Read · 5 min · Optional
Four words: the one who announces, the heights the surah is named after, the hope of the men there, and “pour”, the word the people of the Fire use to ask for water. One you know from the masjid: muazin.
مُؤَذِّنٌۢ
muʾadhdhinun · 7:44 · ▶ hear ayah 44
Saheeh International: “an announcer” — Then an announcer will announce among them
- Meaning in context
- The one who announces out loud. Al-Jalalayn says he proclaims “between both parties making them hear”. What he announces is Allah's curse on the wrongdoers. Of the four commentators, only al-Qurtubi says who he is: one of the angels. In Indonesian the word is muazin, the one who calls the azan.
- Root
- أ ذ ن ʾ-dh-n. Its first picture is the ear. Lane begins with “He [gave ear or] listened to it”. For the verb in this ayah Lane gives “he proclaimed, or made proclamation”, the same as nādā, to call. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- Five times a day a muazin calls us, while the call can still be answered. Which prayer do you find hardest to answer on time?
- In this surah
- The word only here. The root comes again at 7:58, 123, 167, 179 and 195; at 7:179 and 7:195 it is ādhān, ears.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Active participle, form II — nominative masculine, indefinite. The twenty-second word of 7:44. The word before it, فَأَذَّنَ fa-adhdhana, is the verb from the same root, so the Arabic says, word for word, announced an announcer. Corpus 7:44 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 102 times in nine derived forms. Muʾadhdhin occurs only twice, here and in the story of Yusuf:
- 12:70 ثُمَّ أَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ أَيَّتُهَا الْعِيرُ إِنَّكُمْ لَسَارِقُونَ — “Then an announcer called out”.
- 22:27 وَأَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ — “And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]”.
On the tafsir page → Al-Jalalayn on the crier, and al-Qurtubi on who he is.
ٱلْأَعْرَافِ
al-aʿrāfi with يَعْرِفُونَ yaʿrifūna · 7:46 · ▶ hear ayah 46
Saheeh International: “[its] elevations” and “recognize” — and on [its] elevations are men who recognize all by their mark
- Meaning in context
- The heights, and the surah is named after this word. The commentators explain the name in two ways, and the ayah holds both. Raised ground: al-Tabari says aʿrāf is the plural of ʿurf, any raised piece of ground. And knowing: al-Suddi says the place is named for its people, who recognise everyone. On al-aʿrāf are men who yaʿrifūna, who recognise.
- Root
- ع ر ف ʿ-r-f. Lane gives al-aʿrāf as “A wall between Paradise and Hell”, “or the upper parts of the wall”, or a phrase meaning “possessing knowledge of the people of Paradise and of the people of Hell”. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- They know both groups by their marks. What would the people who know you best say you are known by?
- In this surah
- Both words again at 7:48, and ʿurf at 7:199. At 7:157 the Prophet “enjoins upon them what is right”, bil-maʿrūf: the makruf of amar makruf nahi mungkar.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- al-aʿrāfi: noun — genitive masculine plural. yaʿrifūna: verb — 3rd person masculine plural, imperfect. The fourth and sixth words of 7:46. Corpus 7:46 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 70 times in eight derived forms. The noun aʿrāf occurs only twice, at 7:46 and 7:48, both in this passage. The verb ʿarafa, to know or recognise, occurs 20 times, and maʿrūf 38 times. One more from the same root, later in this surah:
- 7:199 خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ — “enjoin what is good”.
On the tafsir page → The wall of 57:13, and the scholars' views on who the men are.
يَطْمَعُونَ
yaṭmaʿūna · 7:46 · ▶ hear ayah 46
Saheeh International: “they long intensely” — They have not [yet] entered it, but they long intensely
- Meaning in context
- They hope, strongly, and they are not in yet. Ibn Kathir reports al-Hasan: “By Allah! Allah did not put this hope in their hearts, except for an honor that He intends to bestow on them.” In Indonesian, tamak means greedy. Indonesian kept the sense Lane puts first; the ayah uses the other one.
