Surah Al-Baqara Ayah No. 163 to 167

Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah #163-167 (2:163-167)

A-    Translation

١٦٣  وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ الرَّحِيمُ

[Quran 2:163] And your deity is one. There is no deity except Allah, the Rahman (الرَّحْمَٰنُ) the Raheem (الرَّحِيمُ).

 

١٦٤  إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

[Quran 2:164] Indeed, in the creation of the skies and the earth; and in the alternation of the night and the day; and in the ships that float on the sea with what benefits the people; and in the water that Allah sends down from the sky to revive earth thereby after its lifelessness, and scatters from therein all kinds of Da’abattan (دَابَّةٍ); and in the changing of the winds, and the clouds being subdued between the sky and the earth; these are the Ayaatin (لَآيَاتٍ) for people who Ya’qiluun (يَعْقِلُونَ).

 

١٦٥  وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنْدَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِذْ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ أَنَّ الْقُوَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ

[Quran 2:165] And among the people are those who take other than Allah as Andadan (أَنْدَادًا) to Allah, adoring them as they should adore Allah. But those who have Emaan (آمَنُوا) are stronger in adoration of Allah. And if those who have done Zulm (ظَلَمُوا) could envision, when they see the Azaab (الْعَذَابَ) that all power belongs to Allah, and that Allah is severe in Azaab (الْعَذَابِ).

 

١٦٦  إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِينَ اتُّبِعُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الْأَسْبَابُ

[Quran 2:166] When those who were followed will disown those who followed them, and they will see the Azaab (الْعَذَابَ), and the expectations with them will be severed.

 

١٦٧  وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُوا مِنَّا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ حَسَرَاتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ

[Quran 2:167] And those who followed will say, “If only we could go back, we would disown them, as they have disowned us.” Thus, Allah shows them their deeds, as Hasaratin (حَسَرَاتٍ) for them, and they will never escape from the fire.

 

B-   THE CONCEPT:

Keeping in mind the context of these ayahs, in the earlier ayahs up to 162 of Surah Baqara, we have learned the divine instructions related to Hajj and Umra- The process of Hajj as a process of self-reflection, information gathering, evidence collection, thinking, probing and pondering on Allah’s Hidayah that Allah has given to us in Quran. Once we get this light, of whatever portion of Hidayyah has been made Bayyannan/clear to us, we would witness the benefits ourselves through Umra – that is living in accordance with the light that we have received. Whatever we learn from these Hajj and Umra, it’s now become incumbent upon us to distribute to others, in the forms of telling others verbally, in writing and through our conducts and behaviors.  But if we conceal after it has been made clear to us, then we would be one of the Kafireen. Hence, it’s very important that whatever portion of Hidayah has been made clear to us, we distribute to others in whatever way we can, either verbally, or through writing or through our behaviors and conducts or a combination thereof. This should be communicated as is with no amendments, additions or deletions, taking the Hidayah as a great trust, Amanat and as per the covenant with Allah- our Aeimaan.

Keeping the above context in mind, the ayahs 2:163 Allah says “And your deity is one. There is no deity except Allah, the Rahman (الرَّحْمَٰنُ) the Raheem (الرَّحِيمُ)”. In this ayah, Allah is reminding us that Allah is our one and only deity and there is no deity except Allah – the Rahman and the Raheem identifies two roles and attributes of Allah- which are two of the most important reasons behind Allah being our only deity.

Allah as Rahman: 

The four words Rahman, Raheem, Raham and Rahmat, share the same basic characteristics of Raham which is normally mistranslated as Mercy- These are wrong translations of these words. All of these words- Raham, Rahman, Raheem and Rahmat- are derived from the characteristics that they all share with the word Arham- as used for instance in ayah 2:228, 3:06 and 6:143, which means a mother’s womb during pregnancy. Therefore, whatever Arham means to a child, are the meanings of the words Raham, Rahman, Rahmat and Raheem, which are in four broad definitions (1) The life line and source of survival- the child breathes from the Arham, the child takes all it source of nourishment and survival from the Arham; (2) The protection and shield- it protects the child from anything that can harm the child; (3) The long-term source of nourishment, growth and progress in an unprecedented miracle like manner so much so that a child is created from a single cell to a complete being and (4) The source of Self-less love and sacrifice- the selflessness and sacrifice for the child that a mother has is multiplied many times in case of Arham, so much so that in order to fulfill the requirements for the child, the Arham extracts the required nutrients from the mother’s own blood, bones and body without even letting the mother know. Therefore, whenever the word Rahmat, Rahman, Raham and Raheem are used, they have all these 4 broad definitions. The word Rahman as one of the attributes of Allah defines Allah as the best of the best, the most supreme in provision of Rahmat (as all these four categories of meanings of these words).

