Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter.
Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter.
COMMENTS:
This post has been e x t e n d e d so as to better understand certain important words!
- We start here with Verse 104:
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِّن دِينِي فَلَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنْ أَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٠٤﴾
-“Say: O People/Cognizant Humans, if you are in doubt regarding my Standard of Accountability, then (know that) I do not worship those whom you worship other than (and beneath) God, but I worship God who takes you (in death) unto Him, and I was commanded to be of The Faithful.
This verse commends/ endorses the Messenger. It is God’s Word asserting that his Standard of Accountability is the one approved by God. Here we recall other verses which highlight that fact, as in HQ.39:15.[1]
In other verses we are warned of being like those who separated and divided their Accountability Standard, and became sects/shia’/شِيَع, each party exulting with what it had made its own (HQ.30:32).[2]
That is because a person’s deen/accountability standard often is relative to that person: (notice, 10 times ‘your Deen/دينكم; 11 times their Deenدينهم 10 Deen’… and of course, HQ. 109![3]
It is of paramount importance for each of us to have/ to follow The Accountability Standard approved by God, as sent to His Messenger, peace upon him, of which we have absolutely no doubt/shakk.
All the Prophets and Messengers were faced with their people’s ‘shakk/doubt,’[4] the Qur’an speaking of something more than mere doubt; their ‘shakk mureeb/شك مريب’;their disquieting doubt(which in HQ.14:9 was openly admitted).
- 105:
وَأَنْ أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ﴿١٠٥﴾
“And you should set upright/rectify your direction أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ relative to the Standard of Accountability, Haneefan/whilst Self-correcting, and never in any way be of the Shirkers/ who Associate (partners to God).” (105)
Notice that almost always after the word ‘Haneef’ is mentioned, there is a warning against ‘shirk’ (eight times out of ten!)
What does ‘Haneef’ mean?
From the root-verb ḥanafa, it originally referred to a person’s manner of walking, and is about constant, conscious effort to maintain balance; self-correcting with each step so as to detect and stay on the straightest path[5] -(and as the verses indicate, not to fall into shirk).
The term has always had monotheistic connotations, usually explained as a person who ‘bends toward Righteousness,’ what Asad calls, ‘to incline towards a right state or tendency’ (see his note).
By definition, persons who keep ‘curving towards righteousness’ at every turn of events can only do so by self-correcting as they maintain their cognitive and physical flexibility, not adhering to what they were used to or being influenced by what prevails. Shirk is far more prevalent than we realize; it is a ‘sharak/net’ which the unwary get trapped in.
That is indeed food for thought as we look upon ourselves as Muslims today.
Here we recall the beautiful words (HQ. 6:161-163) which our Messenger peace upon him was told to say.
It is notable that the occurrence of this word (Haneef) is mostly related to Prophet Abraham: HQ 3:67; 3:95; 4:125; 6:161; 16:120; 16:123). Not only that, but it was Abraham who first gave himself that description, after stating that neither the waning moon nor the setting sun were worthy of adoration (HQ 6: 74-79). His ‘hanaf’ away from prevalent mores and customs earned him his people’s wrath and their literal trial of him by fire… may God’s peace and blessings be upon him![6]
In order to remain upright/rectified toward our Standard of Accountability, each of us must be Haneef; we cannot be rigid in our understanding or our ways -committing varying degrees of Shirk as we move through the social contexts and ups and downs of life. We must reposition ourselves with every step we take; indeed, this is the only way that we can purify ourselves and grow, both inwardly and outwardly.
