The Qur’anic Root A KH R

The root A KH R in the Qur’an

The root أ خ ر (A KH R) in the Qur’an belongs to the conceptual field of “being after.” This after-ness is sometimes temporal, as in delay and appointed term; sometimes sequential, as in the end of a thing; sometimes distinguishing, as in another in contrast with the first; and sometimes existential and final, as in الآخرة (al-ākhirah) in contrast with الدنيا (al-dunyā).

In this root, the meaning is usually clarified in relation to something else. آخِر (ākhir) is understood in contrast with أول (awwal). الآخرة (al-ākhirah) takes meaning in contrast with الدنيا (al-dunyā). آخَر (ākhar) stands in contrast with the first or main matter. تأخير (ta’khīr) is also known in contrast with bringing forward or a fixed time.

Therefore, أ خ ر (A KH R) does not mean only “ending.” This root shows the relationship between precedence and lateness, first and other, respite and appointment, dunya and akhirah, beginning and end.

Central meaning of the root

The central meaning of أ خ ر (A KH R) may be stated as this: something being placed after something else, or being placed in a later, final, or non-first position.

From this meaning, the different branches of the root appear. تأخير (ta’khīr) means that something is moved from a nearer place or time to a later place. آخَر (ākhar) means something other than what was first or primary. آخِر (ākhir) means the end or final part of a flow. آخرت (ākhirah) is the later stage in relation to the life of dunya.

So أ خ ر (A KH R) is a relational root. Its meaning is not complete alone; it becomes clear in relation to something else: first and last, dunya and akhirah, this and another, bringing forward and delaying.

The sensory layer of the root

In Arabic, many abstract meanings are built upon sensory and spatial images. In the root أ خ ر (A KH R), the image of being later, behind, or at the far end of something prepares the ground for many of its semantic branches.

What stands at the back of a structure is not always unimportant. Sometimes the later part is the ending, the support, or the point where the outcome of a movement becomes clear. From this angle, آخِر (ākhir) is not merely “coming after everything”; it can be the place where result, ending, and summary of a path become manifest.

الآخرة (al-ākhirah) can also be understood from this angle. It is the stage that comes after dunya, but it is not merely a simple “after.” It is where the meaning of worldly life, choices, actions, and human orientation becomes manifest. The akhirah is not the end of God; it is the later stage of creation and the place where result appears.

Why ākhar, ākhir, and ākhirah come from one root

At first glance, آخَر (ākhar), meaning “another,” آخِر (ākhir), meaning “end,” and آخرت (ākhirah), meaning “the later abode,” may seem like three separate meanings. But all of them are nourished by the idea of “after” and “not first.”

آخَر (ākhar) means something other than the first case or other than the primary matter. This meaning is not always temporal; it can be distinguishing. When the Qur’an speaks of إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ (ilāhan ākhar), it means “another deity”: the insertion of another into a place that should belong to the One God.

آخِر (ākhir) means the end or final part of something. This meaning is more connected to order and conclusion. The end of a day, the end of a period, or the end of a process are all relative endings.

آخرت (ākhirah) is the later stage of human life. Dunya is the near, present, and first experience of the human being in this life; akhirah is the next stage and the later abode. But the akhirah is not identical with God. The akhirah is created by God, even though it is the later and more lasting stage of human life in relation to dunya.

Arabic before and around the Qur’an

A prayer attributed to the Prophet, preserved in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 2713, says:

أَنْتَ الأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَىْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الآخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَىْءٌ

You are the First, and nothing is before You; You are the Last, and nothing is after You.

This report concerns language around the period of revelation but survives in a later compilation; it is not pre-Islamic poetry or a contemporary inscription. “Before” and “after” explain the relation of first and last in the sentence. The witness documents these descriptions, not a single historical origin for every form resembling awwal.

Akhkhara / yu’akhkhiru: delaying and granting respite

أَخَّرَ (akhkhara) is Form II and means to delay, put back, or grant respite.

In the Qur’an, this form is usually connected with an appointed term, respite, opportunity, or the delay of punishment and death. When a human being or a group asks for delay, it does not mean only that an event is being pushed back. It means a request for more time to continue living, to reform, to make up for what was missed, or sometimes to continue the same old path.

Delay in the Qur’an is not always interpreted as being in the human being’s favor. Respite may be mercy, but it may also be a field of testing. A person may return during the granted time, or he may turn that very respite into more heedlessness and oppression.