Allah as Raheem:

The word Raheem share the same characteristics as Arham- a mother’s womb during pregnancy- refer Ayahs 2:228, 3:06 and 6:143 for instance. Therefore, whatever Arham means to a child, are the meanings of the words Raham, Rahman, Rahmat and Raheem, which is in four broad definitions. (1) The life line/ source of survival (2) The protection/shield (3) The long-term source of nourishment, growth and progress and (4) The source of Self-less love and sacrifice. However, unlike Allah being Rahman, which is applicable for everyone regardless of anything else; Allah being Raheem to us is basically a privilege and it will only be with us as long as we keep choosing the right path and remain steadfast as righteous by doing Amle-Swalehaat on the path of Allah. This concept of Allah being Raheem is closely linked to the concept of Tauba as per Quran. If we are on the right path and chose to be righteous, we need Allah’s help and blessings to keep doing good deeds and stay on the right path. With Allah as Raheem with us, we get peace, contentment, Sakoon, prosperity and tranquility in our lives. Whenever we commit a wrong deed willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or in ignorance, we lose that privilege of Allah being with us as Raheem. In order to get back that Privilege, we need to do pure TOUBA, a whole process as per Quran. Touba in a nutshell means to take a U-turn – The Three Important Steps of Touba (1) Identify the wrong deed/path, leave the wrong path and make a firm commitment never to commit the wrong deeds again (2) I’Slah- Rectify, Compensate the impacts of the wrong deeds & Reform, (3) Take/stay on the right path, after strengthening Emaan and continue to do Aml-e- Swalehaat- righteous deeds- It’s only after pure Touba, that we will get the privilege of Allah being Raheem back to us and in our lives.

In the ayah 2:164, when Allah says “… Indeed, in the creation of the skies and the earth; and in the alternation of the night and the day; and in the ships that float on the sea with what benefits the people; and in the water that Allah sends down from the sky to revive earth thereby after its lifelessness, and scatters from therein all kinds of Da’abattan (دَابَّةٍ); and in the changing of the winds, and the clouds being subdued between the sky and the earth; these are the Ayaatin (لَآيَاتٍ) for people who Ya’qiluun (يَعْقِلُونَ), Allah is giving us vital Ayaat of Allah as reasons to think and ponder for people who use Aqal/brain, their intellectual faculties, thinking, reasoning and logic.  As we know Ayat means sign or evidence that would give us an indication of the presence of a confirmed truth hidden behind that sign. For instance, if we see in a distance smoke coming from behind a building. Although we cannot see the confirmed truth, which is the burning of fire at the bottom of that smoke, but by looking at that smoke or smelling it, we realize the existence of the confirmed truth- burning of fire, thus smoke is the Ayat of the fire. Ayat also means to pause, to stop, to think and to reflect- In fact the definition of Ayat only gets completed when we think, reflect, ponder and utilize our faculties, the five senses and our intellect given by Allah. For instance, smoke in the earlier example will remain a smoke, it will become Ayat only when we pause, think & ponder on the smoke and make an effort in order to uncover the hidden truth by utilizing our faculties (in this case, eyes, nose and intellect). Since we as humans cannot comprehend Allah (though our five sense), Emaan (conviction of heart & mind on the bases of knowledge) on Allah means in fact Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat. Those who do not think and ponder, their faculties are of no use to them and it’s because of this the importance of thinking on Ayaat as a way to qualify it as Ayaat of Allah, i.e., thinking and pondering is the basic requirement for definition of Ayat. Quran mentions two types of Ayaat. (1) Word of Allah- the words of Quran itself (2) Work of Allah – the many creations of Allah scattered all around us in science and universe. Both of these are Ayaat of Allah, on which if we think and ponder, we would be able to realize the confirmed truth which is the greatness and the wisdom of Allah hidden behind these Ayaat. If we do not seek knowledge, or do not use our faculties including reasoning and intellect to seek knowledge of either of these Ayaat of Allah, it’s like doing Kufar (concealing, hiding or denying) of Allah

Thus, in the ayah 2:164, Allah give us all the Ayaat of Allah that have created a perfect environment – a whole system and laws for humanity to exist and survive. These are the Ayaat of Allah which are extremely obvious and hard for us to miss out in order to understand and have firm Emaan and conviction on Allah’s existence and Allah being Rahman, Raheem and Rabb for us. These are the Ayaat that are those creations of Allah that give us an indication of Allah’s immense wisdom and greatness. The examples of these Ayaat of Allah are the creation of the skies and the earth; the alternation of the night and the day; the mechanism on the basis of which ships can sail through seas/bodies of water- the water and the transport which benefit people; the water that is sent down from the skies as rain, giving life thereby to the earth and everything in it – i.e., all kinds of Dabbattin- all living things; and the winds and the clouds, all the weathers. This is a complete 360 degree look at all of Allah’s Fazal and Nai’mat, the Ayaat, the environment and a perfect system and laws created by Allah for us as humans, as to how Allah is Rahman and Rabb for the worlds and each and everything on earth.

