BAYYINAH

ARS-201 SERIES

Seminar 6

1. NearSynonyms
2. PatternsofIsms


NearSynonyms
Inthedictionarysenseasynonymisdefinedasfollows:
1. A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.
2. A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another.

ThereasonIchosethetermnearsynonymsbecauseaccordingtothedefinitionabove,thereisa
chancethatsynonymouswordsmayhavethesameexactmeaningormaybesubstitutesforone
another.ArabicisapreciselanguageinwhichthereareNOtwowordsthatareentirely
interchangeablewithoutaffectingsomealterationinmeaning.Sotherearewordsthatarealmost
synonymsbutnotnecessarilysynonyms.
TheQuran,asyouhaveobservedbynow,isaprecise,methodical,intricateanddemandingbookto
study.OneofthecoreareasofanystudentofArabicortheQuranwouldhavetobevocabulary.We
have thus far taken an alienated approach to vocabulary studying it under the umbrella of

patternssuchas and etc.Nowitstimetoappreciateadeeperandmuchmoreinteresting

dimension of Arabic vocabulary; near synonyms. When I say deeper, dont be intimidated. This is
actuallythefunpartofArabicstudyinthatitisntsogrammarintensive.
Sowhatmakesthisstudysoimportantorbeneficial?Yousee,ifyoulearntheEnglishmeaningofan
Arabicwordlike tobepraiseorthanksorboth,yourenottoofarfromthetruemeaningbutyou
aremissingastory,reallyahistoryoftheword.Discussingwordslikesubjectsandlearninginteresting
things about them makes them easier to remember and also easier to appreciate. We are going to
look at words that often translated the same way like and and explore why, if both words
meanheart,notjustoneofthemhasbeenusedexclusively.Thisstudywillhelpusappreciatethe
beauty of the Arabic language in general and the wonder of the Qurans precision in depicting
realities.
Insum,wearenotjustgoingtobelearningthebasicmeaningsofwords,buttheshadesofmeanings
thesewordscarrywiththem.WewillalsolookatonecitationfromtheQuranforeachwordsowe
haveanactualcontexttowrapourinclassdiscussionaround.

Ivetakentheambitiousgoalofgoingthrough20casesofnearsynonymsinthisseminar.Letsseehow
farwegetbyAllahspermission!

1. Praise&Thanks

Thissectionhasbeenleftblankbecauseonlythoseofyouwhoattendedbenefitedfromthis
discussion!

SUMMARY:

2. SettleDown!

Theword
istheoppositeofmotionordisturbance.Whenusedforsettlingit

impliesmovingfromsomewheretoanewlocation.

(2:35).Thisimpliesthattheeventofcreationwas

elsewhere.

(14:37).Sinceherelocatedhisfamily


Twouniqueadditionstothegeneralmeaning:Returntoarelaxedenvironmentand
Usedwhentheclimate,environment,neighborsetcareallexactlyasthesettlerwants
themtobe.Itfitsthecriteriathatthesettlerhasinmind.

(12:56)

(3:121)

Tobeburied,tostopby,tosettledown.
themandied.Toremain&

intendtoremaininthesamelocationinthefuturewhereonehasbeensincenumerous
generations.

(28:45)

ToliveasaBedouinintheoutskirts/ruralareas.Aplacewhere,becauseofthelackof

structures,onecanseefarandwide.Awordderivedfromthisis whichisanother
wordforthedesert.

(12:100)

Theoppositeofinsomesense.Toliveinacity,totakeupresidenceinacity.

(2:196)

Toremainsomewhereforanextendedperiodoftime.

(2:25)


Toliveinaplacesocomfortablythatyoudontconsiderthethoughtofmoving.Tobe
happywhereyouarebecauseofbeingwellsettled.

(7:92)

Comesfrom

whichdenotestwodistinctthings:thenumber10andtomix,

associate,interfereandbeinvolvedinoneanothersaffairs.Thewordmeaning
tribealsocomesfromthisroot. thenmeanstolivetogetherwithafamily.

(4:19)

3. ToBeHuman

IbnQutaybahwritesthat iscalled becauseheisvisibletotheeye,unlikeJinn.

Hecites28:29

asevidence.

IbnAbbasnarratesthat isusedbecauseacovenantwasmadewithhimandhe

.
forgot,fromtheword

ImamRaghibassumesthewordisderivedfrom; meaningacreaturepredisposedto

lovingandmutualliving.Fromthisprospective,theantonymwouldbe.

IbnAlFariscombinesbothoftheabove;a)tobevisibleandb)tonothaveattributesof
wildbeasts.

isanIsmJins;itcouldmeanapersonorallofhumanity. isthesamewaybut

mostlygetsusedforallofhumanity.Theexclusivesingularfor is andits

,
and
pluralis

UNAASisusedfordistinctgroups,tribes,nationsorotherwise.

