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Arabic root

ن-و-ر

Nun-Waw-Ra

2 words from this root family

About this root

Nun-Waw-Ra (ن-و-ر) has 2 words in the Fahm dictionary: nār (fire / hellfire), nūr (light).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 194 times in 174 verses, across 62 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:17. The form نَارٌ (fire / hellfire) accounts for 145 of them.

Themes: Quranic

Words from this root

WordMeaningTypeIn the QuranTaught in
نَارٌ
nār
fire / hellfirenoun, A1145×The Most Frequent Words (Part 5)
نُورٌ
nūr
lightnoun, A243×Good and Evil

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

In the Quran

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِى ٱسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا فَلَمَّآ أَضَآءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُۥ ذَهَبَ ٱللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتٍ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ

Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindleth fire, and when it sheddeth its light around him Allah taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, where they cannot see,

Quran 2:17
ٱللَّهُ وَلِىُّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ ٱلنُّورِ إِلَى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ

Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He bringeth them out of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness. Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein.

Quran 2:257
فَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كُذِّبَ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِكَ جَآءُو بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَٱلزُّبُرِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلْمُنِيرِ

And if they deny thee, even so did they deny messengers who were before thee, who came with miracles and with the Psalms and with the Scripture giving light.

Quran 3:184

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

A1noun
نَارٌ
nār

fire / hellfire

Example
وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ
wattaqū an-nāra allatī uʿiddat lil-kāfirīn
And fear the Fire which has been prepared for the disbelievers (3:131)
Grammar

Feminine noun (no tāʾ marbūṭa but grammatically feminine). Interestingly shares the root ن-و-ر with نُورٌ (light). Appears over 140 times in the Quran.

Culture

Descriptions of the Fire serve as warnings in the Quran. Islamic scholars emphasize that God's mercy precedes His wrath, and hope should accompany fear.

A2noun
نُورٌ
nūr

light

Example
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
Allāhu nūru as-samāwāti wal-arḍ
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth (24:35)
Grammar

Masculine noun. Plural: أَنْوَارٌ (anwār). Related: مُنِيرٌ (illuminating), تَنْوِيرٌ (enlightenment), نَارٌ (fire - same root). An-Nūr is a name of God.

Culture

Āyat an-Nūr (the Verse of Light, 24:35) is one of the most mystically profound verses in the Quran, inspiring centuries of Islamic philosophy and spirituality.

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