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Juz 10 (Surah Al-Anfal and Surah At-Tawbah)

Here are 10 fruits 🍐 from the language of Quran

1.) The word يَتِيمٌ refers to “orphan,” and its plural is يَتَامَى (“orphans”), such as what occurs in verse 8:41: وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَىْءٍۢ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُۥ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ (“Know that whatever spoils you take, one-fifth is for God and the Messenger ﷺ, his close relatives, orphans, the poor, and travellers”). The Quran frequently encourages taking care of orphans, as this is a well-known Quranic injunction upon the believers. In English, an orphan is someone who has lost both parents, but in Arabic, an orphan is one who has lost only their father 👨‍🍼 before they reach puberty. There is a different word for one who lost their mother 👩‍🍼, which is العَجِيُّ, and the word for one who lost both parents is الَّلطِيمُ

2.) The word قَدِيرٌ means “Extremely Capable, All-Capable,” as describes God’s Attribute, as appears in verse: وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ [And God is Most Capable of everything”(8:41)]. This word comes from the root (ق - د - ر), which means “to be capable of.” From this root, we also obtain the derived word القَدَرُ, which refers to the Divine Decree of God. Another related word is قُدْرَةٌ, which means “capability or ability.”

3.) The word المِيعَادُ means “appointed time 🕣,” as appears in verse: مِنكُمْ ۚ وَلَوْ تَوَاعَدتُّمْ لَٱخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِى ٱلْمِيعَـٰدِ ۙ [“Even if the two armies had made an appointment to meet, both would have certainly missed it”(8;42)]. It root is (و - ع - د), which “to promise.” This word is related to its root in that المِيعَادُ is a promised appointed time. A related word is وَعْدٌ, which means “promise.” Another related word is وَعِيدٌ, which means “threat, warning.” ⚠ Note that the addition of a single letter (ــيــ) is enough to change the meaning from “promise” (وَعْدٌ) to “threat” (وَعِيدٌ).

4.) The root (ه - ل - ك) means “to break and fall.” A related word is هَلَاكٌ, which means “destruction.” The verb يَهْلِكُ means “to be perished, destroyed,” as appears in verse: وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَقْضِىَ ٱللَّهُ أَمْرًۭا كَانَ مَفْعُولًۭا لِّيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنۢ بَيِّنَةٍۢ وَيَحْيَىٰ مَنْ حَىَّ عَنۢ بَيِّنَةٍۢ ۗ [“Still it transpired so God may establish what He had destined, that those who were to perish and those who were to survive might do so after the truth had been made clear to both” (8:42)]. The Form IV version of this verb (أَهْلَكَ) means “to cause to perish.” This verb is used in the Quran often to describe the destruction of past nations who defiantly rebelled against their prophets, such as in this verse: كَدَأْبِ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ ۙ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَـٰهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَآ ءَالَ فِرْعَوْنَ ۚ وَكُلٌّۭ كَانُوا۟ ظَـٰلِمِينَ [“That was the case with Pharaoh’s people and those before them—they all rejected the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins and drowned Pharaoh’s people. They were all wrongdoers” (8:54)].

5.) The word مَنَامٌ means “dream 💭,” as is seen in this verse: إِذْ يُرِيكَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى مَنَامِكَ قَلِيلًۭا (When God showed them in your dream as few in number”). Its root (ن - و - م) means stillness and lack of movement. The word مَنَامٌ fits with this root meaning in that humans are generally still in their sleep. The word نَومٌ also means “sleep 💤,” and both words are verbal nouns. This word is also seen in the Quran, such in the famous آية الكُرْسِيّ (Verse of the Throne): ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ [“God! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him” (2:255)”].

