5:88

Salaam all,


Wakuloo mimma razaqakumu Allahu halalan tayyiban waittaqoo Allaha allathee antum bihi muminoona

The Aya says:
And eat from what Allah provided you (plural) permitted, good, and act consciously of Allah in/by whom you make yourselves safe.

My personal note:
The term Eating applies in it’s narrow scope to the food that Allah declared good and it also applies in it’s larger scope to anything we gain that helps us eat and therefore to any function that makes us earn our living.

The Aya contains the notion that what Allah permitted or enjoined is good and with it the notion that what Allah prohibited is not good or not good for us as humans. There is a known theological discussion amongst Muslims scholars about whether prohibited things are bad of themselves for us and that is why they are prohibited, or the prohibition makes them bad without them being bad for us. I subscribe to the school of thought that says Allah prohibits to us Muslims what is bad for us.

The end of the Aya seems to support my notion in the fact that Iman entails within it the trust and the safety that Allah orders us to do what is good for us and prohibits us from doing what is bad for us.

The term BIHI can be understood as in Him or by Him. In this Aya both meanings apply. This is because we have safety in Allah and we cannot attain safety except by Allah.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Wakuloo: and eat
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. . KULOO is derived from the root Hamza-K-L and it means eating. This will then take different meanings depending on the different planes of thought that a person has. KULOO is an order or request addressed to a group. It means: Eat.

Mimma: from what/ of what
Razaqakumu: He provided you (plural)
Note: RAZAQAKUM is derived from the root R-Z-Qaf and it means provision and conceptually, it covers any form of providing especially for needs. RAZAQA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of providing the object (kum=plural you) happened by the subject (third person singular pointing to Allah)
Allahu: Allah

Halalan: permitted/ enjoined
Note: the root is Ha-L-L and it means settling. Conceptually, this settling can be in time or place of quality as in settling or solving a problem, a knot and it can extend to acceptable or enjoined words or deeds. This sentence gives the context of acceptable or enjoined or allowed. HALALAN means permitted or enjoined.

Tayyiban: good
Note: the root is Ta-Y-B and it means good and leads to goodness. The term is used for anything that is good and leads to good results. TAYYIBAN is the good who does good or just the entity that causes good.
Waittaqoo: and act consciously of
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 ITTAQOO is derived from the root W-Qaf-W and it means guarding or protecting. Since the best way to guard is through consciousness and action according to consciousness. ITTAQOO is a demand addressing a group of people. It means: make yourselves act consciously of.
Allaha: Allah
Allathee: who
Antum: you (plural)
Bihi: by Him/ in Him
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. HI means him and it points to Allah.

Muminoona: ones who make themselves safe
Note: MUMINOONA is derived from the root Hamza-M-N and it means safety. Conceptually, it can also be extended to trust as well, because we feel safe in the entity we trust. ALMUMINOONA means: those who make themselves safe.


Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein