SURAH 110 UN-NASR

Surah 110 - سورة النصر 

UN NASR - THE STATUS FOR HELP 

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE SURAH:

A mental revolution is a fundamental change in thought or opinion that takes place in a relatively short period of time. In the context of the book Quran, mental revolution happens by turning of heart due to continuous agitation in mind. Complete change or modification from existing constitution to another is like a opening of mental block / lock from the key of consciousness / state of awareness but this is not an ordinary task but a great victory.

                

The respected author of the book Quran says when you see that your agitated mind is continuously preventing you from submitting to your own conscious level that means it is not satisfied with your present level and  provoking you to rise to another conscious level. Agitation of mind is a sign that it wants to leave the comfort zone and grow. When this happens you should strive hard with integrity, knowledge and hard work to restore yourself from scatterbrained.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

With the identification of the System of Consciousness, the Rehman, the Raheem

CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETATION: -

إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ  

(1) When comes the stage of aiding / helping of the system of consciousness [Allah] that means the stage is set for the opening / commencement [of enlightenment] 
 
وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا 

(2) And you often observe / feel the agitated mind entering into submission of Allah [System of consciousness] spreading coolness,

فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا

(3) So strive with approval of your Consciousness [Rabb] and seek His protection, Indeed He (Rabb) is ever restorer.

MEANINGS:

إِذَا = When, denotes a thing happening suddenly or unexpectedly or experiencing the occurrences of a thing when in particular state - time adverb

جَاءَ = comes, retrospects, proceeds, available, emanated, issue, produce, arrives, honor, standing, glory, fame - 3rd person masculine singular perfect verb

نَصْرُ = A state of helping, aid, assist, strengthen, - nominative masculine noun

اللَّهِ = System of consciousness - genitive proper noun 

وَ = And - waw's function is conjunction as well as it explains the following word. In Quranic context و is very often is used as واو الحال (waw al-Haal) - that is emphasizing the description or condition of the following word or sentence coming after waw. For example 57:25 and 42:17 - here و is explaining the book that it is balanced rather than separating balance and the book - In 2:151 و is describing the book that it is full of wisdom rather than separating the wisdom from the book. 

الْفَتْحُ = The Opening, Explain or made clear which was dubious or confused, open or reveals, prompted in order to know, good opportunity - nominative masculine noun

رَأَيْتَ = You see, observe, judge, looked, feel - 2nd person masculine singular perfect verb

النَّاسَ = The agitated people / minds -  accusative masculine plural noun

يَدْخُلُونَ  = Entering, interference, unsoundness, encroached, deception 16:92  - 3rd person masculine plural imperfect verb

فِي = In - preposition

دِينِ = Obedience (Madina= State under the authority), indebted, to be subject, obligation, submissive, enslave - genitive noun

 أَفْوَاجًا = spreading moderately, coolly  -  accusative plural indefinite noun

فَسَبِّحْ = So strive [for knowledge], getting himself immersed (swimming where hands and legs strives), occupies/busy himself, (Masbah = swimming pool= where one strives) - 2nd person masculine singular (form II) imperative verb

بِحَمْدِ = With approval, estimate, commendable, praise, mention him, power, with ability to control ,honor,- prefixed preposition bi – genitive masculine adjective 

رَبِّكَ =  Your Conscious, Mind, Lord, Nourisher, Possessor, Sustainer, Owner, Having Authority, Ruler, Governor, Commander, Up-bringer, Master, Chief, Reformer, King, Ribbath/Rabbiun means group of learned/like-minded people with similar aim, Rabbani means knowledgeable man - Rabbul Aalameen means The knowledgeable Consciousness. Rabbul bait is head of the family and Rabbathul bait means house wife. As no translator has clearly defined the invincible Rabb, thereby creating confusion and encouraging the philosophy of supplications, addressed to the mysterious Rabb without action - Rabbani means learned or knowledgeable man,Tarbiyat means upbringing, Rectifier, Reformer, Accomplisher, Bringing to the state of completion in degrees. Rabbubi means science, or knowledge- Marabb means one who counsels - After an intensive study of the meaning with the “Quranic” context, I concluded that if we have to define Rabb in a simple and a single word which encompasses the essence of the meaning of Rabb, then Mind/Conscious is the right word which represents the word Rabb. Understanding the essence of the message is of utmost importance, than just sanctifying the word and venerating it. My aim is that the translation should be reader-friendly, simple, logical and subjective, without fear, greed and sacredness of any sort and above all it must be educative and appealing to all mankind.  – genitive masculine noun – 2nd person masculine singular possessive pronoun

اسْتَغْفِرْهُ =  Sought his protection, cover, pardon, heal, rectify - 2nd person masculine singular (form X) imperative verb -– 3rd person masculine singular object pronoun

