کَبِیۡرُہُمۡ
Appears 2 times in Quran
Occurrences in Quran
Found 2 verses containing "کَبِیۡرُہُمۡ".
فَلَمَّا اسۡتَیۡـَٔسُوۡا مِنۡہُ خَلَصُوۡا نَجِیًّا ۖ قَالَ کَبِیۡرُہُمۡ اَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّ اَبَاکُمۡ قَدۡ اَخَذَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ مَّوۡثِقًا مِّنَ اللّٰہِ وَمِنۡ قَبۡلُ مَا فَرَّطتُّمۡ فِیۡ یُوۡسُفَ ۖ فَلَنۡ اَبۡرَحَ الۡاَرۡضَ حَتّٰی یَاۡذَنَ لِیۡۤ اَبِیۡۤ اَوۡ یَحۡکُمَ اللّٰہُ لِیۡ ۖ وَہُوَ خَیۡرُ الۡحٰکِمِیۡنَ
Najiyy means, (1) a secret; (2) one to whom a secret is confided; one who confers with another in private; (4) the act of conferring in private (Aqrab).
According to the Bible it was Judah, the fourth among the brothers, and not Reuben, the eldest of them, who refused to go back to his father without Benjamin. The word which the Qur’an has used is Kabir which means, 'big' or 'elder' and not Akbar which means, 'the eldest.' Judah, being the fourth son of Jacob, was indeed one of the bigger or elder brothers of Joseph. Moreover, Kabir does not only mean 'big' or 'elder' but also means 'leader' and 'great in estimation, rank or dignity,' and it is in this sense that the word has been used here and so applies to Judah and not to Reuben. Judah was more important than Reuben in the eyes of Jacob (Gen. 43: 8-10).
Important Words:
خلصوا (they retired) is derived from خلص which means: (1) it was or became clear or pure or unmixed. They say خلص من القومi.e. he retired or withdrew or went away from the people. The Quranic expression خلصوا نجیا means, they retired, conferring privately together (Lane).
نجیا (conferring together in private). نجى is derived from نجا and means: (1) a secret; (2) one to whom a secret is confided; (3) one who confers with another in private; (4) the act of conferring in private (Aqrab).
کبیر (leader) means, great in body or rank or nobility; big or full-grown; learned or most knowing; teacher or master; lord or chief; old or advanced in age, etc. (Lane). See also 11:4.
Commentary:
Christian critics of the Quran accuse it of being ignorant of even well-known facts of history, basing their criticism on the fact that it was Judah, the fourth among the brothers, and not Reuben, the eldest of them—as they take the word کبیر(leader) to mean—who declared that he would not go back to his father without Benjamin. It is strange that, whenever these self-styled judges of the Quran happen to come across any difference between the narrative of the Quran and that of the Bible, they complacently assume the Bible to be right, as if it is altogether free from anachronism and misstatements, while the fact is that it has been shown even by Christian writers themselves to occupy a very low place among reliable books of history. To doubt the authenticity of an historical fact related by the Quran merely on the basis that it does not agree with the Bible is, to say the least, simply capricious. But even assuming the present Biblical account to be correct, the Quranic account cannot be found fault with. The word which the Quran has used with respect to the brother who refused to go is کبیر which means, "big" or "elder" and not اکبر which means "the eldest." Judah, being the fourth son of Jacob, was indeed one of the big or elder brothers of Joseph.
Again, کبیر does not always mean "big" or "elder" but, as shown under Important Words, it also means "leader" and "great in estimation, rank or dignity," and it is in this sense that the word has been used here and applies to Judah and not to Reuben. For, according to the Bible, the misconduct of Judah’s three elder brothers had resulted in his taking precedence over them (Gen. 49:3-8). Of him Jacob said, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise…thy father’s children shall bow down before thee." (Gen. 49:8). That Judah was greater than Reuben in the eyes of Jacob is also apparent from the fact that, when Reuben offered his two sons as hostages for Benjamin, Jacob refused to send Benjamin (Gen. 42:37, 38), but when Judah said, "I will be surety for him," Jacob gave his consent (Gen. 43:9-10).
Jacob’s prediction of Judah’s superiority started the long feud which later separated Judah and Israel.
