Salat al Wusta/2:238-239: An Alternative Interpretation ...

[almarh0m]

Salamun Alaykum


There is no doubt that this very subject of "Salat al Wusta" commonly translated and interpreted by many Muslims as to mean the middle prayer, which is understandable given that, most translations of The Qur'an take Al Salat to mean prayer, and 'wusta' as middle or balanced. However, after re-reading the verses of chapter 2 from 2:220-240 over a long period, I could not understand how the context and the subject matter suddenly deviated to what seems to me as an entirely distinct subject. Even at a glance or a quick read from verse 2:220-240, anyone would know that these verses are talking about Women and "Orphans" and how to deal with them .

So how can we explain the deviation of the subject matter under consideration in verses 238-239 from that of women, orphans, divorces and maintenance etc to "middle prayer ? Every forum members who are muslims know that there are no contradiction in "The Qur'an", so this often contentious translation needs to be resolved by every sincere muslim who wishes to follow Al Qur'an to its letter and spirit. Whilest I am not certain about the accuracy of my understanding/interpretation of 2:238-239, at least I have tried with all sincerety and effort to the best of my ability. Of course, helps and assistance from 'Forum Members' are always welcome and appreciated .

Before I go on to my interpretation of the above verses, allow me to tell you that my take on "Salat" is that salat is a commitment/obligation and not "prayer", this is so people will know how I arrived at this conclusion/interpretation if we could call it that. I have used most of the tools available on line in studying AQ, including the 'root meanings of words' from PRL .

حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ

238   "Ĥāfi?ū `Al? Aş-Şalawāti Wa Aş-Şalāati Al-Wusţ? Wa Qūmū Lillāhi Qānitīna".

238   Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).

       "Be mindful/guard strictly upon(on) the commitments, and commitment moderate/balanced/measured and stand up for Allah obediently".(AQ:2:238).

239   فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًا ۖ فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَ


239   "Fa'in Khiftum Farijālāan 'Aw Rukbānāan Fa'idhā 'Amintum Fādhkurū Allāha Kamā `Allamakum Mā Lam Takūnū Ta`lamūna"

239   If ye fear (an enemy), pray on foot, or riding, (as may be most convenient), but when ye are in security, celebrate Allah.s praises in the manner He has taught you, which ye knew not (before).

239- "And if you are afraid/in fear/unable, then (honor) the commitment by step/instalment, then when you are secure(financially, honor the commitment/obligation by lump-sum), then remember Allah as He has taught you what you knew not "

Any comment, correction by forum members are welcome and may Allah guide us all to a better understanding of His Book in particular, and understanding of the world in general .

Peace

almarh0m

[Wakas]

peace,

In 2:239 why do mess up the Arabic? Also, did you take into account cross-reference within AQ?

[Wakas]

Via PM, almarh0m has asked me to clarify what I meant.

By mess up the Arabic, I meant imply wrongly what is in the Arabic, see corpus.quran.com for a word for word.

e.g. you seemingly completely ignore "aw rukbanan".


And by cross-reference within AQ I meant if you choose a word to mean X, when it commonly or perhaps never does mean X in AQ, then either you give us a reason or simply say "I did not cross-reference the word within AQ" meaning you did not check to see if it meant what you said it means elsewhere in Al Quran.

e.g. "by step/instalment", i.e. your seemingly figurative use of "rijalan".



It's all very simple with the tools available online these days. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is amazingly simple now. Whether one wishes to do this however, is another story.