Day 165; Qur’an 21: 81-111, page 329 + 330 + 331

Welcome Friends:  Ahlan wa sahlan!

COMMENTS:

PAGE 329 Arabic Qur’an.

1.    With Verses 81-82 we begin Prophet Solomon’s narrative, peace upon him, which is usually understood to include Magical forces and Supernatural beings. 

I like what Muhammad Asad said:

“Although it is undoubtedly possible to interpret such passages in a “rationalistic” manner, I do not think that this is really necessary. Because they were so deeply ingrained in the imagination of the people to whom the Qur’ān addressed itself in the first instance, these legendary accounts of Solomon’s wisdom and magic powers had acquired a cultural reality of their own and were, therefore, eminently suited to serve as a medium for the parabolic exposition of certain ethical truths with which this book is concerned: and so, without denying or confirming their mythical character, the Qur’ān uses them as a foil for the idea that God is the ultimate source of all human power and glory, and that all achievements of human ingenuity, even though they may sometimes border on the miraculous, are but an expression of His transcendental creativity.”

As Regular Readers already know, ‘sheytaan’ means ‘deviant’ or ‘leader/ chieftain,’ and ‘Jinn’ is not synonymous to ‘Jaan,’ as we explained on March 30^th when we said:

“In HQ 6:130 ‘Ins’ إنس  and ‘Jinn’ جن - are spoken to as a (single) community and asked that, were not Messengers from themselves, sent to them to warn of this day?...

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We have seen how the question was posed to them as one community, in the plural- NOT in the dual- مثنّى . 

This may indicate what some commentators have said, that ‘jinn’ is descriptive of anyone or anything hidden, and as such, could indicate humans as well: Humans who were ‘incognito’ in life, living in the shadow of others and had not, in fact, sought to be seen or heard. 

Others say that we should forget about today’s connotations and go to the time of Revelation, where the root-verb stood for many human things such as ‘the human heart/mind-‘qalb’ -janaan,’ ‘the human fetus -janeen,’ what goes on in the ‘human mind -junoon,’ also the person ‘buried in the grave- janeen,’ AND as seen below in our 1000 year-old lexicon, a term that stood for the ‘vast majority’ of persons!
وجَنَان النّاس مُعْظمُهم ويسمَّى السَّوَاد!!!!!

Dear Reader:

We are NOT negating the existence of ‘Jinn,’ or that God created 'Jaan'  الجان from fire.  Copy + paste the word in 'Tanzil' topmost image: you'll find that we are NOT given any description of 'Jinn' الجن- being created; only of Jaan. ie.. these two words are different and NOT synonymous.
Where 'Jaan' are creatures distinct from us, 'jinn' is merely a description of anything or anyone hitherto hidden or indiscernible, such as HQ6:76 which was describing Abraham being concealed by the 'blanket of night,' as well as other examples we'll see below.  This also validates the argument in our Posting of March 28, in which we quoted an early 12th century lexicon, which said quite clearly: "Therefore all Angels are jinn (indiscernible), but not all the jinn (the indiscernible) are Angels…”  
Whatever the Qur’an mentions of Gheyb (Unseen), IS a Reality, which we can only attempt to understand, and can never prove or disprove.  But if we had a true will to understand Qur’anic intent, we should peel off all the preconceptions we have of this, and any other issue, and take each word back to its origin.  Isn't it time?

Back to our research:  See definitions below of ‘janna [1][iv] جنَّ ’ which simply denotes being ‘hidden,’ and ‘Ins’; from ‘anasa [1][v]’ to see, hear, find comfort, companionship and homogeneity. 

But ‘Jinn,’ is only ONE opposite to ‘Ins!’  Many do not realize that the SECOND opposite to ‘Ins’ is ‘Wahsh.’  Whereas the verb ‘anasa’ denotes finding comfort in someone, the verb ‘wahasha وَحَشَ’ denotes the opposite: Apprehension.

(We still use the word to mean ‘beast.’  Its plural ‘wuhoosh’ is mentioned once in HQ81:5). 

Let us take our time to reread the above verses, using what we now KNOW of the origin of these Arabic words.  If we think ‘Hidden’ from now on, whenever we come across any word with the root verb ’janna,’ we would be drawing closer to the original, and putting a distance between us and all inherited misconceptions.”

2.    Verses 83-84 are about Prophet Job, peace upon him, who sought his Lord’s compassion when he was ‘touched by hardship,’ in a most eloquent and respectful address.  Note that his affliction was lifted as a ‘reminder to active Worshippers عابدين.’ We also recall that this term was ‘defined’ in our last Reading, in HQ 21:73.

Verses 85-86 mention 3 Prophets:  Ishmael, Idrees, and ‘Thul Kifl’ or ‘Him of the Responsibility’…  each of them ‘of the Forbearing.’

(Thul Kifl is also briefly mentioned in HQ 38:48).

Verses 87-88 mention ‘Thal Noon’ or ‘Him of the Waterذا النون- ’

(‘Thal Noon’ is only mentioned this once, but he is thought to be Prophet Jonah, peace upon him). 

Please note the shape of the Arabic letter - ن - since it is historically understood to represent the first seed of life, borne in a vessel over water, and also believed by some to represent the fetus in the womb.  Furthermore, in what each sound originally denoted in earliest human communication, ‘n’ denoted ‘to grow- to spring- to blow- to breathe- ن : نبت- نبع- نتج- نفخ- نفس.

