Semantics of
Quran
Shades of
Meanings in Quranic Words 01
Sometimes we learn the meaning of a Quranic word in a verse
and try to apply the meaning in other verses. But in many cases, the certain
meaning of a word might not be applicable to other contexts and it may lead to
misinterpretation of the verse. Most of the content keywords of the Quran have
multiple (and sometimes more than a dozen of) shades of meanings depending on
their contexts and collocations. Many of these words have Primary Meanings
(PM) and several other Secondary Meanings (SM) that are quite
distinctive from the ones commonly perceived by the beginners who strive to
grasp the meaning of the Quran. Even the most commonly used everyday Quranic
words can confuse some learners while matching English translation with the
Arabic text unless they have some prior knowledge of the topic being discussed
in today’s blogpost.
In the following sections, I will be discussing some common
Quranic Arabic words with their Primary Meanings (PM) and Secondary
Meanings (SM) with examples from the Quranic verses. InShaAllah this will
make the learners aware of the semantic diversity of Quranic Arabic and guide
them to prepare for their future plans to address the issue.
1. Kitab (كِتَابٌ)
1.1 Primary Meaning: (a) Book, Written Text, (b)
The Quran
وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ
تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَـٰبًۭا نَّقْرَؤُهُۥ
And [even then], we will
not believe in your ascension until you bring down to us a book we may
read (17:93)
ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًۭى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
This is the Book about
which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah. (2:2)
1.2 Secondary Meaning:
A Letter
قَالَتْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَؤُا۟
إِنِّىٓ أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ كِتَـٰبٌۭ كَرِيمٌ
She (The Queen of Sheba,
Bilqis) said, "O eminent ones, a gracious letter has been
dropped before me.” (27:28)
1.3 Secondary Meaning: Record
of Deeds
ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ
ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًۭا
[It will be said],
"Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as
accountant." (17:14)
1.4 Secondary Meaning: Fixed,
Appointed (Time)
لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍۢ كِتَابٌۭ
for every term there is an
appointment. (13:38)
1.5
Secondary Meaning: Duration, Prescribed Period of Waiting (for women)
وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا۟ عُقْدَةَ ٱلنِّكَاحِ
حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ أَجَلَهُۥ
And do not determine to
undertake a marriage contract until the prescribed period reaches
its end.
1.6 Secondary Meaning: Writing
وَيُعَلِّمُهُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ
وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ
And He will teach him
writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel. (3:48)
[It appears that the BOOK
the Ayah mentioned here refers to Writing: Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Also similar
opinion found in Tafsir Qurtubi, Sa’adi and Bagawi]
وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَـٰهُ
كِتَـٰبًۭا
But all things We have
enumerated in writing. (78:29)
1.7 Secondary Meaning: Devine
Decree, Verdict, Ordinance
لَّوْلَا كِتَـٰبٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ
سَبَقَ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِيمَآ أَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
If not for a decree/ordinance
from Allah that preceded, you would have been touched for what you took by a
great punishment. (8:68)
1.8 Secondary Meaning: Scripture
a) Tawrat b) Injeel c) All sriptures revealed before
وَإِذْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ
وَٱلْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
And [recall] when We gave
Moses the Scripture and criterion that perhaps you would be guided. (2:35)
ie Tawrat
قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ
ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّۭا
[Jesus] said,
"Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture
and made me a prophet. (19:30) ie Injeel
وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟
ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْعِلْمُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ
And those who were given
the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them -
out of jealous animosity between themselves. (3:19)
1.9 Secondary Meaning: Devine
Record/Design, Lawh Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet)
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍۢ فِى
ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن
نَّبْرَأَهَآ
No disaster strikes upon
the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We
bring it into being (57:22)
وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا
يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍۢ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍۢ وَلَا يَابِسٍ
إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ
Not a leaf falls but that
He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no
moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record. (6:59)
Practice Materials
# 1. The
word KitaAb with its plural form Kutub occurs 261 times in the Quran in 28 unique surface forms and syntactic notations. Have a Look at these forms
with their frequencies in brackets:
الْكِتَابَ (78)
الْكِتَابُ (8) الْكِتَابِ (77) بِالْكِتَابِ (4) بِكِتَابٍ (3) بِكِتَابِكُم (1)
بِكِتَابِي (1) كُتُبٌ (1) كُتُبٍ (1) كِتَابًا (12) كِتَابٌ (18) كِتَابٍ (15)
كِتَابَ (5) كِتَابَكَ (1) كِتَابَهُ (5) كِتَابَهُم (1) كِتَابُ (2) كِتَابُنَا
(1) كِتَابِ (7) كِتَابِهَا (1) كِتَابِيَه (2) لَكِتَابٌ (1) لِلْكُتُبِ (1)
وَالْكِتَابَ (2) وَالْكِتَابِ (6) وَبِالْكِتَابِ (1) وَكُتُبِهِ (3) وَكِتَابٌ
(1) وَكِتَابٍ (2) = 261
Try to locate these word
forms in the Quran in order to apply the shades of meanings they belong to. The
Quranic verse references are given below. The verse location reference for
example (2:2:2) refers to (Surah No: Verse No: Word No).
