Ara ‘ayta:
In the Quran, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) sometimes used “alam tara” and sometimes he used “ara ‘ayta”. Let’s explore their differences.
“Alam tara” translates to “didn’t you see”
For example, in surah Al-Fil
When Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was under a lot of pressure and felt overwhelmed, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) used “didn’t you see” to give him hope.
“Ara ‘ayta” translates to “did you see”
For example, in this surah – Surah Al-Maun
When Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) uses “ara ‘ayta” then he is asking Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to reflect and in turn asking us to reflect. Just like, in English we use “I see” to mean I understand, similarly the “see” here is to ask us to reflect.
Quran was taught to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) by Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) directly. By asking questions to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), the answers of which our Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) already knew, it was Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’ala) way of engaging with his student. It is Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta’ala) teaching methodology.
Takzib:
This surah begins with Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) talking to his Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), calling upon his attention to these groups of people (the Meccans) who despite the best of arguments and the most compelling of cases to accept this religion, continue to defy him and call him a liar, and call this book a lie.
The word “Takzib” used in this ayat is referred to calling this religion a lie. It is different from disbelieving. “Takzib” is not just about disbelieving but it is actually to go on a campaign to convince others that this man is a liar, this message is a lie and this whole religion is about fables.
In the context of this surah, it is about the person who is actively campaigning against the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) by calling him a liar and this “deen” (religion) a lie.
Deen:
“Deen” is commonly translated as religion.
Before the coming of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), words like “deen”, “salah”, “Islam”, “taqwa” etc. existed. But they had a completely different meaning. These words got a religious meaning after Islam. For example, the word “deen” before Islam meant “dealings”.
Hence, the word “deen” has two meanings – one is Islam itself, and the second is about how fairly we deal with people. That is why the day of judgement is called “Yawn id-deen” – the day when everyone will be fairly dealt with.
So, this now becomes about people who are not just in denial of Islam, but also about people who are horrible to others and have no moral principles.