Session Seventeen, Verses 58 and 59, The Five Parts of Verse 58, Part Five

Session Seventeen

Verses 58 and 59 – The Five Parts of Verse 58 – Part Five: “So That We May Forgive You Your Sins, and We Shall Surely Grant Increase to Those Who Do Good” – Point Four: The Difference Between “Khati’ah” and Similar Terms – 1. “Khati’ah” – 2. “Ithm”

November 28, 2024

Point Four: The Difference Between “Ithm,” “Dhanb,” “Ma’siyah,” “Sayyi’ah,” and “Khati’ah”

In the previous session, we promised to address the term “khati’ah” and “khatayakum,” which occur in verse 58, and its difference from certain other terms such as “dhanb,” “ithm,” “ma’siyah,” and “sayyi’ah“; these terms generally share a similar meaning, yet there exist certain differences among them, which have, in some cases, given rise to differences in their respective contexts of use.

1. “Khati’ah”

We shall begin with the word “khata,” or “khataya,” or “khati’ah“; “khati’ah” derives from the root “khata,” in contrast to “sawab” (correctness). Error (khata) may occur across various dimensions; what matters, however, is what “khata” means and what meaning is conveyed by the form used in this verse. Works dealing with the discussion of Qur’anic vocabulary, or works concerned with lexical distinctions, have set forth various types and categories for “khata.” For instance, Aqrab al-Mawarid states that “khata” carries three meanings: sin, the opposite of intent (‘amd), and the opposite of correctness (sawab). At times, “khata” is used in contrast to intent — for instance, one speaks of “accidental killing” as opposed to “intentional killing”; inadvertence (sahw), too, is in some sense appended to “khata.” At times, “khata” is used in contrast to “sawab,” that is, “hitting the intended mark” (al-isabah ila al-maqsad); when someone reaches the actual truth and attains the goal, they are said to be “musab” (one who has hit the mark) — that is, one who has reached that goal; and, in contrast, the one in error is one who has not reached the goal and has not hit the mark, and is reckoned as “mukhti” or “khati.”

There is, moreover, a difference between “mukhti” and “khati“; we observe these usages in the Qur’an as well. For instance, verse 81 of Surat al-Baqarah states: “Nay, whoever earns evil and is encompassed by his sin — those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein forever” («بَلَى مَنْ كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ فَأُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ»); here, a particular meaning of “khati’ah” is intended, namely sin itself — for otherwise, one who, for instance, performs an act unintentionally would not be described as “those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein forever”; “khati’ah” here means sin. Verse 286 of Surat al-Baqarah states: “Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or err” («رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا») — meaning: O Lord, do not hold us accountable on account of our forgetfulness or our error. If we here take “akhta’na” to mean sin, then we may accept that this constitutes a request to God for exemption from accountability. But if we say that “khata” here stands in contrast to intent, then two possibilities arise: one is to say that this verse indicates that error too entails accountability, just as forgetfulness does — since this verse here shows that forgetfulness, too, entails accountability. At this point, the question arises: how can it be that forgetfulness and error entail accountability? The answer is that forgetfulness and error are, at times, the result of negligence, carelessness, and inattentiveness, and, at other times, are not the result of carelessness and negligence. Put differently, it is true that forgetfulness and error are not within a person’s own control, and a person has no choice over them; but their cause is, at times, a matter of choice. If a person himself brings about the cause of his forgetfulness or error, then accountability is in order here; but if the cause of the forgetfulness or error does not arise through the person’s own doing, then accountability has no meaning here — for, according to the general rules, a person who errs or forgets is, in accordance with the hadith al-raf’ (“the hadith of lifting”), simply not held accountable at all.

Hence, the request made to God for exemption from accountability and punishment with regard to forgetfulness and error must be understood as applying to those instances of forgetfulness and error in which an act has arisen from the person on account of negligence, inattentiveness, shortcoming, or fault; for otherwise, absent such a voluntary cause, forgetfulness entails no accountability, and a request for exemption from accountability would be meaningless. Hence, “khata” here may bear the very meaning of error as opposed to intent, and it may also bear the meaning of sin; if, however, it bears the meaning of sin, we would have to say that forgetfulness has been mentioned alongside sin — and that forgetfulness should be mentioned alongside sin, with a request made to God for exemption from accountability regarding it, is not consistent with the apparent sense of the verse, nor with this meaning.