Aside: About ‘straightening/ rectification:’
Let us now put together the verses on ‘straightening/ rectification’ we spoke of recently:
Verse 89 which commanded Moses and Aaron to ‘straighten/rectify’ فاستقيما their direction, away from the route of Those who do not know/ distinguish. Then we recalled the following verse which showed us exactly WHERETO/ ILAA إلى the rectification should lead:
“Say, I am indeed but a human being/Bashar like you, (but I am) receiving exclusive information that indeed, your God is but One God, so straighten/rectify (yourselves) towards Him, فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ and seek His forgiveness, and woe/wailing to the Shirkers.” (HQ. 41:6)
And then now Verse 105 commands rectification, not ‘ilaa/ إلى ,’ but ‘li/ لِ’ which gives us a different meaning. In fact, when we search Tanzil, we notice that whenever Deen is mentioned, rectification is not toward it, but rather, relative to it. Why is that important? Because it is an Accountability Standard; something we measure ourselves against, knowing that there shall be a Day/Time when we are held to Account. It is a standard we are to pursue -in pure sincerity- towards God.[7]
“And you should set upright/rectify your direction أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ relative to the Standard of Accountability, Haneefan/whilst Self-correcting, and never in any way be of the Shirkers/ who Associate (partners to God).” (105)
وَأَنْ أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ﴿١٠٥﴾
Now, to crown this concept we note that all this ‘rectification’ is called ‘taqweem’ in Arabic, which is what God said of us when He created the Cognizant Human/Inssaan in the best and most beautiful of constitution! This is about Inssaan, not Bashar, the Cognizant Human in the best and most beautiful of righteous mental and spiritual constitution, knowing Who our Lord-Sustainer is, bearing witness to Him, worshipping Him Alone.
Our journey is, indeed, full circle:
We are created in the best of taqweem, and must try to remain -or renew- istiqaamah, ‘straightening’ TOWARD GOD ((إلى AS OUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION, while we maintain upright position in relation to (لِ) the Deen/Accountability standard, in a Haneef manner, like both Prophet Abraham and our Prophet, peace upon them both.
Back to our verses:
- Then, Verse 106 instructs:
وَلَا تَدْعُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ ۖ فَإِن فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِّنَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٠٦﴾
“And do not call upon (any) other than God, what can neither benefit you nor harm/afflict you: for if you do, you will indeed be among the Wrongdoers!”
Our ‘wrongdoing/thulm’ in this verse is against ourselves, which shows us that our wrongs always are against our own selves, especially when we are wronging others; it is ourselves who get wronged most.
Here we see the two opposites, ‘benefit/ nafe’/ نَفْع’ and ‘harm/ Dhurr/ضُر.’
The mention of ‘affliction/harm/Dhurr’ here takes us to the next verse.
Although well-explained by both, I think Verse 107 reads better with Yusuf Ali’s comments. However, we do need to look at certain words in context and try to understand this verse part by part.
وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ
The first few words in this verse tell us that IF God ‘touches’ you[8] with some affliction/Dhurr; the verse does not say ‘if God ‘afflicts’ you…[9] and we notice His Forgiveness and Compassion – وهو الغفور الرحيم –which the verse asserts.
So, although God might touch us with affliction/Dhurr at times, it is only He who lifts it, so it is to Him that we should turn when we are so touched. We do so of course by making use of the best ‘means/ asbaab/أسباب’ which He also sends our way to help lift the affliction.
The following facts are important to keep in mind:
- The verb ‘Dharra/ to harm or afflict’ does not show up -even as a verb- related to God in the Qur’an; it appears however in a weak Hadeeth, as scholars tell us.[10]
- The title/attribute ‘Al Dhaar/الضار’ -explained as ‘The Distresser/ The Harmer/ The Afflicter’- is found in the most famous compiled lists of God’s Attributes.
- Scholars who approve of these lists tell us that Al Dhaar/ The Harmer/ The Afflicter must always be coupled with its opposite, Al Naafi/ The Beneficial’ (الضار النافع), and that we should not use or explain each name in isolation as that would be an inaccurate, less comprehensive description of God.
- The generally approved lists contain most[11] of God’s Qur’anic attributes together with other titles that are not mentioned in the Qur’an. Some titles were made out of actual Qur’anic verbs (about what God does), and others were made out of inferences (such as in ‘Al Dharr’ which is not mentioned even in verb form).
SECOND PART:
وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ ۚ
Here we also understand, that if God touches us with affliction, which none but He can lift, when He yureed/[12] intends-and initiates- Kheyr/ prosperity/ benefit for us, none can turn back His Bounty.
