Day 227; Qur’an 39:54-67, page 464-465

Welcome Friends:  Ahlan wa sahlan!

Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter.

Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter. 

Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.

COMMENTS:

PAGE 464 Arabic Qur’an.

In our last Reading of the beautiful Verse 53, we heard the call to ‘My Worshippers’ who’d wronged themselves NOT to despair of God’s Mercy.

1.       Today, Verse 54- 55 continue to address God’s Worshippers, inviting them/us to:

·        ‘Aneebuأنيبوا- ’ ‘return to your Lord, to the place you LOVE and are ACCUSTOMED to (put ‘muneeb’ in ‘Search this Site’[i]).  

·       ‘Be Purely Reverent to your Lord’ -‘asslimu[ii],’ before the Suffering befalls you, from which none can relieve you.  

·        Pursue the BEST of what your Lord has sent down to you, before the suffering comes suddenly upon you (when least expected).

This last invitation is linked to Verses 18 and 23 which mention this Revelation as being the ‘Best of Hadeeth/حديث ’ and the ‘Best of Sayings/قول .’

‘Asslimu’ is explained by (Ali/ Asad) as ‘bow to’ the Lord’s will/ ‘surrender unto him.’ 

2.   The next three verses allow us to eavesdrop on what such persons would be saying to themselves at the time of Suffering, desperately begging for a second chance and crying out in regret at having ‘in haste’  ([iii]فرّط)‘squandered/removed and brushed aside’…something crucial in relation to- ‘with regard to’ God or on the ‘side of’ God (في جنب الله)…

I’ve been thinking of ‘farraTta fee janbil-Lah’ and I feel that this regret is about something CRUCIAL we feel and know, yet might squander, brush aside, or simply rush through without giving it due attention.  Perhaps it is about the ‘divine,’ far-reaching ‘dimension’ to our Cognizance, which is directly linked to God. 

See all six occurrences of جنب  ‘janb’ defined as relating to ‘side’ or to ‘distance [iv]’.

 PAGE 465 Arabic Qur’an.

Such persons’ argument – and the response they get- is highly informative: 

It offers CLEAR EVIDENCE of being INVALID, and that each person’s guidance or misguidance is NOT ‘decreed’ by God, as they allege! See Ali and Asad

3.    Indeed, Verse 59 asserts that, to the contrary of what such a person says (“had God guided me, I would have been of the Aware, and if given a second chance, I would be of the Performers of goodness”), ‘balaaبلى.....’ indeed ‘My’ (God’s) Signs were indeed delivered to you, but you belied them, and were arrogant and became one of the Deniers.  

So, it IS a matter of choice.

4.  Verse 60-61 continue with Dissuasion and Persuasion, showing us how ‘Resurrection’ will feel for both the Arrogant on one hand, and the Aware on the other, who are ‘delivered by virtue of their triumphs’ (27 verses mention such triumphs).

I far prefer Asad’s explanation to Ali’s, regarding the ‘faces of those who lied against God.’  While Ali says ‘turned black,’ Asad seems to indicate that people’s faces might ‘darken’ or ‘lighten’ to reflect their mental or emotional state. 

I have been asked about such verses, and I know that they have caused some concern.

Since the Qur’an only mentions Truths, let us look into these words:  The truth is that neither ‘White’ nor ‘Black’ exist.  In other words, ‘black’ and ‘white’ are NOT colors: 

Light consists of seven wavelengths/colors, the SUM of which is ‘white.’ 

What we call ‘black’ is the ABSENCE of all those wavelengths of Light.

Furthermore, when we look at the 12 instances in the Qur’an where ‘abyaDd’ أبيض is mentioned, we find the word clearly related to Light!

On Feb. 5^th we said that the Arabic lexicon also relates ‘aswad’ and abyaDd’ to the commonness of one thing and the rarity of the other.  Two OPPOSITE States of Being.

So, the ‘faces’ of those who have lied against God are actually described at the time of Resurrection as ‘void of all light.’ 

Isn’t that a more accurate interpretation, dear Reader?

http://www.colormatters.com/vis_bk_white.html

5.    Verses 62- 63 announce that God is Creator of all, and is of everything ‘Wakeel,’ and it is He Who Holds control (literally, the ‘reins’) of the Heavens and earth, and those who deny His Signs, it is they who are the Losers (put ‘Losers’ in ‘Search this Site’).  ‘Wakeel’ denotes both dependability and trustworthiness; He is The One to trust and depend on, in all affairs… furthermore, He suffices those who depend on Him.

This verse also ties in with Verse 38.