إِنَّهُ = Indeed he - accusative particle – 3rd person masculine singular object pronoun

كَانَ = Is, forever - 3rd person masculine singular perfect verb

تَوَّابًا = Repentance, return, restore, converted, renounce, regret, grieve - accusative masculine singular indefinite active participle

FROM THE TRADITIONAL POINT OF VIEW:

As per the traditional point of view this surah is related to the conquest of Mecca and the verses are exclusively addressed to the honorable messenger (2nd person masculine singular). Again according to the traditional understanding it indicates that the above surah is exclusively concerned with the honorable messenger only. And the "God" is instructing the messenger to hymn the praises in His favor, thus portraying "God" as praise hungry. There is no guidance for the mankind at large and the message of this surah is simply confined to the messenger.

The traditionalist portray this surah as a surah of victory and conquests. This type of narrow thinking promotes the urge for having a "God's Rule" and thus compelling people to think on the lines of victory, defeat and conquest. Such thinking pattern sow the seeds for having a need for God's Rule or imposing our version of doctrine, camouflaging it as "God's will or rule". Thus creating the belief of "fortunate chosen one's" and breeding the fatalistic or fanatic attitude in the young minds of "paradise seekers".  


LESSON FROM THE SURAH:

Strive hard with integrity and knowledge if you want to open the lock or mental blockage of your consciousness / awareness. Understand the interference from the agitated mind, it is a sign of growth. Remember nothing grows in comfortable zone, out of box thinking is a must.

SURAH 109 AL-KAFIRUN

SURAH 109 - سورة الكافرون

AL- KAFIRUN - THOSE WHO FAILED TO SEE THE SIGNS OR CAN'T SEE THE POTENTIAL IN THEIR OWN SELVES. THOUGHTS THAT LOST ALL THE HOPE / DEPRESSED THOUGHTS   

Al-Kafirun in Quranic context simply means the self serving, egoist, arrogant, narcissistic thoughts. The word Kafir does not describe any particular person but a characteristic of ego / vanity present in all satanic thoughts. Man is a product of his own thoughts and the message of the entire book Quran is how to evolve our bad thoughts and convert it into good thoughts. Ibless is described as Kafir and arrogant in the book Quran - 2:34. Iblees is not a physical character but a specific character or thought of our own self who sneaks and keeps on whispering or influencing and hiding in our pure nature. 

Kafir - Mushrik - Munafiq - Fasiq - Mufasidun - Mukazabin - Momin - Muslim, Muhsin, Yahood, Nasara are distinct thoughts / ideologies of different layers of our own level of self - We have to nurture some and some we have to kill or delete or educate from our System of Consciousness. They are not persons belonging to particular communities but they are moral principles that govern a person's behavior or conduct an activity of a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of our character.
 

Kafir in the Quranic context are that thoughts which refuses to acknowledge, recognize or digest the facts because a kafir only see his / her own self importance. A kafir fails to recognize his / her our own inherent script [Al-Kitab] or signs [ayaats] - a skeptical - not accepting a guidance from the script - manifesting unbelief, rejecting core constitution of self. This happens because the knowledge is covered by ego and vanity. In that case we all are Kafirs and this Surah is an advice to all of us.

In short this surah states that what I do is none of your business, if it suits your thought process, you follow my way or you follow what suits you. There is no compulsion in Deen [obedience / submission] (2:256). So there should be no debates and arguments beyond a certain limit. It tends to create a demarcation of beliefs and how one must hold back oneself from enforcing their views and opinions. Though the basic meaning of Kafir is - one who covers, conceals a thing or denies the facts or dis-acknowledges it, ungrateful and ignorant. The general conception of the word Kafir is derogatory to "non-muslims" thanks to the traditional thinkers. In this surah Al of Kafir is describing a specific character present in all.

"Islam" or Peace / Security / Shanti, Shalom is not an ism, as  generally believed. The traditional thinkers have divided mankind into two classes 

                              1. Believers in "Islamic ideology", they are called Muslims.

                              2. Non believers in "Islamic ideology", they are called Kafirs.

But the fact is otherwise. The message of the book Quran is applicable to entire mankind and it's main subject of discussion is how to achieve PEACE/SECURITY for self. Just like when, man cannot survive without the basic necessities like air, water, and food, in the same way he cannot survive without peace / security. So Peace / Security is not somebody's ancestral property or monopoly that can be classified into two main groups, then again further sub-divided into many smaller groups each claiming to be the sole heir of the property called "Islam" or Peace. Peace / Safety is a basic need of everyone and it is the topmost priority for everyone. Peace, Shanti, Shalom, Salam are not somebody's ownership or patent but everybody's requirement. 

