Arabic root

ع-ر-و

Ayn-Ra-Waw

1 word from this root family

About this root

Ayn-Ra-Waw (ع-ر-و) has 1 word in the Fahm dictionary: ʿurwah (handhold / firm grip / bond).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 3 times in 3 verses, across 3 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:256. The form عُرْوَةٌ (handhold / firm grip / bond) accounts for 2 of them.

Themes: Quranic

Words from this root

Word	Meaning	Type	In the Quran	Taught in
عُرْوَةٌ ʿurwah	handhold / firm grip / bond	noun, B2	2×	Advanced Quranic & Islamic Terminology

“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.

In the Quran

لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّـٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

Quran 2:256

إِن نَّقُولُ إِلَّا ٱعْتَرَىٰكَ بَعْضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوٓءٍ ۗ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أُشْهِدُ ٱللَّهَ وَٱشْهَدُوٓا۟ أَنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ

We say naught save that one of our gods hath possessed thee in an evil way. He said: I call Allah to witness, and do ye (too) bear witness, that I am innocent of (all) that ye ascribe as partners (to Allah)

Quran 11:54

۞ وَمَن يُسْلِمْ وَجْهَهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلْأُمُورِ

Whosoever surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good, he verily hath grasped the firm hand-hold. Unto Allah belongeth the sequel of all things.

Quran 31:22

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani 1.1), CC BY 3.0, tanzil.net. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via Project Gutenberg. Counts and verse choice: Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology data (corpus.quran.com).

Word cards with examples

B2noun

عُرْوَةٌ

ʿurwah

handhold / firm grip / bond

Example

فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى

faman yakfur biṭ-ṭāghūti wa-yuʾmin billāhi faqadi istamsaka bil-ʿurwati al-wuthqā

Whoever rejects false deities and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold (2:256)

Root: ع-ر-و Quranic

Grammar

Feminine noun. الْعُرْوَةُ الْوُثْقَى (the firmest handhold) is a famous Quranic metaphor. From عَرَا (to occur/attach). وُثْقَى is feminine of أَوْثَقُ (firmest).

Culture

This verse contains the famous phrase 'lā ikrāha fī ad-dīn' (no compulsion in religion) - faith must be a free choice, and that choice is the firmest handhold.