Kaf-Ba-Ra
3 words from this root family
Kaf-Ba-Ra (ك-ب-ر) has 3 words in the Fahm dictionary: kabīrun (big / large / old (in age)), Allāhu akbar (God is the Greatest), kibr (arrogance / pride / haughtiness).
In the Quran, words built on this root occur 161 times in 153 verses, across 57 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:34. The form كَبِيرٌ (big / large / old (in age)) accounts for 40 of them.
Themes: Adjectives, Basics, Quranic
| Word | Meaning | Type | In the Quran | Taught in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
كَبِيرٌ kabīrun | big / large / old (in age) | adjective, A1 | 40× | Describing Things - Core Adjectives |
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ Allāhu akbar | God is the Greatest | phrase, A1 | Divine Names and Attributes | |
كِبْرٌ kibr | arrogance / pride / haughtiness | noun, B1 | 2× | Character, Community, and Worship |
“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَAnd when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.
وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰٓ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا۟ ٱلْخَبِيثَ بِٱلطَّيِّبِ ۖ وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَمْوَٰلِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حُوبًا كَبِيرًاGive unto orphans their wealth. Exchange not the good for the bad (in your management thereof) nor absorb their wealth into your own wealth. Lo! that would be a great sin.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُو بِٱلْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ ۚ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم ۖ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۚ لِكُلِّ ٱمْرِئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا ٱكْتَسَبَ مِنَ ٱلْإِثْمِ ۚ وَٱلَّذِى تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُۥ مِنْهُمْ لَهُۥ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌLo! they who spread the slander are a gang among you. Deem it not a bad thing for you; nay, it is good for you. Unto every man of them (will be paid) that which he hath earned of the sin; and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be an awful doom.
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).
Feminine: kabīra (كَبِيرَةٌ). Comparative: akbar (أَكْبَرُ) meaning 'bigger/biggest'. 'Allāhu Akbar' = God is Greatest.
أَكْبَرُ is the elative (comparative/superlative) form of كَبِيرٌ (great). It functions as a predicate in a nominal sentence. The verb form كَبَّرَ means 'to say Allāhu akbar.'
The takbīr is said at the start of every prayer, during the adhān (call to prayer), and on Eid celebrations. It is perhaps the most iconic Islamic phrase.
Masculine noun. Verb: تَكَبَّرَ / اسْتَكْبَرَ (to be arrogant). Active participle: مُسْتَكْبِرٌ (arrogant one). الْمُتَكَبِّرُ is a divine name (The Supreme).
Arrogance (kibr) is considered the root of all sin in Islam - it was Iblīs's (Satan's) sin when he refused to bow to Adam.