The Concept of Andadan- it is NOT doing Shirk:

Before we understand the ayahs from 2:165 to 2:167, it’s important to understand the word Andadan as used in the Ayah 2:165, instead of Shareek or Shirk. It’s important to realize why in these ayahs, Allah is not talking about Shirk only. In order to understand the difference between doing Shirk and taking Andadan besides Allah, we remind ourselves that the word ‘Shirk’ is a very defined terminology by Quran, which basically means to associate partners with Allah in areas where no one else is an authority. For instance, in matters of Deen, the only Hikm – the only lawmaker is Allah, therefore when one listens to someone else who is associating things in the name of Allah and in matters of Deen; when one follows these man-made laws by someone else other than Allah; then that person is actually doing Shirk, and the person whose laws he or she is obeying instead of Allah’s is being assigned as partner- a shareek to Allah as a lawmaker in Deen termed as Shurakaa in Quran.

What is Andadan- a very important Concept:

Normally translated as creating partners or equals or rivals to Allah but the word for this is Shirk as per Quran, meanings to assign partners/Shareek with Allah. On the other hand, Andadan is not only doing Shirk but doing Kufar as well and influencing others to commit these two acts. The word Andadan basically shares the characteristics of meanings in terms of likeness or similar in calling or relying upon. The word Naddu means having opposition, rivalry, enmity or conflict, or challenging someone or opposing someone. The phrase Lilahe Andadan cannot be translated as doing Shirk or creating of partners but in terms of creating Andadan with Allah i.e., as opposition of Allah, calling on or relying on someone other than Allah, with the basic characteristics of opposition and conflict with Allah’s Deen and combination of doing Kufr and Shirk on an overall basis. These phrase Lilahe Andadan (Andadan with Allah) or Laho Andadan (Andadan with Him- Allah) is used in Quran in terms of all such people, forces, systems, acts and environment which stand in opposition to Allah attracting people away from the path of Allah. The specific reasons and end results of Andadan is to mislead people away from the path of Allah. Andadan is basically making an environment, a system of going in opposition to Allah through doing Kufar of Allah and as a plan, a scheme to divert people away from Allah, to encourage Kufar of Allah by others and to direct innocent people (who do not know) towards calling or relying on others (masters, or leaders) instead of Allah, thereby encouraging both Kufar & Shirk in the society. Thus Andadan means creating a system of opposition of Allah, an environment of kufr and shirk, not only by doing kufr and shirk as an individual but also creating a whole environment of kufr and shirk among people or in a community to incline, influence & indulge others to do the same; doing the kufr and shirk while directing others towards other such people, as their Shurakaa (who have been assigned as Shareek with Allah) – the basic aim of which is to lead people astray away from the path of Allah by creating such kind of kufr and shirk environment where innocent people gets into that trap.

Why mostly Andadan is Referred after Ayaat or Na’imat of Allah:

Since Allah has already created the whole system and environment for us to think and ponder, Allah’s Ayaat and recognize Allah with reason, because of this, this phrase is mostly mentioned soon after Allah’s creations as Allah’s Ayaat, Allah’s Fazal and Allah’s Na’mat. For instance, in Ayah 40:09 Allah says “Say- Do you indeed do Kufar on the one who has created the earth in two youm and you made (Ja’alon) laho Andadan? Allah is the Rabb of the Aalimeen” Here the phrase is used soon after telling us that the creation of earth with all the Na’mat therein which creates perfect environment for humanity, so how can anyone create Andadan with Allah? – as a surprising question by Allah, as to how one can create any system in opposition to Allah’s created systems- as an opposing system, an environment of kufr and shirk to indulge others as well. Similar meanings and context are used here in these ayahs as well.

In the ayah 2:164 after mentioning clearly that Allah has created a perfect environment and a system for humanity to exist, survive and thrive- these Ayaat are obvious and clear signs for the humanity to understand Allah’s existence, to strengthen firm Emaan and Conviction on Allah’s role as Rahman, Raheem and Rabb; then in the Ayah 2:165 the use of the word Andadan is basically a surprising and warning statement by Allah. Thus when in Ayah 2:165 Allah says ”And among the people are those who take other than Allah as Andadan (أَنْدَادًا) to Allah, adoring them as they should adore Allah….”  It means that in spite of the fact that Allah has given perfect environment and a system for humanity to exist, survive and thrive; still there are people who make an environment of kufr and shirk, not only by doing kufr and shirk on an individual basis but also creating a whole environment of kufr and shirk among people or in the community to incline, influence & indulge others (followers) to do the same, by calling and relying on others (their masters and their leaders) besides Allah. They (the followers) consider these people (the leaders- the Shurakaa) as their masters and lords – They love, adore, respect and follow their leaders as they should respect, worship, follow and adore Allah.