The teachings of the book Quran is not divisive, but some sections of people make an impression that they are the sole teachers of the message of Peace/Security. And only their version of understanding of the message is correct.  Thereby branding others who don't subscribe  to their understanding, as "The Kafirs" [Those don't do sajda and are arrogant]. 

The meaning of Muslim is, one who is at peace with self, one who surrenders to soundness, one who does not fight but surrenders for the cause / sake of peace; his / her salutation is Salam / Peace. If one is safe and peaceful then only he can cater to the peace and provide security of others. Those who are not peaceful are called mischief mongers (الْمُفْسِدُونَ). Although Muslim, Mufasidun are all nature of our thoughts.

There are only 3 important words in this surah, which should be understood in the right perspective. They are Kafir, ibadah and Deen.

Meanings:

الْكَافِرُونَ = They are the thoughts that don't believe in the power of their own book of knowledge, guidance, intellect. They are tempted towards outside glamour, vanity and think materialism is the final goal. Ultimately some of them become depressed, dejected, and some become proud, ignorant, arrogant because of they are involved in pomp and glory. (2:34)

2:6 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

Indeed, those who possess the characteristics of kafir (pride, arrogance, concealed, obscure, secretive, inclined to conceal feelings, covertly)  - it is all the same upon them whether you sternly warn them or you warn them not - they will never put trust / have faith in themselves [they will always believe in what others say]

أَعْبُدُ - تَعْبُدُونَ - عَابِدٌ -  The word Ibadah is used in different derivatives in this surah, which means to serve, worship, adore, revere, regard - Ibadah actually means to serve, cleanse wholeheartedly or with reverence/obeisance our own mind from filthy, dirty thoughts etc

 دِينِ = Became obedient, borrowed, submissive, enslaved, served, followed, governed, managed, possessed, owned it, authority over it, inherent law, under obligation, obedience, habituated, accustomed, indebted in debt, religion, code of life, way, dispensation, etc - Madeena is one of the derivative of Deen, which means city or place under an authority or submission.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Interpretation:


 قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ

(1) Say O you satanic / proud / egoist self serving thoughts 

 لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

(2) I do not serve which you serve 

 وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ

(3) And nor will you serve that which I serve

 وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

(4) And I shall not serve that which you are serving

 وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ

(5) And nor will you serve that which I serve

 لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

(6) To you your obedience / way of life, and to me my obedience / way of life.

THE THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE OF THE SURAH:

Our own egoist thoughts are precisely addressed that I am not going to follow your seducing / pampering self serving ways. Here no physical "non-believer" is addressed as generally perceived but the message is to our own selfish / self serving thoughts which are present in all of us that are being addressed.



FURTHER ELABORATION OF KAFIR:

Kafirun- Refuse to accept because they have ego and vanity they refuse to accept in spite of knowledge of facts.

For example just like some smokers know that cigarette smoking is injurious to health still they hide the fact or ignore the hazard and keep on smoking – They refuse to accept evidences and proofs presented to them by the highest authority on that subject. Such thoughts are KAFIR because they serve their nafs (self) their addiction in spite of knowing the truth. Their addiction refuse to accept the fact, such satanic thoughts are also arrogant, dominating and not letting the right thoughts to enter in their system. Similarly if some thoughts suits me, not necessary that it would suit all and that all should be forced to accept it. If the thoughts rejects or refuses to accept an explanation in this case the thought is a kafir because the egoistic thoughts ignore/rejects/hide the explanation of right thoughts. Kafir is just a word having simple meaning like any other word but non-Arabs have made it look like an abuse. The basic meaning of Kafara is to hide, veiled, dis-acknowledged, denied, concealed, covered, conceal etc. The word Kafir has nothing to do with not believing in "God". Kafir does not believe in his own inherent script [Al-Kitab] because of Ego. 



EXPLAINING DEEN:

Here it is very important to understand the meaning of Deen. The correct essence of the meaning of this word will help us in understanding Deen throughout the Quran. Usually when the word Deen is mentioned, Islam comes to mind. Although Deen does not represent "religion Islam" only. Deen is an extremely subtle word which needs to be understood in the right perspective. The meaning of Deen, varies from context to context but without change in the essence of the root word. Here Deen does not mean religion or ideology. Here Deen signifies that we are ruled by certain belief which we subscribe to, and we are under its influence hence we are obedient and submissive to it. An example of obedience (Deen) is, when someone is under a pressure of debt, and from that obligation of the creditor it is difficult to come out. When bad thoughts become our owner or master we are controlled or influenced by it and we work under the instruction or obedience of that bad master and our way of life is strayed from the right path. Finally wrong way of life become our deen.

