Selected Ayaat of Surah al-Israa — Study Session 7
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Ayah 31 — "Do not kill your children for fear of poverty": historical context, vocabulary, grammar
- The word الوَأد — burying alive; a dedicated verb for the practice of infanticide
- خَشيَة as مفعول لأجله
- Ayah 32 — "Do not come near zinā": grammar and vocabulary; فَاحِشَة diptote analysis
- اسم الفاعل from نَاقِص verbs — full pattern: زَانٍ, مَاشٍ, رَامٍ, هَادٍ, and their plurals
- Introduction to نِعمَ وَبِئسَ وَسَاء (continued in Session 8)
1. Ayah 31 — Do Not Kill Your Children
وَلَا تَقتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم خَشيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحنُ نَرزُقُهُم وَإِيَّاكُم ۚ إِنَّ قَتلَهُم كَانَ خِطئًا كَبِيرًا "Do not kill your children for fear of poverty — We shall provide for them and for you. Surely killing them is a grave sin."
1.1 Historical Context
Infanticide — especially of girls — was practised widely in pre-Islamic Arabia and across the ancient world. In that society, a child's life was legally owned by the father: he could dispose of it as he wished without legal consequence. The Quran, 1,400 years ago, declared the child's life as sacred as an adult's — a revolutionary proclamation. The transformation of a society that buried female infants alive into one of the strongest protectors of the weak in just 23 years of the Prophet's ﷺ mission is among the clearest testimonies to the Quran's transformative power.
Today, equivalent forms survive: abortion for economic reasons, dumped newborns, and selective termination based on gender.
1.2 Vocabulary
| Arabic | Root | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| أَوْلَاد | و-ل-د | children (plural of وَلَد); applies to both sons and daughters |
| وَلَد | و-ل-د | child, offspring (applies to male or female — hence "لَم يَلِد وَلَم يُولَد" means Allah has no offspring of any kind) |
| خَشيَة | خ-ش-ي | fear/apprehension of something; مفعول لأجله (reason for the action) |
| إِمْلَاق | م-ل-ق | poverty, destitution; Form IV maṣdar |
| الوَأد | و-أ-د | burying alive (specifically female infants); the Arabs even had a dedicated verb |
| الْمَوؤُودَة | و-أ-د | the girl buried alive (Surah al-Takwīr 81:8: وَإِذَا الْمَوؤُودَةُ سُئِلَت — "When the girl buried alive will be asked, for what sin she was killed") |
| خِطء / خَطأ | خ-ط-أ | خِطء (with kasra) = sin; خَطأ (with fatḥa) = mistake — two different words, completely different meanings despite same root! |
خِطء vs. خَطأ
- خِطء (with kasra on the khā) = a sin
- خَطأ (with fatḥa on the khā) = a mistake/error One harakat changes the entire meaning. Arabic pronunciation precision is not optional.
1.3 Grammar: خَشيَة إِمْلَاقٍ as مفعول لأجله
خَشيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ — "for fear of poverty" — is a مفعول لأجله (mafʿūl lahu): a manṣūb noun stating the reason behind an action. (A different Ayah — 6:151 — says مِن إِمْلَاقٍ, from actual poverty, rather than fear of future poverty.)
1.4 Order of Pronouns: نَرزُقُهُم وَإِيَّاكُم
In this Ayah: نَرزُقُهُم وَإِيَّاكُم — "We provide for them AND for you." In Ayah 6:151: نَرزُقُكُم وَإِيَّاهُم — "We provide for you AND for them."
The order is reversed! In Ayah 31 (al-Isrāʾ), the children are mentioned first — because the fear is about the unborn/newborn's provision. In Ayah 6:151, the parents are mentioned first — because the context addresses actual existing poverty of the parents themselves. Nothing in the Quran is coincidental.
2. Ayah 32 — Do Not Come Near Zinā
وَلَا تَقرَبُوا الزِّنَا ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا "Do not come near zinā — it is indeed an immoral act and an evil way."
2.1 The Command: "Don't Even Come Near"
Allah does not say "do not commit zinā" — He says do not come near it. This is because the sin is so grave that Allah placed entire systems of deterrence around it: - Prohibition of free mixing (ikhtilāṭ) - Hijab and rules of modest dress - Lowering the gaze for both men and women - Prohibition of speech that may lead toward temptation - Prohibition of music that promotes immorality
Each is a barrier long before the sin itself. This is how Islam protects society.
2.2 فَاحِشَة — Diptote Analysis
فَاحِشَة — something repulsive, abominable, immoral. فُحش — the masculine form; on the pattern فُعل (diptote) — notice no tanwīn.
Why is فُحش a diptote? It ends in an additional alif or it is on a pattern for diptotes. In either case it follows ممنوع من الصرف rules.
Broader meaning: فَاحِشَة is not limited to sexual immorality — it means any abomination. This is illustrated in Surah al-Baqara:
الشَّيطَانُ يَعِدُكُم الفَقرَ وَيَأمُرُكُم بِالفَحشَاء وَاللهُ يَعِدُكُم مَغفِرَةً مِنهُ وَفَضلًا (2:268) Shaytan promises poverty and commands you to fāḥishāʾ; Allah promises forgiveness and bounty.