The next phrase Allah says “… But those who have Emaan (آمَنُوا) are stronger in adoration of Allah. And if those who have done Zulm (ظَلَمُوا) could envision, when they see the Azaab (الْعَذَابَ) that all power belongs to Allah, and that Allah is severe in Azaab (الْعَذَابِ). But those who have Emaan, the Momineen, have stronger Adoration for Allah and one can identify these Momineen through their strong love and adoration for Allah only and no one else.  Allah is calling these followers as Zwalimeen since they have done Zulm- the greatest injustice to Allah and Allah’s system of Ayaat, the Na’imat, Allah’s Fazal, the whole universe; by creating an environment to indulge people into kufr and shirk, calling on and relying on their masters, leaders, other powers- the Shurakaa as deity other than Allah- the followers consider their masters as rivals of Allah by adoring, loving, worshiping, following them instead of Allah. Allah is then telling us that only if these followers those who have done Zulm, could realize, envisioned, when then see the Azaab – only then they would realize that all power belongs to Allah and that “Allah is severe in Azaab” means there is a severe Azaab for such followers sooner or later.

The next ayah 2:166 Allah says “When those who were followed will disown those who followed them, and they will see the Azaab (الْعَذَابَ), and the Asbaab (expectations/resources) with them will be severed. This Ayah is describing the situation of the followers and their leaders in this world as well as the hereafter. In this worldly life, when these leaders would see any Azaab being inflicted on their followers. This means when the followers would face an extremely terrible and difficult situation wherein, they would need help and support from their leaders and masters. In such situation, Allah is telling us, that these leaders and masters i.e., those who have been followed, disassociate themselves from their followers i.e., those who followed them. Therefore, these followers will witness the Azaab in all forms, not only in terms of the Azaab itself but also in terms of the severing off and the cutting off of all the Asbaab- their sources, ties and help by their masters and leaders who they used to worship and adore in place of Allah. In terms of life hereafter, on the Day of Judgment, both the leaders and the followers will be among the losers and their leaders will disown the followers and deny the fact that they are the reason behind them being led astray from Allah’s path and all the sources and means will be cuts off to give them any help, as we know on the day of Akhira, there will not be any help, any give and take, any intercession, nothing at all, except the person’s own deeds and therefore the players of this system of Andana- both the leaders as well as the followers would be facing intense Azaab.

The next ayah 2:167 Allah says “And those who followed will say, “If only we could go back, we would disown them, as they have disowned us.” Thus, Allah shows them their deeds, as Hasaratin (حَسَرَاتٍ) for them, and they will never escape from the fire. Here the word Hasrat is normally translated as regret, but the actual meanings of the words are much deeper as a combination of being fatigued, tired, exhausted along with feelings of regret, remorse and shame. Thus, the word Hasrat is used in Quran in both the meanings of fatigued, exhausted and tired as well as embodied with regret, unsuccessful attempts, remorse, guilt, repentance and shame. Thus here in this ayah Allah is describing Hasratin by the followers- that after a self-inflected Azaab and unexpected negative response of their masters and leaders towards them, both in this world as well as the Akhira, these followers will be remorseful in terms of an expression that “ if only we could go back, turn back the clock, we would disassociate ourselves from them (their leaders/masters) as they (the masters/leaders) have disassociated themselves from us.” The next phrase is a beautiful depiction of these followers’ situation that “..thus, Allah show them their deeds as their Hasaratin” I.e., their deeds, their acts of treating their masters as their deities, adoring them and following them instead of Allah, has now turned into their Hasrat- their shame, fatigue, remorse & repentance and Allah has shown them the consequences of their actions in the form of these Hasratatin. This becomes an un-ending fire for them, from which they will never be able to come out, escape from.