So, His Bounty is there by His will and initiation, and it is up to each of us to receive it!
Let us ponder upon the verb ‘yureed’ here, and note other examples of what God actually ‘yureed/ intends and initiates’ for us:
HQ.2:185: He ‘yureed/ intends’ that we have ease and NOT have difficulty.
HQ.4:26: He ‘yureed/ intends’ to make clear for us, to guide us, and to forgive us
HQ.4:28: He ‘yureed/ intends’ to lighten our load
HQ.5:6 : He ‘yureed/ intends’ to purify us and to complete His favor upon us WITHOUT hardship.
HQ.8:7 : He ‘yureed/ intends’ to deliver Truth and Justice by His Words
Now:
Having better understood the above parts of the verse -and recognized the VERBS by which HE chose to identify HIS actions (related to how He might touch us with Dhurr, while He wills and initiates Kheyr), we decide to be more aware of HIS WORDS.
I speak for myself here, saying that, as someone who is only a mere creature of His Creation (بَشَرٌ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ), I would not knowingly posit a title with regard to my Creator which He had not titled Himself with. I would personally steer clear of this, knowing that each person has their own thoughts about this, and their own decision to make.
يُصِيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴿١٠٧﴾
THIRD PART:
After we’ve learnt that if He sends benefit our way no one can turn back His Bounty, we also learn that He directs it upon whomsoever of His Worshippers that He wills, for He is the Most-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
That is because it is He Who directs it to alight) uponيصيب به-– whomsoever of His Worshippers that He wills, the pronoun ‘it’ most likely referring to the noun closest to it, which is Bounty, Kheyr/ الخير يصيبنا -although possibly to both Kheyr and Dhurr.
A special note to speakers of Arabic here who (in common use) have restricted the word ‘yuSeeb’ (past tense: ‘aSaabaأصاب/’; noun: ‘muSeebah/مُصيبة’) to negative connotations, despite the Qur’an using it both positively and negatively:
The verb ‘yuSeeb/ يصيب’ can also be used positively as in ‘kheyr’ being directed (to alight) upon someone in HQ.22:11. That is because‘yuSeeb,’ from root verb ‘Sawaba’[13] is about something landing/alighting where it should land, being ‘on target.’ Arabs say ‘aSaaba/أصاب’ indicating that what was done is correct -on mark/ Sawaabصواب /,’ the opposite of which is having been wrong and off-mark/ akhaTa’a/ أخطأ’.
An example of something ‘on mark’ and positive is ‘rainfall’ called ‘Sayyib/صَيِّب’ while an example of something ‘on mark’ yet negative would be an arrow.
‘He is the Most-Forgiving, Most Merciful,’ indicates that whatever He does, He does out of Mercy. It is He Who directs it to alight) uponيصيب به-– whomsoever of His Worshippers that He wills, for God’s Mercy encompasses everything!وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْء…. HQ. 7:156
Reading the full verse, we can now understand it better and gain appreciation of God’s Forgiveness and Mercy as well as His Omnipotence.
May we never be of those who ‘did not hold God in His rightful Esteem/ ما قدروا الله حق قدره’[14].. Amen.
- 108:
As this Meccan Surah/ Chapter nears its end, the Messenger, peace upon him, is told to announce to his people that Truth and Justice has come to them from their Lord-Sustainer, and that it is up to them to choose either gift-guidance FOR themselves, or misguidance AGAINST themselves.
Also, he is told to assert that he is not responsible for them or for their choices; he is not a guardian/ trustee/ wakeel over them (the word ‘wakeel’ is similarly mentioned in several verses). The command to tell this to his people also serves to relieve him of any sense of responsibility.
- Verse 109:
وَاتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيْكَ وَاصْبِرْ حَتَّىٰ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ ﴿١٠٩﴾
The last verse in this Surah/ Chapter tells the Messenger, peace upon him, to follow what had been revealed to him/ exclusively communicated to him,[15] and to patiently persevere until God’s Judgement comes to pass, for God is the best to pass judgement/ best of Judges.
