Home Quran Quran roots ش ف ع
31 times in the Quran · 5 word forms · rank 291
The Quran root ش ف ع sh-f-ʿ
Words built from the root ش ف ع ([sh-f-ʿ]) appear 31 times in the Quran. The most common is شَفاعَة, “intercession”, which comes 13 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| شَفاعَة | shafaaʿa | intercession · any intercession | 13 | |
| شَفِيع | shafiiʿ | any intercessor · intercessors | 10 | |
| يَشْفَعُ | yashfaʿu | intercedes · they intercede | 5 | |
| شافِع | shaafiʿ | intercessors | 2 | |
| شَفْع | shafʿ | even | 1 |
Examples from the Quran
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ ٤٨
شَفَاعَةٌ shafāʿatun · any intercession
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:48)
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا تَنفَعُهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ ١٢٣
شَفَاعَةٌ shafāʿatun · any intercession
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, and no compensation will be accepted from it, nor will any intercession benefit it, nor will they be aided. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:123)
وَأَنذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَن يُحْشَرُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ لَيْسَ لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ ٥١
شَفِيعٌ shafīʿun · any intercessor
And warn by it [i.e., the Qur’ān] those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord - for them besides Him will be no protector and no intercessor - that they might become righteous. (Surah Al-An'am, 6:51)
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ ٢٥٥
يَشْفَعُ yashfaʿu · can intercede
Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:255)
فَمَا لَنَا مِن شَافِعِينَ ١٠٠
شَافِعِينَ shāfiʿīna · intercessors
So now we have no intercessors (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, 26:100)
وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ ٣
وَالشَّفْعِ wal-shafʿi · And the even
And [by] the even [number] and the odd (Surah Al-Fajr, 89:3)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Baqarah · 4×
- Surah An-Nisa · 4×
- Surah Al-An'am · 3×
- Surah Az-Zumar · 2×
- Surah Al-Muddaththir · 2×
- Surah Al-A'raf · 2×
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.