Tarawih Top 🔟, Ramadan 2026🌙
Juz 12 (Hud Verse 6 Through Yusuf Verse 52)
Here are 10 fruits 🍐 from the language of Quran:
1.) The root (ق - ص - ص) means to follow the traces of something. From this root, we obtain the word قَصَص, which can mean “trace effect,” or can also mean “story,” so called because a story is a series of events that follow each other. We also obtain the word قِصَاص (“legal retribution”), so called because it involves the “following” of blood. From this, we also obtain the verb قَصَّ - يَقُصّ, which means “to narrate/relate,” among other meanings. We see this verb in ayah 12:3 of Surah Yusuf: نَحْنُ *نَقُصُّ* عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ ٱلْقَصَصِ بِمَآ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ وَإِن كُنتَ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ لَمِنَ ٱلْغَـٰفِلِينَ (“*_We relate_* to you ˹O Prophet ﷺ˺ the best of stories through Our revelation of this Quran, though before this you were totally unaware ˹of them˺”).
2.) The root (ق - م - ر) refers to the idea of the whiteness of something. From this root, we obtain the word قَمَر (“moon”) 🌕, so called because the moon is (usually) white in color. The adjectival version of this is أَقْمَر, which means to be “whitened.” We see this word قَمَر in the Quran, such as in verse 12:4 of Surah Yusuf: إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّى رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًۭا وَٱلشَّمْسَ *وَٱلْقَمَرَ* رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِى سَـٰجِدِينَ ٤ (“˹Remember˺ when Joseph said to his father, “O my dear father! Indeed I dreamt of eleven stars, and the sun, *_and the moon_*—I saw them prostrating to me!”).
3.) The root (ج - ب - ي) refers to the conglomeration, assimilation, and collection of things. From this root, we obtain the base verb (جَبَى), which means to gather. Also from this root, we obtain the Form VIII verb اِجْتَبَى (“to select/choose”). We see this verb used in 12:6 of Surah Yusuf: وَكَذَٰلِكَ *يَجْتَبِيكَ* رَبُّكَ وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِن تَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحَادِيثِ وَيُتِمُّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰٓ ءَالِ يَعْقُوبَ كَمَآ أَتَمَّهَا عَلَىٰٓ أَبَوَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ (“And so will your Lord *_choose you_* ˹O Joseph˺, and teach you the interpretation of dreams, and perfect His favour upon you and the descendants of Jacob—˹just˺ as He once perfected it upon your forefathers, Abraham and Isaac. Surely your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise”). What is the special distinction with using this verb (اِجْتَبَى)? It indicates a sense of selective choosing of the best, as if to say that Allah chose Yusuf solely for Himself.
4.) The root (ء - و - ل) refers to either the beginning of something or its end. From the former root meaning, we obtain the word أَوَّلٌ, referring to “first.” Also from this root, we obtain the verb آلَ - يَؤُولُ, which means “to return to.” Also from this root, we obtain the Form II verb أَوَّلَ (“to interpret”), and its masdar of تَأْوِيلٌ (“interpretation”). This masdar is found commonly in Surah Yusuf, such as in ayah 12:6 of Surah Yusuf: وَكَذَٰلِكَ يَجْتَبِيكَ رَبُّكَ وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِن *تَأْوِيلِ* ٱلْأَحَادِيثِ وَيُتِمُّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰٓ ءَالِ يَعْقُوبَ كَمَآ أَتَمَّهَا عَلَىٰٓ أَبَوَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ (“And so will your Lord choose you ˹O Joseph˺, and teach you the *_interpretation_* of dreams, and perfect His favour upon you and the descendants of Jacob—˹just˺ as He once perfected it upon your forefathers, Abraham and Isaac. Surely your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise”).
5.) The root (س - ء - ل) means “to ask a question.” From this root, we obtain the verb سَأَلَ - يَسْأَلُ (“to ask”). We also obtain the doer pattern سَائِل (“the one who asks”), as well the receiver pattern مَسْوُول, which literally means “the one who is asked,” but can also be used to describe someone who is accountable. We see the word سائل used in its plural form in ayah 12:7 of Surah Yusuf: لَّقَدْ كَانَ فِى يُوسُفَ وَإِخْوَتِهِۦٓ ءَايَـٰتٌ *لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ* (“Indeed, in the story of Joseph and his brothers there are lessons for *_all who ask_*”).
