Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Isn’t it wonderful when linguistic research of the Arabi tongue corrects our perspective and helps us discover original intent? Now we can better grasp what God has been telling us!
A verse we had always thought of as negative, or ‘against us,’ turns out to be positive and ‘in our favor’!
So, from now on, whenever we hear someone quote part of Verse 9:51, saying:
“Laa yuSeebuna illa ma kataba Allahu lana” we will feel our hearts warm up and bask in love for God and reliance on Him, and we will continue the verse saying: “Huwa Mawlaana wa ‘ala Allahi falyatawakkal al Mu’minoon”!!
Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter.
Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter.
COMMENTS:
1. Verses 62–63 continue to describe the inner traits of the hypocrites who seek to gain the good pleasure of the people around them, whereas they should be seeking the pleasure of God and His messenger, IF indeed they were truly faithful. What awaits them is the supreme disgrace /most awesome disgrace (Ali/Asad).
2. Verses 64-65 describe their apprehension (Asad: ‘dread’) at what the Prophet might receive of Revelation to disclose what is in their minds/hearts. Isn’t it strange that hypocrites fear revelation which would disclose their reality, yet do not have faith in God Who knows their reality full well?
The lame excuses they offer are in fact, a mockery, which Asad refers to what they had said against the Prophet, peace upon him, in Verse 61.
Asad’s comment about different TYPES of hypocrites is interesting.
It is in Verse 64 that we find first mention by name of The Hypocrites, ‘Al Munaafiqoon, in this Sura. In fact, they shall be mentioned by name three more times in the next nine verses, so let’s better understand what ‘nifaaq/hypocrisy’ is about before we continue.
To do so, we must look to its Arabi definition from the root verb ‘nafaqa-1 نفق’. The lexicon gives us such detailed images of what ‘nifaaq’ really is, that we Arabic-speakers not only are amazed, but also feel sorry to realize how distanced we have become from our beautiful mother-tongue:
‘Nafaqa’ is about something cut off and gone off in exit, and something concealed and submerged in hiding.
The verb ‘anfaqa-أنفق’ means to spend, while ‘nafaqa-نفق’ means to die.
The noun ‘nafaq’ is a tunnel in the ground with an outlet, while ‘nafiqaa- النَّافِقَاءُ’ is the thinned-down exit capping a rodent’s burrow, camouflaged from the outside, which the rodent hits against with its head, and exits.
All these connotations combine to describe the Hypocrites. They are masters of disguise, having literally exited the state of Eman/Faith and Trust in God, cut themselves off, and submerged their truth where no one on earth can hold them accountable. They are clever escape-artists, having prepared convenient ‘camouflaged’ exits wherever there is duty and responsibility. In their minds, their underground hideouts are saving them, but the reality is that with every ‘escape’ they dig themselves deeper into the Pit of Jahannam.
Isn’t Arabi beautiful?
3. In Verse 66 God speaks TO the Hypocrites directly (after having spoken OF them), telling them not to present their excuses; that they have denied after having received faith, and that even if a portion among them were to be forgiven, the rest (the ‘Mujrims’)[1] shall be made to suffer. I like Yusuf Ali’s definition of Hypocrisy as a half-way house; a state of indecision, which reminds us again of the rodent’s tunnel, where there is darkness at one end and light at the other.
4. Verses 67-68 speak of them in the third person plural.
Verse 67 states WHO The Hypocrites/Al Munaafiqoon are to each other and to the rest of the community. Just as they have disregarded God, so shall He disregard them. Hypocrites are ‘Deserters’ -‘faasiq فاسق’ (those who have committed Fisq/a ‘Breach of Faith’ and brought themselves to the point of no return, as defined in Blog Post Day 73 and Blog Post Day 75).
Verse 68 delivers to them EXACTLY what they had been dreading, and tells them of the consequence to their indecision: They shall be with the Deniers, rejected by God, settled in the Fire of Jahannam, which suffices them.
Jahannam suffices them!
Here we recall Verse 59 which tells us that they should have said, “God Suffices us. God will grant us of His Bounty; unto God Alone do we turn with hope.”[2]
And we remember Verse 3:173 when The Faithful -in contrast- were warned that they were surrounded by enemy armies, only to reply that God suffices them.
5. Verse 69 again speaks to the Hypocrites about people just like them who had heedlessly enjoyed their portion of assets in life and had ended up being losers! It is interesting to see the three assets mentioned here and note their order: Power. Wealth. Progeny.
Verse 70 concludes this section, mentioning no less than six peoples who had received God’s clear messages through their Messengers. This warns hypocrites and listeners of what happens to those who choose to ignore their Messengers’ guidance, ending by the statement that it would never be God Who wrongs them (or anyone else) but it is they who were wronging their own Selves.
That is a fact oft-mentioned in the Qur’an… one everyone should be aware of!