Madeena a derivative of Deen, generally means a land under authority. A debtor is also under the obligation or under the control of creditor's terms and conditions, such a condition is also referred to as Deen. That's why in the beginning of the Quran itself, the respectable author clarified the relation of Man and Rabb, in verse four - Maliki Yaumi Deen means Owner of our every moment of life. Here Rabb is the Owner or Giver / Lender and we are the borrower.

MANKIND ARE THE DEBTORS / BORROWERS OF RABBUL AALAMEEN

The respected author of the Quran wants us to know that our real master is the Knowledgeable Rabb and what we obey or submit to or serve is our Deen or way of life and it is we who are the subscribers of our Deen. We only serve to please our own Consciousness [Rabb] There is no compulsion on us to heed a certain way of life of subjugation [Deen]. Right thoughts enable us to spend peaceful life. Our thoughts are linked with our our way of life [Deen]. Selecting our thoughts wisely is the crux of the message of the book Quran. One must always remember to sustain our own Magnificent Rabb as Master/Owner and be always His obedient servant. Peaceful living can happen by entertaining / nurturing right thoughts. In fact we don't realize if we don't serve our Rabb [Mind / Consciousness] in a proper manner; we can fall prey to whispering of the Devil.

OUTWARD MESSAGE OF THE SURAH:

Specific emphasis is given to the haters/rejectors of any ideology or doctrine or person.  

For instance what Mr. A – feels is right, it’s not necessary that Mr. B- would also feel the same and so he cannot be forced to feel in that manner. If there is any type of enforcement then it would lead to dispute and that would promote an unhealthy atmosphere which is not ISLAM (peace) but ignorance (Kufur). Killing each other in the name of ism is not at all recommended even if the denier rejects your ideology or doctrine or you.

What we accept or in obedience of it, is our way of spending our life and that is our Deen.

Obedience or Deen are not permanent features, but keeps on changing according to the situations.

What we accept today, tomorrow we can reject it or what we reject today, tomorrow we can accept it. 

What we don't accept/obey or what we deny/reject in spite of knowing is termed as Kafir. Nothing unholy about it.

The main lesson of this surah is tolerance and secularism. Live and let Live.

SURAH 108 AL-KAUSAR

Surah 108  -   سورة الكوثر

Al-Kausar - The Abundance 

Brief : 

A very small surah with a very profound message emphasizing that nobody has less or more. It's all in the mind. Everyone has an equal capability / scope of growth. Making proper use of your talent and exercising your mind. Over powering the world through knowledge is the core subject of this surah.

The respected author of the book Quran urges that the Rabbul-Aalameen has provided mankind with superior inherent qualities, one of which is to express our-self. One of the meanings of Kausar is to talk profusely. The quality to express surpasses all the other qualities because this is the only difference between other species and us. The faculty of reason is a human privilege. It arises from the ability to think. All other beings lack this faculty. Reason makes human the masterpiece of all creations. But few make an effort to develop and master the the art of thinking and implement it. The respected author wants us to realize that thinking only is not enough we have to converse / talk / plead (صلو) with our consciousness / mind continuously with conviction of action. We can achieve success only if we consult the subject of our interest passionately with our own consciousness [Rabb], that will leave behind all competitors, rivalry and negativity which are termed as our enemy of progress.

The theme of this surah is لِرَبِّكَ  Rabbuka (singular) and the respected author directly addresses us by using singular form of pronoun, which means for your Rabb only. Kausar also means something which is done continuously. Thinking is the only thing which we do continuously. When AL is added to Kausar, it becomes a specific special quality of thinking. So before taking any decision one should meditate / think or talk or exercise for our mind/consciousness [Rabbuka] - The prefixed preposition ل lam in لِرَبِّكَ  means for your Rabb (Rabb ke khatir / Rabb ke liye) and not to your Lord as translated by all the conventional translators. Li Rabukaa also proves my point that Rabb is mind.

Good thoughts are food for the mind which could nourish and make you grow in intellect and vice versa. So before committing to undertake any task, it is vital to know or understand our limitations and strengths by talking  /conversing / plead / follow (صلو) our Rabb for His sake. He is the only one who knows us thoroughly - in and out. The respected author wants us to consult the Rabb and totally cut off (الْأَبْتَرُ) the negative or wrong thoughts which are termed as enemy (شَانِئَكَ). So before taking up any task, remember whatever maybe the consequences or result of the task, it is the mind that has to bear the brunt which is worse than any physical torture. So whatever we do it is only for HIM (Rabb) and talking with HIM is good for HIM, as HE is the integral part of us.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

With the identification of the System of Consciousness- The Rehmaan, The Raheem

Contextual Interpretation:


إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

(1) Indeed We have given you the abundant (the capacity to think and talk)

