002:012

The Holy Qor-aan                                                                                                                   002:012

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وَاِذَا قِيۡلَ لَهُمۡ لَا تُفۡسِدُوۡا فِىۡ الۡاَرۡضِۙ قَالُوۡاۤ اِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُصۡلِحُوۡنَ

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Wa  aiy-zaa  qee-la  la  hoom  laa  toof-say-doo  fee  il-aur-dzay                                                       Qaa-loo  in-na-maa  nauh-no  moos-lay-hoon

And when it was said to them, “Make no mischief on earth”                                     They said, “Really we are the reformers.”

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• وَ — Wa — And (= Conj., Links words, phrases or clauses; additionally;  also; but; moreover; though; when; while; whereupon; yet)
• اِذَا — Aiy-zaa –When (= Any event, occasion, opportunity or time. Also, behold; call to mind; consider; now that; ponder over; recall; reflect, remember; think of)
• قِيۡلَ — Qee-la — Was said (= v., past., pass., s., 3^rd person. Announced; broadcast;  called; conveyed; declared; informed; elaborated; explained; responded; specified; spoken; stated; submitted; told)
• لَ  — La — To (= For the attention, benefit, convenience, object or purpose of. Also, belonging, concerning, intended for, regarding or relative to)
• هُمۡ — Hoom — Them (= pro., pl, .m., 3rd person. Refers to the aforesaid people)
  
• لَا — Laa — Do not (= Naught; neither; never; none; nor; not at all; absolute denial and total negation. Abstaining, absent, devoid, failing or refraining from action contemplated in the verb that follows)
• تُفۡسِدُوۡا — Toof-say-doo — Make mischief (= v., pres., pl., 2^nd person. Cause, commit, create, do, make, promote or spread chaos, corruption, evil, mischief or unrest of any kind. See Note 002:012a below)
  
• فِىۡ — Fee … (il) — In / On (= About. Amidst. Among. Contained inside a duration, event, time, place, period, person, phenomenon, situation or thing. Also, concerning; for the sake of; in reference to; pursuant to; regarding; relative to. See Note 002:028)
  
• الۡاَرۡضِ — Aur-dzay — The earth (= Area; country; earth; ground; land; territory. Life on earth; nation, people or society in general)
  
• قَالُوۡا — Qaa-loo — They said (= v., past., pl., m., 3^rd person. All those men announced,       called, declared or told. See Note 002:012 below)
• اِنَّمَا — In-na-maa — Most certainly (= Combination of two words. The first word  اِنَّ (inna) means absolutely; definitely; doubtlessly; earnestly; indeed; positively; really; seriously; surely; truly; verily. The second word  مَاۤ  (maa) means all that, what; whatever. whatsoever. Thu s اِنَّمَا  (inna-maa) lays great emphasis on the statement that follows it as absolutely, positively and most certainly accurate’)
• نَحۡنُ — Nauh-no — We are (= pl., Refers to first person)
• مُصۡلِحُوۡنَ — Moos-lay-hoon — Reformers (= n., pl., Do-gooders who do things the right way. Peacemakers. Those who make improvements in the prevailing conditions)

** Note 002:012 (reproducing  Note 002:003a). Arabic language mushrooms from its words which are Roots. Each Root produces many words which are derivatives. Each derivative can be in any one of the forms like verbs, nouns (Baab for single or ab-waab for plural), adjectives, adverbs or others recognized in other languages.

Correctly translating any Arabic word requires knowing all those basics. Failure to know the basics invariably result in mistranslation.

Some help is available in our Commentaries on Arabic Grammar: 1 – Alphabets, 2 – Basics, 3 – Pronouns, 4 – Preciseness, 5 – Punctuations and 6 – Material Mistakes. Commentary Arabic Grammar4 – Preciseness in Arabic show that precision is imbedded in every derivate.

A derivate verb may in addition to its form be (a) in the active voice or passive voice, (b) in the past tense, present tense or future tense, (c) of masculine gender or feminine gender and (d) for 3^rd, or 2^nd or 1^st person.

For example from the root ك   ت   ب   following are the 14 words in the active voice and past tense.

Male Gender                     Female gender

Plural / Singular          1           2              3+                  1          2           3+

3^rd person                     ڪَتَبنۡ       ڪَتَبتاَٰ         کَتَبَتۡ             ڪَتَبوۡا        ڪَتَباۡ      ڪَتَبَ

2^nd person                  ڪَتَبنۡ       ڪَتَبتمَا      ڪَتَبتِ           ڪَتَبُنۡتُم      ڪَتَبتمَا     ڪَتَبتَ

1st person                   ڪَتَبنَآۡ                     ڪَتَبتُ

Another example of Verbs from  root   ق  ا  ل  n the active voice and past tense translated.                                                          Male gender                              Female gender

Plural / Singular                  1                2              3+                  1                 2                3+                                 3^rd person             قُلۡنَ              قَا لَتا            قَا لَتۡ                 قَالُوۡاۤ           قَالَا             قَا لَ                                                                   One        The 2         All                  One           The 2             All                                                          Male          Males       Males           Female     Females      Females                                                     Said            Said          Said                Said          Said              Said

2^nd person.                           قُلۡتُنَّ              قُلۡتُما                  قُلۡتِ                قُلۡتُمۡ              قُلۡتُما             قُلۡتَ                                                            You           You           You               You                You            You                                                         One           Two           All                 One               Two            All                                                            Male        Males       Males          Female       Females    Females                                                        Said          Said         Said                Said              Said          said

1^st person.                             قُلۡنَاۤ                                  قُلۡتُ                 For Both                                                                                          I                                We                   Males and                                                                                     Said                            Said                  Females

Important things required to correctly translate any of the above words are as follows.

1. The Fatha on top, Kasra under and Zomma above the last letter of words قُلۡتَ , قُلۡتِ and قُلۡتُ precisely show their different meanings.
2. The text precisely shows how the same word قُلۡتُما means “You Two males” or “You two females.”
3. The word  قُلۡنَ  means “All females in 3^rd person said” and that precisely differs from the word  قُلۡتُنَّ  which means “All females in 2^nd person said.”
4. The last letter  ا  distinguishes  قَالَا  from  قَا لَ  and  قُلۡنَاۤ  from  قُلۡنَ  and their meanings.