Should we take 2:284 literally without further pondering?
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Salam. This is my first topic and I hope that I'm not making any mistakes in the way that I create it and approach the issue. If I have done so, please forgive me.
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لِّلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَإِن تُبْدُوا۟ مَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَيَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌTo Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Hence, whether you(plural) disclose what is within your selves or hide it, Allah calls you to account for it; He then forgives whomever He wills and He punishes whomever He wills, for Allah is All-Powerful over everything.
— Fadel Soliman, Bridges’ translationI have — to the best of my abilities — looked at key root words of this verse. Yet, the meaning of them all points that God sent to the believers (hence 'you' in its plural form) a revelation that can be plausibly interpreted as saying that we will be held accountable over our sinful thoughts even if we don't act upon them and refrain from doing so in submission to God's commands.
However, another interpretation came into my mind Is God referring to the Day of Judgement (as hinted by "calls you to account" and "He then forgives or punishes whomever he wills" and then revealing that whether we disclose to him (in the Day of Judgement) by voicing it explicitly OR we don't voice it by keeping it undisclosed, the sins we died without repenting will still be accounted for and we will be punished for them or forgiven — because God is All-Knowing even of the things that we keep as a secret?
And another sign that points to the latter interpretation as being the correct one is the way that Allah constructs this revelation — presenting 'hide what is in yourselves' as being antagonistic to 'disclose what is in yourselves' through the separation of these two hypothesis by the means of an exclusive logic operation (or). The reasoning is that a sinful though can't be acted upon by 'disclosing' it; if the thought of killing someone unjustly comes into my mind and I disclose it to a friend of mine, have I acted upon that thought, have I killed that person?I would like to receive some opinions regarding this verse. And if someone is fluent in Arabic, please elaborate on how this should be properly translated if the translation I provided isn't accurate.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to this. May you be rewarded if Allah wills for helping me in the pursuit of truth. -
Salam.
Hope I'm not clogging up your replies, but I don't have much else to say other then I think you took a fine look and I do think your interpretation is correct.
I'm not a qualified person, heck, probably the least qualified on here, but I do think you're right with this one.I will say though, this phrase of "Whether you hide it or say it, God knows it" is, from what I know, rather frequently said in the Qur'an, it seems that the meaning of this phrase being that nothing is hidden from God, even if you reveal it it to no one, God knows it .
Here are a few examples of the verses which God says it, Pickthall English translation
329, "Say, (O Muhammad) Whether ye hide that which is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knoweth it. He knoweth that which is in the heavens and that which is in the earth, and Allah is Able to do all things."
330, "On the Day when every soul will find itself confronted with all that it hath done of good and all that it hath done of evil (every soul) will long that there might be a mighty space of distance between it and that (evil). Allah biddeth you beware of Him. And Allah is Full of Pity for (His) bondmen."
331, "Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind) If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
332, "Say Obey Allah and the messenger. But if they turn away, lo! Allah loveth not the disbelievers (in His guidance)."3354, "Whether ye divulge a thing or keep it hidden, lo! Allah is ever Knower of all things."
1310, "Alike of you is he who hideth the saying and he who noiseth it abroad, he who lurketh in the night and he who goeth freely in the daytime."
So I dunno, the way I interpreted it is that nothing can be hidden from God, and that hiding a deed that you've done will do you no good, because God will reveal it, or bring you to account for it, on the day of judgement.
Like for 1310, for example, one could interpret it to mean Alike is the one who (thinks the thought in his head about his) speech and the one who proclaims it, but I moreso see it as Alike is the one who (says the negative speech, then attempts to hide it from others) as the one who (openly proclaims said negative speech).Also, I think I should note that there's also ayats like these, which do seem to suggest that the disbelievers, aka the punished, will only be requited for that which they used to do
4528, "And thou wilt see each nation crouching, each nation summoned to its record. (And it will be said unto them) This day ye are requited what ye used to do."
3739, "Ye are requited naught save what ye did - "
3433, "Those who were despised say unto those who were proud Nay but (it was your) scheming night and day, when ye commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals unto Him. And they are filled with remorse when they behold the doom; and We place carcans on the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught save what they used to do?"
All three of these use the arabic word Eml, which seems to be the word mainly used for Action, for Works, not for Thoughts.
Though there are a few others which use not the arabic word Eml, such as8336, "Are not the disbelievers paid for what they used to do? ", which uses fEl, but yeah looking at corpus this seems to be mainly used as "Do", too.
I suppose one could take a look at all the instances where Eml and fEl are used in the Qur'an in order to gain a greater understanding, but I would say for now at least that it seems to me that God will not requite folks aught for that which they used to do.
But with that said I do think thoughts are important, not as important as actions, but I do think if one is fantasizing about killing their friend 24/7, I think that's not a thing one should do.
Do I think they'll be judged as if they killed their friend if they never end up doing so? I'd say no but I don't know for sure.
Maybe it can also do with intentions, if you genuinely intend to kill your friend but you just can't find the means or you're not successful, perhaps that has something to do with it.
Unless you repent, yeah.I dunno tbh I'm not that knowledgeable, and I probably didn't bring much new to the table, hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge and experience can respond, but
yeah, those are my two cents.Also yeah fair point @Euphoric, read the previous verse too, the context.
Praise be to God, God bless, and peace!
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Yes, our intention is brought to account.
A continuation of 2;282 -Writing Down Financial Transactions with witnesses-
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If you are traveling, and no scribe is available, a bond shall be posted to guarantee repayment. If one is trusted in this manner, he shall return the bond when due, and he shall observe God his Lord. Do not withhold any testimony by concealing what you had witnessed. Anyone who withholds a testimony is sinful at heart. God is fully aware of everything you do.
وَإِن كُنتُم عَلىٰ سَفَرٍ وَلَم تَجِدوا كاتِبًا فَرِهٰنٌ مَقبوضَةٌ فَإِن أَمِنَ بَعضُكُم بَعضًا فَليُؤَدِّ الَّذِى اؤتُمِنَ أَمٰنَتَهُ وَليَتَّقِ اللَّهَ رَبَّهُ وَلا تَكتُمُوا الشَّهٰدَةَ وَمَن يَكتُمها فَإِنَّهُ ءاثِمٌ قَلبُهُ وَاللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ عَليمٌ
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To God belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. Whether you declare your innermost thoughts/intentions, or keep them hidden, God holds you responsible for them. He forgives whomever He wills( Mistakes with no intent), and punishes whomever He wills( deliberate intent to cheat). God is Omnipotent.
لِلَّهِ ما فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَما فِى الأَرضِ وَإِن تُبدوا ما فى أَنفُسِكُم أَو تُخفوهُ يُحاسِبكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ فَيَغفِرُ لِمَن يَشاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشاءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَىءٍ قَديرٌHonesty, fairness,justice and trust from -witnesses/contractors/lenders and clients- are what GOD approves of.
GOD bless you.
Peace.