Here فَحشَاء means any evil act (e.g., withholding charity out of fear of poverty).
2.3 Etymology of سَيِّئَة / سَوء
Root: س-و-أ (sawaʾa) → to be evil, to rot.
The meaning chain: - سَوء = anything evil, corruption - جِيفَة = corpse → سَيِّء/سَوء = something as repulsive as a rotting corpse - سَيِّئَة = a sin (literally: a repulsive, evil thing)
3. اسم الفاعل from نَاقِص Verbs
When a nakis verb (3rd radical = yāʾ or wāw) produces an ismu al-fāʿil (فَاعِل pattern), the yāʾ is dropped when the noun stands alone (no Al):
| Verb | Expected فَاعِل | Actual form (no Al) | With Al |
|---|---|---|---|
| زَنَى (to commit zinā) | زَانِيٌ → زَانٍ | زَانٍ | الزَّانِي |
| مَشَى (to walk) | مَاشِيٌ → مَاشٍ | مَاشٍ | الْمَاشِي |
| رَمَى (to throw/shoot) | رَامِيٌ → رَامٍ | رَامٍ | الرَّامِي |
| هَدَى (to guide) | هَادِيٌ → هَادٍ | هَادٍ | الْهَادِي |
Pattern of the plural: فُعَلَاء → زُنَاة, مُشَاة, رُمَاة, هُدَاة
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| زَانٍ | زُنَاة | fornicator/adulterer (m.) |
| زَانِيَة | زَوَانِي | fornicator/adulteress (f.) |
| مَاشٍ | مُشَاة | pedestrian (m.); also مَشَايَا for cattle (quadrupeds) |
| رَامٍ | رُمَاة | archer, thrower |
| هَادٍ | هُدَاة | guide |
| مَهدِيّ | — | guided one (passive participle from Form I nakis) |
Beautiful Duʿāʾ (from a Ḥadīth in Musnad Aḥmad):
اللَّهُمَّ زَيِّنَّا بِزِينَةِ الإِيمَانِ وَاجعَلنَا هُدَاةً مُهتَدِين "O Allah, adorn us with the adornment of faith and make us guides who are themselves guided."
Guides must also be guided themselves — otherwise they lead others astray.
Maṣdar of نَاقِص verbs: زِنًا (zinā) — notice the alif at the end is an additional alif (not the third radical). It is written as ـنًا, not as ـنَى. This is different from the ismu al-fāʿil case. The additional alif makes the maṣdar a maqṣūr noun but NOT the same as the nakis alif.
4. Introduction to سَاء as a Verb of Blame
سَاء سَبِيلًا = "What an evil way it is!"
سَاء functions here exactly like بِئسَ — as a verb of blame. The full structure of نِعمَ/بِئسَ/سَاء will be studied in detail in Session 8.
| Element | In this Ayah | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | سَاءَ | verb of blame |
| Fāʿil | hidden ضمير (referring back to الزِّنَا) | cannot be named because it has no Al |
| Tamyīz | سَبِيلًا | specifies in what way it is evil — the "path/way" is evil |
| Makhṣūṣ | الزِّنَا (omitted) | clear from context |
5. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Root | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| وَلَد / أَوْلَاد | و-ل-د | فَعَل / أَفعَال | child (m. or f.) / children |
| خَشيَة | خ-ش-ي | فَعلَة | fear/apprehension (mafʿūl lahu) |
| إِمْلَاق | م-ل-ق | Form IV maṣdar | poverty |
| الوَأد | و-أ-د | فَعل maṣdar | burying alive |
| المَوؤُودَة | و-أ-د | مفعولة pattern | the girl buried alive |
| خِطء | خ-ط-أ | فِعل | sin |
| خَطأ | خ-ط-أ | فَعَل | mistake/error |
| فَاحِشَة | ف-ح-ش | فَاعِلَة | something immoral/repulsive |
| فُحش | ف-ح-ش | فُعل (diptote) | immorality, abomination |
| زَانٍ / زُنَاة | ز-ن-ي | فَاعِل nakis | fornicator / fornicators |
| مَاشٍ / مُشَاة | م-ش-ي | فَاعِل nakis | walker, pedestrian |
| هَادٍ / هُدَاة | ه-د-ي | فَاعِل nakis | guide / guides |
| مَهدِيّ | ه-د-ي | مَفعُول nakis | the guided one |
6. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- The Quran's prohibition of infanticide was historically revolutionary — declaring a child's life as sacred as an adult's in a society where parents owned children's lives.
- خِطء (sin) vs. خَطأ (mistake) — one harakah changes everything. Precision in Arabic matters.
- "Do not come near zinā" (not just "do not commit it") teaches that protection from major sins requires erecting barriers far before the sin itself.
- All ismu al-fāʿil from nakis verbs follow the pattern: فَاعِل → drop yāʾ (when no Al) → يَنٍ / مَاشٍ / رَامٍ. With Al: الزَّانِي, الْمَاشِي.
- سَاء is a third verb of blame (alongside بِئسَ), following the same grammatical structure.
Session 8 completes the study of نِعمَ وَبِئسَ وَسَاء in detail, then continues with vocabulary of the later ayaat.