The 'Iraqis...

The 'Iraqis, therefore, should be alert, get united and vanquish the occupiers, and that would indeed represent a practical step to unite with the spirit of Imam al-Hussein ('a) the neighborhood of whom they are most fortunate to enjoy. 58 According to authoritative lexicographers the definite article 'al' sometimes denotes jinsiyya (lit. 'genus') which can give one of the following three implications: a) All the extensions (masadiq) of the genus (jins) and 'species' are taken into consideration.

For example, in chapter al-'Asr we say: Inna al-Insana lafi khusr, we mean 'every human being is in loss' because 'al-Insan' denotes genus and all the extensions of genus are taken into consideration. b) All the extensions of the perfect attributes of the genus are taken into consideration. For example when we say hadha huwa al-rajul, we mean, 'this is a perfect man' because 'al-rajul' denotes 'the man who has all the perfections of a man' c) The genus (jins) in its absolute sense.

In other words no limitation is attributed to the genus. It denotes an absolute form. Therefore when we say: al-Salam, we can mean Absolute Peace without any limitations, and such peace belongs to Almighty Allah 59 Holy Qur'an, Chapter (10), Verse (25) 60 Holy Qur'an, 59:23 61 Ibid., 27:59 62 Al-Tabrasi, Mishkat al-Anwar, p.349 63 Al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, v.4, p. 373. 'Allama Tabataba'i also narrates this tradition from Suyuti in his monumental al-Mizan.

64 This meaning has been narrated by both the Shi'ah as well as the Sunni scholars in their commentaries of Qur'an and lexicons as well. 65 Holy Qur'an, 4:86 66 Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, v.1, p. 524 67 al-Rayy al-Shahri, al-Khayr wa al-Baraka fi al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah, p. 206 68 Vide chapter 2, verse 255. This is one verse where the comprehensive beauty of the Qur'an can well be appreciated for all those who can appreciate the subtle issues of Arabic lexical discussions.

This small verse describes so many things at the same time: (1) It is a nominal clause (al-jumla al-ismiyyah) and thus it expounds permanence (2) the pronoun huwa denotes 'specificity' and thus thes two attributes that follow it are originally reserved for Allah. (3) The form 'ali similar to فعيل 'fa'il' is known as 'al-sifa al-mushbiha' in the Arabic, which denotes intensity and permanence. 69 'Allamah Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, v.75, p. 335 70 al-Shahid al-Awwal, al-Mazar, p. 149…