Qur'anic Root B D L
Changing, substituting one thing for another, altering position or meaning.
1. Short Introduction to the Root
The root ب د ل moves in the field of replacement, exchange, and placing one thing in the position or role of another. This replacement may occur between two independent things, such as choosing kufr in place of iman, placing another blessing in place of a former blessing, or replacing one people with another. At other times, a state, description, word, or action is changed into another state or form.
The core of this root should not be restricted to the complete destruction of the first essence and the bringing of an entirely new essence. The Qur'an uses ب د ل for replacing persons and things, and also for changing speech, covenant, blessing, condition, security, earth, skins, and deeds. In some uses, the two sides are clearly separate beings or states; in others, the same subject remains but its form, description, function, or condition changes.
A cautious opening definition is therefore:
ب د ل indicates the removal, setting aside, or transformation of a thing or condition, together with another thing or condition taking its place. The manner and extent of this replacement must be known from the structure and context of each verse.
2. Qur'anic Forms and Derivatives of the Root
The root ب د ل occurs forty-four times in the Qur'an in eight morphological forms:
- twenty-three times in Form II: بَدَّلَ and its conjugated forms
- three times in Form IV: أَبْدَلَ
- three times in Form V: تَبَدَّلَ
- three times in Form X: اسْتَبْدَلَ
- once as بَدَل
- seven times as the verbal noun تَبْدِيل
- three times as the active participle مُبَدِّل
- once as the verbal noun اسْتِبْدَال
This count shows that the dominant Qur'anic use is Form II, but the difference between forms must be learned from their actual uses, not from a fixed rule made in advance.
بَدَّلَ and تَبْدِيل
Used for changing speech, blessing, condition, skin, earth, ayah, security, evil deeds and good deeds, or for placing another thing in the position of what came before.
أَبْدَلَ
Appears in three verses for replacing with something better; but the better quality comes from the word خَيْرًا in those verses, not from Form IV by itself.
تَبَدَّلَ
Used in the Qur'an for choosing, taking, or accepting one thing in place of another, such as choosing kufr in place of iman or impure property in place of pure property.
اسْتَبْدَلَ
Used both for choosing something lower in place of something better and for replacing one people with another. Therefore, in the Qur'an this form does not always mean requesting a replacement or performing an administrative replacement.
بَدَل
Something taken or chosen in place of something else.
مُبَدِّل
One who changes or replaces. In the Qur'an it appears in negating statements: لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ.
3. Reference Cards for Qur'anic Derivatives
To change, alter, or place another thing or state in place of what was before.
To put another thing in place of the previous thing; its quality is known from context.
To take, choose, or accept something in place of another thing.
To replace, or to choose one thing in place of another.
What is taken or accepted in place of something else.
The act of changing or replacing.
One who produces change or replacement.
Placing one person or thing in the position of another.
4. The Semantic Core of the Root
The shared core of ب د ل is the presence of two distinguishable sides:
1. something that previously had existence, authority, position, or role;
2. something or some condition that comes in its place.
But these two sides are not always two fully independent objects. Sometimes one subject remains while its state, form, or description changes. For example:
- burned skins are replaced by other skins.
- fear is replaced with security.
- the earth is changed into another earth.
- a spoken word is changed into another word.
- evil deeds are replaced with good deeds.
- blessing is answered with kufr.
So ب د ل is not merely filling a physical empty place. Replacement can be material, verbal, behavioral, moral, social, or existential.
5. The Material Image of the Root
The simple defensible material image of this root is removing or setting aside one thing and putting another thing in its place, such as changing clothing, a tool, a companion, a guard, a commodity, or a position.
This image is enough for understanding the basic structure of the root. But stories such as replacing a tired camel in a caravan, a warrior taking the place of someone killed, or a special naming of replacement clothing should not be inserted as the historical origin or fixed image of the root without clear evidence.
The material image also must not control all uses of the root. In changing speech, changing blessing into kufr, or changing fear into security, replacement does not necessarily mean lifting one body and seating another body in its physical place.