6.) The root (ع - ص - ب) refers to the linkage of two things, either rectangular, circular, or otherwise. From this root, we obtain the word عَصَب and its plural of أَعْصَاب (“nerves”), so called because the nerves of the body are all connected to each other. We also obtain the adjective عَصِب, which refers to a heavily innervated area. For example, if we said لَحْمٌ عَصِبٌ, this refers to flesh that is densely concentrated with nerves. Also from this root is the word عُصْبَة, which refers to a group of people that has ten constituents, and it is so called because a group of people are closely knit and interconnected. We see this word used in verse 12:8 of Surah Yusuf: إِذْ قَالُوا۟ لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ *عُصْبَةٌ* إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍ (“˹Remember˺ when they said ˹to one another˺, “Surely Joseph and his brother ˹Benjamin˺ are more beloved to our father than we, even though we are a *_group of so many_*. Indeed, our father is clearly mistaken”). This word عُصْبَةٌ refers to the brothers of Yusuf as a strong interconnected group.
7.) The root (ج - ب - ب) has two primary root meanings: to gather/accumulate, and to sever/cut. From the latter root meaning, we obtain the verb جَبَّ, which means to sever. Also from this root, we obtain the word الجُبّ, which refers to a very deep well, so called because it is dug out of what is referred to as a جَبُوب, which is a thick piece of land. We see this word الجُبّ used in verse 12:10 of Surah Yusuf: قَالَ قَآئِلٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ يُوسُفَ وَأَلْقُوهُ فِى غَيَـٰبَتِ *ٱلْجُبِّ* يَلْتَقِطْهُ بَعْضُ ٱلسَّيَّارَةِ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ (“One of them said, “Do not kill Joseph. But if you must do something, throw him into the bottom of *_a well_* so perhaps he may be picked up by some travellers”).
8.) The root (ل - ق - ط) refers to quickly plucking or snatching something off of the ground suddenly. From this root, we obtain the word لُقْطَة, which refers to money that someone picks up off the ground that they happened to come across. Also from this root, we obtain the Form VIII verb اِلْتَقَطَ (“to pick up or to snatch up”). We see this verb used in its present-tense form in verse 12:10 of Surah Yusuf: قَالَ قَآئِلٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ يُوسُفَ وَأَلْقُوهُ فِى غَيَـٰبَتِ ٱلْجُبِّ *يَلْتَقِطْهُ* بَعْضُ ٱلسَّيَّارَةِ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ (“One of them said, “Do not kill Joseph. But if you must do something, throw him into the bottom of a well so perhaps *_he may be picked up_* by some travellers”).
9.) The root (ر - ت - ع) refers to the primary meaning of accommodation in a place of eating. From this root, we obtain the verb رَتَعَ, which refers to the grazing of livestock in their pasture. This verb is used in ayah 12:12 of Surah Yusuf: أَرْسِلْهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا *يَرْتَعْ* وَيَلْعَبْ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ (“Send him out with us tomorrow so that *_he may enjoy himself_* and play. And we will really watch over him.”). Here, the verb يَرْتَعْ does not refer to grazing, but rather refers to plentiful enjoyment, which is allowed in the language, as this verb can also refer to plentiful eating. The brothers of Yusuf were trying to convince their father, Prophet Ya’qub, to allow Yusuf to join them on their travel.
10.) The root (ذ - ء - ب) refers to one primary root meaning, and that is the lack of stability or permanence in a thing, such that it moves about to and fro but not in a unitary direction, but rather everywhere. From this root, we obtain the word ذِئْب (“wolf”) 🐺, so called because a wolf is constantly moving and not just in one direction. The passive verb ذُئِبَ is used to refer to the instance when a wolf enters one’s flock of sheep. The Form V verb تَأَذَّبَ refers to the movement of something in all directions (not just one direction). The earth can also be described as مَأْذَبَة, describing it as plentiful of wolves. The verb ذَؤُبَ can also be used to describe a person whose qualities are similar to a wolf (connivery, etc). We see this word ذِئْب (“wolf”) used in ayah 12:13 of Surah Yusuf: قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحْزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذْهَبُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَأْكُلَهُ *ٱلذِّئْبُ* وَأَنتُمْ عَنْهُ غَـٰفِلُونَ (“He responded, “It would truly sadden me if you took him away with you, and I fear that *_a wolf_* may devour him while you are negligent of him”), referring to Prophet Ya’qub’s hesitation of sending Yusuf with his brothers, for fear of Prophet Yusuf being eaten by wolves.