A Runaway slave (as-Saffaat 37:139)

A Runaway slave

The Story of Prophet Yunus (peace be upon him) in the Qur’an is told only briefly in Surah al-Anbiya and Surah Saffat, although he is referred to elsewhere, such as al-Qalam. In brief, he was sent to a people whose unresponsiveness to him and his message led to him leaving them in frustration. In Saffat (37:139-140), the most high describes his departure by saying:

و إن يونس لمن المرسلين. إذ أبق إلى الفلك المشحون

“And Yunus was one of the Messengers; when he ran to the laden ship.”

In explaining the word ( أبق ), some exegetes gloss it as ( تباعد ) ‘to move away’; ( فزع ) ‘to flee’; or most commonly, ( هرب ) ‘to run away’. In my translation above, I rendered it simply as “ran”.

But the words given as estimates for ( أبق ) are simply that: an estimation of the approximate meaning. They do not allow us an understanding of the intricacy of this instance of word choice and usage in the Qur’an. ( أبق ) is not merely to flee; it is used for the ( آبق ), a slave who escapes and runs away from his master.

But as we know, Yunus (as) is not technically a slave, not through birth nor through any other means. So why the usage of the specific term ( أبق )? It is, incidentally, used only this once in the entire book!

The application of the term with respect to him is justified, some exegetes say, because of his fleeing away from his people without the permission of his Lord. In this manner, his fleeing from his responsibility and the people he had been entrusted with is being compared to the slave who, instead of fulfilling his duties, runs away from his master.

Some say that the term ( أبق ) refers not only to a slave who runs away, but one who does so without the type of reason that might justify his departure, such as persecution or extremely difficult conditions. If this is correct, it adds a further nuance to the choice of the word ( أبق ), in describing the condition of the Prophet Yunus (as) as one not warranting his flight.

The metaphoric usage of ( أبق ) thus demonstrates the relationship Yunus (as) had with his master, and serves as a strict reminder to us as well. We, like Yunus (as), are servants of Allah and cannot flee from him nor his command.

This added insight into the hapax legomenon ( أبق ) demonstrates yet again the absolute brilliance of the language of the Qur’an; it manages to convey deep meaning and lessons to us even with the placing of a single word.

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Source: http://arabicgems.wordpress.com/2008…lave/#comments

"But Allah has created you and your handwork!" (as-Saffaat 37:96)

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.

Allah (swt) says:

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

“While Allah has created you and what you make!”

(as-Saffaat 37: 96)

In Arabic, the word “maa ” (in green) has many meanings and can be used in many ways:

It could be used as an ism al-Istifhaam (interrogative particle) such as in the sentence: Maa haadhaa? – What is this?

It could also be a harf al-Nafi (negation) as in: Maa katabtuhu – I did not write it.

Another way it could be used is as an ism al-Isharah (demonstrative pronoun) for example: I’maloo maa shi’tum – Do that which you want to do.

It could also be used as a maa masdariyyah which is something I don’t think is found in English.

[The word maa usually always implies a negation, i.e. What? i don’t.. etc.]

Now the amazing thing here is that all the above ways of using the word “maa” can be accommodated in this one ayah. It is possible that the maa in the ayah could be a maa masdariyyah, an ism al-Isharah, a nafi and an istifhaam.

So if it is taken as a maa masdariyyah then the meaning would be as it is the translation above. “While Allah has created you and what you make!”

If it is an Istifhaam then it would be translated as: “But Allah has created you and what have you done?”

If it is an ism al-Isharah then the ayah is: “But Allah has created you and that which you do.” It is similar in meaning to the first one, but there is a subtle difference grammatically. 

And finally, if it is a nafi then it would be: “But Allah has created you and you have not done (that which you claim).”

So in this one small ayah all these various interpretations are possible and the differences stem from just one word: maa ( مَا.)

Also see [Tafsir al Qurtubi. as-Saffaat 37:96];
http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?l=arb&taf=KORTOBY&nType=1&nSora=37&nAya=96