6. Use of the Root in Early Arabic
In Arabic, بَدَّلَ الشَّيْءَ بِغَيْرِهِ and أَبْدَلَهُ مِنْهُ are used for placing one thing in the position of another. بَدَل and بَدِيل are also used for what stands as substitute or replacement for something else.
Arabic usage shows that this root can indicate both the exchange of two things and the change of the state or form of one thing. Therefore, lexicon alone does not allow us to say in every verse that the first essence has completely disappeared and an entirely different essence has been created in its place.
In some structures, tabdil means change in speech, covenant, method, or state; in others, a clear replacement between two persons, groups, objects, or conditions occurs. This variety agrees with the Qur'anic uses of the root.
7. Challenges in Understanding and Translation
Restricting ب د ل to superficial change
Translating ب د ل only as "change" may weaken the element of replacement. In many verses, one thing, description, or condition stands in place of another, and the translation should show that relation.
Restricting ب د ل to complete replacement of essence
The opposite excess is also problematic. One cannot claim in every case that the first subject is completely destroyed and a being with an entirely new identity takes its place. In verses about speech, blessing, fear, religion, or deeds, such a physical and absolute definition is not always defensible.
Importing interpretive conclusions into the meaning of the word
For example, in Al-Furqan 25:70 the verse says:
يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ
But from the verb itself one cannot make certain details such as the deletion of a heavenly record, the creation of a new record, the conversion of every sin into an equal good deed, or the historical change of the past act itself. The verse states the replacement of bad deeds with good deeds; how this replacement occurs must remain open and cautious.
Assigning positive or negative meaning to the morphological form
Form IV appears in three verses with خَيْرًا, but that word says the replacement is better. أَبْدَلَ itself does not necessarily mean better replacement.
Likewise, اسْتَبْدَلَ does not necessarily indicate replacement of an inefficient worker or an administrative act. In Al-Baqarah 2:61 people seek something lower in place of something better, and in Al-Baqarah 2:108 someone takes kufr in place of iman.
8. Methodological Note
In studying each verse, these questions should be kept separate:
- What is set aside or transformed?
- What comes in its place?
- Are both sides of the replacement explicitly mentioned?
- Does the change occur in essence, description, state, role, speech, or relationship?
- Does the positive or negative value of the replacement come from the root itself, or from the surrounding words and context?
- Do the preposition, second object, the word غَيْر, مَكَان, or مِن بَعْد clarify the relation between the two sides?
Three levels must also be distinguished:
Base meaning: something or some condition stands in place of something or some condition.
Contextual result: improvement, decline, punishment, reward, betrayal, firmness, or destruction.
Wider reflection: social, ethical, or civilizational lessons drawn from the group of verses.
The wider reflection must not become the lexical meaning of the root.
9. Qur'anic Uses of the Root
Changing Speech or Command
Al-Baqarah 2:59
فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ
Then those who wronged changed the saying into something other than what had been said to them.
The object قَوْلًا and the description غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ show that the given saying was replaced by another saying. The verse itself does not name the replacement saying; therefore it should not be completed in translation by an outside report.
Al-A'raf 7:162
فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ
This verse repeats the same basic structure as Al-Baqarah 2:59: the changing of one saying into a saying other than what had been said.
Al-Baqarah 2:181
فَمَنْ بَدَّلَهُ بَعْدَ مَا سَمِعَهُ فَإِنَّمَا إِثْمُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يُبَدِّلُونَهُ
Whoever changes it after hearing it, its sin is only upon those who change it.
The pronoun refers back to the will. The change may include changing the wording, shares, content, or execution of the will. The verse does not restrict the type of alteration.
Yunus 10:15
ائْتِ بِقُرْآنٍ غَيْرِ هَٰذَا أَوْ بَدِّلْهُ
Bring a Qur'an other than this, or change it.
Two requests are separated: bringing a Qur'an other than this, or changing this Qur'an. This structure shows that ب د ل does not always mean bringing an entirely separate being; it can also refer to changing the same text or message.
قُلْ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أُبَدِّلَهُ مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ نَفْسِي
Say: It is not for me to change it from myself.
This sentence denies the source and authority of change. The Prophet does not have permission to alter the Qur'an from himself.