6.) The word أَمْرٌ means “matter, affair,” and its plural is أُمُورٌ, as appears in verse: وَإِذْ يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ إِذِ ٱلْتَقَيْتُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيلًۭا وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِىٓ أَعْيُنِهِمْ لِيَقْضِىَ ٱللَّهُ أَمْرًۭا كَانَ مَفْعُولًۭا ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ ٱلْأُمُورُ (“Then when your armies met, God made them appear as few in your eyes, and made you appear as few in theirs, so God may establish what He had destined. And to God ˹all˺ matters will be returned ˹for judgment” (8:44)]. The root is (أ - م - ر), which has several meanings: “matter/affair,” “command,” “barakah,” and “wonder/amazement.” The first meaning is apparent in the above verse. The second meaning of “command” is also commonly used, as the Quran states: وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌۭ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ [“Let there be a group among you who call ˹others˺ to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil” (3:104)].

7.) The word كَثِيرًا means “many, plentiful,” as appears in verse 8:45: يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةًۭ فَٱثْبُتُوا۟ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (“O believers! When you face an enemy, stand firm and remember God often so you may triumph”). This word comes from the root (ك - ث - ر), which refers to a state of plentitude. From this root, we get the verb كَثُر, which means “to be plentiful.” A related Quranic word is الكَوثَر, as appears in verse إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ [“Indeed, We have granted you O Prophet ﷺ abundant goodness”(108:1)], which has two general meanings: 1.) A river in Jannah (Paradise) which God gave to the Prophet ﷺ, and 2.) A basin of water that the Prophet ﷺ will give water to drink to his believers. This word الكَوثَر relates to its root meaning of plentitude in that there is plentiful barakah (blessings) in this river/basin.

8.) The root (ص - ب - ر) has three unique meanings: 1.) confinement/restriction, 2.) the highest level of something 🏔 , and 3.) a type of stone 🪨. As for the first root meaning, this is related to the derived word صَبْرٌ, which linguistically means confinement. In Arabic, if one says, صَبَرْتُ نَفْسِي, this means “I have restricted myself.” This relates to the word صَبْرٌ meaning “patience” 🤌 in that patience requires restricting oneself from complaining freely, as patience is a difficult skill to acquire and maintain. This word is also seen frequently in the Quran, such as in this verse: وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَلَا تَنَـٰزَعُوا۟ فَتَفْشَلُوا۟ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ۖ وَٱصْبِرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ [“Obey God and His Messenger ﷺ and do not dispute with one another, or you would be discouraged and weakened. Persevere! Surely God is with those who persevere” (8:46)]. Note that in the verse, the command form (فعل الأمر) and the doer pattern (اسم الفاعل) are seen. As for the second root meaning, the word صُبْرٌ (note the damma on the ص) refers to the highest element of something. As for the third root meaning, the word الصُّبْرَةُ refers to a type of stone. 🪨

9.) The word بَطَر means is often translated as “arrogance,” but it is actually more than that. It is described in classical Arabic dictionaries as تَجَاوُزُ الحَدِّ فِي المَرَحِ (“exceeding the bounds in joyful happiness”). The Quran states in the following verse: وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِم بَطَرًۭا وَرِئَآءَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ [“Do not be like those who left their homes arrogantly, only to be seen by people and to hinder others from God’s Path” (8:47)]. Here, God warns the believers not to be of those who have بَطَر, but this does not mean that one cannot be happy in life. بَطَر describes the action of being excessive, wasteful, and unnecessarily lavish in the blessings of God, and it also often means arrogance itself, especially arrogance in regards to Islam. For example, بَطَرُ الحَقِّ means to not see Truth for what it is and to instead arrogantly deny it.

10.) The verb خَاف means “to be afraid.” Its present-tense first-person usage (أَخَافُ) is seen in this verse: إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ ٱللَّهَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ [“ I certainly see what you do not see. I truly fear God, for God is severe in punishment”(8:48)]. The verbal noun is خَوفٌ (“fear”). This word can be used in a variety of contexts, either “fear of God” or fear of people or really any type of fear. In contrast, another word used in the Quran (خَشِيَ) refers to a specific type of fear, that of reverential awe and respect mixed with fear, such as what appears in this verse: فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِى وَلِأُتِمَّ نِعْمَتِى عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ [“Do not fear them; fear Me, so that I may ˹continue to˺ perfect My favour upon you and so you may be rightly guided” (2:150)].