- Root
- ط م ع ṭ-m-ʿ. Lane puts the hard sense first: “He coveted it; i. e. desired it vehemently, eagerly, greedily”. Then he notes that it sometimes means “he hoped for it”. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- When you ask Allah for something, does it feel more like tamak or more like the hope in this ayah? What is the difference for you?
- In this surah
- The noun comes at 7:56, in the next passage: “invoke Him in fear and aspiration”.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Verb — 3rd person masculine plural, imperfect. The last word of 7:46. Corpus 7:46 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 12 times: the verb 8 times and the noun ṭamaʿ 4 times. Most often it is a believer's hope, as in Ibrahim's words:
- 26:82 وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ — “And who I aspire that He will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense.”
On the tafsir page → Whose hope this is: most early commentators in al-Tabari say the men on the heights; Abu Mijlaz says the people of Paradise.
أَفِيضُوا۟
afīḍū · 7:50 · ▶ hear ayah 50
Saheeh International: “Pour” — Pour upon us some water or from whatever Allah has provided you
- Meaning in context
- Pour. The people of the Fire ask for water, or some of what Allah gave the people of Paradise, and are refused. Al-Qurtubi says ifāḍa is giving generously, and that the ayah shows giving water is among the best of deeds. Many of us know the word from Hajj: tawaf ifadah.
- Root
- ف ي ض f-y-ḍ. Lane: water that “overflowed: poured out, or forth, from fulness”. For the form of this word he gives “He filled a vessel so that it overflowed”. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- The first thing they ask for is water. When did you last thank Allah for a glass of it?
- In this surah
- Only here.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Verb — 2nd person masculine plural, form IV, imperative. The seventh word of 7:50. Corpus 7:50 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 9 times; this form of the verb 7 times. In the Hajj ayat it is the crowd moving on together:
- 2:199 ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ — “Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart”. Its second word is this ayah's word, letter for letter. That link is our observation.
On the tafsir page → Al-Qurtubi on water as charity. Saʿd's well for his mother is on the hadith page.
More words to notice
- وَنَادَىٰٓ wa-nādā · 7:44
- “Will call out.” The verb nādā occurs 44 times: at 7:43, where the previous passage ended, then in this passage at 7:44, 46, 48 and 50. The passage is a set of calls.
- عِوَجًۭا ʿiwajan · 7:45
- “Deviant”: a bend. Al-Tabari: with i, a bend in a religion or a road. Lane: “in land, or ground, and in religion”. The noun occurs 9 times.
- ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ al-ẓālimīna · 7:47
- “The wrongdoing”: the du'a ends on the same word as 7:44. The root ظ ل م occurs 315 times. Indonesian zalim.
- بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ bi-sīmāhum · 7:46, 7:48
- “By their mark.” Lane: “A mark, sign, token, or badge, by which a thing is known”. The corpus lists it under s-w-m; al-Tabari takes it from w-s-m. At 48:29: “Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration.”
- بِرَحْمَةٍ ۚ bi-raḥmatin · 7:49
- “Mercy.” Raḥma occurs 114 times. Indonesian rahmat. The next passage has it three times: 7:52, 56 and 57.
- نَنسَىٰهُمْ nansāhum · 7:51
- “We will forget them.” All four commentators explain it as leaving them; Ibn Kathir adds that Allah never forgets (20:52, the same verb). The verb nasiya occurs 35 times.
Self-check
Find the word in the ayah, then open the answer.
Which word in ayah 44 means “an announcer”?
مُؤَذِّنٌۢ
muʾadhdhinun — the twenty-second word, right after the verb from the same root.
Which word in ayah 46 gives the surah its name?
ٱلْأَعْرَافِ
al-aʿrāfi — the fourth word.
Which word ends ayah 46?
يَطْمَعُونَ
yaṭmaʿūna — they hope.
Which word in ayah 50 means “Pour”?
أَفِيضُوا۟
afīḍū — the seventh word.
| Word | Transliteration | Ayah |
|---|---|---|
| مُؤَذِّنٌۢ | muʾadhdhinun | 7:44 |
| ٱلْأَعْرَافِ | al-aʿrāfi | 7:46 |
| يَطْمَعُونَ | yaṭmaʿūna | 7:46 |
| أَفِيضُوا۟ | afīḍū | 7:50 |