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

(2) So converse for* your Rabb (consciousness) and master it

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ

(3) Indeed your enemy (all your drawbacks) will be isolated / eliminated 


Meanings:

إِنَّا = Indeed we -  accusative particle – 1st person plural object pronoun

أَعْطَيْنَا = We have given you - 1st person plural (form IV) perfect verb – subject pronoun – 2nd person masculine singular object pronoun

الْكَوْثَرَ = The abundant, much, superiority, excessive etc - accusative masculine adjective/noun  

فَصَلِّ =  He hit, beat, struck, petitioned, talk, converse, pray, supplicate, follow closely - - prefixed resumption particle– 2nd person masculine singular (form II) imperative verb

لِرَبِّكَ* = For your Consciousness, Mind, Lord, Nourisher, Possessor, Sustainer, Owner, Having Authority, Ruler, Governor, Commander, Up-bringer, Master, Chief, Reformer, King, Ribbath/Rabbiun means group of learned/like-minded people with similar aim, Rabbani means knowledgeable man - Rabbul Aalameen means The knowledgeable Consciousness. Rabbul bait is head of the family and Rabbathul bait means housewife. As no translator has clearly defined the invincible Rabb, thereby creating confusion and encouraging the philosophy of supplications, worship, rituals addressed to the mysterious Rabb without action - Rabbani means learned or knowledgeable man,Tarbiyat means upbringing, Rectifier, Reformer, Accomplisher, Bringing to the state of completion in degrees. Rabbubi means science, or knowledge- Marabb means one who counsels - After an intensive study of the meaning with the “Quranic” context, I concluded that if we have to define Rabb in a simple and a single word which encompasses the essence of the meaning of Rabb, then Mind/Conscious is the right word which represents the word Rabb. Understanding the essence of the message is of utmost importance, than just sanctifying the word and venerating it. My aim is that the translation should be reader-friendly, simple, logical and subjective, without fear, greed and sacredness of any sort and above all it must be educative and appealing to all mankind. -prefixed preposition lām – genitive masculine noun – 2nd person masculine singular possessive pronoun

 وَانْحَرْ = And go for the kill, cutting the life line, cut throat (idiom), mastered the affairs by knowledge or sciences - Basically نْحَرْ means mastering or knowing thoroughly - CONJ – prefixed conjunction wa (and) - 2nd person masculine singular imperative verb - In Arabic نحرالامورعلما - he mastered affairs by knowledge or science - ينحرالعلم - he masters knowledge / science. 

شَانِئَكَ = Your hater, traducer, opponent, enemy, slanderer, competitor etc - accusative masculine active participle – 2nd person masculine singular possessive pronoun

الْأَبْتَرُ = anything which is cut off from good or prosperity, isolated - nominative masculine noun



 Main points of the Surah:

Don't get influenced by the outside world or competitors or peer pressure. Man has been provided with a special status which other animals lack. It is important for you [self] and your mind / consciousness to communicate with each other, that is what salli means. Don't be dependent on others for advice. Consult and trust your omnipotent mind and be patient, don't be in a hurry but take your time to ponder - Before undertaking any task, big or small, the final authority is you, this is what the honorable messenger proposes - as the Rabb knows your limitations and strengths - It is only your mind that makes you taste the experience of heaven or hell. So better consult your Rabb and trust yourself and cut off all your negativity. To ignore this important aspect would be a serious abnegation of responsibilities and duty.  



This surah from the traditional point of view:

From the traditional point of view this surah is about ritualistic prayers and the sacrificing of cattle, so that your enemies get isolated from you. This does not make sense to me that the Lord has granted you a river in paradise, so pray and sacrifice in order to ward off your enemies. People have the right to select the interpretations that appeal to their mind. No offence intended. Our only concern is to think with an open mind.

Why I have not interpreted salli as namaz or prayer ? Let us analyze the word Salli in verse 2 - It is 2nd person masculine singular (form II) imperative verb (الفاء استءنافية , فعل أمر) A verb that is already transitive becomes doubly, as it takes a meaning of "to talk" or "involve in talk" or converse, so the meaning could be "to make one listen" i.e. "to converse". Whereas, if I take the meaning - to pray (namaz) as the traditionalist did, it would be only one way because the act of prayer is only one way and the other side is absent or invisible or is imaginary. If we take the meaning of salli as converse or talk it makes sense and will be grammatically justified as well. However on the other side, its Rabb that is listening and giving back opinions/solutions/feedback or signals, as it is a conversation with/for the Rabb/Mind and not God. Our Consciousness / Mind answers back, but God does not.

And also considering the fact that the word Salli is always used in the transitive form, while Salat is non-transitive, it becomes clear that these are not synonyms or equivalents of each other. More explanation will be provided in other surahs. 