Al-Fath 48:15
يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُبَدِّلُوا كَلَامَ اللَّهِ
They want to change the speech of The God.
The verse speaks of a human attempt to change a spoken word or ruling. This does not conflict with لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ. A human being may intend distortion or violation in speech, transmission, or conduct, but cannot remove the truth and final realization of divine words from the authority of The God.
Changing Blessing, Condition, or Conduct
Al-Baqarah 2:211
وَمَنْ يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُ
Whoever changes the blessing of The God after it has come to him.
The verse does not say the blessing itself becomes another substance. The context may point to changing the place of the blessing, responding to it wrongly, or putting kufr and ingratitude in place of receiving it.
Ibrahim 14:28
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا
Have you not seen those who exchanged the blessing of The God for kufr?
Here both sides of replacement are clear: blessing and kufr. This does not show that blessing changed in essence into kufr; rather, they chose kufr in response to blessing or answered blessing with kufr.
Al-A'raf 7:95
ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ حَتَّىٰ عَفَوْا
Then We placed good in the position of hardship until they increased.
The presence of مَكَانَ makes the relation of replacement explicit. Sayyi'ah and hasanah in this context must be understood from the condition of the people and surrounding verses; rendering them as hardship and ease comes from context, not from ب د ل.
An-Naml 27:11
إِلَّا مَنْ ظَلَمَ ثُمَّ بَدَّلَ حُسْنًا بَعْدَ سُوءٍ
Except one who wronged, then after evil replaced it with good.
The phrase بَعْدَ سُوءٍ clarifies the order in time. After evil, the person takes up good conduct. Here tabdil means a practical and moral change of direction.
Al-Ahzab 33:23
وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا
And they did not change in any changing.
The context speaks of those who remained firm upon their covenant with The God. The change here is changing covenant, position, or loyalty, not exchanging a material object.
Replacement among persons, groups, or things
An-Nisa 4:20
وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ
If you want to place one spouse in the position of another spouse.
مَكَانَ clarifies both sides. The verse speaks of ending one relationship and forming another, but the main subject of the continuation is preventing the taking back of what was given to the former spouse.
At-Tawbah 9:39
وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ
And He will replace you with another people.
Here the replacement of one people with another is explicit. Its cause comes from the condition at the beginning of the verse: refusing the movement and responsibility requested. Still, istibdal in its lexical meaning is not restricted to an effective civilizational workforce.
Muhammad 47:38
وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ
If you turn away, He will replace you with another people; then they will not be like you.
The verse establishes a clear link between turning away and replacement. لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ states the difference of the replacing people, but does not define their identity or history in detail.
Al-Ma'arij 70:40 to 41
إِنَّا لَقَادِرُونَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ
We are certainly able to replace them with better than them.
The better quality of the replacement is understood from خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ. The verb نُبَدِّلَ alone does not state that superiority.
Al-Waqi'ah 56:60 to 61
وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ
And We are not outstripped in replacing you with your likes.
The verse speaks of the power of The God over death, replacement, and creation. أَمْثَالَكُمْ does not necessarily mean completely identical copies; it indicates likeness or beings of comparable type and station.
Al-Insan 76:28
وَإِذَا شِئْنَا بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ تَبْدِيلًا
Whenever We will, We replace them with their likes in a complete replacing.
The verbal noun تَبْدِيلًا emphasizes the verb. This syntactic emphasis should not become a theory about the bodily mechanism of replacement.
Material or existential replacement
An-Nisa 4:56
كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ
Whenever their skins are roasted, We replace them with other skins so that they may taste the punishment.
This is one of the clearest examples of material replacement. جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا shows that other skins come in place of the roasted skins.
But the verse does not explain biological mechanism, cellular timing, nervous system, or the physiology of the Hereafter. The image of the verse should be preserved without making the material quality of the next world certain by the science of worldly bodies.
Ibrahim 14:48
يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ
The day the earth is changed into another earth, and the heavens as well.
The phrase غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ expresses transformation or replacement of the earth, but does not specify whether the material of earth is entirely destroyed and unrelated matter is created, or this same earth enters another form and state. The verse gives the image of foundational transformation and leaves its quality open.
