Qur’anic Root A DH Y

1. Qur’anic forms and the semantic core

A DH Y occurs 24 times in 22 Qur’anic verses. These comprise nine nouns and 15 Form IV verbs, falling into two principal groups.

The first is the noun adhā, appearing as أَذًى (adhan), الْأَذَىٰ (al-adhā), and أَذَاهُمْ (adhāhum). It denotes the hurt, suffering, or distressing condition itself.

The second is the Form IV verb ādhā, occurring in perfect, imperfect, imperative, and passive forms, including yuʾdhūna, ādhaw, ādhaytumūnā, fa-ādhūhumā, ūdhū, ūdhīnā, ūdhiya, and yuʾdhayna.

Arabic also records the simple verb adhiya for experiencing hurt or discomfort, while taʾadhdhā denotes suffering or being adversely affected by something. Ādhā is generally transitive and expresses causing hurt to another. Its familiar verbal noun is īdhāʾ.

Forms such as adhiyyah and taʾadhdhā are known in Arabic but do not occur in those forms in the Qur’an.

The family’s semantic core can be expressed as follows:

The occurrence or infliction of an adverse condition that causes suffering, discomfort, distress, or harm.

What is adverse forms the common thread, while the root alone does not determine the kind or severity of the suffering.

2. The root in early Arabic: what causes discomfort and suffering

In early Arabic usage, adhā described something a person suffered from or found disagreeable. Adhiya bi-al-shayʾi means being distressed by something, while ādhāhu denotes causing hurt to someone else.

Early explanations bring unpleasantness and disturbance close together: something is so disagreeable to a person that they are affected by it and cannot readily accommodate it. This disturbance need not involve physical movement or severe pain.

A poem by the early Arabic poet ʿAlqamah ibn ʿAbadah contains the following description of wine:

تَشْفِي الصُّدَاعَ وَلَا يُؤْذِيكَ صَالِبُهَا
وَلَا يُخَالِطُهَا فِي الرَّأْسِ تَدْوِيمُ

tashfī al-ṣudāʿa wa-lā yuʾdhīka ṣālibuhā / wa-lā yukhāliṭuhā fī al-raʾsi tadwīm

“It soothes a headache, its discomfort does not hurt you, and it brings no dizziness to the head.”

Regardless of the truth of the poet’s claim about the drink, this witness matters for the word’s usage. Yuʾdhīka here concerns bodily discomfort, rather than insult, hostility, or oppression.

Other Arabic descriptions likewise use adhā for discomfort caused by objects and environmental conditions. Before considering the Qur’an’s ethical uses, it is therefore necessary to recognize that the root was not originally restricted to deliberate harm by one person against another.

Early Arabic also records al-ādhiyy for a wave of water. This use alone, however, does not establish that every derivative originated in an image of a wave or its impact. The established meaning of adhā is clear without such imagery and does not require inventing a hypothetical material origin.

3. Bodily hurt and discomfort caused by natural conditions

Some of the clearest Qur’anic uses of adhā describe discomfort that need not involve either a human agent or any wrongdoing.

Menstruation: hurt as a bodily condition

Al-Baqarah 2:222 states:

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَاعْتَزِلُوا النِّسَاءَ فِي الْمَحِيضِ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

wa-yasʾalūnaka ʿani al-maḥīḍi qul huwa adhan fa-iʿtazilū al-nisāʾa fī al-maḥīḍi wa-lā taqrabūhunna ḥattā yaṭhurna fa-idhā taṭahharna faʾtūhunna min ḥaythu amarakumu allāhu inna allāha yuḥibbu al-tawwābīna wa-yuḥibbu al-mutaṭahhirīn

“They ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is suffering and discomfort.’ Therefore, keep apart from women during menstruation and do not approach them until they become clean. Once they have cleansed themselves, have intercourse with them from where The God has commanded you. The God loves those who return and those who seek cleanliness.”

Al-Baqarah 2:222

Here, adhan describes al-maḥīḍ, rather than a woman’s character or worth. The subject is the condition associated with menstruation and the subsequent ruling about sexual relations.

This occurrence matters for understanding the root because adhā here does not mean insult, hostility, or deliberate mistreatment. Bodily discomfort and conditions also belong to its semantic field.

Nor does adhan by itself express moral impurity, sin, or worthlessness. Those meanings cannot be derived simply from this root.

An ailment of the head in the pilgrimage rulings

Al-Baqarah 2:196, discussing shaving the head during pilgrimage, mentions someone who is ill or has adhā affecting the head.