6. Verse 71 presents the contrast (to verse 67):
And (as for) the Faithful (m) and the Faithful (f), some of them are Protectors of others, they enjoin what is mutually acceptable, and they forbid what is mutually objectionable, and they establish ‘Salaat/communion/prayer,’ and they come forward with ‘Zakaat/giving of themselves towards growth and purification (including spending),’[3] and they obey God and His Messenger; it is they to whom God shall be Merciful, indeed God is Invincible, Wise.
We notice here SIX characteristics by which people earn the title ‘The Faithful,’ the first of which is that they are protective guardians of one another. Let us remember THIS FIRST characteristic before we entertain the notion that focusing on the remaining five would be enough!
7. Verse 72 presents the contrast (to verse 68); a beautiful scene in the Everlasting Gardens. Both explanations of Ali and Asad are acceptable, except that Asad translates ‘aden- Eden’ in a similar way to the Hebrew, saying it means ‘Bliss,’ and Ali similarly says, ‘everlasting bliss.’ But ‘Bliss,’which means ecstasy or happiness is another concept.
The root-verb ‘3adana’ in our lexicon means ‘abiding,’[4] explained below by two examples:
-Camels attached to a favorite grazing-spot.
– The ‘permanent qualities’ residing in a person or thing; its ma3dan- معدن.
And yes, to our men who are named Adnan or Adnaan, – عدنان, this is about you too:
Adnaan is considered the grandfather of the Arab tribe from which Prophet Muhammad descended, from the line of Prophet Ishmael, peace upon them both. He was ‘adnaan,’ perhaps because he made a permanent residence there, or was permanent in his inherent qualities, since the word relates to that as well.
Ma3dan means ‘mineral,’ related to the substance being resident in the earth, or to the permanent qualities of that substance. The word ma3dan also relates to the inherent characteristics of a person, obvious in a Saying of the Prophet, peace upon him, narrated by both Bukhari and Muslim to this effect:
“You will find that people are minerals/ma3aadin. The best among them in the Age of Ignorance are the best among them in Islam, if they learn and comprehend.”
تجدون الناس معادن، خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا
Therefore, I would translate جنات عدن- Jannaat 3aden- as ‘Everlasting Gardens.’
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 9: 73-86
Peace unto all!
1 نَفَقَ: يَدُلُّ ..عَلَى انْقِطَاعِ شَيْءٍ وَذَهَابِهِ، وَعَلَى إِخْفَاءِ شَيْءٍ وَإِغْمَاضِهِ.
نَفَقَتِ الدَّابَّةُ نُفُوقًا: مَاتَتْ، وَنَفَقَ السِّعْرُ نَفَاقًا، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ يَمْضِي فَلَا يَكْسُدُ وَلَا يَقِفُ. وَأَنْفَقُوا: نَفَقَتْ سُوقُهُمْ. وَالنَّفَقَةُ لِأَنَّهَا تَمْضِي لِوَجْهِهَا… وَأَنْفَقَ الرَّجُلُ: افْتَقَرَ…
النَّفَقُ: سَرَبٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَهُ مَخْلَصٌ إِلَى مَكَانٍ. وَالنَّافِقَاءُ: مَوْضِعٌ يُرَقِّقُهُ الْيَرْبُوعُ مِنْ جُحْرِهِ فَإِذَا أُتِيَ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْقَاصِعَاءِ ضَرَبَ النَّافِقَاءَ بِرَأْسِهِ فَانْتَفَقَ، أَيْ خَرَجَ. وَمِنْهُ اشْتِقَاقُ النِّفَاقِ، لِأَنَّ صَاحِبَهُ يَكْتُمُ خِلَافَ مَا يُظْهِرُ، فَكَأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ، أَوْ يَخْرُجُ هُوَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ فِي خَفَاءٍ. وَيُمْكِنُ أَنَّ الْأَصْلَ فِي الْبَابِ وَاحِدٌ، وَهُوَ الْخُرُوجُ. وَالنَّفَقُ: الْمَسْلَكُ النَّافِذُ الَّذِي يُمْكِنُ الْخُرُوجُ مِنْهُ.
[1] Mujrims are those who have literally ‘extracted themselves’ from faith; for the definition of ‘jarama’ see Posting of Blog Post Day 54.
[2] حسبنا الله، سيؤتينا الله من فضله… إنا إلى الله راغبون…
[3] We spoke extensively about Zakaat recently on Day 99. (See also Blog Post Day 23 and Blog Post Day 43).
[4] (عدن) يدلُّ على الإقامة. قال الخليل: العَدْن: إقامة الإبل في الحَمْض خاصّة. تقول: عَدَنَت الإبل تَعْدِن عَدْناً. والأصل الذي ذكره الخليل هو أصلُ الباب، ثمَّ قيس به كلُّ مُقام، فقيل جنةُ عَدْنٍ، أي إقامة. ومن الباب المعدِنُ: مَعدن الجواهر. ويقيسون على ذلك فيقولون: هو مَعدن الخَير والكَرَم.