At the same time, أَخَّرَ (akhkhara) shows that time is not under absolute human control. The human being may wish for delay, but the appointed term and final time remain within God’s knowledge and judgment.

Ta’akhkhara / yata’akhkharu: falling behind and standing in a later rank

تَأَخَّرَ (ta’akhkhara) means to fall behind, lag, or stand in a later rank. This form is best understood in contrast with تقدم (taqaddum), going forward.

In Al-Muddaththir 74:37, the phrase أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ (an yataqaddama aw yata’akhkhara) appears: for whoever among you wishes to go forward or fall behind. Here, going forward and falling behind are not merely simple temporal order. The human being stands before warning, guidance, and responsibility, and may either move forward or fall back.

This verse shows that, in Qur’anic vision, standing still is not neutral. The human being either moves toward growth, awakening, and response to truth, or falls behind through heedlessness, fear, arrogance, or inaction. تأخر (ta’akhkhur) in this sense is not merely arriving late; it can mean being left behind from truth, reform, and responsibility.

Istaʾkhara: falling behind and delay

In “لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ,” the appointed term is neither delayed nor advanced. Yastaʾkhirūn here concerns falling behind or being delayed.

Form X does not invariably express a request. Its shape does not establish that someone has asked for respite in every occurrence. A request or attempt to postpone may be explained when context supports it; the limits of human control over the term arise from the sentence.

Musta’khirīn: the later ones and those who come after

مُسْتَأْخِرِين (musta’khirīn) refers to those placed later or those who came after. In the Qur’an, this word appears in contrast with مُسْتَقْدِمِين (mustaqdimīn).

This contrast can refer to the temporal order of human beings, generations, groups, or their position in coming and going. Its main meaning is that some have come earlier and some later; but both are present within God’s knowledge.

This usage shows that the precedence and lateness of human beings, whether in time or position, is not outside God’s knowledge. Human beings are scattered across history, but with God they are encompassed by His knowledge.

Ākhar: other and not the first

آخَر (ākhar) means other or another. This word is used when something other than the first case, other than the primary matter, or other than what was previously mentioned is being considered.

In the Qur’an, آخَر (ākhar) appears in many places. Sometimes it refers to another person or group. Sometimes to another act or another time. Sometimes to إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ (ilāhan ākhar): another deity.

In tawhidic usage, آخَر (ākhar) becomes very sensitive. When it comes beside ilah or maʿbūd, it does not merely speak of “another thing.” It speaks of placing a supposed partner or deity in a station that belongs only to God. This usage shows that the concept of “another” in the Qur’an sometimes belongs to the boundary of tawhid.

Ākharūn / ākharīn: others and another group

آخَرُون (ākharūn) and آخَرِينَ (ākharīn) are plural forms of آخَر (ākhar), pointing to others or another group.

In the Qur’an, these forms may refer to groups other than the first group, other peoples, or those in a different rank or situation. The axis of meaning is the same: not being the first ones mentioned.

These forms show that أ خ ر (A KH R) is not only about temporal ending. It also applies to distinction among groups, categories, or individuals.

Ukhrā: another, again, another stage

أُخْرَى (ukhrā) is the feminine form of آخَر (ākhar), and means another or again.

In phrases such as تَارَةً أُخْرَى (tāratan ukhrā), the meaning is “another time” or “again.” In this usage, the root أ خ ر (A KH R) points to repetition in a later stage.

أُخْرَى (ukhrā) can be used for another sign, another time, another group, or another form. In all of these cases, the meaning becomes clear in relation to the first matter.

Ukhar: several others

أُخَر (ukhar) is a feminine plural and means several other cases. A clear example appears in the expression أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ (ayyāmin ukhar): other days.

In this usage, أُخَر (ukhar) shows that making up or fulfilling a ruling can happen in days other than the first days. Here, “otherness” has practical and temporal meaning: other days, not the original days.

So أُخَر (ukhar) is another branch of the same field: moving from the first case to other cases.

Ākhir: end and final part

آخِر (ākhir) means the end, conclusion, or final part of a thing. This meaning is understood in contrast with أول (awwal), first.

When one says the end of a day, the end of a period, or the end of a path, the intended meaning is the part that comes after the beginning and the middle. In the Qur’an, آخِر (ākhir) may also appear in a genitive structure, such as آخِرِ النَّهَار (ākhiri al-nahār), the end of the day.

