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Arabic root

س-ب-ح

Sin-Ba-Ha

4 words from this root family

About this root

Sin-Ba-Ha (س-ب-ح) has 4 words in the Fahm dictionary: tasbīḥ (glorification (of God) / saying subḥānAllāh), subḥāna Allāh (Glory be to God / God is perfect), subḥānahū (Glory be to Him / He is exalted), sibāḥa (swimming).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 92 times in 87 verses, across 49 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:30. The form تَسْبِيحٌ (glorification (of God) / saying subḥānAllāh) accounts for 2 of them.

Themes: Quranic, Hobbies, Sports

Words from this root

WordMeaningTypeIn the QuranTaught in
تَسْبِيحٌ
tasbīḥ
glorification (of God) / saying subḥānAllāhnoun, B12×Advanced Quranic Vocabulary
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ
subḥāna Allāh
Glory be to God / God is perfectphrase, A1Divine Names and Attributes
سُبْحَانَهُ
subḥānahū
Glory be to Him / He is exaltedphrase, A1Divine Names and Attributes
سِباحة
sibāḥa
swimmingnoun, A2Sports & Exercise

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

In the Quran

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

Quran 2:30
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower, the Wise.

Quran 2:32
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ

And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.

Quran 21:33

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

B1noun
تَسْبِيحٌ
tasbīḥ

glorification (of God) / saying subḥānAllāh

Example
يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ
yusabbiḥu lillāhi mā fī as-samāwāti wa-mā fī al-arḍ
Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies Allah (62:1)
Grammar

Masculine verbal noun (maṣdar) of سَبَّحَ (Form II = to glorify). Related: سُبْحَانَ (glory be to), مُسَبِّحٌ (one who glorifies). The original root meaning relates to 'swimming/moving freely.'

Culture

The Quran states that all creation engages in tasbīḥ (glorification of God), even if humans cannot perceive it (17:44). Six surahs begin with forms of this word (the Musabbiḥāt).

A1phrase
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ
subḥāna Allāh

Glory be to God / God is perfect

Example
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا
subḥāna alladhī asrā biʿabdihī laylā
Glory to Him who took His servant on a night journey (17:1)
Grammar

سُبْحَانَ is a maṣdar (verbal noun) used exclusively in the accusative as an absolute object. Always in iḍāfa with God or a pronoun: سُبْحَانَهُ.

Culture

One of the most common phrases of dhikr (remembrance of God). Declaring God's perfection and freedom from any deficiency.

A1phrase
سُبْحَانَهُ
subḥānahū

Glory be to Him / He is exalted

Example
سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
subḥānahū wa-taʿālā ʿammā yushrikūn
Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him (10:18)
Grammar

سُبْحَانَ (glory, q197 root) + pronoun suffix هُ (Him). Often followed by وَتَعَالَى (and He is exalted). Used to declare God's perfection and transcendence.

Culture

سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى (abbreviated SWT) is said by Muslims after mentioning God's name - a constant declaration of divine perfection.

A2noun
سِباحة
sibāḥa

swimming

Example
أُحِبّ السِباحة في البَحْر.
uḥibb as-sibāḥa fī al-baḥr.
I love swimming in the sea.

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