(2:2:2) (2:44:8) (2:53:4) (2:78:5) (2:79:4) (2:85:25) (2:87:4) (2:89:3) (2:101:15) (2:101:16) (2:105:7) (2:109:5) (2:113:15) (2:121:3) (2:129:10) (2:144:24) (2:145:5) (2:146:3) (2:151:11) (2:159:15) (2:174:8) (2:176:5) (2:176:11) (2:177:17) (2:213:12) (2:231:34) (2:235:33) (2:285:13) (3:3:3) (3:7:5) (3:7:11) (3:19:10) (3:20:12) (3:23:8) (3:23:11) (3:48:2) (3:64:3) (3:65:2) (3:69:5) (3:70:2) (3:71:2) (3:72:5) (3:75:3) (3:78:6) (3:78:9) (3:78:13) (3:79:7) (3:79:25) (3:81:9) (3:98:3) (3:99:3) (3:100:10) (3:110:16) (3:113:5) (3:119:7) (3:145:9) (3:164:17) (3:184:11) (3:186:9) (3:187:7) (3:199:4) (4:24:8) (4:44:8) (4:47:4) (4:51:8) (4:54:14) (4:103:19) (4:105:4) (4:113:22) (4:123:6) (4:127:12) (4:131:12) (4:136:7) (4:136:12) (4:136:21) (4:140:5) (4:153:3) (4:153:7) (4:159:4) (4:171:2) (5:5:8) (5:5:21) (5:15:2) (5:15:13) (5:15:22) (5:19:2) (5:44:19) (5:48:3) (5:48:10) (5:57:14) (5:59:3) (5:65:4) (5:68:3) (5:77:3) (5:110:23) (6:7:4) (6:20:3) (6:38:16) (6:59:30) (6:89:4) (6:91:18) (6:92:2) (6:114:9) (6:114:13) (6:154:4) (6:155:2) (6:156:5) (6:157:7) (7:2:1) (7:37:15) (7:52:3) (7:169:6) (7:169:23) (7:170:3) (7:196:6) (8:68:2) (8:75:16) (9:29:22) (9:36:10) (10:1:4) (10:37:16) (10:61:41) (10:94:11) (11:1:2) (11:6:15) (11:17:12) (11:110:4) (12:1:4) (13:1:4) (13:36:3) (13:38:21) (13:39:8) (13:43:15) (14:1:2) (15:1:4) (15:4:7) (16:64:4) (16:89:17) (17:2:3) (17:4:6) (17:13:11) (17:14:2) (17:58:17) (17:71:8) (17:71:12) (17:93:17) (18:1:7) (18:27:6) (18:49:2) (18:49:12) (19:12:3) (19:16:3) (19:30:6) (19:41:3) (19:51:3) (19:54:3) (19:56:3) (20:52:6) (21:10:4) (21:104:6) (22:8:12) (22:70:13) (23:49:4) (23:62:7) (24:33:13) (25:35:4) (26:2:3) (27:1:5) (27:28:2) (27:29:7) (27:40:6) (27:75:9) (28:2:3) (28:43:4) (28:49:3) (28:52:3) (28:86:7) (29:27:9) (29:45:6) (29:46:4) (29:47:4) (29:47:7) (29:48:7) (29:51:6) (30:56:9) (31:2:3) (31:20:29) (32:2:2) (32:23:4) (33:6:14) (33:6:28) (33:26:6) (34:3:31) (34:44:4) (35:11:29) (35:25:12) (35:29:4) (35:31:5) (35:32:3) (35:40:21) (37:117:2) (37:157:2) (38:29:1) (39:1:2) (39:2:4) (39:23:5) (39:41:4) (39:69:6) (40:2:2) (40:53:8) (40:70:3) (41:3:1) (41:41:8) (41:45:4) (42:14:24) (42:15:15) (42:17:4) (42:52:11) (43:2:1) (43:4:4) (43:21:3) (44:2:1) (45:2:2) (45:16:5) (45:28:9) (45:29:2) (46:2:2) (46:4:19) (46:12:3) (46:12:8) (46:30:5) (50:4:8) (52:2:1) (56:78:2) (57:16:18) (57:22:12) (57:25:7) (57:26:9) (57:29:4) (59:2:8) (59:11:12) (62:2:13) (66:12:14) (68:37:3) (69:19:4) (69:19:9) (69:25:4) (69:25:10) (74:31:17) (74:31:26) (78:29:4) (83:7:3) (83:9:1) (83:18:3) (83:20:1) (84:7:4) (84:10:4) (98:1:7) (98:3:2) (98:4:5) (98:6:6)
Look ! : The following link (link No. 2) will provide you with Quranic
Arabic text along with locations and meanings. But keep in mind that these
simple straightforward translations might not always reflect all the shades of
meanings we have talked about. Consult a Tafseer like Ibn Kathir (English) in
this regard. Tafseer Ibne Kathir Link Apk: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tafsir.ibnkathir&hl=en
QAC link for the word
KitaAb:
[NB: Here you
will get 260 occurrences. The missing one is (27:28:2)]
(to be continued)
