Word Wise

Fasting… In Silence?

The word for fasting in Islamic literature can appear in one of two forms – either الصوم al-sawm, or الصيام al-siyaam. So what is the difference between them, and can they be used interchangeably? Both the word الصوم al-sawm and الصيام al-siyaam are verbal noun forms from the same root – ص و م s …

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Love, oh love.

al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, The word ‘love’ appeared as a noun in the Qur’an ten times – of those ten,  nine were using the word hubb حبّ,  as in the verse,   وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ أَندَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّهِ And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah …

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It’s a hit!

al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, The Arabs have a number of words to express specific ways of hitting. When reading the below, pay attention also to any instances of al-ishtiqaaq al-akbar to increase your wonder and marvel at the richness of this language. To hit on the front part of the head using the ball of …

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There’s always a first.

al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, Arabic often has the ability to convey a very precise meaning using a single world, due to the richness and breadth of its vocabulary. In line with this, scholars of the language would often compile lexicons based on concepts shared between words rather than alphabetically, and thus the thesaurus genre in …

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