Home Quran Quran roots ع ر ف
71 times in the Quran · 9 word forms · rank 153
The Quran root ع ر ف ʿ-r-f
Words built from the root ع ر ف ([ʿ-r-f]) appear 71 times in the Quran. The most common is مَعْرُوف, “fair manner”, which comes 38 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مَعْرُوف | maʿruuf | fair manner · right | 38 | |
| عَرَفَ | ʿarafa | they recognize · they recognized | 20 | |
| اعْتَرَفُ | aʿtarafu | acknowledged · we confess | 3 | |
| أَعْراف | aʿraaf | heights | 2 | |
| عُرْف | ʿurf | good · one after another | 2 | |
| يَتَعارَفُ | yataʿaarafu | they will recognize each other · that you may know one another | 2 | |
| عَرَّفَ | ʿarrafa | He has made it known · he made known | 2 | |
| عَرَفات | ʿarafaat | Arafat | 1 | |
| مَعْرُوفَة | maʿruufa | known | 1 |
Examples from the Quran
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ وَالْأُنثَىٰ بِالْأُنثَىٰ فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ١٧٨
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ bil-maʿrūfi · with suitable
O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother [i.e., the killer] anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him [i.e., the deceased's heir or legal representative] with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:178)
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ إِن تَرَكَ خَيْرًا الْوَصِيَّةُ لِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ حَقًّا عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ ١٨٠
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ bil-maʿrūfi · with due fairness
Prescribed for you when death approaches [any] one of you if he leaves wealth [is that he should make] a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable - a duty upon the righteous. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:180)
وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم مَّا عَرَفُوا كَفَرُوا بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ ٨٩
عَرَفُوا ʿarafū · they recognized
And when there came to them a Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] from Allāh confirming that which was with them - although before they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieved - but [then] when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it; so the curse of Allāh will be upon the disbelievers. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:89)
وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ١٠٢
اعْتَرَفُوا iʿ'tarafū · (who have) acknowledged
And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed [i.e., polluted] a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allāh will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful. (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:102)
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ ٤٦
الْأَعْرَافِ l-aʿrāfi · the heights
And between them will be a partition [i.e., wall], and on [its] elevations are men who recognize all by their mark. And they call out to the companions of Paradise, "Peace be upon you." They have not [yet] entered it, but they long intensely. (Surah Al-A'raf, 7:46)
خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ ١٩٩
بِالْعُرْفِ bil-ʿur'fi · the good
Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant. (Surah Al-A'raf, 7:199)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Baqarah · 20×
- Surah An-Nisa · 6×
- Surah Al-A'raf · 6×
- Surah At-Tawbah · 4×
- Surah Muhammad · 4×
- Surah Ali 'Imran · 3×
Each meaning is taken from the word-by-word translation of the verses, so a word can show two meanings from different contexts. Root and base-word data come from the Quranic Arabic Corpus.