1580
Important Words:
خلصوا (they retired) is derived from خلص which means: (1) it was or became clear or pure or unmixed. They say خلص من القومi.e. he retired or withdrew or went away from the people. The Quranic expression خلصوا نجیا means, they retired, conferring privately together (Lane).
نجیا (conferring together in private). نجى is derived from نجا and means: (1) a secret; (2) one to whom a secret is confided; (3) one who confers with another in private; (4) the act of conferring in private (Aqrab).
کبیر (leader) means, great in body or rank or nobility; big or full-grown; learned or most knowing; teacher or master; lord or chief; old or advanced in age, etc. (Lane). See also 11:4.
Commentary:
Christian critics of the Quran accuse it of being ignorant of even well-known facts of history, basing their criticism on the fact that it was Judah, the fourth among the brothers, and not Reuben, the eldest of them—as they take the word کبیر(leader) to mean—who declared that he would not go back to his father without Benjamin. It is strange that, whenever these self-styled judges of the Quran happen to come across any difference between the narrative of the Quran and that of the Bible, they complacently assume the Bible to be right, as if it is altogether free from anachronism and misstatements, while the fact is that it has been shown even by Christian writers themselves to occupy a very low place among reliable books of history. To doubt the authenticity of an historical fact related by the Quran merely on the basis that it does not agree with the Bible is, to say the least, simply capricious. But even assuming the present Biblical account to be correct, the Quranic account cannot be found fault with. The word which the Quran has used with respect to the brother who refused to go is کبیر which means, "big" or "elder" and not اکبر which means "the eldest." Judah, being the fourth son of Jacob, was indeed one of the big or elder brothers of Joseph.
Again, کبیر does not always mean "big" or "elder" but, as shown under Important Words, it also means "leader" and "great in estimation, rank or dignity," and it is in this sense that the word has been used here and applies to Judah and not to Reuben. For, according to the Bible, the misconduct of Judah’s three elder brothers had resulted in his taking precedence over them (Gen. 49:3-8). Of him Jacob said, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise…thy father’s children shall bow down before thee." (Gen. 49:8). That Judah was greater than Reuben in the eyes of Jacob is also apparent from the fact that, when Reuben offered his two sons as hostages for Benjamin, Jacob refused to send Benjamin (Gen. 42:37, 38), but when Judah said, "I will be surety for him," Jacob gave his consent (Gen. 43:9-10).
Jacob’s prediction of Judah’s superiority started the long feud which later separated Judah and Israel.
1399A
Najiyy means, (1) a secret; (2) one to whom a secret is confided; one who confers with another in private; (4) the act of conferring in private (Aqrab).
1400
According to the Bible it was Judah, the fourth among the brothers, and not Reuben, the eldest of them, who refused to go back to his father without Benjamin. The word which the Qur’an has used is Kabir which means, 'big' or 'elder' and not Akbar which means, 'the eldest.' Judah, being the fourth son of Jacob, was indeed one of the bigger or elder brothers of Joseph. Moreover, Kabir does not only mean 'big' or 'elder' but also means 'leader' and 'great in estimation, rank or dignity,' and it is in this sense that the word has been used here and so applies to Judah and not to Reuben. Judah was more important than Reuben in the eyes of Jacob (Gen. 43: 8-10).
قَالَ بَلۡ فَعَلَہٗ کَبِیۡرُہُمۡ ہٰذَا فَسۡـَٔلُوۡہُمۡ اِنۡ کَانُوۡا یَنۡطِقُوۡنَ
اس محذوف کے لئے دیکھیئے عَـلّامہ ابوالبقاء کی کتاب اِمْلَآءُ مَامَنَّ بِہِ الرَّحْمٰنُ جلد۲ صفحہ ۷۱۔
Besides the meaning given in the text, the Arabic expression may have been spoken ironically by Abraham as was his wont while talking to his idolatrous people. In this case the sense of the words would be something like this: 'Why should I have done this, their chief may have done this,' meaning thereby that the fact is too evident to warrant any questioning or need any explanation that I have done this. If I had not done this, could this lifeless block of stone have done this? Abraham seems to have rebuked his people and to have brought home to them the futility of their idolatrous practices, first by breaking the idols and then by challenging their votaries to ask those idols, if they could speak, to tell them who had broken them.