2:60

isusedforamassivegroupofpeople.

(25:49)

Itcomesfromtheroot ; meaningcompassion,softnessandagreement.

Itisthenameofthefatherofhumanity;wheneveritisusedintheQuran,itdealswith
thehistoryofhumancreation.
Somethingmanifestwithgreatbeauty.

referstotheouterlayerofourbody,meaningourskin.


(74:29)

Itspluralisboth and; onereasonheiscalledthisisbecausehisskinismore

visiblethanotheranimals.
Thewordisusedwhentheintentistohighlighttheinstinctiveanimaldimensionsof
people.

(23:47)

(17:9495)

4. TheSkyAbove

Essentiallymeansheightwithoutlimitation.

Purelylinguistically,anythingthatisaboveanotherthingisa andthatwhichis
belowis.Thisexplainstheusageinayah65:13

Wheretheskyisusedforheightsabove,thewordisusedfordepthsbelow.7:176

Thoughcommonlyinterpretedasthesky,itactuallyreferstothepathsororbits
assignedtoplanetsandstars.
Theseorbitsareusuallyovalinshapeandsothewordisappropriateinthatthey

resembletheshapeofaship!

5. Goahead

Togoaheadofsomeoneononesfeet.

(11:98)

istointendtogetaheadandmoveforward

Toproceed,comesidebyside,takethelead. isabetonracing.
isusedfora

racehorseand forthegiveandtakedoneaftertherace.Itimpliescompetitionin

gettingahead.

(59:10)

istodoonesbesttogetaheadinarace

(12:25)

Both andaretoproceedtowardssomeoneoralongsidesomeone

(68:30)

(46:24)

6. Whatsallthatnoise?

Usedforanytimeofnoisewhethermadefromlivingornonlivingthings.IbnAlFaris
callsdefinesitasanysoundthathitstheearsofthelistener.

(31:19)

Thecryofapersonthathasfallenorbeenhurt.Somehavealsotakenittomeanthe

opposite;thecryofsomeonejumpingwithjoy/hootingandhowling.

(43:57)

Toscreamwhenindangerorterrorized

(35:37)


Thesoundmadebyanymovementofaperson.Whispering/nearsilence.

(20:108)




Thesoundofafootstep.Thelightestbitofsoundlikethesubtlecracklingofaflame

(21:102)

Towhistleortouseinstrumentsthatcreatewhistlelikesounds(flutesetc.)

(8:35)

Toclapwithbothhandsortouseinstrumentsofpercussion.

(8:35)

Horsespantingbecauseoftheirexhaustinggallop

(100:1)

Themooingofacoworbull.

(7:148)

Theprogressivelylowermoaningofadonkeyasitcomesajourneysend.

(11:106)

Toextendtheexhaleafteralonginhale.
Theprogressivelylouderbrayingofadonkeyasitbeginsitsjourney.

(11:106)

Thesoundofadehydratedpantingdog

(7:176)

Thebarelyaudiblebuzzingofafly

(19:98)

Toscreamatthetopofoneslungs.Thesoundofthehornbeingblown.Asoundthat
shakestheinsides.Acrythatdoesntcarrymeaning.

(15:73)

Thecryofoneoverwhelmedwithrageandfury.Thesoundsproducedbytheraging
flamesofhell.

(25:12)

Aharshdeafeningsound.Asoundthathurtstheear.

(80:33)

Thecrashingsoundofacollapsingwallorbuilding.
19:90
Thesoundofsizzlingorboilingstew.
44:4546

Isconsideredaderivativeoftheword

Thecracklingsoundofdry,hardsoil.Thesoundofanailorpegbeingdrivenintothe

ground.
15:26

istoknockonadoor.
meanstostrikeonethingagainstanother.

Resurrectionhasbeencalled
becausealotofnoisewillbegeneratedbecauseof

thingsstrikingagainstoneanotheronthatday.
100:1&2

7. ExecutingAuthority

meansissueormatter,thepluralbeing . alsomeanscommandandinthat

caseitspluralis . meanstoinstruct,tosendinstructionsortocommand.

Itcanbeusedforsomethinggoodorbadisthemostgeneralterminthegroup.
3:14
34:33
Meanstogiveapprovalorpermission.Italsomeanstocommandbutusedonlywhen
thecommandistoconformtodivinewill.
24:36
Meanstostopsomeoneorsomethingfortheir/itsownbenefit.Alsousedtoleashan
animal.
meanstheleash/reignsonananimal.
hasalsobeen

understoodtomean
meaningacommandthatpreventsorprohibits

wrongdoing.
5:47
Meanstotakeabindingpromiseorcommitmentfromsomeone,tocommandorto
urge&bidsomeonethatisunderoneswing.