 

C-    IMPLEMENTATION IN TODAY’S LIFE

The ayahs 2:163 to 167 explain and stress the importance of Emaan on Allah and Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat. We must not incline and indulge into any environment or system which is created on the bases of kufr and shirk, no matter how beautiful, intimated and helpful it is shown on the surface or presented beautifully, and cosmetically to look attractive- These are referred as Sahar in Quran- the delusions, the unreal attractions. Nothing can be batter then the environment and system created by Allah for our Rizq, nourishment and Hidayah. Instead of blindly following anyone or anything; use of one’s intellectual faculties, thinking and pondering are the basic requirement for the definition of Ayat and the basic foundation of Emaan on Allah. Hence the Emaan on Allah translates as Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat means that for both the Ayaat- the words of Quran and Allah’s many creations scattered all around us in science and universe; on which if we think and ponder, we would be able to realize the confirmed truth i.e., the greatness and the wisdom of the Allah hidden behind these Ayaat. When we blindly follow anyone, any scholar, any leader, any master, any book (other than Quran) putting our faculties to rest, not utilizing our intellect, its then, that, we end up doing Kufr & Shirk and hence would be destined towards the fire from which no one can escape. When we follow anyone or anything blindly, we are not only being a Kaafir in terms of not utilizing our own thinking, reasoning and logic, or not seeking knowledge and thereby rejecting Allah’s Ayaat but we might end up doing shirk- and creating Andadan to Allah.

These ayahs are explicit warnings for those who blindly follow others, by supporting such a system of Andadan- not only they end up doing Kufr and Shirk, but also sooner or later, once they face any trouble or punishment these masters, who they used to follow blindly, would disown their own followers and these followers would face double Azaab in terms of consequences of their own Kufr and Shirk but also in terms of their remorse, shame, fatique and regret of being blind followers.

Allah has given us as humans our faculties, our five senses, including our faculty of reasoning and intellect and Allah has given us Hidayah in the form of Quran, which asks us time and again to use our facilities to their maximum and not to fall on even Allah’s Ayaat deaf dumb and blind. Which means that as per the very clear explicit divine instruction, we should not blindly follow anyone or anything, but use our faculties including our reasoning and intellect.

Footnotes:

D-  THE KEY-WORD VOCABULARY:

For the updated Keyword Vocabulary, kindly visit our website at the link https://quranthinkers.com/keyword-vocabulary-by-wqt/

 

RAHAM (رَحْمَ) REHMAT (رَحْمَتُهُ)& REHMAN (الرحمن) ARHAAM (أَرْحَامِهِنَّ)  The four words Rahman, Raheem, Raham and Rahmat, share the same basic characteristics of Raham which is normally mistranslated as Mercy- These are wrong translations of these words. All of these words- Raham, Rahman, Raheem and Rahmat- are derived from the characteristics that they all share with the word Arham- as used for instance in ayah 2:228, 3:06 and 6:143, which means a mother’s womb during pregnancy. Therefore, whatever Arham means to a child, are the meanings of the words Raham, Rahman, Rahmat and Raheem, which are in four broad definitions (1) The life line and source of survival- the child breathes from the Arham, the child takes all it source of nourishment and survival from the Arham; (2) The protection and shield- it protects the child from anything that can harm the child; (3) The long-term source of nourishment, growth and progress in an unprecedented miracle like manner so much so that a child is created from a single cell to a complete being and (4) The source of Self-less love and sacrifice- the selflessness and sacrifice for the child that a mother has is multiplied many times in case of Arham, so much so that in order to fulfill the requirements for the child, the Arham extracts the required nutrients from the mother’s own blood, bones and body without even letting the mother know. Therefore, whenever the word Rahmat, Rahman, Raham and Raheem are used, they have all these 4 broad definitions. The word Rahman as one of the attributes of Allah defines Allah as the best of the best, the most supreme in provision of Rahmat (as all these four categories of meanings of these words)-  X-Reference 2:64, 2:228, 3:06, 4:01, 6:143-144, 13:08, 22:05, 31:34. 

 

RAHEEM (الرحيم) the word Raheem share the same characteristics as Arham- a mother’s womb during pregnancy- refer Ayahs 2:228, 3:06 and 6:143 for instance. Therefore, whatever Arham means to a child, are the meanings of the words Raham, Rahman, Rahmat and Raheem, which is in four broad definitions. (1) The life line/ source of survival (2) The protection/shield (3) The long-term source of nourishment, growth and progress and (4) The source of Self-less love and sacrifice. However, unlike Allah being Rahman, which is applicable for everyone regardless of anything else; Allah being Raheem to us is basically a privilege and it will only be with us as long as we keep choosing the right path and remain steadfast as righteous by doing Amle-Swalehaat on the path of Allah. This concept of Allah being Raheem is closely linked to the concept of Tauba as per Quran. If we are on the right path and chose to be righteous, we need Allah’s help and blessings to keep doing good deeds and stay on the right path. With Allah as Raheem with us, we get peace, contentment, Sakoon, prosperity and tranquility in our lives. Whenever we commit a wrong deed willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or in ignorance, we lose that privilege of Allah being with us as Raheem. In order to get back that Privilege, we need to do pure TOUBA, a whole process as per Quran. Touba in a nutshell means to take a U-turn – The Three Important Steps of Touba (1) Identify the wrong deed/path, leave the wrong path and make a firm commitment never to commit the wrong deeds again (2) I’Slah- Rectify, Compensate the impacts of the wrong deeds & Reform, (3) Take/stay on the right path, after strengthening Emaan and continue to do Aml-e- Swalehaat- righteous deeds- It’s only after pure Touba, that we will get the privilege of Allah being Raheem back to us and in our lives. X-Reference – 2:54 , 2:128 , 2:143 , 2:160 , 3:89  , 4:18  , 5:34-39  , 6:54  , 9:102.

