.jpg)
Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.
In our last Reading, we stopped to understand what the word ‘Furqaan’ referred to, and upon researching its grammatical implication, we found out that the form ‘fa’laan’ is a part of speech which denotes something both superlative AND active!
Dear Reader,
The more we get to know the Qur’an, the more we appreciate the enormous efforts of those who conducted research before the advent of the information age. Although here, at iqrathechallenge, we might uncover new research which leads us to disagree with some findings of our predecessors, yet:
We will always hold them in the highest esteem as we acknowledge two things:
· WE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MATCH (OR EVEN COME CLOSE) TO THEIR EFFORTS.
· IT IS THEIR EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT WHICH SUPPORT US TODAY.
If you’ve been with us for a while, dear Reader, I shouldn’t have to tell you how amazing it is that every word in the Qur’an fits in its specific location like an unparalleled intricate jigsaw-puzzle. Each time we research the occurrence of any word in our Tanzil search-engine, we find amazing facts that help us understand the Qur’an better.
The Qur’an is a precisely-woven unit.
And it is our generation which is blessed to have tools to uncover such information… right at our fingertips!
COMMENTS:
1. I have somewhat amended my translation of the first verse of this Chapter[i]:
‘Of Eternal Blessing is He Who sent down the Criterion upon His Worshipper[ii] so that he would be, to all the Worlds, a Warner!’
2. Verse 2 follows up with:
“(Of Eternal Blessing is) He to Whom belongs the dominion of the Heavens and the Earth, and no child has He taken, nor partner had He in Sovereignty, and He has created everything and projected, for each, its full worth.”
This verse shows us clearly, that Eternal Sovereignty (Ownership and Control) would negate the existence of offspring or partners. It also shows us that ‘Qadr’ (discussed April 1, July 2), is embedded in each creature, that God puts in each the capacity to reach its ‘projected end,’ fulfilling its role and ‘proving its worth قدر’.
While everything in Creation naturally evolves towards that projected end (HQ 87:1-3), we, as ‘Children of Adam,’ need to make decisive and active use of our individual and collective POTENTIAL in order to reach our projected ‘worth,’ as God’s most Honored (HQ 17:70).
What a responsibility:
What God has projected for us in life, does not become ours unless we choose to seek it!
3. After the first two powerful verses on God’s Sovereignty, Verses 3- 4- 5 show us the absurdity of the Deniers; in their taking of powerless gods other than God Himself; in their feeble accusations when they call His Message ‘stories of bygone generations,’ and consider them compiled for him (‘written’ is an inaccurate translation; put kataba in ‘Search this Site’).
Verse 7 shows us how they discount this Messenger (Muhammad), simply because he is a mortal (not an angel). Proof of his mortality is that he EATS FOOD and walks the markets.
Remember HQ 5:75 with regard to Prophet Jesus (and his mother)? Peace upon all God’s Messengers: they were all mortal!
5. In Verse 8 they complain that he was not granted a ‘treasure,’ or a garden full of sustenance. They claim that he is tricking them with magic, or ‘sihr[iii],’ which is a combination of awe and deception (put ‘sihr’ in ‘Search this Site’).
6. In Verse 9 the Messenger is told that their misguidance is proven by the examples they draw to him.
‘Of Eternal Blessing is He Who, had He willed, he would have rendered for you (bequests) better than that…’
Note: ‘Qasr’ is the origin of ‘castle[iv].’
Remember: This Chapter began with the word ‘tabaaraka.’
Indeed, of the nine times this expression is mentioned in the Qur’an, THREE are in this Chapter alone!
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 25:11-32.
Peace unto all!
[i] I realized that the expression ‘tabaaraka’ تبارك is reserved only for God as we can see by putting it in Tanzil. I have also put the pronoun ‘he’ instead of ‘it’ because the Arabic pronoun هو could refer either to the ‘Furqaan’ or to ‘His Worshipper’ (in Traditonal Arabic explanations it refers to the Worshipper, indicating Muhammad as Warner, peace upon him). After I had put نذير / ‘warner’ in Tanzil I found that this term only applied to persons, so that seems more accurate.
[ii] Prophet Muhammad is referred to here as ‘Abd’ or ‘Worshipper (of God),’ peace upon him.
When we put the entire phrase: عبده -فاعبده -نعبد –زكريا in Tanzil, we find all 6 verses which honor and support him as God’s Worshipper (HQ 17:1, 39:36), conveying to him exclusive information ‘Wahi’ وحي (HQ 53:10), transmitting to him the Compilation (HQ 18:1), the Furqaan (HQ 25:1), and the Clear, Evident, Signs (HQ 57:9).
[iii] سحر: خَدْعٌ وشِبههُ، قال قوم: هو إخراج الباطل في صورة الحقِّ، ويقال هو الخديعة.
[iv] Its root-verb ‘qasaraقصر- ’ being related to ‘limiting, shortening, falling short, enclosing,’ or something within enclosures.
Check Etymology Online and note that, as usual, they do not see the Arabic origin! If you read what they say carefully, you’ll notice that the word ‘castrate’ is mentioned, and that too, is NOT linked to its Arabic origin… despite the fact that the Arabic root-verb ‘قص- قصر’ (especially if feminine: casat or casarat قصرت) literally means to ‘cut’ and ‘shorten something!’
