Home Quran Quran roots ش ه د
160 times in the Quran · 8 word forms · rank 67
The Quran root ش ه د sh-h-d
Words built from the root ش ه د ([sh-h-d]) appear 160 times in the Quran. The most common is شَهِيد, “witness”, which comes 56 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| شَهِيد | shahiid | witness · witnesses | 56 | |
| شَهِدَ | shahida | bear witness · testify | 44 | |
| شَهادَة | shahaada | testimony · witnessed | 26 | |
| شاهِد | shaahid | witnesses · witness | 21 | |
| أَشْهَدَ | ashhada | take witness · he calls to witness | 7 | |
| مَشْهُود | mashhuud | witnessed · ever witnessed | 3 | |
| اسْتَشْهِدُ | astashhidu | call for evidence · call to witness | 2 | |
| مَشْهَد | mashhad | witnessing | 1 |
Examples from the Quran
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ٢٣
شُهَدَاءَكُم shuhadāakum · your witnesses
And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:23)
أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَٰهَكَ وَإِلَٰهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ ١٣٣
شُهَدَاءَ shuhadāa · witnesses
Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, "What will you worship after me?" They said, "We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac - one God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:133)
وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لَا تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَلَا تُخْرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ ٨٤
تَشْهَدُونَ tashhadūna · (were) witnessing
And [recall] when We took your covenant, [saying], "Do not shed your [i.e., each other's] blood or evict one another from your homes." Then you acknowledged [this] while you were witnessing. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:84)
أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ قُلْ أَأَنتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِندَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ١٤٠
شَهَادَةً shahādatan · a testimony
Or do you say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants were Jews or Christians? Say, "Are you more knowing or is Allāh?" And who is more unjust than one who conceals a testimony he has from Allāh? And Allāh is not unaware of what you do. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:140)
رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ ٥٣
الشَّاهِدِينَ l-shāhidīna · the witnesses
Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger [i.e., Jesus], so register us among the witnesses [to truth]." (Surah Ali 'Imran, 3:53)
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ ٢٠٤
وَيُشْهِدُ wayush'hidu · and he calls to witness
And of the people is he whose speech pleases you in worldly life, and he calls Allāh to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the fiercest of opponents. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:204)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Baqarah · 16×
- Surah An-Nisa · 14×
- Surah Al-Ma'idah · 12×
- Surah Al-An'am · 12×
- Surah Ali 'Imran · 11×
- Surah An-Nur · 11×
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.