This is similar to HQ 7:85-87, where listeners, in another LATE Meccan Sura, were being told that God’s Judgement will certainly come to pass; that was part of Prophet Shu’ayb’s most eloquent address to his people where he commanded them to be just in their dealings, ending by telling them all -Those Who had Faith and Trust in his message as well as those who didn’t- that they should patiently persevere/ await God’s judgment of their differences.
With that important advice CARRYING BOTH GLAD TIDINGS AND A WARNING this beautiful Meccan Surah comes to an end.
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 11: 1-14.
A new Sura/ Chapter!
Peace unto all!
[1] قل إِنِّي أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ الدِّينَ ﴿١١﴾ وَأُمِرْتُ لِأَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿١٢﴾ قُلْ إِنِّي أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّي عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿١٣﴾ قُلِ اللَّهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ دِينِي ﴿١٤﴾ فَاعْبُدُوا مَا شِئْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ أَلَا ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ ﴿الزمر: ١٥﴾
[2]مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ ﴿الروم: ٣٢﴾
[3] قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ ﴿١﴾ لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ ﴿٤﴾ وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ ﴿٥﴾ لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ ﴿٦﴾
[4] Shakk/شك is about things getting mixed up together and causing uncertainty when one cannot tell one thing from the other.
“Shakka: One origin, with derivatives, all indicating things that get spiked/stuck together (on a mishak/ spike/ pointed stick/ skewer) so that they overlap/ get commingled and you couldn’t tell one from the other.
From that it is said: I stabbed/shakaktu him with a spear, since when he is stabbed the point goes into his body.
And from this comes the concept of shakk/ doubt/ambiguity/equivocation, uncertainty, the opposite of certainty/ yaqeen, because the person who has ‘shakk’ is as someone for whom two issues are equally ‘stuck’ together.
You say: I shakaktu between two papers, if you stuck a stick in them, bringing them together.”
شَكَّ: أَصْلٌ وَاحِدٌ مُشْتَقٌّ بَعْضُهُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، وَهُوَ يَدُلُّ عَلَى التَّدَاخُلِ. مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُمْ شَكَكْتُهُ بِالرُّمْحِ، وَذَلِكَ إِذَا طَعَنْتَهُ فَدَاخَلَ السِّنَانُ جِسْمَهُ.
وَمِنْ هَذَا الْبَابِ الشَّكُّ، الَّذِي هُوَ خِلَافُ الْيَقِينِ، إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ بِذَلِكَ لِأَنَّ الشَّاكَّ كَأَنَّهُ شُكَّ لَهُ الْأَمْرَانِ فِي مَشَكٍّ وَاحِدٍ، وَهُوَ لَا يَتَيَقَّنُ وَاحِدًا مِنْهُمَا، فَمِنْ ذَلِكَ اشْتِقَاقُ الشَّكِّ. تَقُولُ: شَكَكْتُ بَيْنَ وَرَقَتَيْنِ، إِذَا أَنْتَ غَرَزْتَ الْعُودَ فِيهِمَا فَجَمَعْتَهُمَا.
[5] Hanafa: “To incline/ to bend. Someone who walks on the outer edge of his feet is called ‘ahnaf.’…. And Al-Haneef: is someone inclined/bent toward the straight accountability standard. God Almighty said: {.. But he was Hanneefan Musliman… } [Al-Imran: 67] … And it is said that ‘this person yatahannaf,’ meaning that he is trying to detect the straightest path.”
حَنَفَ: وَهُوَ الْمَيَلُ. يُقَالُ لِلَّذِي يَمْشِي عَلَى ظُهُورِ قَدَمَيْهِ أَحْنَفُ. .. وَالْحَنِيفُ: الْمَائِلُ إِلَى الدِّينِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: {وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا} [آل عمران: 67] … وَيُقَالُ هُوَ يَتَحَنَّفُ، أَيْ يَتَحَرَّى أَقْوَمَ الطَّرِيقِ.
