Question:
As-Salamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu
I was reading an interesting book recently titled Lugha at-Tanzil by an
American, Siddeeq Jihad, who lives in Detroit. A description of the books
is as follows:
About The Book This book entitled, THE LANGUAGE OF REVELATION by Siddeeq
Jihad is intended to introduce its readers to Quraanic Arabic (Arabic Fushaah) while imparting knowledge of The Quraan. It endeavors to assist in the study of The Qur’aan in homes, masaajid, schools, universities and other venues. It contains some exercises that are designed to help students in the retention of this pure and beautifully structured language as well as aid the teachers in assessing the students’ grasp of the language. In a sentence, this book is about imparting some of The Glorious Qur’aan and Classical Arabic, the language of revelation to its readers for spiritual/material enrichment. And if all the trees were pens and the Ocean (were ink). With seven Oceans behind it to add to its (supply), Yet would not the words of Allah ever be exhausted (In the writing). For Allah is exalted in Power and Full of wisdom. (The Glorious Qur’aan, 31:27)
In general I enjoyed the book and it is beneficial to the basic levels of Arabic for English speakers. One particular part that stuck out on me which, for me, tainted this book and I could be wrong is when he mentioned the verse from Surah Falaq “min sharri MA khalaq” which is usually translated “from the evil He has created”. But Jihad translates it as “from the evil HE DID NOT create” meaning that Allah did not create evil. He justifies this by stating that “MA” used before a (past) verb negates it to mean “did not” which he is correct, linguistically. But is he taking this out of content? Because the pillars of Imam states that evil is a part of al-Qadr.
Please enlighten me on this.
Answer:
Wa `alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah:
Your remarks are spot on and it is true that “MA” used before a verb negates it, however:
(i) such a construct cannot syntactically come later than the thing negated: al-nafiya la yataqaddamu `alayha ma fi hayyiziha; and here it comes late! For it to be interpreted as a ma nafia (negating MA) it would have to start with the statement ma khalaqa min sharrin.
(ii) Secondly, for ma to be nafiya we would have to read sharrin with double vowel (tanween), i.e. not sharri but sharrin. But such a reading did not reach us mass-transmitted. Everyone reads it as sharri, which makes a negatory ma impossible.
(Note) Yes, there is a shaadh, or anomalous reading of “sharrin“: Makki al-Qaysi said his Tafsir:
“`Amr b. `Ubayd the chief of the Mu`tazila parted ways with the community of the Muslims and read it “min sharrin ma khalaq” with tanween in order to assert that there was another creator with Allah creating evil–Allah be greatly exalted beyond what he claimed! and his claim is atheism.”
So the interpretation offered in the book you cited is, as Ibn `Atiyya said, “a rejected reading based on a false madhhab.” It is a false madhhab because we believe that Allah Most High created absolutely everything, alone without partner (6:102, 16:13, 39:62). “Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god save Him. How then are you perverted?” (40:62)
The correct grammatical analysis of ma here is that it is either a substitute for sharr (badal) or a so-called “superfluous ma” (ma za’ida) which is often used in the Qur’an and Arabic style as a rhetorical device, or a substantive particle (ma masdariyya) in the sense of al-ladhi, i.e. as a relative pronoun.
Imam al-Baydawi said on this verse in his Tafsir: “He specified the world of creation in being sought refuge from to stress that honor truly belongs solely to the Creator: for the world of Divine Command (`aalam al-amr) is all pure goodness, while its evil is either
(i) self-willed or deliberately inflicted on others such as unbelief and injustice, or
(ii) natural such as the burning of fire and the lethality of poison.”
From Ibn `Abbas it is related that Iblis is meant in particular.
Additional references:
– Abu al-Baqa’ al-`Ukbari, Imla’ ma Manna bihi al-Rahman;
– al-Halabi al-Samin, al-Durr al-Masun fi `Ilm al-Kitab al-Maknun;
– Ibn `Adil, al-Lubab fi `Ulum al-Kitab, all under Surat al-Falaq.
And Allah Most High knows best.
O Allah Most High! Make the Glorious Qur’an the springtime of our hearts and the dispeller of our sadness.
Hajj Gibril Haddad