The juxtaposition of marīḍan, “ill,” and adhan min raʾsihi indicates that the hurt can be a particular, localized condition, such as a head ailment that makes observing the ordinary ruling difficult. The verse does not restrict it to one specific illness.

Adhan here does not name a particular disease. It describes the discomfort or ailment the person experiences. The verse connects such a condition with a compensatory obligation, fidyah.

Discomfort caused by rain

Al-Nisāʾ 4:102, discussing precautions in dangerous conditions, mentions a situation where rain causes discomfort. Alongside illness, this allows weapons to be set down, while the command to remain cautious continues.

The expression adhan min maṭarin shows that rain can cause adhā.

Rain has no intention of hurting anyone, nor need the person have committed any wrongdoing. The discomfort results from external conditions.

Together, these three verses show that adhā is not fundamentally an exclusively ethical term. Bodily suffering, environmental discomfort, and natural ailments can also be its instances.

4. Hurtful speech and conduct: harming human dignity

Another substantial group of Qur’anic occurrences concerns human conduct toward other people. Hurt can arise in these settings without obvious bodily injury.

Hurting a person in need after giving

The Qur’an states in Al-Baqarah 2:262:

الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ لَا يُتْبِعُونَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا مَنًّا وَلَا أَذًى لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

alladhīna yunfiqūna amwālahum fī sabīli allāhi thumma lā yutbiʿūna mā anfaqū mannan wa-lā adhan lahum ajruhum ʿinda rabbihim wa-lā khawfun ʿalayhim wa-lā hum yaḥzanūn

“Those who spend their wealth in the way of The God and then do not follow their giving with reminders of favor or hurt will have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve.”

Al-Baqarah 2:262

Mannan and adhan appear together here. Reminding someone of a favor concerns recalling a gift in a way that burdens its recipient. Hurt has a broader meaning and may include humiliation, hurtful words, harsh conduct, or injury to the recipient’s dignity.

The two descriptions are closely related but not identical. A humiliating reminder of a favor can be hurtful, but not every instance of hurt is a reminder of a favor.

The verse establishes the relationship between a gift’s value and the conduct that follows it. Giving someone property does not authorize hurting them.

The following verse makes this clearer:

قَوْلٌ مَعْرُوفٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَا أَذًى وَاللَّهُ غَنِيٌّ حَلِيمٌ

qawlun maʿrūfun wa-maghfiratun khayrun min ṣadaqatin yatbaʿuhā adhan wa-allāhu ghaniyyun ḥalīm

“Appropriate speech and forgiveness are better than charity followed by hurt. The God is free of need and forbearing.”

Al-Baqarah 2:263

Here, hurt follows charity. The question is therefore not simply the amount given: conduct toward another person also determines the act’s worth.

Al-Baqarah 2:264 continues the warning by explicitly commanding that charity not be nullified through reminders of favor and hurt. There, giving accompanied by hurt is placed alongside spending for display.

This sequence shows that adhā can concern damage to a person’s dignity, feelings, or social position even where no bodily injury occurs.

Hurting the Prophet through speech and conduct

Al-Tawbah 9:61 states:

وَمِنْهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ النَّبِيَّ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

wa-minhumu alladhīna yuʾdhūna al-nabiyya wa-yaqūlūna huwa udhunun qul udhunu khayrin lakum yuʾminu bi-allāhi wa-yuʾminu li-al-muʾminīna wa-raḥmatun li-alladhīna āmanū minkum wa-alladhīna yuʾdhūna rasūla allāhi lahum ʿadhābun alīm

“Among them are those who hurt the Prophet and say, ‘He is an ear.’ Say, ‘An ear for your good: he believes in The God, trusts the believers, and is a mercy to those among you who have believed.’ Those who hurt the messenger of The God will have a painful punishment.”

Al-Tawbah 9:61

Here, hurt concerns speech and the attribution of a disparaging description to the Prophet. Huwa udhunun, “he is an ear,” shows that speech itself can be a means of causing hurt.

Two roots need to be distinguished: yuʾdhūna belongs to A DH Y, whereas udhun, “ear,” belongs to A DH N. Their outward resemblance should not lead to merging the two families.

Study of A DH N

In Al-Aḥzāb 33:53, guests lingering and talking in the Prophet’s home after a meal are described through yuʾdhī. The verse concerns the privacy of the home and appropriate social conduct. It also contains an tuʾdhū rasūla allāhi: tuʾdhū is an imperfect verb in the subjunctive after an.

