Home Quran Quran roots و ل ي
232 times in the Quran · 11 word forms · rank 42
The Quran root و ل ي w-l-y
Words built from the root و ل ي ([w-l-y]) appear 232 times in the Quran. The most common is وَلِيّ, “protector”, which comes 86 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| وَلِيّ | waliyy | protector · allies | 86 | |
| تَوَلَّى | tawallaa | they turn away · turns away | 78 | |
| وَلَّى | wallaa | turn · they would turn | 30 | |
| مَوْلَى | mawlaa | Protector · relation | 18 | |
| أَوْلَى | awlaa | Woe · nearer | 11 | |
| مَوالِي | mawaalii | heirs · successors | 3 | |
| وَلايَت | walaayat | protection | 2 | |
| مُوَلِّي | muwallii | turns towards it | 1 | |
| أَوْلَيان | awlayaan | former two | 1 | |
| يَلُ | yalu | close to you | 1 | |
| وال | waal | protector | 1 |
Examples from the Quran
أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ ١٠٧
وَلِيٍّ waliyyin · protector
Do you not know that to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and [that] you have not besides Allāh any protector or any helper? (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:107)
وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَىٰ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُم بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ ١٢٠
وَلِيٍّ waliyyin · protector
And never will the Jews and the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance of Allāh is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allāh no protector or helper. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:120)
ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَكُنتُم مِّنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ٦٤
تَوَلَّيْتُم tawallaytum · you turned away
Then you turned away after that. And if not for the favor of Allāh upon you and His mercy, you would have been among the losers. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:64)
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١١٥
تُوَلُّوا tuwallū · you turn
And to Allāh belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:115)
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ ٢٨٦
مَوْلَانَا mawlānā · our Protector
Allāh does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:286)
إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَٰذَا النَّبِيُّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٦٨
أَوْلَى awlā · the best to claim relationship
Indeed, the most worthy of Abraham among the people are those who followed him [in submission to Allāh] and this prophet [i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ)] and those who believe [in his message]. And Allāh is the Ally of the believers. (Surah Ali 'Imran, 3:68)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Baqarah · 21×
- Surah An-Nisa · 16×
- Surah At-Tawbah · 15×
- Surah Ali 'Imran · 14×
- Surah Al-Anfal · 13×
- Surah Al-Ma'idah · 12×
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.