One letter!

وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ڪَفَرُوٓاْ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا فُتِحَتۡ أَبۡوَٲبُهَا

 And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, till, when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison at the arrival of the prisoners). (Az-Zumar: Verse 71)

وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوۡاْ رَبَّہُمۡ إِلَى ٱلۡجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتۡ أَبۡوَٲبُهَا

And those who kept their duty to their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups, till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) (Az-Zumar: Verse 73)

The minute difference of one letter between these 2 verses can only be seen in its original form in the Arabic language. Thus, I will do my best to explain it to the reader. Verse 71 refers to those who disbelieved, and how they will be on the day of reckoning. As they approach hell, its gates will suddenly open. There is no pause, or no letter in between “approach” and “open”, emphasizing how quick and sudden it will be.

Going to Verse 73, it describes that same day, but for those who believed. As they approach heaven, and its gates open. Now what is the difference linguistically between this verse and the previous one? Notice after the word “approach”, there is the word “and” or وَ before the word “open”. Why is there a وَ here but not in the previous scenario? This وَ, although one simple letter, makes all the difference in this situation. As the believers see heaven, and its gates open; this “and” in the middle tells you that it is not sudden, they will not be taken by surprise like the disbelievers were. This “and” is a sign of comfort, ease, joy. For example, when telling a happy tale, the author may say, “As the boy arrived to his house, and smelt the scent of freshly grown flowers, and heard familiar sounds of birds chirping, etc”. You see what the word “and” does? It shows the joy and happiness. However, when an author tells a scary tale, it may be something like this: “The boy walked up to the house…suddenly rain poured, wind gushed, etc”. The word and is not used here to emphasize the frightening scene.

God, the best, most wise author has told us this tale of 2 verses in such a unique manner. How can we be oblivious to this truth?!

More on Linguistics

 وَلَقَدۡ ذَرَأۡنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِۖ

“And surely, We have created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell”

The first few lines of Verse 179 in Surah Al-A’raaf were quite difficult for me to memorize for a particular reason. In Arabic, God says   وَلَقَدۡ ذَرَأۡنَا لِجَهَنَّمۖ. Notice where the لِ is. It comes before jahannam/hell. لِ typically means for. So God says, we have created so and so FOR hell. Thus, the reason behind that creation was for hell’s sake. This really got to me. Rather than putting the لِ before the word many, God placed it before hell. If it were placed before “many”, that would change the meaning to its entirety. That would say that we created hell for these people. But now as the verse stands, it is actually quite the opposite. “We created these people for hell”. What does that tell you? It tells me the extent of which these people have disobeyed God. To the extent that God says they were created for hell, rather than hell being created for them. These people are blatantly disobeying God and associating partners Him.

We ask God to protect us from any such acts on keep us on His straight path…Ameen.

Linguistics

No doubt there is a reason why the Quran was sent in Arabic. The Arabic language is very rich in detail. I will give you an example of Arabic Linguistics in the Quran.

The word نصرف and نفصل are somewhat similar, yet different at the same time. In English, these 2 words can typically mean to explain. Both can be found in the Quran repetitively. The example I will give you of these words can be found in Surah 7, Al-A'raaf.

نصرف is in verse 58: The vegetation of a good land comes forth (easily) by the Permission of its Lord, and that which is bad, brings forth nothing but (a little) with difficulty. Thus do We explain variously the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for a people who give thanks. 

نفصل is in verse 32:

Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Who has forbidden the adornment with clothes given by Allâh, which He has produced for His slaves, and At-Taiyyibât [all kinds of Halâl (lawful) things] of food?" Say: "They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them)." Thus We explain the Ayât (Islâmic laws) in detail for people who have knowledge.

Upon reading these verses, you can understand how the 2 words are similar. So why use two different words in these verses? Why not just use one? Here is where the interesting part comes. If you look at verse 58, God is explaining how crops grow in the land. The verse before also emphasized how God sends clouds, rain and wind, to help the harvest. Thus, there is movement going on; a type of action. نصرف is used where someone is explaining something that has a movement of some sort. In addition to that, say the word out loud: Nu-sarr-efu. Notice the rr in the middle. When saying نصرف, you find that there is movement in the letter rr while pronouncing it! Your tongue has to move repetitively for you to even say the word! This physical movement of the actual word being said emphasizes on its actual meaning as a whole.

Now, go to verse 32. What God is explaining in this verse does not involve any movement or action. It is a pure explanation of what is lawful for us. Thus. He uses the word نفصل instead.

Verses 57 and 58 in Al-A'raaf, Chapter 7

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُرۡسِلُ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشۡرَۢا بَيۡنَ يَدَىۡ رَحۡمَتِهِۦ‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَقَلَّتۡ سَحَابً۬ا ثِقَالاً۬ سُقۡنَـٰهُ لِبَلَدٍ۬ مَّيِّتٍ۬ فَأَنزَلۡنَا بِهِ ٱلۡمَآءَ فَأَخۡرَجۡنَا بِهِۦ مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ‌ۚ كَذَٲلِكَ نُخۡرِجُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَڪَّرُونَ (٥٧) وَٱلۡبَلَدُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ يَخۡرُجُ نَبَاتُهُ ۥ بِإِذۡنِ رَبِّهِۦ‌ۖ وَٱلَّذِى خَبُثَ لَا يَخۡرُجُ إِلَّا نَكِدً۬ا‌ۚ ڪَذَٲلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ ٱلۡأَيَـٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ۬ يَشۡكُرُونَ (٥٨)

And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed. (57) The vegetation of a good land comes forth (easily) by the Permission of its Lord, and that which is bad, brings forth nothing but (a little) with difficulty. Thus do We explain variously the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for a people who give thanks. (58)

In these verses, God explains how a harvest grows with much detail. A cloud carries the rain and covers a land whose harvest was dead, that water then revives the land and it becomes that with much fruit and grain. The next part of the verse carries depth. God says just as this dead land has now become a revived one, similarly, after we die, He will bring us up once again on the day of resurrection. How can one question this? How would it not be possible for God almighty to do this after we see his signs first-hand of the harvested land? Think about it; when you see a piece of land that is beat up and tell yourself, this land is wasted, then surely after time passes, you see that with time and care the land actually became something is now a source of produce, that is all God’s work no doubt!

In the next verse, God describes the vegetation a little more. He says that a good land will produce crops easily without hardship. However, a bad one will grow little crops with much difficulty and hardship. He does not mention an analogy in this verse as he did in the previous one. Yet, think about it on your own. Can’t we compare us humans to this concept? A person who is internally good, meaning he wants goodness for people, you will see the produce of his work easily. You will see his goodness, you will not have hardship getting favors from him. Contrary to this, a person whose inside does not want goodness for you will do very little for you. And for the smallest little favor you need from him, he will give you much difficulty to get it done.

After looking more into my understanding of this verse that I came up with, I researched a bit more on it. That is where I found further explanation along with my reflections. Prophet Muhammad said: “The example of guidance and knowledge with which God has sent me is like abundant rain falling on earth. Some of it was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and caused lush plants and grasses to grow. Another part of the earth was hard, and the rain water pooled on the surface, but still God benefited people by allowing them to use it for drinking, watering their animals, or irrigating the land for cultivation. Some of the earth was barren, however, and couldn’t hold the water or support plant life. The first part of this example is of a person who understands God’s religion and gets benefit from what God sent me with by learning it and teaching it to others. The last part is of a person who doesn’t care for it and doesn’t accept the guidance with which God sent me”.

The examples and analogies found in the Quran are numerous and carry vast meaning. It is up to the reader though to ponder on these and reflect deep into them he himself.