 

DA’ABATTAN (دَابَّةٍ) basically means creature or living creature. It is used in the Quran to mean anything that’s living things such as plants and animals for instance in the ayah 31:10 “Allah created the Skies without pillars .… and scattered throughout it all kinds of Dabbattin. And from the sky We sent down water, and caused to grow therein of every noble pair-Zouj.” Here the word is used for both Plants and Animals – basically in the meaning of All living things. In one use of the word, Quran has also used it to mean any living thing that moves for instance in Ayah 24:45 “Allah created every Dabbatin from water. Some of them crawl on their bellies, and some walk on two feet, and others walk on four…”.  In another Ayah 16: 49, Allah says- “To Allah do Sajda everything in the skies and everything on earth-every Dabbatin, and the Malaikati, …”  As is obvious from this ayah as well, Dabbatin are all living things, others than Malaik- As we know Malaik are all powers, natural processes, laws of nature, etc. which results in all so -called non-living things as well. Dabbatin are thus, all living things- and by definition All living things are doing Sajda to Allah- which means following and being subservient to Allah’s laws, system and rules. X-Reference – 16:49 , 24:45 ,  31:10 , 34:14 , 34:45 , 42:29 , 45:4.

 

AYAT (آيَاتِنَا) & AYAAT (الْآيَاتِ) – means sign or evidence that would give us an indication of the presence of a confirmed truth hidden behind that sign. For instance, if we see in a distance smoke coming from behind a building. Although we cannot see the confirmed truth, which is the burning of fire at the bottom of that smoke, but by looking at that smoke or smelling it, we realize the existence of the confirmed truth- burning of fire, thus smoke is the Ayat of the fire. Ayat also means to pause, to stop, to think and to reflect- In fact the definition of Ayat only gets completed when we think, reflect, ponder and utilize our faculties, the five senses and our intellect given by Allah. For instance, smoke in the earlier example will remain a smoke, it will become Ayat only when we pause, think & ponder on the smoke and make an effort in order to uncover the hidden truth by utilizing our faculties (in this case, eyes, nose and intellect). Since we as humans cannot comprehend Allah (though our five sense), Emaan (conviction of heart & mind on the bases of knowledge) on Allah means in fact Emaan on Allah’s Ayaat. Those who do not think and ponder, their faculties are of no use to them and it’s because of this, Ayah 25:73 says “And those who, when is done Zikar of the Ayaat of their Rabb, they do not fall upon them deaf and blind.” highlighting the importance of thinking on Ayaat as a way to qualify it as Ayaat of Allah, i.e., thinking and pondering is the basic requirement for definition of Ayat. Quran mentions two types of Ayaat. (1) Word of Allah- the words of Quran itself (2) Work of Allah – the many creations of Allah scattered all around us in science and universe. Both of these are Ayaat of Allah, on which if we think and ponder, we would be able to realize the confirmed truth which is the greatness and the wisdom of Allah hidden behind these Ayaat. If we do not seek knowledge, or do not use our faculties including reasoning and intellect to seek knowledge of either of these Ayaat of Allah, it’s like doing Kufar (concealing, hiding or denying) of Allah. X-Reference – 2:248, 25:73.

 

AQAL (عَقَلُ) TA’QALOON (تَعْقِلُونَ) YA’QILOON (يَعْقِلُونَ) verbs in the meanings of using Aqal- the word Aqal means brain, our reasoning and intellectual faculty. Whenever Allah has used the word Taqaloon or Yaqaloon or Aqallo, it means to use brain, our intellectual and reasoning faculties to understand things and matters. Quran stresses the importance of using brain and our intellectual faculties of reasonings and logics time and time again so much so that those who do not use their faculties of reasoning and intellect, are termed as worse than animals in the ayah 7:179 telling us in no unclear terms that they are destined for hell and all their faculties of, sight, smell, hearing, speaking, are of no use to them if they are not using their intellectual faculties of reasoning and logics. In order to understand Quran and to seek, explore and understand the Ayaat of Allah, the basic pre-requisite is the use of Aqal- our brain, our thinking, reasoning and intellectual faculties. In Ayah 2:44 when Allah says “Do you order Barre of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the book? Will you not TA’QALOON?” – means, you ask people to be righteous and Momin but the same teachings are not reflecting in your behaviors and actions because you are not using your brains to understand the Kitaab. In the ayah 2:76 when the phrase “…. Will you not Ta’aqiloon?” is used in terms of an argument from one group of people to another asking them to use logics and reasoning, in terms of their attempt to influence the other group to keep on concealing Allah’s Ayaat. X-Reference 2:44   ,  2:76   ,  7:179.

