Arabic root

ز-ك-و

Zay-Kaf-Waw

2 words from this root family

About this root

Zay-Kaf-Waw (ز-ك-و) has 2 words in the Fahm dictionary: zakāh (charity / alms / purification tax), tazkiyah (purification / spiritual growth / self-refinement).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 59 times in 56 verses, across 29 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:43. The form زَكَاةٌ (charity / alms / purification tax) accounts for 32 of them.

Themes: Quranic

Words from this root

Word	Meaning	Type	In the Quran	Taught in
زَكَاةٌ zakāh	charity / alms / purification tax	noun, B1	32×	Worship and Prayer
تَزْكِيَةٌ tazkiyah	purification / spiritual growth / self-refinement	noun, B1		Character, Community, and Worship

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

In the Quran

وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱرْكَعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ

Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship).

Quran 2:43

رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Thy revelations, and shall instruct them in the Scripture and in wisdom and shall make them grow. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, Wise.

Quran 2:129

فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَـٰمًا فَقَتَلَهُۥ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةًۢ بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْـًٔا نُّكْرًا

So they twain journeyed on till, when they met a lad, he slew him. (Moses) said: What! Hast thou slain an innocent soul who hath slain no man? Verily thou hast done a horrid thing.

Quran 18:74

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

زَكَاةٌ

zakāh

charity / alms / purification tax

Example

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ

wa-aqīmū aṣ-ṣalāta wa-ātū az-zakāh

And establish prayer and give zakah (2:43)

Root: ز-ك-و Quranic

Grammar

Feminine noun. From the root meaning 'to purify' and 'to grow.' The dual meaning is significant: zakāh purifies wealth and causes it to grow in blessing.

Culture

Zakāh is the third pillar of Islam. It is an obligatory charity of 2.5% on savings, emphasizing that wealth is a trust from God meant to benefit society.

B1noun

تَزْكِيَةٌ

tazkiyah

purification / spiritual growth / self-refinement

Example

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا

qad aflaḥa man zakkāhā wa-qad khāba man dassāhā

He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who corrupts it (91:9-10)

Root: ز-ك-و Quranic

Grammar

Form II maṣdar (تَفْعِلَة). Verb: زَكَّى (to purify/grow). Related to زَكَاةٌ (q111, purification tax). Active participle: مُزَكٍّ (purifier).

Culture

Tazkiyah (purification of the soul) is one of the Prophet's four missions stated in the Quran (2:129). Islamic spirituality centers on this lifelong process.