The Qur’anic Root A KH R
After-ness, delay, otherness, and finality
Morphological forms of this root
This section is designed for teaching Qur’anic morphology. The field “Used in the Qur’an” shows whether the form or example appears in the Qur’anic text. In this root, temporal, sequential, distinguishing, and final meanings all grow from the field of “being after” and “not being first.”
A root connected with after-ness, delay, otherness, ending, and the later abode. Its meaning is usually clarified in relation to firstness, the world, a fixed term, or the first matter.
He delayed, put back, or granted respite; often connected with an appointed term, opportunity, or the delay of punishment and death.
He fell behind, lagged, or stood in a later rank; best understood in contrast with going forward.
To seek delay, to be able to postpone an appointed term, or to put something back; often used with fixed terms and appointments.
Those who come later, those placed after, or the later ones; used in contrast with مُسْتَقْدِمِين (mustaqdimīn).
Other, another, or other than the first. In phrases such as إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ (ilāhan ākhar), it marks the boundary of tawhid.
Others or another group; people other than those first mentioned.
Another, again, another stage, or another form; as in تَارَةً أُخْرَى (tāratan ukhrā).
Other cases, other days, or several others; as in أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ (ayyāmin ukhar), days other than the first days.
End, conclusion, final part, or last; sometimes in a genitive structure, such as آخِرِ النَّهَار (ākhiri al-nahār).
The Absolute Last, the final end and ultimate reference; a Qur’anic divine attribute that must be understood with tanzih, not like the ending of created things.
The later abode, the world after dunya, or the next stage of human life; it is created by God and is not identical with God.
Important note: أ خ ر (A KH R) does not mean only “ending.” This root shows the relationship between before and after, first and other, respite and appointment, dunya and akhirah, beginning and final return.
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.
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.
Yasta’khiru / yasta’khirūn: seeking delay and inability to postpone the appointed term
The Form X expression of this root, such as يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ (yasta’khirūn), often appears in the Qur’an with an appointed term or fixed time.
In expressions such as لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ (lā yasta’khirūna sāʿatan wa-lā yastaqdimūn), the meaning is that human beings or communities cannot delay the appointed time by an hour, nor bring it forward. Form X here relates to seeking or attempting to postpone; but the verse shows that such control does not exist in the face of the appointed term.
Here, lateness is not something the human being can control according to desire. The Qur’an reminds us that individual and collective life has measure, and no human being or community owns its time absolutely.
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.
The importance of “al” in al-Ākhir
The presence of “al” in الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) matters. God is not merely ākhir; He is al-Ākhir.
آخِر (ākhir) without “al” can be used for the relative end of a thing: the end of a day, the end of a life, the end of a period. But الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) in Al-Hadid 57:3 has an absolute meaning. God is the Absolute Last: the final end and ultimate reference of all matters.
Created things all have an ākhir; they are end-bound and finish within a boundary. But only God is الْآخِر (al-Ākhir): the end of all endings and the final goal of existence, without Himself having an end.
The same point is true of الْأَوَّل (al-Awwal). God is not simply the first being in a row of beings. He is الْأَوَّل (al-Awwal): nothing is before Him, and all beginnings depend on Him. In the same way, He is الْآخِر (al-Ākhir): after Him there is no independent reference, and all endings return to Him.
So “al” here separates the attribute from relative and created meaning, and places it in divine and absolute meaning.
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.
Suggested translation in Forqan
For the root أ خ ر (A KH R), one fixed translation is not enough. The form of the word and the context of the verse must be seen.
أَخَّرَ / يُؤَخِّرُ (akhkhara / yu’akhkhiru): delayed, put back, granted respite.
تَأَخَّرَ / يَتَأَخَّرُ (ta’akhkhara / yata’akhkharu): fell behind, lagged, stood in a later rank.
يَسْتَأْخِرُ / يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ (yasta’khiru / yasta’khirūn): sought delay, had the ability to postpone an appointed term, put back.
مُسْتَأْخِرِين (musta’khirīn): the later ones, those who came after, those placed later.
آخَر (ākhar): other, another, other than the first case.
آخَرُون / آخَرِينَ (ākharūn / ākharīn): others, another group.
أُخْرَى (ukhrā): another, again, another stage or form.
أُخَر (ukhar): several others, other days or other cases.
آخِر (ākhir): end, conclusion, final part.
الْآخِر (al-Ākhir): the Absolute Last, the final end, a Qur’anic divine attribute.
الْآخِرَة (al-ākhirah): the later abode, the world after dunya, the next stage of life.
Summary
The root أ خ ر (A KH R) in the Qur’an points to after-ness, delay, otherness, and finality.
From the temporal side, this root speaks about delay, respite, appointed term, and fixed time. From the side of order, it shows the end and final part. In distinguishing usage, it speaks of another and others. In existential relation, it introduces الآخرة (al-ākhirah) as the later stage in relation to dunya. And in divine expression, God is called الْآخِر (al-Ākhir).
Understanding الْآخِر (al-Ākhir) must come with tanzih. God is Last, not like the ending of created things, but because all endings, returns, judgments, and final goals end in Him. The akhirah, though it is the later abode, is itself created by God and is not identical with God.
So أ خ ر (A KH R) is a root that brings the human being face to face with his relation to time, opportunity, otherness, ending, akhirah, and the final return.