One origin of salah is the word 'sila' صلة meaning a connection link as in 'silat ar-rahim', the 'ties of kinship'. Scholars do say that Salat is a sila between you and your Lord. Traditionally, salat refers to the five prescribed daily prayers, although salli comes from the same family of words, though it does not mean prayer.

The Transitive Verb

Recognize a transitive verb when you see one.

A transitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a doable activity like kick, want, paint, write, eat, clean, etc. Second, it must have a direct object, something or someone who receives the action of the verb.

Here are some examples of transitive verbs:

Sylvia kicked Juan under the table.

Kicked = transitive verb; Juan = direct object.

Joshua wants a smile from Leodine, his beautiful but serious lab partner.

Wants = transitive verb; smile = direct object.

Cornelius painted the canvas in Jackson Pollock fashion, dribbling bright colors from a heavily soaked brush.

Painted = transitive verb; canvas = direct object.

Alicia wrote a love poem on a restaurant napkin.

Wrote = transitive verb; poem = direct object.

Antonio eats lima beans drenched in brown gravy.

Eats = transitive verb; lima beans = direct object.

Pinky the poodle cleans the dirty supper dishes with his tongue before Grandma loads the "prewashed" items into dishwasher.

Cleans, loads = transitive verbs; dishes, items = direct objects.

Important note: When no direct object follows an action verb, the verb is intransitive.

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Note:

Understanding the essence of the message is of utmost importance than other factors. My intention is that the translations should be reader-friendly and simple. My understanding of the subject is not driven by being in awe with the language or grammar or knowledge of Hadith, but from the Light that is emitted through the message itself. I don't translate just for the sake of translation, unless I get the lessons from the message. The next step after I understand the message is to select the relevant vocabulary from the Lexicon that fits in with the essence of the message. Utmost care is taken to explain the message to the readers in an easy and best possible way; otherwise the purpose of translation is not attained. If the message is only meant for the elite classes such as scholars, researchers, government officials, as perceived by many, then it is of no use and it loses its value. But this is not the case, the message definitely has a universal appeal, whose main aim is to uplift the general public from dependence on others in all matters of life. There must not be any demarcation, as this beautiful message encompasses and crosses all boundaries and limitations. 

Derivations of Rabb:

Some brief derivations of the word Rabb found in the "Quran", intended as a guide to the meanings and to have better perspective of the word Rabb. An Arabic word may have a range of meaning depending on context. But the problem lies when any word is made sacred, the scope of its vast range of meaning gets limited and is confined to only religious connotations. We cannot write my Allah, their Allah, his/her Allah or many Allah as in the case of Rabb. Because Allah is a prepositional phrase but Rabb can be singular, plural, masculine, feminine and can have many other derivatives.  Here are some of the references within the "Quran" for educative purpose only.

لِرَبِّك -  Rabb is attached to 2nd person masculine singular possessive pronoun which means the respected messenger is emphasizing for your personal Rabb because of its singularity.

 رَبِّهِمْ - is 3rd person masculine plural possessive pronoun, means their Rabb

 رَبَّكُمُ - is 2nd person masculine plural possessive pronoun, means your Rabb 

رَبِّهِ - is 3rd person masculine singular possessive pronoun, means his Rabb

رَبُّنَا - is 1st person plural possessive pronoun, means Our Rabb

رَبِّيَ - is 1st person singular possessive pronoun, means My Rabb

رَبَّهُ -  is 3rd person feminine singular possessive pronoun, means her Rabb

 لِرَبِّكِ - is 2nd person feminine singular possessive pronoun, for your Rabb (feminine)

 أَرْبَابًا - is accusative masculine plural indefinite noun, means Many Rabbs

 رَبًّا - accusative masculine indefinite noun, means a Rabb

SURAH 107 AL-MAUN

Surah 107 - سورة الماعون 

Al Maun - The diligent effort to examine closely

NOTE :

IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS SURAH

1) DEEN DOES NOT MEAN RELIGION OR JUDGEMENT 

2) AL-YATEEM DOES NOT MEAN ORPHAN

3) AL-MAUN DOES NOT MEAN SMALL KINDNESS OR NEIGHBORLY NEEDS.