Important Words:
بل is a particle of digression. Sometimes its meaning is either the cancellation of what precedes as in بل عباد مکرمون i.e. nay (or nay rather or nay but), they are honoured servants (21:27); or transition from one object of discourse to another as in بل تؤثرون الحیاة الدنیا i.e. but you prefer the present life (87:17). Sometimes it is also used to denote the passing from one subject to another without cancelling what precedes it and is syn. with و(and), as in بل ھو قرآن مجید i.e. And it is a glorious Quran. Thus بل means, but; and; surely or verily (Lane). Here it is used in the sense of إن (surely).
Commentary:
If the expression بل فعله کبیرھم ھذا is rendered as "somebody has surely done this," a stop will have to be placed after فعله and the words کبیرھم ھذا will be treated as an independent sentence meaning, "here is the chief" of them. This is the meaning we have adopted in the text and this seems to be the more correct meaning. Or the words بل فعله کبیرھم ھذا may have been spoken ironically or by way of mockery by Abraham as was his wont while talking to his idolatrous people. In that case the sense of the words would be something like this: "Why should have I done this, their chief here may have done it," meaning thereby that "the fact is too evident to warrant any questioning or to need any explanation that I have done this, i.e. I have broken the idols. If I had not done this, could this lifeless block of stone have done this?" In this verse Abraham seems to have rebuked his people for their idolatrous practices and brought home to them the futility of those practices, first by breaking the idols and then by challenging their votaries to ask those idols to tell them who had broken them.
The verse by implication points to one of the most important Divine attributes. Abraham confounded his idolatrous people by first breaking the idols and then by inferring therefrom that an idol which could not save itself from harm and which could not even answer the call of its worshippers was but a lifeless thing, fit to be thrown on the scrap-heap, and that his Lord was the Ever-living God Who answered and accepted the prayers of His servants. See also 20:90.
2
اس محذوف کے لئے دیکھیئے عَـلّامہ ابوالبقاء کی کتاب اِمْلَآءُ مَامَنَّ بِہِ الرَّحْمٰنُ جلد۲ صفحہ ۷۱۔
2399
Important Words:
بل is a particle of digression. Sometimes its meaning is either the cancellation of what precedes as in بل عباد مکرمون i.e. nay (or nay rather or nay but), they are honoured servants (21:27); or transition from one object of discourse to another as in بل تؤثرون الحیاة الدنیا i.e. but you prefer the present life (87:17). Sometimes it is also used to denote the passing from one subject to another without cancelling what precedes it and is syn. with و(and), as in بل ھو قرآن مجید i.e. And it is a glorious Quran. Thus بل means, but; and; surely or verily (Lane). Here it is used in the sense of إن (surely).
Commentary:
If the expression بل فعله کبیرھم ھذا is rendered as "somebody has surely done this," a stop will have to be placed after فعله and the words کبیرھم ھذا will be treated as an independent sentence meaning, "here is the chief" of them. This is the meaning we have adopted in the text and this seems to be the more correct meaning. Or the words بل فعله کبیرھم ھذا may have been spoken ironically or by way of mockery by Abraham as was his wont while talking to his idolatrous people. In that case the sense of the words would be something like this: "Why should have I done this, their chief here may have done it," meaning thereby that "the fact is too evident to warrant any questioning or to need any explanation that I have done this, i.e. I have broken the idols. If I had not done this, could this lifeless block of stone have done this?" In this verse Abraham seems to have rebuked his people for their idolatrous practices and brought home to them the futility of those practices, first by breaking the idols and then by challenging their votaries to ask those idols to tell them who had broken them.
The verse by implication points to one of the most important Divine attributes. Abraham confounded his idolatrous people by first breaking the idols and then by inferring therefrom that an idol which could not save itself from harm and which could not even answer the call of its worshippers was but a lifeless thing, fit to be thrown on the scrap-heap, and that his Lord was the Ever-living God Who answered and accepted the prayers of His servants. See also 20:90.
1900
Besides the meaning given in the text, the Arabic expression may have been spoken ironically by Abraham as was his wont while talking to his idolatrous people. In this case the sense of the words would be something like this: 'Why should I have done this, their chief may have done this,' meaning thereby that the fact is too evident to warrant any questioning or need any explanation that I have done this. If I had not done this, could this lifeless block of stone have done this? Abraham seems to have rebuked his people and to have brought home to them the futility of their idolatrous practices, first by breaking the idols and then by challenging their votaries to ask those idols, if they could speak, to tell them who had broken them.