 

A’EMAAN (الْإِيمَانِ) A’EMANIHIM (أَيْمَانِهِمْ) AMAN (آمَنَ) & MOMIN (مُؤْمِنٌ) The word Aman means safety, security, peace, contend and tranquility. These words also have basic characteristics of meanings such as to be calm and quiet (in one’s heart); to be protected from fear, by having complete trust and in truthfulness. Emaan means to accept truthfully, to be convinced with strong conviction and verification that comes after something has been verified through reasoning, arguments, evidence, logic and seeking of information. Thus, it means to have strong faith in, to trust, to submit to, to declare something being confirmed truth, to guarantee, to obey and to have strong conviction in something being true after due verification and conviction that comes out of knowledge. It is not a blind faith but is a conviction based on reasoning and knowledge; a conviction that results from full mental acceptance and intellectual satisfaction; the kind of conviction which gives us a feeling of inner peace, contentment and satisfaction of heart and mind- the feelings of being at Aman. The word A’emanihim (أَيْمَانِهِمْ) is normally mistranslated as right side or right hands, but the basic characteristics of Ai’man is in the same meanings of Aman and Emaan- i.e., strong conviction and verification but with additional aspects of being committed, being in oath, promises, vows, pledges or undertakings. For instance, in Ayah 2:224-225, the word Aimanekum is used in the meanings of pledges, oaths or promises. Similar meanings are used in many ayahs for instance in ayah 16:91 “And fulfill your covenant with Allah when you have taken it, and do not break the Aimana after their confirmation…” used here in the meanings of oath, promise, pledge, or undertaking. Whenever a person enters into the ambit of Islam, the person basically enters into a covenant a contract with Allah, which is referred many a times in Quran. The word is wrongly translated as right hands or slave girls in most of the ayahs of Surah Nissa (Ayah 4:3, 4:24-25, 4:33, 4:36). These are wrong translations, as the phrase Ma Malakat Aimanehim refers to those people for whom one has pledged to take care of, for whom an oath has been undertaken to be responsible for through any contract or oath. in a nutshell, the word Emaan, Aimaan or Aemaan has dual meanings of firm conviction, and trust as well as a firm covenant, a promise with Allah. Thus, when we understand the concept of Taqwa being extra careful and protective, it’s used w.r.t. both the meanings of Emaan. X-Reference – 2:224-225 , 4:3  , 16:91  , 29:3.

 