6.   After all these verses of Dissuasion and Persuasion and the magnificent description of God’s attributes, the Messenger is told to direct a question at them in Verse 64 and label them ‘Ignorants,’ asking them how they can command him to worship other than God!

Then, Verse 65 surprises listeners who clearly hear God’s ‘voice’ addressing the Messenger as the latter dutifully conveys, telling him/listeners of the exclusive information conveyed to him (wahiوحي-) and to those (Messengers) before him, AND ALSO that, were he to associate (partners with God)… his deeds would be invalidated and he would be among the Losers! 

What power in these verses!  I doubt that anyone who studies this can accuse Muhammad of being the ‘author’ of the Qur’an!

Verse 66 continues on what he should do, which is to worship God and be of those who accept little and make the best out of it until it achieves abundance, which is the definition of ‘shukr’ (put shukr in ‘Search this Site’).

These verses are also lessons to us; we should worship God without shirk/ ‘association.’

Dear Reader:

All these verses are setting the atmosphere for a scene of great magnitude, which we shall soon encounter!

Enough said!

Our next Reading is from HQ 39:67-75.

Peace unto all!

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[i] Although the definition of ‘nawaba’ doesn’t include the word ‘Home’… as we can see, it does indicate both the familiarity and love we can only find at ‘home.’

[ii] أسلموا is also found in HQ 3:20, 5:44, 22:34, 49:17- put ‘Islaam’ in ‘Search this Site.’

[iii] فرط: يدلُّ على إزالةِ شيءٍ من مكانه وتنحيتِه عنه. يقال فرَّطت عنه ما كرِهَه، أي نحّيته. فهذا هو الأصل، ثم يقال أفْرَطَ، إذا تجاوَزَ الحدَّ في الأمر. يقولون: إيَّاك والفَرْط، أي لا تجاوِز القَدْر. وهذا هو القياس، لأنَّه [إذا] جاوَزَ القَدْر فقد أزالَ الشَّيءَ عن جهته. وكذلك التفريط، وهو التَّقصير، لأنَّه إذا قصَّر فيه فقد قَعَد به عن رُتْبته التي هي له.

ومن الباب الفَرَط والفارط: المتقدِّم في طلب الماء. ومنه يقال في الدعاء للصّبيّ: "اللهمَّ اجعلْه فَرَطاً لأبوَيه"، أي أَجْراً متقدِّماً. وتكلَّمَ فلانٌ فِراطاً، إذا سبقَتْ منه بوادِرُ الكلام. ومن هذا الكَلِم: أفرَطَ في الأمر: عَجَّل. وأفرَطَت السّحابةُ بالوسميِّ: عجَّلَتْ به. وفرّطتُ عنه الشَّيء: نحّيته عنه. وفَرَس فُرُط: تَسبِق الخيل. والماء الفِراط. الذي يكون لم سَبَق إليه من الأحياء.

ويقولون: أفْرَطت القربةَ: ملأتَها. والمعني في ذلك أنَّه إذا ملأها فقد أفْرَطَ، لأنَّ الماء يَسبِق منها فيَسيل. وغديرٌ مُفْرَطٌ: ملآنُ. وأفرطتُ القومَ، إذا تقدَّمتَهم وتركتَهم وراءَك. وقالوا في قوله تعالى:{وَأَنّهُمْ مُفْرَطُونَ}  [النحل 62]: أي مؤخَّرون.

[iv] جنب: أصلان متقاربان أحدهما: النّاحية، والآخر البُعْد.

فأمّا الناحية فالجَنَاب. يقال هذا من ذلك الجَناب، أي الناحية. وقعَدَ فلانٌ جَنْبَةً، إذا اعتزَل الناسَ. ومن الباب الجَنْبُ للإنسان وغيره.

وأمَّا البُعْد فالجَنَابة.

ويقال إنَّ الجُنُب الذي يُجامِع أهْلَه مشتقٌّ من هذا؛ لأنه يبعدُ عما يقرُب منه غيرُه، من الصَّلاةِ والمسجد وغير ذلك.

ومما شذ عن الباب ريح الجَنُوب. يقال جُنِبَ القَومُ: أصابَتْهم ريحُ الجَنُوب؛ وأجنبوا، إذا دخلوا في الجَنُوب. وقولُهم جَنَّب القومُ، إذا قلّت ألبانُ إبلهم. وهذا عندي ليس من الباب. وإنْ قال قائل إنه من البُعْد، كأنَّ ألبانَها قلَّت فذهبَتْ، كان مذهَباً، وجَنْبٌ قبيلة، والنِّسبة إليها جَنْبِيٌّ. وهو مشتقٌّ مِن بعض ما ذكرناه.