[6] As Muslims, we already carry Prophet Abraham’s beautiful words into each of our daily prayers seeing that they constitute what we call ‘Du’aa el Tawajjuh,’ the supplication we give as we initiate prayer, directing ourselves towards God. Let us also be like him in his self-corrections, never to trust social norms or grandeur of appearances, but rather to see the Signs pointing to the Creator.
Please learn these words to say in your prayer if you don’t already:
إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ﴿الأنعام: ٧٩﴾
Innee wajjahtu wajhiya lillathee fatara alssamawati waalarda haneefan wama ana mina almushrikeen (79)
[7] See the comparison of these two verses here. Notice how we ‘straighten/ rectify ourselves ‘li’ in relation to people with whom we have a treaty and who have respected it in HQ.9:7. In 41:6 however, we straighten ourselves ‘ilaa/ toward’ God.
[8] The verb is yamsass/ يمْسَس/ touch.’
[9] There is no يضرُّ verb in the Qur’an related to God (the verb ‘Dharra/ to afflict’ never relates to Him). In fact, Dhurr/ضُر is neither one of His deeds (in verb from) nor is it among His Beautiful Attributes (in noun form) in the Qur’an.
“There is no sound evidence that Al-Dhaar is one of the attributes of God Almighty, although it was mentioned in the famous Hadeeth which listed God’s most beautiful names/attributes, and it is a weak hadeeth narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others.
Scholars/People of Knowledge have determined that the names and attributes of God Almighty are ‘tawqeefi,’ meaning that they are not considered correct until proven so by the Qur’an or the Sunnah. However, if the name is not proven, but its general meaning is correct, it is permissible to communicate it about God, as in saying: “God is The Harmful and The Beneficial.” This is allowed because announcing the name has a wider door of concession than the door of ‘names and attributes,’ as long as one does not make it part of worship. These words should not be said, ‘Abd/worshipper of Al Dhaar/The Harmer/Afflictor, or the ‘Abd/worshipper of ‘Al Naafi/The Beneficial,’ because it has not been proven as His Name.”
“لم يثبت بدليل صحيح أن الضار من أسماء الله تعالى، وإنما ورد ذلك في الحديث المشهور الذي فيه تعداد الأسماء الحسنى، وهو حديث ضعيف، رواه الترمذي وغيره. والمقرر عند أهل العلم أن أسماء الله تعالى وصفاته توقيفية، أي لا يثبت منها شيء إلا بالدليل الصحيح من الكتاب والسنة.
فإذا لم يثبت الاسم، وكان معناه صحيحا فإنه يجوز الإخبار به عن الله تعالى، فيقال: الله هو الضار النافع، لأن باب الإخبار أوسع من باب الأسماء والصفات، لكن لا يعبّد بهذا الاسم، فلا يقال: عبد الضار أو عبد النافع ؛ لأنه لم يثبت اسما لله تعالى..”
[11] ‘Al Musta’aan المستعان/ is not mentioned, although it is God’s Most Beautiful Attribute which we call on when reciting the Opener/ Al FaatiHa. Iyyaaka nasta’een/إياك نستعين…
[12] Yureed’ is to intend & initiate; حركة الرَود… as in HQ. 18:77 where the wall ‘yureed’ to fall down, indicating that it had begun to/ was on its way to actually fall down. The lexicon tells us that it is the movement of ‘road/رَوْد’ indicating ‘coming and going in one direction. I believe that the English word ‘road’ is of that origin.