ANDADAN (أَنْدَادًا)  & NIDA’AN (وَنِدَاءً) NADAD normally translated as creating partners or equals or rivals to Allah but the word as per Quran is Shirk, meanings to assign partners/Shareek with Allah. The word Andadan basically shares the characteristics of meanings in terms of likeness or similar in calling or relying upon. The word Naddu means having opposition, rivalry, enmity or conflict, or challenging someone or opposing someone. The phrase Lilahe Andadan cannot be translated as doing Shirk or creating of partners but in terms of creating Andadan with Allah i.e., as opposition of Allah, calling or relying on someone other than Allah, with the basic characteristics of opposition and conflict with Allah’s Deen and combination of doing Kufr and Shirk on an overall basis. These phrase Lilahe Andadan (Andadan with Allah) or Laho Andadan (Andadan with Him- Allah)- used 6 times in Quran- is used in terms of all people, forces, systems and environment which stand in opposition to Allah attracting people away from the path of Allah. For instance, in Ayah 14:30 “And they created (Ja’alna) with Allah Andadan so that they could mislead from the path of Allah…”  Here the specific reasons and end results of Andadan is mentioned which is to mislead people from the path of Allah. This is further explained in Ayah 34:33 “And those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, “It was your scheming by night and day; as you instructed us to do Kufar of Allah, and to set up Andadan to Allah…” Here the concept of Andadan becomes clearer in terms of making an environment, a system of going in opposition to Allah through doing Kufar of Allah and as a plan/a scheme to divert people away from Allah, to encourage Kufar of Allah by others and to direct innocent people (who do not know) towards calling or relying on others (masters/leaders) instead of Allah thereby encouraging both Kufar & Shirk. In Ayah 39:08, “When some adversity touches the human being, he calls his Rabb, striving towards Allah. But then, when Allah confers on him Allah’s Na’mat, he forgets what he was calling for before, and he creates (Ja’ala) Lilahe Andadan, so that to lead astray from the path of Allah. …”. Thus Andadan means creating a system of opposition of Allah, an environment of kufr and shirk, not only by doing kufr and shirk as an individual but also creating a whole environment of kufr and shirk among people or in a community to incline, influence & indulge others to do the same, doing the kufr & shirk while directing others towards other such people, as their Shurakaa (who have been assigned As Shareek with Allah) – the basic aim of which is to lead people astray away from the path of Allah by creating such kind of kufr environment where innocent people gets into that trap. Since Allah has already created the whole system and environment for us to think and ponder, Allah’s Ayaat and recognize Allah with reason, because of this, this phrase is mostly mentioned soon after Allah’s creations as Allah’s Ayaat and Allah’s Na’mat. For instance, in Ayah 40:09 Allah says “Say- Do you indeed do Kufar on the one who has created the earth in two youm and you made (Ja’alon) laho Andadan? Allah is the rabb of the Aalimeen” Here the phrase is used soon after telling us that the creation of earth with all the Na’mat therein which creates perfect environment for humanity, so how can anyone create Andadan with Allah? – as a surprising question how one can create in opposition to Allah’s created systems- as an opposing system, an environment of kufr and shirk to indulge others as well. Similar meanings and context are used in the Ayah 2:22 & 2:165. X-Reference – 2:22 , 2:165 , 2:171 , 14:30 , 34:33 , 39:08 , 49:09.

 

ZALIM (ظْالَمُ) & ZULM – Zulm basically means to not put something in its rightful place, or something not used by its rightful owner; or rightful quantity- either increasing it or reducing it beyond the requirements; to imbalance something; to snatch some else’s property or thing by force basically used in the meanings of going against justice, Haqq and Adal; to be unjust and unkind; to use someone else’s property unnecessary by exceeding the boundaries without right; to reduce or to consume someone else’s property. Quran has used Zwalimeen as those who cross the boundaries of laws & rules, those who are oppressors, the wrong doers in terms of going against other’s due rights and Haqq; those who take advantage of people in terms of exploiting people’s abilities and properties for their own vested interests; those who are cruel and abusive of others; Mazloom is the one against whom the Zulm takes place. Zulm is also used in Quran in the meanings of darkness as Zulmaat for instance in ayah 2:19-20 it is used as an opposite of Noor. Therefore Zulm also could refer to things that are confusing, not clear, kept in dark, something not obvious i.e. not clarified clearly as an opposite to distinctly clear as in the Noor-light- X-Reference – 2:19-20 , 3:117 , 6:122 , 7:44 , 42:22 , 42:45.

 

AZAAB (عَذَابٌ) is used in Quran as opposite of Na’mat & Bark’aat i.e., harshest, terrible punishment, pain & suffering, trauma, lawlessness, destruction, death & disease. It’s also used in Quran as division in sects – confusion in Deen as referred in Ayah 3:105 and Ayahs 6:65-66 . The word is also used as someone’s due right, as penalty or punishment based on what that someone deserves- Ayah 4:25 based on justice system. In the ayahs of Surah Baqra no. 2: 6-7, the word is used for those who are kafireen as an opposite of Al-Muflehon in 2:4-5 – Thus Azaab is the word used for those who are unsuccessful in their efforts as a result of a combination of Beliefs (Kufar versus Emaan) & Deeds, as in opposite to those who are Muttaqueen and successful ones. X-Reference – 2:4-5 & 2:6-7 , 3:105 , 4:25, 6:65-66.

 

HASSRAT (حَسْرَةً) is normally translated as regret, but the actual meanings of the words are much deeper as a combination of being fatigued, tired, exhausted along with feelings of regret, remorse and shame for instance in ayah  67:4 “then return your Bas’ar (vision) again twice, it will return to you the bas’ar (the vision) humbled while it is Haseer”  it is used here in both the meanings of fatigued, exhausted and tired as well as embodied with regret, unsuccessful attempts,  remorse, guilt, repentance and shame. Similar meanings are in ayah 2:167 “And those who followed will say, ‘If only we could go back, we would disown them, as they have disowned us.’ Thus, Allah shows them their deeds, as Hasrat for them, and they will never escape from the fire” In the ayah 36:30 “Ya Hasratan for the A’ibaad, there did not come to them any Rasool except that they used to make fun of/deny/ridicule him”  X-Reference 2:167 , 6:30 , 67:4.