Some exegetes have stated: the term “khati’in” occurs several times in the Noble Qur’an, and in every instance carries the meaning of someone who has committed an error and a sin intentionally. As, for instance, in verse 8 of Surat al-Qasas: “Indeed, Pharaoh, Haman, and their soldiers were sinners” («إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ») — “khati” is applied to the sinful person, whereas “mukhti” applies to someone who has committed a sin yet is excused — this being that very sense of “khata” as opposed to intent: it is a sin, but a sin for which an excuse may be offered. Or, for instance, in the verse “And Pharaoh and those before him, and the overturned cities, came with sin” («وَجَاءَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَنْ قَبْلَهُ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتُ بِالْخَاطِئَةِ») — here, too, “khati’ah” means sin. In verse 16 of Surat al-‘Alaq, it is stated: “A lying, sinning forelock” («نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ») — here too, “khati’ah” means sin. Thus, in these instances of usage, you will observe that the term has been used to mean sin, whether a sin accompanied by an excuse or a sin without excuse. If the sin is accompanied by an excuse, it is naturally either not subject to question at all, or, if it is subjected to question, there exists an excuse against it; but at times, the one who has erred has no excuse, and is held responsible and subjected to question — and this error subject to question is this very sin, as already noted. As in this verse: “And whoever earns a fault or a sin and then casts it upon an innocent person has indeed borne a calumny and a manifest sin” («وَمَنْ يَكْسِبْ خَطِيئَةً أَوْ إِثْمًا ثُمَّ يَرْمِ بِهِ بَرِيئًا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلَ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا») — here, both terms are used; we shall also explain “ithm” presently. Whoever commits an error or a sin and then casts it upon an innocent person has taken upon himself a manifest sin. The term “khati’ah” is used here — but to which of these meanings does this “khati’ah” belong? Does it mean sin, or does it mean error as opposed to correctness, or error as opposed to intent? “And whoever earns a fault” refers to the error of one who has an excuse and is not subject to question; the point here, however, is that someone casts this error of his own upon another, and this becomes calumny — he himself has erred, yet casts it upon another.

2. “Ithm”

Now, what is the difference with “ithm“? “Ithm” means sin, and carries a clear and evident meaning; “athim” means a sinner, one who has fallen into harm. In the verses of the Qur’an, the word “ithm” and its derivatives are repeated nearly fifty times — “athim,” “ithm,” “athim” (intensive form) — as in “And whoever conceals it, indeed his heart is sinful” («وَمَنْ يَكْتُمْهَا فَإِنَّهُ آثِمٌ قَلْبُهُ») — whoever conceals testimony, his heart is sinful; “Woe to every sinful liar” («وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ») — “athim” here is an intensive form, meaning one who sins frequently. “They will not hear therein any vain talk or sinful speech” («لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلَا تَأْثِيمًا») — “ta’thim” means casting sin upon another and attributing sin to another. The verse intends to convey that Paradise is a place in which there exists neither vain talk nor the attribution of sin to others.

This term and its derivatives also carry the meaning of being slowed down, lagging behind; when it is said “naqatun athimah,” it means a camel that has lagged behind. Sin has been called “ithm” because, through committing it, a person is held back from good and falls behind. For this reason, sin is called “ithm.” Hence, when “ithm” is used, it is on account of a person’s falling behind in the caravan of goodness and spiritual advancement.

The word “khati’ah,” which occurs in this verse under discussion according to certain readings, is used three times in the Qur’an: once in verse 81 of Surat al-Baqarah, once in verse 82 of Surat al-Shu’ara’, and once in a further instance. Each of these usages corresponds to one of the meanings we have set forth — either the meaning of sin, or the meaning of error as opposed to intent, or the meaning of error as opposed to correctness.

Topic of the Next Session

Two or three further terms remain: the terms “dhanb,” “ma’siyah,” and “sayyi’ah.” We must address these terms and explain their differences, after which it will become clear what “khatayakum” means here.