EXEGESIS:

This surah is not about charity to orphans or needy as generally perceived by the masses. Giving charities or helping people don't require special instructions. To give charity it needs empathy and not religion. The core message of this surah is to understand what the life of obligation or life of giving back (Deen) and what is the connection between the unique / incomparable / unmatched thoughts [الْيَتِيمَ] with the deen in this surah? Why it is important to help our unique / incomparable thoughts [الْيَتِيمَ] ? Why we must not repulsed unique / incomparable thoughts ? What is Al-miskeen [الْمِسْكِينِ] ? It is important to think beyond the boundaries or out of box so that we don't become stationary or stagnant (Miskeen) ? We must never become miskeen; nobody is going to think for ourselves, we have to think on our own we want to evolve. It is important to receive knowledge so that we don't become stagnant (miskeen). One must not curb the natural instinct of learning and evolving. The surah discusses those who drive away their unique thoughts are untrue with the covenant / loan agreement or with the life of obligation or re-compensation [Deen] entrusted upon us or embedded in us? The surah does not preach about feeding the poor because one cannot eliminate poverty by merely feeding the poor but helping them overcome the hindrances that are preventing them from progressing ahead by feeding them with thoughts that are advance and progressive.

THEME OF THE SURAH:

Contribution or giving back or keeping the promises is the most difficult job and those who don't honor their contract / commitments are untrue to the covenant of the give & take (Deen) or life of obligation [Deen] provided to them by their Malik [Owner]. We have forgotten the obligation lend to us by the Owner of our every moment or Owner of our every breath. Nature has granted us; or to be more specific, has given us a massive loan and we cannot run away from this obligation and not repaying it. In fact it is our duty to repay it peacefully to the Owner so that we can redeem ourselves. Deen is simply Paying Back. Living a life of a responsible borrower is Deen, obedient to the terms and condition of the Owner. The thoughts of repaying come to mind but it is very difficult to implement it in reality. Such thoughts are unique, unmatched and incomparable. These thoughts are not common; they are unique, isolated and unprecedented because they were never contemplated before by anyone. In Quranic context such thoughts are called الْيَتِيمَ {orphan} because nobody can afford to adopt or espouse it. When such thoughts come to mind we usually repulse it as it is tough to nurture or nourish or follow them, thus we deceive our own self. We break the covenant because giving / contributing or paying back is not easy. We are also not aware about our immense connections [صَلَاتِ] of our mental network to join together against the conflicting thoughts. We just want our superficial presence to be projected without diving deep to study assiduously the unique incomparable thoughts that we all possess. Such thoughts are orphan because nobody is ready nurture or support it. The thoughts and intention to giveback to nature what we have consumed is very rare.

Please verify all the meanings from the lexicons before understanding this chapter.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

With the identification of the System, the Rahman, the Raheem

INTERPRETATION:

 أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ

1.  Have you not seen those who are continuously dishonest with the responsibility of obligation / duty [DEEN ISLAM]?

فَذَ‌ٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ

2. Then that who continuously repulses / drives away the unique / incomparable thoughts

 وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ

3. And not feel the urge on nurturing those [thoughts] that became stationary [Miskeen]

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ 

4. So woe for such followers [who follow temptations]

 الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

5. Those are heedless / unmindful / unaware about their [mental] connections / links (with their knowledgeable Rabb)

 الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ

6. Those always wanted to be seen / pretend / show (of their fake information as knowledge)

وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ 

7. And they refuse to scrutinize /examine effort to study. (they don't self analyse)

MEANINGS:

أَرَأَيْتَ = You have not seen, experience, observed, judged -  INTERROGATIVE – prefixed interrogative alif, 2nd person masculine singular perfect verb, PRON – subject pronoun

الَّذِي = Such who, those who adhere - masculine singular relative pronoun

يُكَذِّبُ = Lies, untrue, falsehood, dishonest, altering or changing- what he hears - 3rd person masculine singular (form II) imperfect verb

بِالدِّينِ = (with the) Obligation, indebtedness, become submissive or abased or obedient or enslaved due to borrowing of loan or due to some agreement or certain conditions or circumstances, recompense, repay, remunerate, morally bounded, reward as in service, Law, Responsibility / Agreement of Loan - P – prefixed preposition bi - genitive masculine noun - In Arabic - برى من الدين free from loan or debt. 

فَذَ‌ٰلِكَ = So that, that is - masculine singular demonstrative pronoun

الَّذِي  = Those who adhere - masculine singular relative pronoun

يَدُعُّ = Pushes, thrust, drove, repelled, harshly, roughly or violently, repulses - 3rd person masculine singular imperfect verb

الْيَتِيمَ = The popular meaning is orphan but it also means, the unique, incomparable, isolated [thoughts that are unique of its kind, unequal, unmatched and are unprecedented - accusative masculine singular noun - Hans Wehr Dictionary page 1105 - According to Lisaan al-Arab it means solo, individual, unique, eminent / exalted / honored view point,never heard before - إِن لم يسمع - نظيرُه شريفٌ - الانفرادُ - الفَرْدُ - 

وَلَا = And not - CONJ –   prefixed conjunction wa (and) - NEG – negative particle

يَحُضُّ = excites, incites, urges, instigates, arouses, asking or requiring with urgency - 3rd person masculine singular imperfect verb - hosla afzaai karna, zor dena, bhadkana