This use shows that hurt does not always mean abusive language or an overt attack. Intrusive conduct, disregard for another’s privacy, and imposing an unwelcome presence can also cause it.

Qur’anic adhā is thus not restricted to bodily injury: human speech and conduct can also cause it.

5. Hurt amid oppression, opposition, and pressure on prophets and believers

Other occurrences of A DH Y appear in settings of hostility, pressure, and social oppression. They show why the root should not be restricted to trivial, insignificant discomfort.

The Children of Israel’s suffering under Pharaoh

Al-Aʿrāf 7:129 states:

قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ

qālū ūdhīnā min qabli an taʾtiyanā wa-min baʿdi mā jiʾtanā qāla ʿasā rabbukum an yuhlika ʿaduwwakum wa-yastakhlifakum fī al-arḍi fa-yanẓura kayfa taʿmalūn

“They said, ‘We suffered hurt before you came to us, and after you came to us as well.’ He said, ‘Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, then observe how you act.’”

Al-Aʿrāf 7:129

Ūdhīnā here describes suffering experienced by the Children of Israel under Pharaoh’s domination.

The immediate context, especially Al-Aʿrāf 7:127, mentions Pharaoh’s threat against their sons and keeping their women alive. The suffering in this account cannot therefore be confined to unpleasant words or slight discomfort.

Ūdhīnā is passive and emphasizes the hurt inflicted on them. The context identifies the oppressor; the passive construction itself does not.

This is particularly important evidence for the root’s semantic range: adhā can also occur in a setting of severe oppression and social pressure.

The prophets’ suffering and endurance

Al-Anʿām 6:34 states:

وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فَصَبَرُوا عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُوا وَأُوذُوا حَتَّىٰ أَتَاهُمْ نَصْرُنَا وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكَ مِنْ نَبَإِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

wa-la-qad kudhdhibat rusulun min qablika fa-ṣabarū ʿalā mā kudhdhibū wa-ūdhū ḥattā atāhum naṣrunā wa-lā mubaddila li-kalimāti allāhi wa-la-qad jāʾaka min nabaʾi al-mursalīn

“Messengers before you were indeed denied. They endured the denial and hurt they suffered until Our help reached them. None can change the words of The God; and some of the messengers’ accounts have indeed reached you.”

Al-Anʿām 6:34

Denial and hurt appear together here. Denial concerns rejecting or declaring the message false, while hurt can also encompass harmful conduct accompanying it.

Their association does not make them wholly separate concepts: denial can itself be hurtful. Their separate mention nevertheless shows that hurt is not confined to verbal rejection itself.

Āl ʿImrān 3:195 likewise mentions people who emigrated, were driven from their homes, suffered hurt in the way of The God, fought, and were killed, in a sequence of actions and sufferings. Ūdhū there is contextually related to expulsion, fighting, and killing, but its meaning is not reducible to any one of those events.

Hearing hurtful things and remaining steadfast

Āl ʿImrān 3:186 states:

لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ

la-tublawunna fī amwālikum wa-anfusikum wa-la-tasmaʿunna mina alladhīna ūtū al-kitāba min qablikum wa-mina alladhīna ashrakū adhan kathīran wa-in taṣbirū wa-tattaqū fa-inna dhālika min ʿazmi al-umūr

“You will certainly be tested in your wealth and your lives, and you will certainly hear much that is hurtful from those given the Book before you and from those who associate partners. If you remain steadfast and mindful, that is among matters requiring firm resolve.”

Āl ʿImrān 3:186

Wa-la-tasmaʿunna, “you will certainly hear,” shows that the hurt here concerns what is heard. Hostile, disparaging, or hurtful words can be instances of this expression.

The adjective kathīran also shows that hurt can be extensive in amount or repetition.

The verse concerns hurt its audience will encounter under particular conditions. It does not establish that every individual belonging to the named groups is a perpetrator of hurt in every period.

Hurt and steadfastness upon the truth

Ibrāhīm 14:12 states:

وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَقَدْ هَدَانَا سُبُلَنَا وَلَنَصْبِرَنَّ عَلَىٰ مَا آذَيْتُمُونَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ

wa-mā lanā allā natawakkala ʿalā allāhi wa-qad hadānā subulanā wa-la-naṣbiranna ʿalā mā ādhaytumūnā wa-ʿalā allāhi fa-l-yatawakkali al-mutawakkilūn

“Why should we not place our trust in The God, when He has shown us our paths? We will certainly remain steadfast through the hurt you have caused us. Let those who trust place their trust in The God.”

