Quranic Vocabulary

السلام عليكم,

One of the words I’ve always wondered about is the word نِعْمَة.  The word and other words that come from the same root (ن-ع-م) occur in the Quran more than 100 times.  It’s frequently translated as “favor”, “bounty”, or “grace”.  I’ve even heard it as “blessing”.  That gives the jist of it but I’d like to go more into the meanings using what’s found in the older dictionaries.

نِعْمَة and نَعْمَة

The word نِعْمَةٌ is a “situation in which someone is in a good state”.  It’s built using the same pattern that is used for single situations. For example, جِلْسَةٌ is used for a single situation of جَلَسَ (“he sat”) when someone sat or رِكْبَةٌ (a single situation when someone was riding). So now you know that words that rhyme with فِعْلَة (with a kasrah on the first letter) can be used to mark a single time that someone was in a certain condition.

The word نَعْمَةٌ (with a fathah on the ن) is used for a single occasion that somebody enjoyed what’s nice and had comfort in life.  It refers to the actual enjoyment itself.  Words that rhyme with فَعْلَة (with a fathah on the first letter) give the meaning that somebody did something once or a single time. For example, ضَرْبَةٌ means a single strike that somebody did (from ضَرَبَ – “he struck”). شَتْمَةٌ means when somebody gloated once (from شَتَمَ – “he gloated”)

نِعْمَةُ can be used for all kinds of good states, whether few or large in number.  Some places in the Quran:

• وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا (“And if you should count the نِعمة of Allah , you could not enumerate it.”) [16:18]
• اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ (“Remember My نِعْمَة that I made you get”) [2:40]
• وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي (“and I completed My نِعْمَة upon you”) [5:3]
• فَانقَلَبُوا بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ (“So they returned with a نِعْمة from Allah”) [3:174]

Notice that when the word نِعْمَة is attributed to Allah, it refers to something that only He can give (faith, life, hearing, sight, etc.).

The verbs أَنْعَمَ and نَعَّمَ

ًWhen used with the word عَلَى, the verb أنْعَمَ means to make something good happen for someone, to do a favor for them.  You only use it if you’re making it happen for an intelligent, talking being (i.e. humans, jinns, angels).

أَنْعَمَ فُلانٌ عَلَى فَرسِهِ (“Someone did a favor for his horse”) makes no sense because a horse is not a talking being.

• أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ (“You did good for them”) [1:7]
• وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ (“And when you said to the one that Allah did a favor for and that you did a favor for”) [33:37] – Allah’s favor on Zayd رضي الله عنه was Islam and the Prophet صلى عليه و سلم did a favor for him by setting him free.

Now, if you use َأَنْعَم without عَلَى [Read more…] about A closer look at نِعْمَة

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله,

Today we’re going to look at Allah’s name, العَزِيْز, and other words in the Quran that derive from the root ع – ز – ز.

Let’s look at some meanings that come from this root…

To be hard and difficult to overcome

• عِزَّة (‘izzah) is a situation that prevents someone from being defeated or conquered
  • أرْضٌ عَزازٌ is used for terrain that is hard and rough.
  • أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا (“Do they seek ‘izzah with them?  But indeed ‘izzah belongs to Allah completely”) [4:139] – They were seeking protection from their idols from being defeated
• ُتعزّزَ اللَحْم (“The meat became hard”) – It became tough
• عَزِيْزٌ- One who defeats and is not defeated
  • إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (“Indeed, He is al-Azeez, al-Hakeem”) [Quran 29:26]
  • يَا أَيُّهَا الْعَزِيزُ (“O Azeez”) [12:88] when the brothers of Yusuf عليه السلام addressed him as a ruler
  • وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (“And to Allah belongs all ‘izzah, and to His Messenger and to the believers” ) [63:8]
  • سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ (“Exalted is your Lord, the lord of ‘izzah“) [37:180]

Sometimes used as dispraise

Sometimes عِزّة is used as praise and sometimes as dispraise.  For example, بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ (“Nay, those who disbelieve are in ‘izzah and opposition”) [Quran 38:2].  This is because the ‘izzah that is ascribed to Allah, His messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم and the believers, is  the permanent, ever-lasting one that is the true ‘izzah.  On the other hand, the ‘izzah that is ascribed to the disbelievers is merely a feigned form of it, and in reality is actually a disgrace!

On this basis, the polytheists are mentioned: وَاتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً لِّيَكُونُوا لَهُمْ عِزًّا (“And they have taken besides Allah deities so that they would be an ‘izz for them”) [19:81]  They took these deities so that they would be prevented from the punishment, but they are in for a major humiliation.

A very important lesson here: مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا (“Whoever desires ‘izzah, then ‘izzah belongs to Allah completely”) [35:10]. Whoever wants to be given ‘izzah needs to earn it from Allah, because it all belongs to Him.

Fanaticism and haughtiness

ٍSometimes the word عِزَّة is borrowed to give the meaning of fanaticism and haughtiness.

• أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ (“‘Izzah in sinfulness takes ahold of him”) [2:206]

Honor

• تُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ (“You honor whom You will and You disgrace whom You will”) [3:26] – From this ayah we understand that to give ‘izzah to someone is the opposite of disgracing them.

The roots ع-ز-ز and ذ-ل-ل work as opposites here.  In the Arabic and Urdu languages, the word ذَلِيْل means something that is lowly and despicable.  Knowing that عَزِيز is the opposite of ذليل, whatever arises in your heart and mind when you hear the word ذليل, the opposite should come when you hear عزِيز.

To be difficult and hard to bear

عَزَّ عَلَيَّ would mean “it became hard on me” as in عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ  (“ًWhat you all suffer is ‘azeez on him”) [9:128], meaning that what causes suffering to the followers of Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم is difficult on him.

To defeat someone

• عَزَّه gives the meaning “he overcame/conquered him”.
• وَعَزَّنِي فِي الْخِطَابِ (“And he overcame me in speaking”) [38:23].  Meaning “he got the better of me in the argument”, or “he was stronger than than me. so he beat me in the conversation and argument”

To pour down

• عَزَّ المَطَرُ الأرضَ – meaning the rain poured down on the ground

To be little in number or rare

• شاةٌ عَزُوْزٌ – a sheep that gives only a little milk
• عَزَّ الشَيْء – The thing was scarce/rare
• وَإِنَّهُ لَكِتَابٌ عَزِيزٌ (“And indeed it is a book that is ‘azeez“) [41:41] – You cannot find or attain a book like it

Power and strength

• فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ (“… so we strengthened with a third”) [36:14].  When two messengers were denied by their people, Allah strengthened them with a third one

A pagan deity

العُزّى (Al-‘Uzza) is one of the main idols that the pagans of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance worshipped.  It is the female form of الأعَزُّ (“the more honorable one” or ” the one with more ‘izzah“).

أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى (“Have you then considerd Al-Laat and Al-‘Uzza?”) [53:19]

To be overcome by sickness or death

استُعِزَّ بِهِ has the meaning that he was overcome by sickness or death

Conclusion

The word عَزِيز means one who is strong, forceful and victorious.  Other words derived from the same root letters combine the meanings of forcefulness and strength.  When you think of Allah’s name العزيز, combine all of these meanings, and it will affect you much more إن شاء الله

• Powerful and forceful in strength
• Uniquely rare.  Nothing can be found like Him
• The one who defeats all and is never defeated, invincible.
• No one else can reach His status or level of nobility

Also whenever you see one of these related words, try not to limit it to just one shade of the meaning.  You’ll find that things make more sense when you try to combine multiple meanings.

If you have other words that you wonder about, I’d love to hear your ideas.

Until next time, السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

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