reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

138 Hani Hayajneh"deliver, preserve; act on the defensive;" s 2 trb, "be saved, preserved in safely;"s 2 rb, "safety, deliverance" in Sabaic; 90 s 2 rb, "safety; prosperity" in Qatabanic; 91 .and s 1 s 2 ~b "deliver, preserve" in Minaic. 92 In Modem Arabic dialects of Yemen··the root remains productive: cf. sharab, "to watch an enemy; to deposit;" .o11.nr•·n11n"to· nominate a custodian;" shara(w, "to guard;" shirba, "deposit ofshirral;a, "protection of date-palm against a fee;" mashriib, "guarded;" ,,,.~.,,.,..n~."deposited; entrusted, charged with; custodian." 93Notably, in all Qur'iinic verses where a form derived from the rootshrb occurs,·God is the subject and the word fjadr in the figurative sense of"heart" is the object;i.e. sharabalyashrabu + God (Allah) + Ii-I-Islam "by/with/for Islam + f;adran"heart" (Q 93:22, 6:125). In Qur'iin 16:106, wa-man sharaba bi-1-lczifi-i fjadran, .the word kufr, instead of Islam, is used to designate the disbelievers, and the prepositionbi- inst~ad of li- is used. The subject is not mentioned but is indicated bythe third person; i.e. the disbelievers. In Qur'iin 94:1, a-lam nashrab !akathe verb is used in an interrogative form with an indicative connotation. In Qur'iin ·20:25, ishrab If f!adrf, an imperative verb is used.In the light of the. preceding etymological and lexical study of the root sh-r-(1,we may conclude that its meaning is of two types:.the first is related to the concept ofprotection, deliverance, guarding, safety, and the second to expanding, opening, dilation,displaying, exposing, widening, etc. The latter is derived from Classical Arabic,as the Arabic lexicon might have shown. The first, however, is a South Arabian/'Yemenite usage, which continued to be used to modem days. We also have seen howthe Arab lexicographers discern the word al-sharib, "guardian," by considering it asa Y emenite word, which shows that they were aware of this semantic duality of therootsh-r-(1. For the Qur' iinic passages, I think that the first semantic group applies; theQur'iin uses this root to express how God consolidates and protects faith in the bosom,i.e. in the heart, ofbelievers and guarantees it against any superstition or deviation.Therefore, the verse (Q 39:22) a-fa-man sharaba Allahu fjadrahu Ii-I-Islam .fa-huwa 'ala niirin min rabbihi, fa-waylun li-1-qasiyati quhlbuhum min dhikriAllahi uta 'ikafi r;lalalin mubfn could be interpreted as "Is he whose heart God hasguaranteed/fortified for Islam [by true faith], so that he follows a light from hisLord. So woe to those whose hearts have been hardened against the remembranceof God. Such are in manifest error." 94 One might read Qur'iin 6:125 in the:same way: fa-man yurfdi Altahu an yahdiyahu yashrab fjadrahu Ii-I-Islam as·"Whomever God desires to guide, He guarantees/fortifies his heart for Islam ,Arabian languages as a source for Qur'anic vocabulary 139true faith]." Qur'iin 16:106 is different: man kafara bi-Allahi min ba 'diilia man ukriha wa-qalbuhu mutma 'innun bi-1-zman wa-lakin man''""·nv•'"n bi-1-kuji-i f;adran fa- 'alayhim ghar;labun min Allahi wa-lahum 'adhabunHere the verb sharaba is followed by bi-1-kufr. The subject of the verbalis not mentioned, but according to the traditional account it refers to aof disbelievers who tried to force the believers to abandon their belief aftercmwe·rtin111 to it, i.e. Islam. The object is evidently represented by the word f!adrI can postulate here that the word kufr is implemented in this verse in thepre:sUJDPsed position of zman, "faith," in the two verses discussed above. Morethepronominal suffix in 'alayhim refers to those disbelievers who persetheMuslims. This lexical, morphological and syntactical analysis can leadthe following interpretation of the verse: "As for those who disbelieved inafter he accepted faith in God (except for he who was compelled but kept hisconfident in belief), those who fortified a heart with disbelief, upon thembe the wrath of God and for them there will be a great chastisement."Qur'iin 94:1, a-lam nashrab !a-ka fjadraka, the Qur'iin has God address theMuQ.ammad. The verse can be translated as follows: "Have we not forti­.fied/prot