Ibrāhīm 14:12

Ādhaytumūnā is a Form IV perfect verb. Those addressed cause the hurt; those speaking receive it.

The verse connects suffering hurt with steadfastness on the path of guidance. Steadfastness, however, is not the meaning of hurt itself, nor does the presence of hurt establish a universal Qur’anic command to endure every oppression in every circumstance.

Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:10 describes someone who, when hurt in the way of The God, treats people’s pressure and testing as the punishment of The God. Ūdhiya denotes suffering hurt, while fitnata al-nāsi and ʿadhābi allāhi are distinct expressions. Treating them as equivalent is part of the described person’s condition, rather than a lexical definition of adhā.

6. Distinguishing adhā from ḍarar, ẓulm, and ʿadhāb

Adhā is related to several neighboring roots, but they should not all receive one translation.

A DH Y (adhā) and Ḍ R R (ḍarar)

Study of Ḍ R R

Ḍarar tends to foreground loss or injury inflicted, while adhā foregrounds suffering, hurt, or something disagreeable that affects someone. This is a semantic tendency, rather than an absolute division between small and large harms. Some lexical definitions, including a report from Al-Khaṭṭābī, characterize adhā as lighter harm than ḍarar. This explanation should be considered alongside the range of uses and each verse’s context, rather than generalized to every occurrence without examination.

Āl ʿImrān 3:111 states:

لَنْ يَضُرُّوكُمْ إِلَّا أَذًى وَإِنْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ يُوَلُّوكُمُ الْأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لَا يُنْصَرُونَ

lan yaḍurrūkum illā adhan wa-in yuqātilūkum yuwallūkumu al-adbāra thumma lā yunṣarūn

“They will cause you no harm beyond hurt. If they fight you, they will turn their backs to you; then they will not be helped.”

Āl ʿImrān 3:111

Yaḍurrūkum and adhan appear in an exception construction here. In the situation described, the opposing party’s capacity to harm will be limited to hurt, and they will not prevail in military confrontation.

This contrast can indicate that adhā in this context falls short of decisive harm that brings defeat. It does not establish that adhā always denotes slight harm throughout Arabic.

Al-Aʿrāf 7:129, situated amid Pharaoh’s oppression, prevents that generalization.

A fixed chart should therefore not be constructed in which adhā always means minor discomfort and ḍarar always means major injury. Their fields can overlap, with the context establishing the precise distinction in each verse.

A DH Y (adhā) and Ẓ L M (ẓulm)

Study of Ẓ L M

Ẓulm concerns oppression and violating rights; adhā concerns the suffering or hurt inflicted.

Rain can cause discomfort without thereby being oppressive. Conversely, oppressive conduct may produce severe bodily or psychological suffering.

Ẓulm and adhā can therefore occur within one event while retaining different meanings.

This distinction also shows that adhā in a verse does not by itself judge whether the agent is guilty or the person suffering deserved it.

A DH Y (adhā) and ʿ DH B (ʿadhāb)

Study of ʿ DH B

In many Qur’anic uses, ʿadhāb concerns suffering or a penalty inflicted on someone and can be associated with judgment and punishment. Adhā is a broader word for suffering and hurt and need not mean punishment.

Punishment can be hurtful, but not every hurt is punishment.

Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:10 also shows the distinction: hurt in the way of The God is compared with people’s testing and the punishment of The God. The comparison itself does not make these concepts identical.

A DH Y (adhā) and A L M (alam)

Study of A L M

Alam denotes pain and suffering, whereas adhā can also denote the agent, conduct, or condition causing suffering.

Hurt may produce bodily pain but is not restricted to it. Humiliation, disrespect, intrusion into privacy, and disruptive conduct can also be instances of adhā.

Alam and adhā are thus close within the field of suffering, without being interchangeable in every occurrence.

7. Particular features of the verb ādhā

The command fa-ādhūhumā in Al-Nisāʾ 4:16

One notable occurrence appears in Al-Nisāʾ 4:16:

وَاللَّذَانِ يَأْتِيَانِهَا مِنْكُمْ فَآذُوهُمَا فَإِنْ تَابَا وَأَصْلَحَا فَأَعْرِضُوا عَنْهُمَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ تَوَّابًا رَحِيمًا

wa-alladhāni yaʾtiyānihā minkum fa-ādhūhumā fa-in tābā wa-aṣlaḥā fa-aʿriḍū ʿanhumā inna allāha kāna tawwāban raḥīmā

“The two among you who commit it: cause them hurt. If they repent and reform, desist from dealing with them in that way. The God is ever accepting of repentance and merciful.”

