Waanzalna ilayka alkitaba bialhaqqi musaddiqan lima bayna yadayhi mina alkitabi wamuhayminan AAalayhi faohkum baynahum bima anzala Allahu wala tattabiAA ahwaahum AAamma jaaka mina alhaqqi likullin jaAAalna minkum shirAAatan waminhajan walaw shaa Allahu lajaAAalakum ommatan wahidatan walakin liyabluwakum fee ma atakum faistabiqoo alkhayrati ila Allahi marjiAAukum jameeAAan fayunabbiokum bima kuntum feehi takhtalifoona
The Aya says:
And We brought down to you (singular) the book by the binding truth, declaring true to what is between his hands of the book and witnessing upon him. Therefore rule between by what Allah brought down and do not join and follow their desires/ bias away from what came to you of the binding truth. To each amongst you we made a path including a clear path. And if Allah willed He would have made you a one nation, but in order to test you in what he brought to you. So, race to good deeds. Towards Allah is your return, all, then He will inform you in what you happened to be disputing.
My personal note:
The term Muhayminan carries the meaning of witness and arbiter and protector at the same time. So, when the book that came to Muhammad (pbuh) is declared as muhayminan upon the book. This carries the notion that this book is the ultimate arbiter in case of dispute or potential misunderstanding of the other books as in the Old or New testament. It declares what truly came from God vs what truly is not from God vs what is neutral.
The term “to each amongst you is a path including clear path” covers the two words here are Shiraa which means: the path to the water and this conceptually covers any well trodden path to Allah including to Allah’s laws and so on. The potential meaning of this statement is that it may have pointed to the fact that the books of God carried different laws that God expected the people to follow while asking all to worship the one God. This is the understanding of most people of tafsir.
The term could also cover each and every person of us that Allah made for this person a clear path to the water. The “water” here could be the Qur’an and Sunna for the Muslim and for whomever the qur’an and Sunna are available. In case they are not available, as in barriers of non exposure or barriers of understanding or barriers of living before their time, then the path is for the best source that will lead the person to God, whether it is the bible or something less significant according to the situation.
Translation of the transliterated terms:
Waanzalna: and We descended/ sent down
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. ANZALNA is derived from the root N-Z-L and it carries the meaning of arrival to stay and descent. One concrete meaning is the descent of the person from his or her horse or camel as they arrive at the place where they plan to stay. ANZALNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making arrive or making descend happened by the subject (third person plural).
Ilayka: towards you (singular pointing to Muhammad pbuh)
Alkitaba: 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. ALKITABA 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.
Bialhaqqi: by the binding truth/ with the binding truth
Note: Bi suggests that what comes after it is either an association with the action, a tool of the action or an object of the action or any combination of the three. If bi serves as an object of the action that it serves as an emphasis of the action. ALHAQQI 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 binding right or binding truth or just right as the context suggests here.
musaddiqan: declaring true
Note: the root is Sad-D-Qaf and it means truth in word or deed. When it is in deed, it takes the shape of charity as the act of ofthe ones who receive it. MUSADDIQAN means declaring true.
Lima: to what
Bayna: between
Yadayhi: his two hands
Note: the root is Y-D and it means hand. It is also used conceptually for anything that shares features or functions of hands or the upper arm. YADAYHI means his two hands.
Mina: 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.
Wamuhayminan: and witness/ arbiter
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. MUHAYMINAN is derived from the root H-M-N and it means witness and arbiter where the arbiter would be the one to let know which is right and wrong and which is final version and so on.
AAalayhi: upon him
Faohkum: then you (singular) rule/judge/ steer
Note: Fa means then or therefore or so. OHKUM is derived from the root Ha-K-M and it means the steer that steers the animal. This word is used for ruling and judging as well as other meanings that contain steering as part of the concept. HAKEEM means wise or the steering. The steering means the entity that steers in the best way possible using the best tools of knowledge, compassion, justice and mercy, and that is wisdom. OHKUM is an order or a request that is addressing an individual. It means: rule or judge or steer.
Baynahum: between them
Bima: by what/ with what/ in what
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. MA means what
Anzala: He made come down/ He made arrive
Note: the root is N-Z-L and it carries the meaning of arrival to stay and descent. One concrete meaning is the descent of the person from his or her horse or camel as they arrive at the place where they plan to stay. ANZALA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making arrive or making descend happened by the subject (third person singular).