Whenattributedtoitmeansthatthecommandinquestionisbeingissuedas

counselandtheonebeingcommandedneedstounderstandthatitdeservesextra
attentionbecauseitisforhis/herownbenefit.
19:31,4:11

8. TheForbidden

Thingsoractionsthatareforbiddenbydivinelaw.Somehaveidentifieditas

2:275
Isassociatedspecificallywithearningsandwealth.Moneysearnedfromthesellingof
haramorgamblingetc.wouldallbe.

5:42

9. ToGuide&ToBeGuided

Toguidesomeonetowhatisgoodoutofonesgraceandfavor.Theoppositeof .

Itincludesnaturalpredispositionslikeachildsucklingfromthemother.
(20:50)
Itincludestheturningofonesworldviewfromdisbelieftobelief.Toguidesomeoneto
obedienceandawayfromrebellion.Prophets,messengersanddaeestrytocallpeople
toguidance,butintheendAllahistheonewhograntsit.
28:56
ThosewhoareguidedtoIslam,toshowthemtherightwaynowthattheyare
convincedoflivingbyit.
Toacquire,internalizeandcommitoneselftoguidance.
10:108

Theoppositeof .Itdescribessomeonewhonotonlyacceptstherightpathbut

makeschangesforthebetterinhis/hercharacter.
11:78

10.

ToRecognize

Torecognizesomethingafterobservingitssigns,symbolsoridentifyingmarkers.Itisa
lesscomprehensivetermthan

(2:146)

meanstobrandortattoosomething.Toscratchoffabirthmark. isthetool

usedtobrandortattoo. isbeautiful. istodescribesomethingingreat

detail.Todemandidentifying.

(15:75)

11.

ToPurify

Topurifysomethingofflaws,blemishesorimpurities.
isthetermusedto

describetheprocessusedtopurifygoldofitsimpurities.

(3:141)

Topurifytheinnerselfofspiritualdiseases,immoralityandevilinclinations.To
declareoneselfpureofsuchills.

(53:32)

Toremoveanyorallimpurities.Itisusedtodescribetheprocessoffiltration.

(47:15)

Toacquireacurefromdisease.Tobefreeandclearofsomeoneorsomething.

tomakesomeonehealthyorhealsomeone

12.

(3:149)

Alsomeanstopurifysomeoneofanaccusationorfault.Tofreesomeone.

(33:69)

Ithinkitsbad

Hastwoimplications:(i)estrangementand(ii)unacceptability.
meanstodenyas

wellastofindsomeoneshocking.
iseverythingthatsocietyfindsdetestableor

thatdivinelawdeclaresunacceptable.
issomethingconsideredbaduniversally.

(54:6)

toconsidersomethingbad.Torecognizesomethingasdetestable,tofind

faultinsomething,tocondemnsomething,topunish.Thus issomethingthatis

foundsounacceptabletosomeonethatwhetherornotitisuniversallybadornot,the
onefindingitunacceptableiswillingtopunishinretaliationtoit.Thatiswhyitincludes
themeaningsofpunishmentandrevenge.

13.

(85:8)

Borrowing

Aloantakenbysomeonebecauseofonespersonalneeds.Itisontheconditionthatit
willbereturned.Ifthereisatimeperiodallottedforthereturn,itis ,otherwiseitis

A iscoinedbyAllahintheQuranforwhenHeiscollectingtakingtheloan
fromHissubjects.Thetermisusedtoputthesubjecttoshameandtochallengethe

reverenceheorshemayhaveforAllah.

(2:245)

Isamoregenerictermusedforalltypesoftransactionsforwhichonebecomes
financiallyresponsible;betheybusinessorpersonalinnature.

Apersoncanbe whenengagedamixtureofaccountsreceivable&payable

transactions.

14.

(2:281)

Favors

Meansforsomethingtobemoreinquantitythanwhatisfairorexpected.

meansextraleftoversinthespoilsofwar.
issomeonedoesorgivesextraallthe
time.
istoprefersomeone,tograntsomeonegreathonororprovisionmorethan
expectedorworthyoftherecipient.

(2:237)

(2:253)

Favororgoodness.Toremindanotherofonesfavorandtouseittoimposeoneselfon
another.Itisalsousedforaheavyweight.

allmeanagreatweightyfavor.

(3:164)

isthestateofwellbeingofaperson.Everythingthatfulfillsaneedandbecomes

asourceofhappiness.Itisusedforanimateorinanimatethingsandisusedexclusively
forpeople.Itcomesfrom whichmeanssoftness.

(33:37)

15.

Isanycommendabledeedwhetherithastodowiththeselforanother.

(12:100)

ALie

Tomisinformdeliberately.Inconsistencybetweentheheartandthetongue.To
misrepresentanoccurrence.

(3:78)

Oppositeof

Everymatterinwhichthereisnotruthorvalidityfoundafterinquiry&research.
Useless,incorrect,baselessanduseless.