Al-Nisāʾ 4:16

Fa-ādhūhumā is a Form IV imperative. The pronoun -humā refers to two people, while -hā in yaʾtiyānihā refers to the act mentioned in the context.

This shows that ādhā is not used solely to condemn perpetrators of hurt: it also appears within a particular ruling.

The verb alone, however, does not specify the method or degree of the response. Precisely what kind of reprimand, treatment, or punishment is involved exceeds the root’s meaning and requires examining the context and other rulings.

The condition fa-in tābā wa-aṣlaḥā fa-aʿriḍū ʿanhumā also matters. The verse does not describe an unconditional, endless response: repentance and reform accompany the command to stop it.

Fa-ādhūhumā therefore neither specifies a particular bodily punishment without further evidence nor provides a general authorization to hurt people.

Adhāhum and the pronoun’s role

Al-Aḥzāb 33:48 states:

وَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا

wa-lā tuṭiʿi al-kāfirīna wa-al-munāfiqīna wa-daʿ adhāhum wa-tawakkal ʿalā allāhi wa-kafā bi-allāhi wakīlā

“Do not obey the disbelievers and hypocrites. Leave their hurt aside, and place your trust in The God. The God is sufficient as disposer of affairs.”

Al-Aḥzāb 33:48

Adhāhum consists of the noun adhā with a plural pronoun. Linguistically, the pronoun in such a possessive construction can relate either to the agent causing hurt or to its recipient.

The expression can thus be understood as leaving aside the hurt they inflict, or refraining from hurting them. In the command addressed to the Prophet, the first reading, avoiding engagement with the opponents’ hurt and leaving retaliation aside, has recognized exegetical support.

Determining the preferable reading requires considering syntax, context, and the relationship between the commands. The noun adhā alone does not settle the question.

This example shows that pronouns and sentence structure can matter as much as lexical meaning in translating roots.

8. Hurting believers and prophets, and hurt attributed to The God

Wrongful hurt and slander

Al-Aḥzāb 33:58 states:

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا

wa-alladhīna yuʾdhūna al-muʾminīna wa-al-muʾmināti bi-ghayri mā iktasabū fa-qadi iḥtamalū buhtānan wa-ithman mubīnā

“Those who hurt believing men and women without their having committed what is attributed to them have indeed borne slander and a manifest sin.”

Al-Aḥzāb 33:58

Hurt here is accompanied by the qualification bi-ghayri mā iktasabū and the consequence buhtānan wa-ithman mubīnan.

These qualifications connect the condemned hurt with accusations and wrongful conduct. “Slander” does not emerge from A DH Y itself, but from an independent word and construction in the verse.

Nor does the qualification make hurting someone who has done wrong permissible without limits or conditions. The verse condemns a particular situation of wrongful hurt; rules for dealing with wrongdoers require considering the relevant verses together.

Women’s safety and suffering harassment

Al-Aḥzāb 33:59 states:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا

yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu qul li-azwājika wa-banātika wa-nisāʾi al-muʾminīna yudnīna ʿalayhinna min jalābībihinna dhālika adnā an yuʿrafna fa-lā yuʾdhayna wa-kāna allāhu ghafūran raḥīmā

“Prophet, tell your wives, daughters, and the believers’ women to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more conducive to their being recognized and not being harassed. The God is ever forgiving and merciful.”

Al-Aḥzāb 33:59

Yuʾdhayna is a feminine plural passive imperfect describing women suffering hurt. The passive construction directs attention toward those subjected to it.

The verse offers a measure aimed at recognition and avoiding hurt. Yuʾdhayna itself does not define the clothing, the perpetrators’ identity, or every social circumstance; those belong to the verse’s other elements and setting.

Suffering or avoiding harassment does not transfer responsibility for the perpetrator’s behavior to the person harmed. A DH Y expresses the occurrence of hurt and provides no basis for such a transfer of responsibility.