Allahu: Allah
Wala: and not
tattabiAA: make yourself (singular) join and follow/ follow
Note: the root is T-B-Ain and it means following footsteps or join and follow footsteps. TATTABiAAa is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making oneself follow footsteps or join and follow footsteps of the object (Ahwaahum= their desires/ biases) is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person singular). LA TATTABiAA is an order or a request not to follow or join and follow.
Ahwaahum: their desires/ their airs/ their insupportable biases
Note: the root is H-W-Y and it means what is between the earth and the sky and that is air and emptiness for the Arabs. Conceptually, it stands for desire because that is associated with air for Arabs. It also can apply to any entity that is not supported by a firm base, including ideas and unsupported biases. AHAWA means airs or biases or desires of. HUM means them.
AAamma: from what/ away from what
Jaaka: came to you (singular)
Note: the root is J-Y-Hamza and it means coming. One concrete word that is derived from this word is the pool where the rain water comes. JAA is an action that is completed and that is derived from the root. It means that the action of coming happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to ALHAQQI= the binding truth, coming up) to the object (KA=singular you)
Mina: of/ from
Alhaqqi: the binding truth/ the binding right
Note: ALHAQQI 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 binding right or binding truth or just right as the context suggests here.
Likullin: to each
Note: Li means to. KULLIN is derived from the root K-L-L and it means the parts put together. This is the concrete and it means all or every or each. It can also be extended conceptually to mean the parts surrounding an entity. KULLIN means every, or each.
jaAAalna: We made/ transformed/ formed
Note: JaAAaLNA is derived from the root J-Ain-L and it means making, forming or transforming something that already exists. Conceptually, it takes the meaning of transformation more often than formation. JaAAaLNA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (minkum= of you (plural)) by the subject (first person plural).
Minkum: of you (plural)/ amongst you
shirAAatan: path/ set of rules
Note: The root is SH-R-Ain and it means in concrete: the well trodden path to the water where the water is plentiful, sustainable and ready to drink. Conceptually, the term is then used for any big road, or a habit/habits that are repeated much of the time. SHIRAATAN means path to the law or set of rules.
Waminhajan: including a clear path
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. MINHAJAN is derived from the root N-H-J and it means the clear and well lit path. MINHAJAN is the clear well lit path.
Walaw: and if (skeptical conditional)
Shaa: He willed/ He entitied
Note: the root is Sh-Y-Hamza and it means entity. SHAA is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means that the action of entitying happened by the subject (third person singular). Therefore it means: He entitied and in this context, it takes the meaning He willed.
Allahu: Allah/God
Note: Allah is the subject of the action that was mentioned earlier SHAA.
lajaAAalakum: then He would have made you (plural)/ transformed you
Note: LAJaAAaLAKUM is derived from the root J-Ain-L and it means making, forming or transforming something that already exists. Conceptually, it takes the meaning of transformation more often than formation. LAJaAAaLAKUM is an action that is completed in response to the conditional. It means: then He would have made you (plural)/ transformed you.
Ommatan: a nation
Note: OMMA is derived from the root Hamza-M-M and it means mother or sources/origin if said as UMM and destination if said as AMM. OMMA means in this context nation and that is because it is a group that have the same origin and is moving to the same destination.
Wahidatan: one
Note: the root is W-Ha-D and it means one. WAHIDATAN means one (feminine and it points to OMMATAN).
Walakin: but instead
Liyabluwakum: in order to test you (plural)
Note: LI means to or in order to. YABLUWAKUM is derived from the root B-L-Y or B-L-W and it means test or testing. YABLUWAKUM is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of testing the object (KUM= plural you) is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular).
Fee: in
Ma: what
Atakum; He brought to you (plural)/ gave you
Note: ATAKUM is derived from the root is Hamza-T-Y and it means in concrete the water that comes from the rain of another land. In concrete it means the coming of something or someone with many of it’s implications. ATAKUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making come of an object (MA= what) to another object (KUM = plural you) happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah).
Faistabiqoo: then make your selves precede/ race
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. ISTABIQOO S is derived from the root S-B-Qaf and it means being ahead in time or place or in a race. Conceptually, it is used for preceding and for racing. ISTABIQOO is an order or a request addressed to a group. It means: be precedent or race.
Alkhayrati: The choices/the good choices/ the good deeds
Note: the root is KH-Y-R and it means good choice or better choice. ALKHAYRAT is the plural of KHAY and therefore the good choices.
