English commentators make use of various terms to describe the Arabic
term 'Alameen'. Nations, creatures, mankind are all common epithets. This is undoubtedly one of the problems many translators face whilst attempting
to capture the various nuances of a term from one language to another in one
word. Some terms also carry slightly different renderings depending on the
context they are used in.
The Arabic word 'Alameen' comes from the root word
'Ayn-Lam-Mim' which means to know, be aware, knowledge, science, mark or by means of which
something can be known.
'Alameen' carries the significance of the meaning 'world', 'creation' 'mankind'
or even the entire Universe. It comes from the word plural of 'Alam' and is used
in many verses of the Quran.
1:2, 2:47, 2:122, 2:131, 2:251, 3:33, 3:42, 3:96,
3:97, 3:108, 5:20, 5:28, 5:115, 6:45, 6:71, 6:86, 6:90, 6:162, 7:54, 7:61, 7:67,
7:80, 7:104, 7:121, 7:140, 10:10, 10:37, 12:104, 15:70, 21:71, 21:91, 21:107,
25:1, 26:16, 26:23, 26:47, 26:77, 26:98, 26:109, 26:127, 26:145, 26:164, 26:165,
26:180, 26:192, 27:8, 27:44, 28:30, 29:6, 29:10, 29:15, 29:28, 32:2, 37:79,
37:87, 37:182, 38:87, 39:75, 40:64, 40:65, 40:66, 41:9, 43:46, 44:32, 45:16,
45:36, 56:80, 59:16, 68:52, 69:43, 81:27, 81:29, 83:6
Restricting the word to mean either 'nation', 'mankind', 'creation' or
'Universe' is incorrect as the word may carry any one of these renderings based
on context.
Source:
Edward Lanes Lexicon
[1]
The fact that the word 'Alameen' is not restricted to
just all 'creatures' or 'Universe' can be seen from the way 'Alameen' has been
used in different parts of the Quran. If we render the word 'Alameen' as
'creatures' only, then the following verses where the word 'Alameen' has been
used would read as follows:
-
Special
favour and preference over all creatures for the Children of Israel 2:122
-
Special
favour and preference over all creatures for the Children of Israel 2:47
-
Special
favour and preference over all creatures for the Children of Israel 44:32
-
Adam (pbuh),
Noah (pbuh), Family of Abraham (pbuh) and the Family of Imran chosen over all creatures
3:33
-
First
house of worship was a blessing and guidance for all creatures 3:96
-
Ismail,
Elisha, Jonas and Lot (pbut) were given favour over all creatures 6:86
-
Prophet
Muhammad's (pbuh) guidance to all creatures is no different from the guidance of
the prophets of old 6:90
-
Prophet Moses (pbuh)
confirms that the children of Israel are preferred over all creatures 7:140
-
Prophets Abraham
and Lot (pbut) were taken to a land which was blessed for all creatures 21:71
-
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was
a sign for all creatures 21:91
-
The
saving of Prophet Noah (pbuh) in the ark was a sign to all creatures 29:15
Similarly,
rendering 'alameen' as ‘Universe’ would give us equally unusual renderings. A
case in point is used as an example:
Therefore depending on context, the proper meaning of the
term 'Alameen' is derived. For example, in verse 1:2, where the term
'Rabbi'l-alameen' is used, the most correct rendering would be 'Lord of the
Universe' as opposed to 'Lord of mankind / creatures' as the latter rendering is
unnecessarily restrictive given the subject 'God'.
On the other hand, the first house of worship acting as a
blessing and guidance for all 'alameen' would be better rendered as 'all
nations' or 'mankind' as an earth bound house of worship is unlikely to
represent a blessing or guidance for the complete Universe.
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