Hurting Moses and the role of speech

Al-Aḥzāb 33:69 states:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ آذَوْا مُوسَىٰ فَبَرَّأَهُ اللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا وَكَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهًا

yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū lā takūnū ka-alladhīna ādhaw mūsā fa-barraʾahu allāhu mimmā qālū wa-kāna ʿinda allāhi wajīhā

“You who have believed, do not be like those who hurt Moses. The God cleared him of what they said, and he was honored in the sight of The God.”

Al-Aḥzāb 33:69

Moses’ hurt is connected here with mimmā qālū, “what they said.” Speech and wrongful attribution can therefore cause hurt.

In Al-Ṣaff 61:5, Moses likewise asks his people why they hurt him when they know he is the messenger of The God to them. There, hurt concerns the conduct of people aware of his mission.

All details of Moses’ mistreatment nevertheless cannot be extracted from ādhaw or tuʾdhūnanī alone. These verbs express the occurrence of hurt; its details depend on context and other evidence.

What does yuʾdhūna allāha mean?

Al-Aḥzāb 33:57 states:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا

inna alladhīna yuʾdhūna allāha wa-rasūlahu laʿanahumu allāhu fī al-dunyā wa-al-ākhirati wa-aʿadda lahum ʿadhāban muhīnā

“Those who hurt The God and His messenger: The God has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter, and prepared a humiliating punishment for them.”

Al-Aḥzāb 33:57

Allāha and rasūlahu here are coordinated objects of yuʾdhūna. Those causing the hurt are the people introduced by alladhīna.

Applied to humans, hurt can describe bodily discomfort, psychological suffering, or social injury. Applied to The God, however, it does not authorize imagining bodily pain, vulnerability, or need on His part.

Āl ʿImrān 3:177 and Muḥammad 47:32 likewise establish that people cannot harm The God through disbelief and opposition.

“Hurting The God” here must therefore be understood in view of His divine status and the related verses: speech or conduct violating the honor due to The God and His command, or opposing Him and His messenger, rather than inflicting bodily injury or diminishing His power and perfection.

This does not arbitrarily change the root’s meaning. Hurt is understood at a level appropriate to the verb’s referent, just as many Qur’anic verbs shared between humans and The God are not interpreted through an identical bodily conception.

9. Proposed translations for Forqan

The natural principal Persian equivalent for A DH Y is āzār, “hurt” or “harm.” Its uses should nevertheless not all receive one expression without regard to context; English likewise requires contextual choices.

For the noun adhā in human relationships, “hurt,” “harassment,” or, in particular instances, “harm” can be appropriate. In Al-Baqarah 2:262 and Al-Baqarah 2:263, “hurt” is clear and natural in the setting of giving and conduct toward someone in need.

In bodily and environmental settings, “discomfort,” “suffering,” or “a distressing ailment” can be more precise. “An ailment of the head” clarifies Al-Baqarah 2:196, without making adhā the name of a particular disease. In Al-Nisāʾ 4:102, “discomfort caused by rain” is appropriate.

For ādhā, “cause hurt,” “distress,” and “harm” can be used according to context. “Offend” may be natural for social speech and conduct, but can understate a setting of oppression and severe pressure.

The passive ūdhiya and its plural forms are generally rendered “suffer hurt,” “be subjected to harm,” or, in a more severe setting, “be persecuted.”

In expressions such as yuʾdhūna allāha, “hurt” can be retained in a direct translation, while contextual explanation must prevent a bodily interpretation.

The principle is to take the hurt’s severity, cause, and kind from the verse itself. A word denoting bodily discomfort in one verse should not become “illness” everywhere; nor should severe uses in accounts of oppressors restrict every other occurrence to “torture.”

10. Conclusion

A DH Y concerns hurt and adversity: a condition someone suffers from, or conduct that causes such suffering to another.

The Qur’an uses it both for natural or bodily discomfort, such as rain-related discomfort and an ailment of the head, and for hurtful speech, humiliation, intrusion into privacy, and pressure on prophets and believers.

Adhā is therefore neither invariably slight harm nor invariably deliberate oppression, and it is not confined to bodily pain. It can overlap with ḍarar, ẓulm, and ʿadhāb in particular occurrences, without any of them being its complete, universal equivalent.

In human applications, the root can express injury to someone’s body, peace, feelings, or dignity. When applied to The God, it must be understood without imagining bodily harm or any deficiency in the divine essence.

Forqan’s final definition of A DH Y:

“Suffering, discomfort, or harm arising from something or conduct that is adverse; in verbal use, causing or inflicting such hurt and harm on another. Its kind, severity, and ethical assessment are determined by context.”