Salaam all,
This is 5:31
فَبَعَثَ اللّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِي الأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُ كَيْفَ يُوَارِي سَوْءةَ أَخِيهِ قَالَ يَا وَيْلَتَا أَعَجَزْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِثْلَ هَـذَا الْغُرَابِ فَأُوَارِيَ سَوْءةَ أَخِي فَأَصْبَحَ مِنَ النَّادِمِينَ
FabaAAatha Allahu ghuraban yabhathu fee alardi liyuriyahu kayfa yuwaree sawata akheehi qala ya waylata aAAajaztu an akoona mithla hatha alghurabi faowariya sawata akhee faasbaha mina alnnadimeena
The Aya says:
So, Allah sent a crow digging in the earth in order to show him how to cover his brother’s private area. He said: O my sadness. Did I fail to be like that crow so I cover my brother’s private area? So he became amongst the regretful/ the regretting people.
My personal note:
This Aya brings to us the issue that Allah sends to us messages in the simplest forms if we pay attention and be conscious to what happens around us.
Translation of the transliterated words:
FabaAAatha: So He sent
Note: FA means so or therefore or then. BaAAaTHA is derived from the root B-Ain-TH and it means movement from static position as in death or rest. It is also understood as sending. BaAATHA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of sending happened by the subject (first person singular pointing to God).
Allahu: Allah
Ghuraban: a Crow
Note: the word Ghurab means Crow. The root is GHain-R-B and it imeans: the setting sun. Conceptually, it takes then many meanings as in strangeness, moving out of home, unknown, and may be darkness because darkness follows the setting of the sun. This may be the relationship between Crow and the setting of the sun.
Yabhathu: searching/ digging
Note: the root is B-Ha-TH and it means in concrete searching in the dirt for something or to reach an aim. As a concept, it is taken for any search or any digging and manipulation of the earth. YABHATHU is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of digging or searching is happening by the subject (third person singular).
Fee: in/ on
Alardi: the land/ the earth
Note: the root is Hamza-R-Dhad and it means land or earth. AlARDI is the land or the earth.
Liyuriyahu: to show him/ in order to show him
Note: LI means to or in order to. YURIYAHU is derived from the root R-Hamza-Y and it means viewing or seeing. YURIYAHU is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making the object (HU=him and pointing to the murderer) see is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular pointing to the crow).
Kayfa: how
Yuwaree: he covers/ hides
Note: the root is W-R-W or W-R-Y and it means to be under/behind the skin. The concrete word is WARY and it means abscess in the inside of the body. The word has a conceptual meaning of something hidden or covered and so on so that it is not clearly apparent to be seen right away. YUWAREE is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of covering or hiding the object (SAWATA AKHEEHI= his brother’s privates) is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular) in an interactive manner. The interactive manner is the issue of working with the privates and the earth and so on.
Sawata: private part of/vulnerable part of
Note: the root is S-Y-Hamza or S-W-HAMZA and it means hated word or deed. It can also conceptually mean ugly or vulnerable. All the meanings are linked somehow by one concept. This word then means different things according to the plane of thought that is being talked about. SAWATA in this context points to the part of the body that is embarrassing to reveal.
Akheehi: his brother
Note: the root is Hamza-KH and it means brother. AKHEE means brother of. HI means him
Qala: he said/ communicated
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). This, in turn means: He said or responded or communicated.
Ya: O
Waylata: my suffering/ sadness
Note: the root is W-Y-L and it means sadness and suffering and embarrassment. WAYLATA means my sadness/ suffering and so on. It is a term to be used when something bad is happening.
aAAajaztu: did I fail?/ Did I push away
Note: the root is Ain-Z-J and it means push away. In concrete it is used for pushing the dirt away and so on. Conceptually, it is used for inability or failure as well as for pushing away. aAAaZAJTU is a question mark: Did I fail? Push away?
An: that
Akoona: I happen to be / I be
Note: AKOONA is derived from the root K-W-N and it means being. AKOONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. Here it is in future sense. It means: The action of being will happen by the object (first person singular). It therefore means: I be.
Mithla: similar/like
Note: the root M-TH-L and it means similitude or similar. MITHLA means similitude of or similar to. Conceptually, it can also be understood as the example of or equal to.
Hatha: this
Alghurabi: the crow
Note: the word Ghurab means Crow. The root is GHain-R-B and it imeans: the setting sun. Conceptually, it takes then many meanings as in strangeness, moving out of home, unknown, and may be darkness because darkness follows the setting of the sun. This may be the relationship between Crow and the setting of the sun.
Faowariya: So I bury/ hide/cover
Note: Fa means therefore or so or then. OWARIYA is derived from the root W-R-W or W-R-Y and it means to be under/behind the skin. The concrete word is WARY and it means abscess in the inside of the body. The word has a conceptual meaning of something hidden or covered and so on so that it is not clearly apparent to be seen right away. OWARIYA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of covering or hiding the object (SAWATA AKHEE= my brother’s privates) is happening or will be happening by the subject (first person singular) in an interactive manner. The interactive manner is the issue of working with the privates and the earth and so on.