Oppositeof

(3:71)

isakindofliethatisembellishedandmadetoappearsophisticatedsothatit

Aliethatismeantasanoffenseagainstthetruth.istoavoidorbypassthetruth.

(18:17)

issomethingthathasdoubt,conflict,contradictioninit.

seemstrue.

16.

(22:30)

Toturnawayfromthetruthoutofillintent.Totwistthetruthskillfullyturninginto
somethingentirelydifferent.Thisistheworstkindoflie.Someattributethistothe
accusationoffornication

(24:12)

Comeon!

Itisthegeneraltermforcoming.Thearrivalhasnecessarilyalreadyoccurred.

(12:16)

Somethingcomingasaresultofanaction,commandorprocess.Likebuttercomingout

ofmilk.Thisbutteriscalled.

Anotherdifferencebetweenthetwoisthatthelatterdoesntnecessarilyimplythatthe
actisdone.

(16:1)

Thisisaninformalderivativeofthecommandversionof .Itisusedwiththe

.IbnAlFarisclaimsthatitimpliesthattheonecallingisactuallyyelling&
screaming.Othersincludethemeaningsofcomequickly,comehere,comenow!.

(12:23)

Tocallsomeoneoverandoveragain;desparatelyandrelentlessly.Itisanismfil!

17.

(3:64)

Tosendforward

toproceedforward/towalkahead.Totakethelead. todosomethingbefore

thehourofneed.Theoppositeof
toprocrastination.

(2:94)

Alsousedtoinformsomeoneoftheresultsoftheirdeedsaheadoftime.

(50:28)

isasaleinwhich
isofsomethingtohavealreadybeendoneorpassed.

thepriceispaidaheadoftime. Previousgenerationsarecalled.

(4:23)

alsomeanstoproceedorgetahead.

istheworkonemayalreadyhavecommittedinthepast.

(10:30)

Meansaheightandimpliestocallsomeonetoahigherplaceorfigurativelytoahigher
purpose.Tocallsomeonewithenthusiasm,encouragementand/orrespect.

18.

(33:18)

Read&Recite

Thegeneralwordforreadingbeitabook,aletterorjustaword.

is implyingsomethingthatisreadexcessively.

(69:19)

tomakesomeoneelseread.

(87:6)

Tofollowsomethingandtocontinuetodoso.

(91:2)

toreadabookortheQuran

(29:45)

(2:102)

isthedecorationandbeautificationofsomething.Toreadsomethingcalmlyand

rhythmically.

(73:4)

Wasusedwhensomethingaged. meaningtheoutfitbecameoldand

withered. istopayattentioninordertomemorizeknowledge.Itcanonlybe

donethroughrepetitiousreading;italsoconnotescontinuousreading.

(3:79)

tostudy

toreadoffsomethingtooneanother.

(6:156)

isconsideredaderivativeoftworoots: or .Ineithercaseitis

togivedictation.Itisassumedthattheonegivingdictationisreadingsomethingtothe
listener.

19.

(25:5)

Enemy

Anenemywhowishesharmonyou,whoconstantlyplanstohurtyouandispleased
withanypain.Oppositeof

(7:22)

isanimosity.Tonolongerbeonanothersgoodside.

istheoppositeof.Tohatesomeoneorsomething.Thisisastepabove

.istheintenttohumiliatesomeone.

(5:64)

Ahater,anenemy.Itcombinestheabovetwo.

20.

(5:8)

Thisisastepabovethefirsttwo

(108:3)

Theheart,thechest&theself

Famouspartofthebodythatisthecenteroflife.Allahaddressestheheartfor
thought,understanding,andreflection.Inshortthethingsattributedtothemind/brain
inmodernscience,Allahaddressestotheheart.

(7:179)

isapartoftheheart.Itistheoutermostlayeroftheheart.Itspluralis .

istoroastmeatoveraflame. isroastedmeat.Thiswordpointsto

extremeheatandintensity.Thereforeitisusedwhenextremeemotionalstatesare
beingdiscussed.

Theactionstalkedaboutinreferencetoaretheoneshumanbeingscommitwhen

overwhelmedemotionally.
Meanschest.

(22:46)

the ismeant.Sincethatisalocation, a
Sometimesbysaying

referencetothechestismadewhenthereisanissueofspace(constrictionor
expansion).

(94:1)

Whenyouwanttokeepasecret,itistheparalleledwithhidingsomethinginasecret

place.Therefore,isusedincontextofsecretknowledgeormotivesaswell.

(40:19)

(114:5)

Thisistheentitywheredesires,dreamsandurgesrest.
Itisalsousedinreferencetosecretkeepingwhenthesecretsarebeingkeptfora
desirablemotive.

(33:37)

Goodandbaddesiresrestinthenafs

(53:23)

Happinessisalsoassociatedwiththenafs.

(4:4)