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُواْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
Qala rajulani mina allatheena yakhafoona anAAama Allahu AAalayhima odkhuloo AAalayhimu albaba faitha dakhaltumoohu fainnakum ghaliboona waAAala Allahi fatawakkaloo in kuntum mumineena

The Aya says:
Two men, from amongst those who have fear, upon the two Allah bestowed his favor, said: Enter upon them through the gate so when you enter it, then you are indeed winning, and upon Allah entrust your guarantee if you happened to be those who make themselves safe (in Allah).

My personal note:
The issue of fear that is mentioned here is important for a discussion. One question is that the Aya does not specify fear of what in here. However, the context may suggest two things:

1- Fear of the consequences of their actions or inactions.
2- Fear of God as in God holding them accountable for their sins or not accepting of their good deeds.

The two types of fear are correct and the language of the Aya supports both understandings.

This brings the issue of the question that is always asked: Do people believe in Allah out of fear? The answer to this is that fear is present and should be present but other things should be present as well to make for the balanced belief and trust and safety in Allah. Those are hope in Allah as well as Love for Allah. There are many examples in the Qur’an that mention the importance of the three. The Love is evident in the word IMAN itself because one cannot feel safe in an entity without having love for that entity. Each one of those components alone can lead to a form of belief that is unbalanced and the balanced belief system is built on the three together where each keeps the other components from going too far.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Qala: said
Note: QALA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QALA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (third person singular or plural). This, in turn means: He or they said or responded or communicated.
Rajulani: two men
Note: the root is R-J-L and it means legs. The word also means men depending on the situation. One possible link could be because when men and women are in the caravan and the ability to ride is limited, then the men will be on their legs, while the women will be riding the camels or so forth. RAJULAN means in this context: two men.
Mina: from/ of
Allatheena: those who
Yakhafoona: fear/ have fear
Note: the root is KH-W-F and it means fear. YAKHAFOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of fearing happened by the subject (third person plural) of the object (undeclared but it points to either the fear of the consequence of their actions or God).
anAAama: He bestowed favor/ softness
Note: the root is N-Ain-M and it means soft in the concrete sense. Conceptually, it means anything that can be understood as soft as in soft to touch and soft in treatment and soft life as in a life that does not have much hardship. ANAAaMA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of bestowing favor or softness upon the object (The two men) happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah).
Allahu: Allah
AAalayhima: upon the two of them
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.
AAalayhimu: upon them
Albaba: the gate/ the door
Note: the root is B-W-B and it means door or gate. ALBABA means the door or the gate.
Faitha: so when and if/ when/ if
Dakhaltumoohu: you (plural) entered it
Note: the root is D-KH-L and it means entering. DAKHALTUM is an action that is completed or will be completed. However, here it is conditional because it came after the conditional ITHA which is a time conditional. It means: if and when entering the object (HU=him and points to the gate) happened by the subject (second person plural).
Fainnakum: then you (plural) indeed
Ghaliboona: winning
Note: the root is Gh-L-B and it means winning or defeating. Conceptually, it is used for difficulty imposed by an entity upon another. GHALIBOONA here means winning or defeating.
waAAala: and upon
Allahi: Allah
fatawakkaloo: then put your guarantee/ let you (plural) entrust guarantee
Note: Fa means then or therefore or so. TAWAKKALOO is derived from the root W-K-L and it means entrusting a matter to another, or trusting the guarantee or guardianship of another. TAWAKKALOO is an order for action that is addressing a plural. It means: let you (plural) entrust your guarantee upon the object (Allah which just preceded).
In: if
Kuntum: you (plural) happened to be/ were
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. KUNTUM is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means: the action of being happened by the subject (second person plural). This in turn means: you (plural) happened to be
Mumineena: ones who made themselves safe
Note: the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. MUMINEENA means ones who make themselves safe. The suggestion is making themselves safe in Allah and trust in Allah.


Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein