← Root Explorer
Arabic root

س-و-ا

Sin-Waw-Alif

2 words from this root family

About this root

Sin-Waw-Alif (س-و-ا) has 2 words in the Fahm dictionary: sayyiʾah (bad deed / sin / evil), sayyiʾ (bad).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 167 times in 151 verses, across 45 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:49. The form سَيِّئَةٌ (bad deed / sin / evil) accounts for 58 of them.

Themes: Quranic, Adjectives, Quality

Words from this root

WordMeaningTypeIn the QuranTaught in
سَيِّئَةٌ
sayyiʾah
bad deed / sin / evilnoun, A258×Reward, Recompense, and Deeds
سَيِّئ
sayyiʾ
badadjective, A14×Adjectives - Size & Age

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

In the Quran

وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَـٰكُم مِّنْ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَآءَكُمْ ۚ وَفِى ذَٰلِكُم بَلَآءٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ

And (remember) when We did deliver you from Pharaoh's folk, who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, slaying your sons and sparing your women: that was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

Quran 2:49
بَلَىٰ مَن كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَـٰطَتْ بِهِۦ خَطِيٓـَٔتُهُۥ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ

Nay, but whosoever hath done evil and his sin surroundeth him; such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein.

Quran 2:81
وَءَاخَرُونَ ٱعْتَرَفُوا۟ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا۟ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا وَءَاخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And (there are) others who have acknowledged their faults. They mixed a righteous action with another that was bad. It may be that Allah will relent toward them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Quran 9:102

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

A2noun
سَيِّئَةٌ
sayyiʾah

bad deed / sin / evil

Example
وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا
wa-man jāʾa bis-sayyiʾati falā yujzā illā mithlahā
And whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except its equivalent (6:160)
Grammar

Feminine adjective used as noun. From the root س-و-أ (to be bad). Plural: سَيِّئَاتٌ. Paired with حَسَنَة in many verses.

Culture

God's justice: bad deeds are only counted once (1:1 ratio), while good deeds are multiplied - a Quranic expression of divine mercy exceeding justice.

A1adjective
سَيِّئ
sayyiʾ

bad

Example
الطَّقسُ سَيِّئ اليَوم
aṭ-ṭaqsu sayyiʾ al-yawm
The weather is bad today
Grammar

Feminine form: sayyiʾa (سَيِّئة). Opposite of jayyid (جَيِّد).

Related roots