Verses 89-90 mention Prophet Zacharias, peace upon him, his prayer for an heir, and how God responded to his call by granting him Yahya.

PAGE 330 Arabic Qur’an.

Verse 91 mentions ‘She who guarded her chastity,’ and in whom ‘We quickened of Our Spirit,’ and rendered her and her son a Sign for everyone.  We know that this pertains to Mary and Jesus, peace upon both.

Note:

‘Quickened’ NOT breathed!  ‘Quicken’ is EXACTLY what this word means, To ‘vivify, make alive, hasten, accelerate, etc..  and this meaning in English has also been preserved in Biblical Dictionary Definitions. 

3.    Verse 92 CONCLUDES the list of Prophets with a very important statement:

‘THIS is your Community, a SINGLE COMMUNITY, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.’  

Can anyone, after this, doubt the brotherhood that existed between these Prophets… or feel uncertain that it SHOULD be mirrored between us all, if we indeed believed in them and worshipped God?

4.    Verse 93 describes how later generations broke up what should have remained united, as they tore apart from each other.

Verse 94 states that ‘We’ (which refers to God), shall compile the rewards of the good deeds of the Faithful FOR them. 

This is important in that it informs us that our deed are ‘compiled’ AFTER we have done them!

Verses 95-100 refer to the Hereafter, and the Deniers bewailing their Heedlessness.

We notice here Verse 96, referred to earlier (beginning with the word ‘until,’ it mentions Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj as ‘IT,’ saying that IT is openedفُتِحَتْ  (ت = هي) a non-human pronoun reference, which indicates the likelihood of a natural phenomenon)[i]. 

It is easy to see how these verses could have been misread; each generation is the product of its time.

These are all verses of Dissuasion.

PAGE 331 Arabic Qur’an.

5.    Verses 101-103 go on to ‘Persuasion,’ with beautiful verses which describe another group of people, for whom The ‘Hussnaaالحسنى- ’ or ‘Ultimate Goodness’ has already been promised; their Removal from having to witness any suffering; their Immortality as they enjoy their hearts’ desire; their Deliverance from the ‘Greatest Sorrow,’ and their Reception by the welcoming committee, who are no other than the Angels!

6.    Verse 104 is considered a ‘Scientific Marvel,’ as it mentions the ‘folding-up of the space-fabric of our Universe, at the ‘end of time’ as we know it, when the ‘expansion slows down and eventually reverses, so that the Universe will be contracting’ (end NASA quote).

Verse 105 mentions the Zaboor (which is probably related to Prophet David’s exemplary ‘tasbeeh,’ mentioned in our last Reading).  David, peace upon him, and the Zaboor are mentioned together in HQ 4:163, 17:55). 

(Biblically speaking, what we call ‘zaboor’ might correspond to the ‘Psalms of David,’ which are beautiful in their own right.)

Think, dear Reader:  Isn’t it amazing, that the more we consider ourselves so-called ‘religious,’ the less tolerant we are of others?  Why can’t everyone who claims to believe in God see that we have so much more that unites, rather than divides us?  Shouldn’t our claim of faith in God Himself be sufficient to bring us, at least some acceptance, of each other? 

It should, but it doesn’t always do so, due to the single annulling factor that VOIDS all the goodness gained from scriptures or worship, and this annulling factor is: Ignorance.

The ‘Thikr’ mentioned here, which the Zaboor came after, is probably that of Prophets Moses and Aaron, peace upon both (see Verse 48).

Verse 106 says that in THIS (referring to the aforementioned statement: “The Earth shall indeed be inherited by my Righteous Worshippers”) is an announcement for People in active Worship عابدين.  Yusuf Ali refers ‘this’ to the Qur’an.

7.    Verses 107-112 conclude this Chapter of ‘The Prophets’ with a direct address to Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him, informing him/us that he, Muhammad, was sent only as a Mercy to the Worlds, and that the information conveyed to him was that indeed, God is One God, and everyone is invited to render Him Pure Reverence!

After this clear announcement, listeners are warned of God’s Promise… and the Chapter ends with a prayer: 

“He said “My Lord, do Judge in Truth; and Our Lord, (is) The Creator, The Sustainer (Whose support we seek) against what you are alleging!”

Enough said!

Our next Reading is from HQ 22:1-23; a New Chapter!

Peace unto all!

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[i] Note how important it is to take the statement in context, together with the verse before it (‘until’ is a conjunction).  Only then does the pronoun ‘theyهم- ’ (in Verse 96- indicating a human plural-not a duality.) have proper reference to the first ‘they’ (the townsfolk, in Verse 95), who, in response to this phenomenon, stream one after the other, down every mound.

From WIKI:

Gender

·         f-female (The pronoun represents a woman, or a girl, or a grammatically feminine word)

·         m-masculine (The pronoun represents a man, or a boy, or a grammatically masculine word)

Note: Non-human objects, as with the case in Romance Languages, must be either masculine or feminine.

For example "book" (كتاب) is masculine, and so uses the subject pronoun "هو".

"Library," (مكتبة) however, is feminine, and so uses the subject pronoun "هي".

However, ALL non-human plurals take the feminine singular. (eg. libraries = هي, books = هي)