Does the statement: "You were the best nation" indicate that the excellence has ended, as expressed by the past tense verb?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Regarding His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He:[Ali 'Imran 3:110] What is meant by "you were"? Has this excellence ended, because this word indicates the past?
Answer:
No, this is for the Ummah until the Hour occurs. The goodness is in this Ummah until the Hour occurs. And "you were" means "you have become the best nation." You have become the best of nations. What is the meaning of "you were" in the past? Rather, you have become the best of nations. And this excellence is attached to this Ummah, and praise be to Allah. It is not known whether the goodness is in its beginning or in its end. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Regarding His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He:
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِAnswer:
No, this is for the Ummah until the Hour occurs. The goodness is in this Ummah until the Hour occurs. And "you were" means "you have become the best nation." You have become the best of nations. What is the meaning of "you were" in the past? Rather, you have become the best of nations. And this excellence is attached to this Ummah, and praise be to Allah. It is not known whether the goodness is in its beginning or in its end. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [3735- 4717] هل قوله:(كنتم خير أمة) تدل على انتهاء الخيرية للتعبير بالفعل الماضي؟ - صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.