5:98

Salaam all,

IAAlamoo anna Allaha shadeedu alAAiqabi waanna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun

The Aya says:
Know (addressed to a group) that Allah is severe in the punishment and that He is forgiving, Merciful.

My personal note:
This Aya brings balance. It is aimed for people not to forget that God does punish and punishes hard, but it is also aimed at those who forget that Allah does forgive and is Merciful.

The aim is not to take God for granted and also never to lose hope in his Mercy and forgiveness. It is also a message to avoid working against God’s ordinances to the best of our abilities, and an encouragement for us to do things that put us under His protective cover and Mercy. This is done through sincerity to God in our intentions, and consciousness of God in our actions.

Translation of the transliterated words:
IAAlamoo: know/ know for fact
Note: iAALAMOO is derived from the root Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. iAALaMOO is an order or a request addressed to a group. It means: know or know for fact.
Anna: that indeed
Allaha: Allah
Shadeedu: hard in/ tight in/ severe in
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. SHADEEDU means tight in or hard in or severe in.

alAAiqabi: the punishment/ the consequence
Note: the root is Ain-Qaf-B and it means back of foot. This is the concrete meaning and it is used to mean end, back or behind including the consequence of a person’s action and it can also mean obstacle. ALAAiQABI here is the consequence and in this context, it is pointing to punishment as a consequence of our bad actions.
Waanna: and that
Allaha: Allah
Ghafoorun: forgiving/ provider of protective cover/ protectively covering
Note: the root is GH-F-R and it means covering for protection. The concrete word is the helmet of the fighter. GHAFOORUN is the one that covers to protect. This, in turn means protection from committing the sin and protection from the consequences of sin, which also means forgiving
Raheemun: Merciful
Note: the root is R-Ha-M and it means womb in concrete. This term is used to mean mercy and all the good that the womb provides. RAHEEM is the one with the womb-like mercy.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein