The words إيمان (faith) and أمانة (trust) among others are all derived from the word أَمْن which is security & safety as Allaah `azza wa jall says,
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً
“Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them. And He will surely give them a safe security (amn) after their fear…” [al-Noor: 55]
But what is interesting to note is the word that He subhaanahu wa ta’aala chose in Soorah Aal-‘Imran when describing the security that descended upon the companions as they fought in ghazwatul-Uhud. He says,
ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاساً يَغْشَى طَآئِفَةً مِّنكُمْ
“Then after the distress, He sent down security (amana) for you. Slumber overtook a party of you…” [Aal-‘Imran: 154]
So what is the difference between أمن and أمنة ?
Well, they say that with regards to Amn, it is:
الأمن هو الطمأنينة بعد زوال سبب الخوف
Meaning that it’s the safety and security felt after the cause of the fear is gone (e.g. Seeing a lion in front you suddenly, can place fear into your heart, but only after it goes away do you feel amn – security). And this why Allaah `azza wa jall uses this form of the word in the first ayah “And He will surely give them a safe security after their fear…”
Amana (with a taa al-marboota) on the other hand is said to be:
أما الأمنة فهي الطمأنينة مع وجود سبب الخوف
It is to feel safe and secure in the presence of whatever has caused you fear.
Subhanallah, this just puts a whole new meaning to the ayah in Aal-‘Imran, “He sent down security for you…” – It illustrates the fact that even though the Sahabah were still facing the horrors of battle and their enemies were close, Allaah gave them this particular type of security which is felt only when the cause of fear is still present. This amana was such that it even allowed them to sleep and rest for a while by the Mercy of Allaah. Wallaahu ta’aala a’lam
Tabarakallaah! 😀
[May Allah reward my good friend and sister from Thikraa blog who shared this information with me, whilst I was heedless of it! Ahsanallaahu ilayki sis]
Assalamu Alaikum
Allahu Akbar!!!
Jazaakillah for this sister
Reading your blog is really inspiring me to further my arabic studies, may Allah reward you immensely for it.
Wassalam
As salaamu ‘alaikum Sr Fajr,
Mashaa-Allah – may Allah swt reward you and increase you in ‘ilm! This blog is amazing =)
I miss London sooo much! I never knew there was such an awesome muslim community!! I would’ve made more visits had I known =( … but Alhamdullilah.
I miss Al-Shams – I miss each and everyone of you! =) Inshaa Allah we’ll meet again!
Anis
Masha Allah, excellent post. The verses have some other interesting points for tadabbur.
(1) the verb used with أمنة is أنزل , and brings to mind that Allah uses the same verb with السكينة in similar contexts, whereas the verb used with أمن is يبدِّل ,
(2) Verse 11 of Surah al-Anfaal is similar to verse 154 of Sural Al ‘Imraan, except that the order of أمنة and نعاس is reversed. The verb used with النعاس in both cases is يغشى in both the first and second forms.
I just thought that I’ll mention these points as possible points for further tadabbur on these verses.
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaah
Wa iyyaakum, jazakumullahu khayra
Ya Anis! 🙂 Masha’Allaah ukhti, it was really nice meeting you – we will all miss you subhanallaah. Don’t forget us too quickly as you cruise the islands of Malaysia! Inshaa’Allaah we must have you come down and visit at one of the seminars during the year bi’ithnillaah… keep in touch 😉
I was just thinking about this subhanallaah, it could be possible that Allaah subhaanahu wa ta’aala used أنزل to indicate that this amana can only be from Him, i.e. sent down from Himself… as it is not natural for someone to feel so safe and secure amidst the actual danger/cause of fear itself, wallaahu a’lam!
Masha’Allah very nice blog sister fajr =)
May Allah (swt) keep your intentions pure and may He grant you Jannat-ul-Firdaws. Ameen.
Ameen, ameen – iyyana wa iyyaaki ukhti