Sawata: private part of/vulnerable part of
Note: the root is S-Y-Hamza or S-W-HAMZA and it means hated word or deed. It can also conceptually mean ugly or vulnerable. All the meanings are linked somehow by one concept. This word then means different things according to the plane of thought that is being talked about. SAWATA in this context points to the part of the body that is embarrassing to reveal.
Akhee: my brother
Note: the root is Hamza-KH and it means brother. AKHEE means brother of mine.
Faasbaha: then he became
Note: FA means therefore or so or then. ASBAHA is derived from the root Sad-B-Ha and it means coming of the morning in concrete. The term can also mean become. On a conceptual level, the two meanings are related since the night becomes day and so forth. ASBAHA is a completed action. It means: the action of becoming happened by the subject (third person singular) to the subject.
Mina: from/ amongst
Alnnadimeena: the regretful
Note: the root is N-D-M and it takes the meaning of regret or feeling sorry for something that the person had done. One concrete derivative of the root is NADEEM and that is the companion when drinking alcohol. The relatioinship with regret could then be that regret is often a companion to drinking alcohol and so on. ALNNADIMEENA are the regretful people.
Salaam all and have a great day.
Hussein
6 comments:
Assalaamu `aleykum brother Hussein,
Regarding your translation of, and comments on, 5:30 and 5:31
1. from 5: 30 “…this sin where it was the self that made it acceptable and agreeable.
This serves as a reminder that we need to keep close consciousness of our own selves because it can make bad things look more agreeable….”
The point that the human mind and self can make anything agreeable and right accords well with my experience with myself as well as with the selves of others.
2. from 5:31
(a) “…So, Allah sent a crow digging in the earth in order to show him how to cover his brother’s private area. He said: O my sadness. Did I fail to be like that crow so I cover my brother’s private area?…”
“…SAWATA in this context points to the part of the body that is embarrassing to reveal….”
The traditional interpretation of this aya is that the teaching was about burial, i.e. covering the whole corpse. You must have some reason to suppose that the reference is to a “private area” of the body. The discrepancy is large and may benefit from some explanation of why you choose to differ from the traditional interpretation.
(b) “….the issue that Allah sends to us messages in the simplest forms if we pay attention and be conscious to what happens around us….”
We know that many people look for and find “signs” in natural happenings.
Speculating further about the relevance of this part of the story to the question of “signs” or messages from Allah conveyed thru birds and animals:
There is an Indic folk tale which suggests that the black bird (crow/raven) has another from - that of a wise sage; that that particular appearance to the son of Adam was just a sort of incarnation.
Another related point is that, in the present day world context in which there are many more than a just a few human beings around, if an individual sees something which, because of its power on his/her mind, is taken by that individual to be a “sign” (also apparently called “aya” in Arabic) he/she needs to take another step: i.e. to go find someone with whom the sign can be discussed, and a spoken or written, i.e. worded conclusion, arrived at jointly. This is because some of these purpoted “signs” can be interpreted in more than one way.
It may also be noted that techniques and methods of divination using bird behavior as the basis is reported to have been used among Arabs, as well as many other peoples, in premodern times. Perhaps some people still practise those arts.
I myself like to spend time watching birds (not for divination purposes). Birds are inspirational creatures. Watching them is a relaxing past time.
Salam,
I was wondering if I could use some of what you write in this here blog for my own blog.
I understand if you would rather I did not. However if you allow it I will always mention the source.
I want to thank you for keeping this blog. I come back often to read and learn.
Thank you,
Houda
Salaam sister,
Please feel free to borrow anything from this blog. It is open to all.
Brother Muhammad thanks for your question and I will in Sha Allah respond by tomorrow morning.
Hussein
Thank you very much.
Salam
Salaam brother Muhammad,
Thanks for sharing and for your important points. Regarding SAWATA, the Aya is talking about burrying the brother but the term SAWA refers to something that would be inappropriate to expose or reveal and is mostly used for the private parts.
The term was used in the Qur'an to mean private parts in the story of Adam and his spouse when they ate from the tree. This understanding, that SAWA means private parts, is agreed upon by all speakers of Arabic as well as the traditional tafseers. The way this term is then taken to mean bury can be through one of two ways:
1- The term SAWA is talking about the private part as being of particular importance to cover in the burial but does not exclude covering the whole body.
2- The concept of SAWA as something that is best kept covered covers the private parts for the living humans. For the dead Humans the SAWA is then extended to the whole body. Indeed, it is not proper to keep dead bodies exposed.
I hope this addresses your question and take care brother. Thank you so much for asking this question because it is important to address it.
Hussein
Salaam brother Hussein.
Thanks for your answer. It is indeed a revelation, to me.
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