Ila: to/ towards
Allahi: Allah
marjiAAukum: your time/place of return/ your return
Note: the root is R-J-Ain and it means returning. MARJiAAuKUM is the place or time of return or both. It can also mean return period, because return will happen in it’s place and it’s time at the same time.
jameeAAan: altogether/ all/collectively
Note: the root is J-M-Ain and it means gather the different parts together or putting things together. JAMeeAAaN means together or all. The context suggests all of it.
Fayunabbiokum: so He informs you (plural)
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. YUNABBIOKUM is derived from the root N-B-Hamza and it means news or informing since the news are meant to inform. YUNABBIO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of making the object (KUM=plural you) informed is happening or going to happen by the subject (third person singular pointing to God).
Bima: by what/ with what/ in what
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. MA means what
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
Feehi:in him
Takhtalifoona: differ/ disagree
Note: the root is KH-L-F and it means behind in time or place or any other plane of thought. For time, it takes the meaning of what happens after or the future. TAKHTALAFOON is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of putting oneself behind oneself is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural). Here, the context of putting oneself behind oneself points to differences that are difficult to reconcile.
Salaam all and have a great day.
Hussein
2 comments:
The cultural idea expressed here as
“Ahwaahum: their desires/ their airs/ their insupportable biases
Note: the root is H-W-Y and it means what is between the earth and the sky and that is air and emptiness for the Arabs. Conceptually, it stands for desire because that is associated with air for Arabs. It also can apply to any entity that is not supported by a firm base, including ideas and unsupported biases. AHAWA means airs or biases or desires of. HUM means them.”
is interesting and points to a possibly big issue affecting non-Arab understanding of the Qur`an in relation to human psychology. The Note suggests a very different mind picture of the basic element air, as in Arabic understanding when compared with the picture available in some other cultures I am familiar with.
In English, for instance air can mean “the look, appearance, or bearing of a person : attitude or action peculiar to or expressive of some personal quality or emotion :” (Websters). Such a sense of “air” related to the meaning of the “spirit” or breath of a person and its derivatives are found in literature as well as in contemporary everyday speech. The modern psychoanalytic use of “personality” and individuality is possibly built on that meaning derived from earlier uses.
The Arabic H-W-Y seems to refer to something not so basic in the human constitution.
In English air is also used as a verb “airing” to mean, “to expose to the air for the purpose of drying or purifying:” (Websters). Houses for instance have to be aired from time to time. The word is also used to mean broadcast, i.e. make open to the public, as in airing one’s views, and by implication to speak or converse.
Another Asian meaning and image of air that has influenced me is from Ayurvedic health related teachings. In Ayurveda books, from ancient times, the picture that is given of air is a leaf that is in the air, above the earth.
This symbol is meaningful to me because in dreams one may see the upper portions of lighted forests, made up of thick spreads of green leaves. This is a picture I see often in my dreams with various actions taking place in the upper layers of the weightless, leafy environment. I have taken such scenes to signify the wanderings of my mind “in the air”.
Only the leaves in the air are made visible, but we assume that they are supported by the firm trunks and the earth on which the tree is rooted, unlike, it seems, in the Arabic sense given in the Note.
It should be noted however that the suggestion of airy and baseless entities, ideas, and biases is also found in English in such expressions as “airhead” and “building castles in the air”. The seeming impossibility of the latter expression, however, has now been questioned in some science fiction movies.
I am more curious about the word for air as describing the basic element. Is there another word in Arabic for the element air, as in the old formulas of the four elements: earth, water, fire and air? This formula is to be found in Islamic works of the pre-modern eras.
A common folk belief among Muslims is that the primordial Adam was first made of the earth and in a subsequent stage, the Ruh or Spirit was “blown” into the body, implying that it was done through the medium of air and that air is basic to the nature of human life. Does that belief have a basis in the Qur`an?
Thanks very much and salaams.
Thank you brother for sharing this very thoughtful response.
Yes RUH comes to mind when looking at the English uses of air. RUH is closer to wind in meaning and so on. So, in a sense an air with power in it.
The other word is NAFS and it means breath and that is then used for the person and personality and so on.
I wanted to add that the root HAWA is used for falling. Basically suggesting that the air cannot carry something with weight on it.
Take care brother and thanks again.
Hussein
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