Sabbih bi hamdi rabbika
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The phrase "sabbih bi hamdi rabbika" appears multiple times in The Reading - sometimes with different forms/times/subjects.
Sample verse with a tradiational understanding
1598 So glorify with the praise of your Lord...
How does one glorify with the praise of his/her Lord? Moreover, what interests me is the "bi hamdi rabbika" part. Does God praise us for glorifying Him? Is the praise of our Lord something intangible? What is it supposed to be?
First of all, I think "SBH" can be understood as striving, performing a daily course, etc.
PRL uses the following meanings for the root Siin-Ba-Ha = to swim, roll onwards, perform a daily course, float, the act of swimming, occupy oneself in the accomplishment of his needful affairs or seeking the means of subsistence, business/occupation, those who are floating, went/travel far, being quick/swift. To praise/glorify/hallow/magnify, sing/celebrate praise, holy, declaring God to be far removed or free for every imperfection/impurity
Here is how the same translation uses a derivative of "SBH" to mean something else in a different context
2133 He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each swimming ("yasbahu" in an orbit.
Some translators picked with word "floating" and translate the the phrase "sabbih bi hamdi rabbika" in a similar fashion as the one I picked here for 1598 and 2133 for demonstration purposes.
37143 is also interesting. God is not mentioned in that verse, yet many translators use "one who implored" or "one who meditated" or something along those lines to translate "muhsabiheena." Shabbir Ahmed uses "swimmer." In context it makes sense. I will quote his translation below without his inserted additions that he has in brackets in the original version
37142-144 Then the fish grabbed him while he was blaming himself. And had he not been a valiant swimmer ("musabbiheena", he would have remained in her belly disintegrated there and further until the Day of Rising. Then We cast him on the shore, while he was exhausted.
In one of the few threads on the topic of "sabih" an interesting contrast to "sabih" was found
230 Your Lord said to the forces/powers/controllers, "I am placing a successor on earth." They said, "Would You place in it he who would corrupt it and shed blood, while we sabbihu bi hamdika and nuqaddisu?" He said, "I know what you do not know."
Clearly "sabbihu bi hamdika" and "nuqaddisu" is in contrast to corrupting the earth and shedding blood. Since I am a novice at Arabic - only know what I have studied from the Quran starting off with basically 0 - I want to confirm here that "sabbihu" is just the first person plural form (i.e. "we" and the "hu" doesn't refer to a different noun? It seems that way from Quranix.org.
From PRL Qaf-Dal-Siin = to be pure, holy, spotless. qudusun - purity, sanctity, holiness. al quddus - the holy one, one above and opposite to all evil, replete with positive good. muqaddas - sacred. An earthen or wooden pot.
It seems the contextually relevant and non-religionist/non-traditionalist/realistic translation would be the ones underlined. So essentially the contrast to "(a1)corrupting the earth and (a2)shedding blood" is to "(b1)sabbih with the hamd of our Lord" and (b2)to shun all evil and/or be postive and good. This makes sense. One implication could be that a1 is the contrast to b1, and a2 is the contrast to b2, although it may not be exactly the case. Both phrases in each verse together can be contrasted against each other.
I want to turn to the "bi hamdi rabbika" part and see the root meaning of "HMD."
Ha-Miim-Dal = To praise or eulogize or commend someone, speak well of someone, mention someone with approbation, approve of a thing, recompense/pay someone his due, to be praiseworthy or commendable.
Perhaps "sabbih bi hamdi rabbika" can mean "strive/go about your daily course with the approval of your Lord" or "...in a way your Lord Approves/would approve." This reminds me of the command "from wherever you go forth, you shall face al masjid al haram." Similarly this could mean that when we are out and about and engaging in our daily activities we are to do it in a way that God would approve of? Or do it in a way for which God would reward us in the hereafter?
In 20130, many times are listed. Some have said this is basically saying "all the time."
20130 So be patient to what they are saying and strive/perform your daily course of activities in a way your Lord would commend/approve before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and from the hours of the night, and at the (three or more) edges of the daytime that you may be content.
The verse starts with the start of one's waking hours then goes on to sunset, nighttime and "the three or more edges of the day" which could signify ongoing/multiple days and could basically mean "all the time" or at least "ongoing."
2119-20 To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and in the earth. Those who are near Him are not too proud to serve Him, nor do they complain. They strive/perform their daily course ("yusabbihoona" in the daytime and the nighttime, and they do not cease.
"Yasabbihoona" does not include any object - i.e. it does not say "SBH God" - it complements "serving God and not being proud/arrogant." The next few verses talk about idolatry/setting up partners.
Let me turn to "al masjid al haram" and peacefulness/"islam" in general. One possible interpretation I see for "al masjid al haram" is "the inviolable/restricted time of acknowledgement/submission" namely the four restricted months. How would that be related to peacefulness? No war is allowed (with exceptions) and believers are to make truce with whoever they may be fighting with, invite mankind to the "hajj" to eat/discuss and be at peace and there is a hunting prohibition/restriction.
Another similarity can be drawn with "al sirata al mustaqeem" and "sabeel allah/sabeel Allah." That would be metaphorically treading on a path ordained by God by following his commands. Again, the result would be peacefulness. The Reading/Quran gives us guidelines to live a just, peaceful and sucessful life and to never forget the hereafter which is what counts. Thus, we can be successful.
This all is similar to 230 where "abbihu bi hamdika and nuqaddisu" is contrasted to corruption and bloodshed. So engaging in our daily activities in a way that God would commend us/reward us for is would ensure that we uphold his "deen" and served him by observing his laws and guidelines in our daily activities.
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Root
Words from this Root in the Grand Qur'aan
a) Total occurrences 92
b) No of constructions 31
Nouns 12 Recurrence 48 Verbs 19 Recurrence 44It occurs in 87 Ayahs of 49 Chapters.
Ibn Faris stated
( ةThat it denotes any kind of adoration, magnificence, servitude, allegiance, or cult; and secondly any kind of effort, attempt and pursuit.
The perception infolded in the Root reveals that its verbs will be in the category of normal verbs which are action verbs that carry a great deal of information in a sentence and can convey emotion and a sense of purpose that extends beyond the literal meanings of the words.
An effort, attempt or pursuit is result - accomplishment oriented. Its focus is to achieve a purpose, an object or destination.