Salaam all
10:49
قُل لاَّ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي ضَرّاً وَلاَ نَفْعاً إِلاَّ مَا شَآءَ
ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ إِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَلاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ
سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
qul lā
amliku linafsī ḍarran walā nafʿan illā mā shāa l-lahu likulli ummatin
ajalun idhā jāa ajaluhum falā yastakhirūna sāʿatan walā yastaqdimūna
The Aya
says:
Say (O
Muhammad): I have no authority to cause myself harm or benefit except through
Allah’s will. To each nation an assigned
time limit. When the limit arrives, then
they cannot delay it an hour nor advance it.
My
personal note:
I
translated the word AMLIKU as authority.
It is often translated as ownership and in this Aya as capability. I did translate as authority because that is
closer to the meaning of the root MlK.
Authority then can be one of two things:
1-
Authority to do the act legally.
2-
Authority to do the act in
actuality. In here it takes the meaning of
capability despite the fact that we were not granted the legal permission to do
it.
So, the
Aya covers both elements of authority in a sense. The next term to be understood is Allah’s
will and here it covers two potential meanings:
1-
The Will of Allah in the form of
facilitation and encouragement.
2-
The will of Allah in the form of
permission for the act to happen, even if it is not something that Allah had
legally allowed or desired.
So, to
understand the interactions of our authority with Allah’s will, the Aya says
that we do not have a legal authority to do ourselves harm or good except when
Allah grants that legal authority. Here
the understanding is that Allah wants us to do good to ourselves and prohibits
us from doing harm. The Aya also says that
we have no ability to cause ourselves harm or good except when Allah either
permits it (in the case of harm, but not legally) or facilitates it (in the case
of good).So Allah may permit us to do harm to ourselves for some reason in his
wisdom and always facilitates our path to good.
If there was a barrier for our path to good then it is for a bigger good
that will happen as a result of that barrier.
Translation
of the transliterated words:
qul: Say/ respond
Note: QUL is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means saying in any way possible. QUL is a
demand or request addressed to a singular.
It means: say or respond.
lā
amliku: I have no authority
Note:
the root is M-L-K and it means ownership or authority over something. One
concrete meaning is the fruit when it becomes strong and held together. So, in
a sense MULK has the meaning of holding things together in a strong bond and
that is the authority. AMLIKU is an action that is happening or will be
happening or both. It means: the action
of having authority over the subject (DARRAN= harm) is happening or will be
happening or both by the subject (first person singular). It is preceded by LA which negates the
action.
Linafsī:
for myself/ to myself
Note:
LI means to or for. NAFSEE is derived from the root N-F-S and it means
to breath. This is the concept and then it can extend to self or anything that
breathes. NAFSEE means myself.
ḍarran: Harm
Note: DARRAN is derived from the root Dhad-R-R and it
means to harm or opposite of benefit. Concrete word is DAREER and it means
blind person or a person that is afflicted with weakness and illness.
Conceptually, it covers any kind of significant harm or affliction. DARRAN is
harm or affliction of or the harm that afflicted
Walā: nor
nafʿan: benefit
Note: NAFaAAN is derived
from the root N-F-Ain and it means useful or beneficial or anything that
functions as opposite to harm. NAfaAAN
means benefit.
Illā: except/ unless
Mā: What
Shāa: Willed
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
Likulli: To every/ for every
Note:
LI means to or for. KULLI 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. KULLI means every, or
each.
Ummatin: nation
Note: UMMA 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. UMMA 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. Often times it points to outlook and ideology
and so on.
Ajalun:
time limit/ time span
Note:
the root is Hamza-J-L and it means end of an entity. This entity can be time or
place or anything that is determined by the sentence. AJALUN means end of time
or time span of an entity.
Idhā: when
Jāa: came
Note:
JAA is derived from the root
t 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).
Ajaluhum:
time limit
Note:
the root is Hamza-J-L and it means end of an entity. This entity can be time or
place or anything that is determined by the sentence. AJALU means end of time
or time span of an entity. HUM means
them.
Falā: then not
Yastakhirūna: will they delay
Note: The root is Hamza-KH-R and it means
remaining. In this context it takes the
meaning of staying extra or delaying.
YASTAKHIROONA is an action that is happening or will be happening. It means the action of remaining or delaying
is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person plural). Because it was preceded by the negation then
it means the action will not happen.
sāʿatan: an hour/ a time period
sāʿatan: an hour/ a portion of
Note: SaAAaTAN is derived from the root S-Ain-W or
S-Ain-Y and it means to hurry but not run nor wallk. For the abstract it means
to work on something with some enthusiasm as well as to aim for something. It may also point to a measure of time like
an hour. . SaAATAN means an hour or a
portion of the time.
Walā: nor
Yastaqdimūna: push it ahead/ advance it/ forward it
Note:
the root is Qaf-D-M and it means foot or the step forward. This is used
conceptually in many occasions to point to moving forward or forwarding
something and so on. YASTAQDIMOONA is an action that is happening or will
be happening. It means: the action of
forwarding is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person
plural). However, again because it is
preceded by the negation then it is not happening.
Salaam all and have a great day
Hussein