عَلَىٰ = On - P – preposition

طَعَامِ = Digestible food that nourishes, agreeable, eatable, nurture, contained marrow, inoculated, to imbue a person with idea, ripe, educate, nourishment, matured, disciplined, intelligence because of discourse or narratives, prompt him, as though putting recitation into his mouth-like as food - food for thought - genitive masculine noun

الْمِسْكِينِ = The person who is affected, motionless, stationary, blocked, still, calm, silent, tranquil, unruffled, sedate, quite in mind, state of paucity or poverty of mind, weak, subdued Sukoon is one of the derivative word - genitive masculine singular noun

فَوَيْلٌ = Woe, a word of incitement, perdition befall him, punishment befall him - nominative masculine indefinite noun

لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ = close followers -  genitive masculine plural (form II) active participle

هُمْ  = They - 3rd person masculine plural personal pronoun

عَن = About - P – preposition

صَلَاتِهِمْ  = Their two way commitment or relationship - the root word is وصل and sila (صله) is one of its derivatives, which means he made close ties of relationship by behaving with goodness and affection, to kindred, to reach, communion, join, connection, bond, commitment etc - genitive feminine noun - 3rd person masculine plural possessive pronoun

سَاهُونَ = Unmindful, neglectful, heedless, forgetful, unaware - nominative masculine plural active participle

الَّذِينَ = Him who, those who, such who - masculine plural relative pronoun

هُمْ = They - 3rd person masculine plural personal pronoun

يُرَاءُونَ = Seen, experience, judge, consider-see by reflection, see by thinking, belief, thought, know, preconceive - 3rd person masculine plural (form III) imperfect verb

وَ = and, means - CONJ – prefixed conjunction wa (and)

يَمْنَعُونَ = refused, prevented, withheld, restrained, debarred, forbade, prohibited, refrain, etc - 3rd person masculine plural imperfect verb

الْمَاعُونَ = assiduous / diligent effort, examine closely, scrutiny, careful study, went very far in his search, deep beyond bounds, devote all efforts - accusative masculine noun - Hans Wehr Dictionary page 915 - In Lisaan Al-Arab it means to contemplate, look carefully

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ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION:

Suppose we agree with the traditional translators and take the meaning of musallina in surah 107:4 as "namazi" or "worshipers". Then why should the book Quran curse the worshipers or namazi when actually according to Quran they are worshipers or performer of prayers. Why to condemning them if they are declared as worshipers ?

My contention is that the interpretation of any word in the sentence should be according to the theme. The correct context / theme should dictate, in selecting the right word rather than our beliefs or understanding or concocted context. The translators have played with irregular weak letters (ا و ى) according to their convenience and comfortably accommodating the thoughts of every sect. The weak letters ( حُرُوْفُ الْعِلَّة) can be interchanged or altered or even dropped from the word according to Arabic grammarians. This rule empowers the translators to play with words having weak letters, according to their whims and fancies.


In surah 70:22 the context suggests that the root word should be صلو which means - to follow closely, pray, blessed and musallina means one who follow closely or those who pray. In verse 70:23 the root word would be وصل for صَلَاتِهِمْ. Translating it as ritualistic prayer will not make any sense to the message. The Salat of the book Quran is different from the traditional Namaz [ritual prayers] of Hadith. The followers of salat refrain from all kind of shameful and evil deeds (29:45) (19:59) because they are connected to the agreement / covenant of Loan [Deen]. Does this really happen in real life with those who perform namaz day and night? Establishing a connection (the real salat) is a difficult task (2:45) while performing ritual prayers (namaz) is very easy. And salat is a nonstop constant process (70:23) but very few understand it and implement in their life.

Now coming to salat in verse 107:5 - The main purpose of salat (صلات) in Quranic context is to communicate with our Rabb or with our thoughts or with our inherent script [Al-Kitab]. So please don't canonize this word and confine its vast meaning. The closest equivalent word for Arabic root of salat is sila, which in its most basic form means connection, networking, cooperation, fellowship, linking, relationship, kinship, association, harmony and understanding of each others commitment. But there are many who don't understand what deep connections ourselves is and are heedless of real connection. Unlike prayers which are only one way exercise, here in this surah purpose of salat is to connect with our unique thoughts and implement it. But some people are just concerned to be in the lime light when their unique thoughts urge to act, they make excuses. Their commitment to the fabric of the society is very fragile and poor.

My research or humble understanding does not mean to demean any translators. They all are respected human beings and to err is human. But the noble message of the honorable Quran must be above everything else. If we are translating anybody's script, it is a matter of trust and it becomes our duty to fulfill that job with utmost care and honesty.