Latajidanna ashadda alnnasi AAadawatan lillatheena amanoo alyahooda waallatheena ashrakoo walatajidanna aqrabahum mawaddatan lillatheena amanoo allatheena qaloo inna nasara thalika bianna minhum qisseeseena waruhbanan waannahum la yastakbiroona
The aya says:
You (O Muhammad) will indeed find that the strongest of the people in animosity to those who made themselves safe (in Allah), the Jews and the polytheists. And you (O Muhammad) will find nearer amongst them in love to those who made themselves safe the ones who said: “We are Christians”, that by them having amongst them seekers of truth, including people in awe/ of sincere worship and that they do not seek arrogance.
My personal note:
This Aya can be easily misunderstood or taken out of context. I start by declaring again that it contains general statements and therefore can never be taken that every polytheist or Jewish person considers the believers as his enemy nor does it mean that every Christian loves the believers. It basically means that the possibility of each is higher in one group than the other.
The Aya delves then into the causes for this difference. It touches two groups that need to be addressed because I have translated them a little differently:
1- QISSEESEEN: Is usually translated as priests but I used the conceptual meaning and that is pursuers or seekers of knowledge and truth. The reason is that the context of this Aya and the next few Ayat apply to the concept rather than the official title. It still maintains that any priest who is a sincere seeker of truth then the Aya perfectly fits and he is generally equipped with tools to seek the truth more than others.
2- RUHBAN: Is usually translated as monks and nuns, but I also used the conceptual term and that is people in awe or worship of God, because that is the descriptive term.
Of course the two categories overlap because a person who is in awe of Allah will seek to know more about Him and the person who seeks the truth will become in awe of Allah and so on. The two are to be contrasted with two earlier groups that were mentioned earlier in the Sura in a relatively critical manner and they were RABBANIYYOON= religious leader and AHBAR= scholars. If one combines the two areas one reaches the conclusion that a religious leader who does not seek the truth for truth seek or seek to worship God not in awe of Him or sincerity is at risk of falling into error.
The last condition and that is really important is that the lack of arrogance of false pride is an important element in preventing animosity of Muslims. The reason is that this pride will always be a barrier against accepting the message.
Translation of the transliterated words:
Latajidanna: you (singular) will indeed find
Note: the root is W-J-D and it means in one concrete meaning the water that has accumulated in the desert. This is then used to mean a find that is really important. LA is for emphasis. TAJIDANNA is an action that is derived from the root. It means: the action of finding is happening or will be happening by the subject with emphasis (second person singular).
Ashadda: more severe/ stronger/ harder
Note: The root is SH-D-D and it means tightening the rope for the action and tight for the description. Conceptually, The “tight” can also extend the meaning to hard and strong and so forth. ASHADDA means more tight or harder or stronger.
Alnnasi: the people/ the society
Note: ALNNAS is derived from the root Hamza-N-S and it means socializing. ALNNAS are the society/the people.
AAadawatan: animosity/ aggression
Note: the root is Ain-D-W and it means running or overstepping boundaries since the running is a form of overstepping a boundary. Conceptually, it is also used to point to animosity since animosity stems from overstepping boundaries or enemies overstep boundaries of each other. AAaDAWATAN means animosity or aggression.
Lillatheena: to those who
Amanoo: made themselves safe
Note: the root is Hamza-M-N and it means safe or safety. AMANOO is an action that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (not mentioned and therefore the subject and the object can be the same entity here) become safe happened by the subject (third person plural). So, it ends up meaning: they made themselves safe.
alyahooda: the Jews
Note: the root is H-W-D and it means repentance and return to God. It is used mainly to point to Judaism, often specifically. ALYAHOOD means the Jews.
Waallatheena: and those who
Ashrakoo: made partners (to Allah)/ the polytheists
Note: the root SH-R-K and it means partner or partnership and with this partnership is a measure of equality or being on par. ASHRAKOO is an action that is completed. It means: the action of making partner to an undeclared object (pointing to God in this context) happening by the subject (third person plural).
walatajidanna: and you (singular) will indeed find
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. LATAJIDANNA is derived from the root W-J-D and it means in one concrete meaning the water that has accumulated in the desert. This is then used to mean a find that is really important. LA is for emphasis. TAJIDANNA is an action that is derived from the root. It means: the action of finding is happening or will be happening by the subject with emphasis (second person singular).
Aqrabahum: nearer of them/ closer amongst them
Note: AQRABA is derived from the root Qaf-R-B and it means nearing or becoming near. AQRABA means: closer or nearer. HUM means them and it points to people who are not Muslim
Mawaddatan: love/ liking
Note: the root is W-D-D and it means proper love or genuine love. MAWADDATAN means love or liking.
Lillatheena: to those who
Amanoo: made themselves safe
Note: the root is Hamza-M-N and it means safe or safety. AMANOO is an action that is derived from the root and that is completed. It means: the action of making the object (not mentioned and therefore the subject and the object can be the same entity here) become safe happened by the subject (third person plural). So, it ends up meaning: they made themselves safe.
Allatheena: those who
Qaloo: said/ communicated
Note: QALOO is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QALOO is an action that is completed that is derived from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (third person plural). This, in turn means: they said or they happened to say or communicate.
Inna: We indeed/ we
Nasara: Christians
Note: the root N-Sad-R and it means aid or help at a time of need. NASARA means: supporters or helpers at the time of need. It is a term that is used for Christians in the Qur’an because they were the ones who supported and aided Jesus (pbuh)
Thalika: that
Bianna: by
Minhum: amongst them
Qisseeseena: seekers of knowledge/ seekers of truth/ priests
Note: the root is Qaf-S-S and it means pursuit of an entity or seeking an entity. Conceptually, it is used to pursuing knowledge or truth and so forth. QISSEESEEN is the word that is used in every day language for priests, however, it actually covers anyone who seeks or pursues knowledge or the truth. QISSESEEN is plural.
Waruhbanan: and/ including people of worship/ people in awe/ monks and nuns
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. RUHBANAN is derived from the root R-H-B and it means fear mixed with admiration and so forth, closer to being in awe of something. RUHBANAN means people in awe and the term is used for the monks and nuns, but is applicable to any person of sincere worship or any person in awe of God.
Waannahum: and that they
la yastakbiroona: do not seek grandiosity/ arrogance/ do not act arrogantly/ are not arrogantNote: LA is for negation of what comes next. YASTAKBIROONA is derived from the root K-B-R and it means big in quality or quantity or any other feature that denotes bigness. YASTAKBIROONA is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of seeking to make one-self bigger is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural). Here, the bigger is in relation to being bigger than making one-self slave to Allah and that is the definition of arrogance.
Salaam all and have a great day.
Hussein
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