This being “last” is relative. It depends on the boundary of that thing. The end of the day is the end of that day, not the end of everything. The end of a life is the end of that person’s life, not the end of existence.

From here, one must distinguish between آخِر (ākhir) in created matters and الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) as a divine attribute. The lastness of created things is limited, temporal, and relative; but God’s being الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) has an absolute and transcendent meaning.

Al-Ākhir: a divine attribute in the Qur’an

الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) appears in the Qur’an as a divine attribute. In Al-Hadid 57:3, we read:

هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
huwa al-awwalu wa-al-ākhiru wa-al-ẓāhiru wa-al-bāṭinu wa-huwa bi-kulli shay’in ʿalīm

He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is knowing of everything.

This expression is from the Qur’an itself, not only from later lists of divine names. Therefore, الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) is a Qur’anic name or attribute for God.

But its meaning must be understood carefully. God is Last, not in the sense that He is like created things located at the end of a timeline. God is not confined inside time. Time, beginning, ending, dunya, akhirah, death, life, and all existential stages are created and dependent upon Him.

الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) means that everything ends in Him. Final judgment belongs to Him. The final return is to Him. There is no independent reference, no final power, and no self-sufficient permanence after Him or outside His authority.

Al-ākhir: definiteness and divine description

Al-ākhir in 57:3 has the definite article and describes The God. That divine context matters, but al- alone does not transform a relative meaning into an absolute divine name.

Al-yawm al-ākhir, the Last Day, is also definite. Definiteness and divinity are separate questions. Explaining that The God does not end as created things do depends on the referent and the theology of the passage, not on the article by itself.

Tanzih and the meaning of al-Ākhir

To understand الْآخِر (al-Ākhir), one must use a theology of tanzih. Tanzih means declaring God free from resemblance to created things.

If God’s being Last is understood like the lastness of created things, the meaning becomes incorrect. A created thing stands at the end of a time, path, or process. But God is not inside time or process. He is the Creator of time and the One who governs beginning and end.

So God’s being الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) does not mean “coming later.” God does not become newly existent, does not change, and does not appear at the end of the world as a being after other beings. Rather, all worlds, all endings, and all returns take meaning in relation to Him.

He is Last without being end-bound. He is Last without becoming after something. He is Last because nothing after Him exists as an independent final goal or final judgment.

Al-ākhirah: the later abode

الْآخِرَة (al-ākhirah) comes from this same root and refers to the later abode, the world after dunya, or the next stage of human life.

Dunya is the nearer and more present stage. Akhirah is the later stage: the stage that comes after worldly life, where the result, account, and final outcome of the human being become manifest.

But the akhirah is not identical with God. This must remain clear. God is الْآخِر (al-Ākhir), but the akhirah is created by God. The akhirah is later in relation to dunya, but the akhirah itself remains under God’s judgment, knowledge, power, and lordship.

So the distinction between الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) and الْآخِرَة (al-ākhirah) is essential. Al-Ākhir is a divine attribute; al-ākhirah is a stage of creation. The akhirah is the later abode of the human being, but God is the absolute goal and final reference of all abodes.

First and last in relation to God’s judgment

The Qur’an sometimes brings beginning and ending together to show God’s complete encompassing of the matter. In Al-Qasas 28:70, it says:

وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْأُولَى وَالْآخِرَةِ وَلَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
wa-lahu al-ḥamdu fī al-ūlā wa-al-ākhirati wa-lahu al-ḥukmu wa-ilayhi turjaʿūn

To Him belongs praise in the first and the later, and to Him belongs judgment, and to Him you will be returned.

In this verse, الأولى (al-ūlā) and الآخرة (al-ākhirah) show the two ends of the field of life and outcome. Praise belongs to God in the first stage and in the later stage. Judgment also belongs to Him, and the return is to Him.

When the Qur’an speaks in such a structure of first and last, or dunya and akhirah, it is expressing encompassment. When beginning and ending are in relation to God, the middle is not outside His knowledge and judgment. The word “middle” does not need to be separately mentioned, because first and last mark the two boundaries of a field, and mentioning both can indicate the whole field.

The human being chooses in the middle of the path, is responsible, and sees the result of his action; but the beginning and ending of this path are not independent of God.