رَوَدَ: مُعْظَمُ بَابِهِ [يَدُلُّ] عَلَى مَجِيءٍ وَذَهَابٍ مِنِ انْطِلَاقٍ فِي جِهَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. تَقُولُ: رَاوَدْتُهُ عَلَى أَنْ يَفْعَلَ كَذَا، إِذَا أَرَدْتَهُ عَلَى فِعْلِهِ. وَالرَّوْدُ: فِعْلُ الرَّائِدِ. وَالرِّيَادُ: اخْتِلَافُ الْإِبِلِ فِي الْمَرْعَى مُقْبِلَةً وَمُدْبِرَةً. رَادَتْ تَرُودُ رِيَادًا. وَالْمَرَادُ: الْمَوْضِعُ الَّذِي تَرُودُ فِيهِ الرَّاعِيَةُ. وَرَادَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ تَرُودُ، إِذَا اخْتَلَفَتْ إِلَى بُيُوتِ جَارَاتِهَا. وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: الْإِرَادَةُ أَصْلُهَا الْوَاوُ، وَحُجَّتُهُ أَنَّكَ تَقُولُ رَاوَدْتُهُ عَلَى كَذَا. وَالرَّائِدُ: الْعُودُ الَّذِي تُدَارُ بِهِ الرَّحَى.
وَمِنَ الْبَابِ الْإِرْوَادُ فِي الْفِعْلِ: أَنْ يَكُونَ رُوَيْدًا. وَرَاوَدْتُهُ عَلَى أَنْ يَفْعَلَ كَذَا، إِذَا أَرَدْتُهُ عَلَى فِعْلِهِ.
صوب: يدلُّ على نزولِ شيءٍ واستقرارِهِ قَرَارَه. من ذلك الصَّوَابُ في القول والفعل، كأنَّه أمرٌ نازلٌ مستقِرٌّ قرارَه. وهو خلاف الخطأ. ومنه الصَّوْب، وهو نزول المطر….ويقال الصَّيِّب السّحاب ذو الصَّوْب. قال الله تعالى: {أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ} [البقرة 19].
والتَّصويب: حَدَب في حَدور، لا يكون إلاَّ كذا. فأمَّا الصُّيَّابة فالخِيار من كلِّ شيء، كأنَّه من الصَّوب، وهو خالصُ ماءِ السَّحاب، فكأنَّها مُشْتقّةٌ من ذلك.
الأصفهاني:
صوب: الصَّوَابُ يقال على وجهين: أحدهما: باعتبار الشيء في نفسه، فيقال: هذا صَوَابٌ: إذا كان في نفسه محمودا ومرضيّا….نحو قولك: تَحَرِّي العدلِ صَوَابٌ… والثاني: يقال باعتبار القاصد إذا أدرك المقصود بحسب ما يقصده، فيقال: أَصَابَ كذا، أي: وجد ما طلب، كقولك: أَصَابَهُ السّهمُ…وأصاب: جاء في الخير والشّرّ…الإِصَابَةُ في الخير اعتبارا بالصَّوْبِ، أي بالمطر، وفي الشّرّ اعتبارا بِإِصَابَةِ السّهمِ، وكلاهما يرجعان إلى أصل.
[14] “They did not hold God in His rightful Esteem, verily God is indeed Almighty, Invincible.” (HQ.22:74)
﴿مَا قَدَرُوا اللَّـهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ﴾ )الحج: ٧٤(.
[15] ‘WaHi/ وحي’ is the noun, ‘awHaa/أوحى’ is the verb, which is about imparting exclusive information. Understood as Divine Revelation when related to the Messengers’ reception of God’s Messages, we also see God giving ‘waHi’ in HQ5:111 to Jesus’ disciples, in 16:68 to the bees, and in 20:38 to Moses’ mother.
As for HQ19:11, there we find Zakariya giving ‘wahi’ to his people, by way of notification and signaling to them.
وَحَى: إِلْقَاءِ عِلْمٍ فِي إِخْفَاءٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ إِلَى غَيْرِكَ. فَالْوَحْيُ: الْإِشَارَةُ. وَالْوَحْيُ: الْكِتَابُ وَالرِّسَالَةُ. وَكُلُّ مَا أَلْقَيْتَهُ إِلَى غَيْرِكَ حَتَّى عَلِمَهُ فَهُوَ وَحْيٌ كَيْفَ كَانَ. وَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَوَحَى. وَكُلُّ مَا فِي بَابِ الْوَحْيِ فَرَاجِعٌ إِلَى هَذَا الْأَصْلِ الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ. وَالْوَحِيُّ: السَّرِيعُ: وَالْوَحَى: الصَّوْتُ. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.