Translation of an ayah from Surati Aali 'Imran - 4

Please translate the following from Surati Aali 'Imraan searching any new verbs/nouns that have not yet been encountered. Please provide any additional explanation where you see necessary.


وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ


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وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ

وَمَكَرُوا – and they (m3+) [tried to]deceive*
وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ – and deceived Allah (i.e. and Allah deceived)*
وَاللَّهُ – and Allah [is]مبتدأ
خَيْر – the best : خبر مرفوع بالضمة ومضاف
الْمَاكِرِينَ – of the deceivers (SMP- مجرور بالياء مضاف إليه)**

*I chose to use the translation of مَكَرَ as deceived. I remember the verse being translated as ‘They plotted and Allah plotted and Allah is the best of plotters’ or the verb ‘planned’ is used, however when I looked at the Hans Wher dictionary the translations given for مَكَرَ were ‘to deceive, delude, cheat, dupe, gull, double cross or try to deceive.’

Still not convinced I looked up ‘plotted’ and ‘planned’ in Al Mawrid but مَكَرَ was not under its translation however saying this neither was مَكَرَ under 'deceived' in Al Mawrid!

I think the best translation to use in this case is most probably ‘deceived’ however as it is impossible for Allah to be deceived the better understanding would be to say ‘they tried to deceive’

I think even though the object is not mentioned it can be understood through context that the mushrikun tried to deceive the believers by planning against them, and one could say to try and challenge the believers and to go against them is to, in reality, be directing this opposition against Allah and His command, therefore one could say they ‘tried to deceive’ as opposed to ‘they deceived’

I think within context the translation can be better used/understood.

** The last part with the grammar explanation is more of a ‘logical thinking’ guess…? I don’t know. It’s a nominal sentence as we have information about the subject and at the same time we have possession and since the default case is always over ridden by the more enhanced case I chose to translate and explain it the way I did.

Anyone else…?

I normally do not expand on a question I set. However, in this instance, I think it is best to provide some information on the part;

وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ

The translation of مَكَرَ is found to be "he deceived".

However, one must be very careful here. If we should translate the sentence to "Allah deceived", then we are attributing a characteristic to Allah that He is well above and we seek refuge from such an action.

Thus, you find alternate meanings such as, plan, plot, etc used in translations of the Qur'an.

To clarify further, take the translation;


"They planned/plan (to deceive) and Allah also planned/plans (to meet their deception)"


As mentioned, Allah cannot be deceived, and thus, Allah is aware of their feeble attempts to try and deceive but Allah meets their deception. So, in reality they do not deceive anyone but their own souls as they believe they have deceived their targets, wheras the opposite holds to be true.

There are other instances of such phenomenon in the Qur'an and the same idea applies.

I have attached a lecture delivered in Arabic by منقذ بن محمود السقار addressing such an issue.


http://download.media.islamway.com/lessons/mnqezsaqqar/204_Monqiz_Makr.mp3


For further clarifications, below is an extract from Ibn Kathir;


Allah says;


وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ

And they plotted, and Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of those who plot.


Allah states that the Children of Israel tried to kill
`Isa by conspiring to defame him and crucify him.

They complained about him to the king who was a
disbeliever. They claimed that `Isa was a man who
misguided people, discouraged them from obeying the
king, caused division, and separated between man and
his own son. They also said other lies about `Isa, which
they will carry on their necks, including accusing him of
being an illegitimate son.

The king became furious and sent his men to capture
`Isa to torture and crucify him. When they surrounded
`Isa's home and he thought that they would surely
capture him, Allah saved him from them, raising him up
from the house to heaven.

Allah put the image of `Isa on a man who was in the
house; when the unjust people went in the house while it
was still dark, they thought that he was `Isa. They
captured that man, humiliated and crucified him. They
also placed thorns on his head.

However, Allah deceived these people. He saved and
raised His Prophet from them, leaving them in disarray
in the darkness of their transgression, thinking that they
had successfully achieved their goal.

Allah made their hearts hard, and defiant of the truth,
disgracing them in such disgrace that it will remain with
them until the Day of Resurrection. This is why Allah
said,


وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ

And they plotted, and Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of those who plot.



والله أعلم