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Arabic root

ر-ب-ع

Ra-Ba-Ayn

8 words from this root family

About this root

Ra-Ba-Ayn (ر-ب-ع) has 8 words in the Fahm dictionary: arbaʿa (four), arbaʿūn (forty), ar-rābiʿ (fourth), al-arbiʿāʾ (Wednesday), and 4 more.

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 22 times in 21 verses, across 11 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:51. The form أَرْبَعَة (four) accounts for 9 of them.

Themes: Numbers, Basics, Numbers Tens, Numbers Ordinals, Time, Calendar, Numbers Practical, Nature Weather

Words from this root

WordMeaningTypeIn the QuranTaught in
أَرْبَعَة
arbaʿa
fournumeral, A19×Numbers 0-9
أَرْبَعُون
arbaʿūn
fortynumeral, A1Numbers 10-1000
الرَّابِع
ar-rābiʿ
fourthadjective, A1Days of the Week
الْأَرْبِعَاء
al-arbiʿāʾ
Wednesdaynoun, A1Days of the Week
رَبِيع الْأَوَّل
rabīʿ al-awwal
Rabi al-Awwal (3rd month)noun, A1Months & Seasons
رَبِيع الثَّانِي
rabīʿ ath-thānī
Rabi ath-Thani (4th month)noun, A1Months & Seasons
رُبْع
rubʿ
quarternoun, A1Telling Time
رَبِيع
rabīʿ
spring (season)noun, B1Natural Elements

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

In the Quran

وَإِذْ وَٰعَدْنَا مُوسَىٰٓ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ ٱتَّخَذْتُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ وَأَنتُمْ ظَـٰلِمُونَ

And when We did appoint for Moses forty nights (of solitude), and then ye chose the calf, when he had gone from you, and were wrong-doers.

Quran 2:51
لِّلَّذِينَ يُؤْلُونَ مِن نِّسَآئِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ ۖ فَإِن فَآءُو فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Those who forswear their wives must wait four months; then, if they change their mind, lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Quran 2:226
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا۟ فِى ٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ فَوَٰحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا۟

And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that ye will not do injustice.

Quran 4:3

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

A1numeral
أَرْبَعَة
arbaʿa

four

Example
لَدَيْنَا أَرْبَعَةُ أَوْلَادٍ
ladaynā arbaʿatu awlādin
We have four children
A1numeral
أَرْبَعُون
arbaʿūn

forty

Example
اِسْتَغْرَقَ الِامْتِحَانُ أَرْبَعِينَ دَقِيقَةً
istaghraq al-imtiḥānu arbaʿīna daqīqatan
The exam took forty minutes
A1noun
الْأَرْبِعَاء
al-arbiʿāʾ

Wednesday

Example
سَأُسَافِرُ يَوْمَ الْأَرْبِعَاءِ
sa-usāfiru yawma al-arbiʿāʾi
I will travel on Wednesday
Grammar

Named after the number four (arba'a) as it is the fourth day

A1noun
رَبِيع الْأَوَّل
rabīʿ al-awwal

Rabi al-Awwal (3rd month)

Example
وُلِدَ النَّبِيُّ فِي رَبِيعِ الْأَوَّلِ
wulida an-nabīyu fī rabīʿi al-awwali
The Prophet was born in Rabi al-Awwal
Grammar

Means 'the first spring'

A1noun
رَبِيع الثَّانِي
rabīʿ ath-thānī

Rabi ath-Thani (4th month)

Example
نَحْنُ الْآنَ فِي شَهْرِ رَبِيعِ الثَّانِي
naḥnu al-āna fī shahri rabīʿi ath-thānī
We are now in the month of Rabi ath-Thani
Grammar

Means 'the second spring'

B1noun
رَبِيع
rabīʿ

spring (season)

Example
في الرَّبيعِ تَتَفَتَّحُ الأَزهار.
fī r-rabīʿi tatafattaḥu l-azhār.
In spring, the flowers bloom.

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