An-Nahl 16:101
وَإِذَا بَدَّلْنَا آيَةً مَكَانَ آيَةٍ
When We place an ayah in the position of an ayah.
مَكَانَ آيَةٍ makes replacement explicit. But determining whether ayah here means ruling, sign, part of revelation, or a stage of message requires separate study of the context and the concept of ayah. The root ب د ل by itself neither proves nor defines the later legal theory of abrogation.
Changing fear, religion, and deeds
An-Nur 24:55
وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا
And He will surely replace their fear, after it, with security.
Fear and security are two states. The verse speaks of replacing one social and psychological state with another, not exchanging two objects.
Ghafir 40:26
إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُبَدِّلَ دِينَكُمْ
I fear that he will change your religion.
This is Pharaoh's statement. Changing religion here means changing the people's belief, ritual, or social order. Because this is Pharaoh's claim, his fear should not be treated as a Qur'anic endorsement of his judgment about Musa.
Al-Furqan 25:70
فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ
Those are the ones whose bad deeds The God replaces with good deeds.
The verse comes after repentance, iman, and righteous action. سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ is the first object and حَسَنَاتٍ the second, so the structure indicates replacing bad deeds with good deeds.
The verse does not explain the manner of this replacement. Several levels may be present in its meaning:
- a former bad life and conduct are replaced by good conduct.
- the effects and path of bad deeds, through repentance and reform, lead into good.
- in divine measuring and judgment, repented bad deeds give way to good deeds.
The text does not allow one of these explanations to be declared the only possible meaning without evidence. Likewise, the expression that a former record is completely erased and a new record is made is interpretive explanation, not the direct meaning of the verb.
Choosing something in place of something else
Al-Baqarah 2:61
أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ
Do you take what is lower in place of what is better?
In this structure, what is chosen is الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَى and what is left is الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ. The preposition باء enters upon what is left in exchange for the chosen option.
Al-Baqarah 2:108
وَمَنْ يَتَبَدَّلِ الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ
Whoever chooses kufr in place of iman.
Kufr is taken and iman is set aside. The negative value of this replacement is understood from its two sides and the continuation of the verse, not from Form V alone.
An-Nisa 4:2
وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ
Do not take the impure in place of the pure.
In the context of orphans' property, the verse forbids taking one's own inferior or impure property and seizing the pure property of the orphan in exchange. الخَبِيثَ is what is taken, and الطَّيِّبِ is what is exchanged or replaced.
Al-Ahzab 33:52
وَلَا أَنْ تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ
Nor that you take other spouses in place of them.
The structure shows existing spouses being set aside and other spouses coming in their place. The details of the ruling's range must be understood from the whole verse and its context.
Taking a badal in place of The God
Al-Kahf 18:50
أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلًا
Will you then take him and his offspring as allies instead of Me, while they are enemies to you? How evil a substitute for the wrongdoers.
Badal here is something taken in place of the right relationship with The God. The badness of this substitute is understood from بِئْسَ and from their being enemies.
Unchangeability of words, creation, and sunnah
Al-An'am 6:34
وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ
There is no changer of the words of The God.
Al-An'am 6:115
لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ
No one changes His words.
Al-Kahf 18:27
لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ
There is no changer of His words.
These statements indicate the absence of a power that can move divine words out of their station, truthfulness, realization, or final intent. The precise meaning of words must be examined separately in each context and should not be restricted everywhere to one concept.
Yunus 10:64
لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ
There is no changing for the words of The God.
Ar-Rum 30:30
لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ
There is no changing for the creation of The God.
This sentence appears in the context of fitrah and setting the face toward the din. It cannot be expanded without context into the claim that no created thing in the world ever changes; the Qur'an itself speaks of many changes in creation. خلق الله in this sentence must be understood in relation to fitrah and the structure of the verse.
Al-Ahzab 33:62, Fatir 35:43, and Al-Fath 48:23
وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا
You will never find any changing for the sunnah of The God.
In Fatir 35:43, تَبْدِيلًا appears beside تَحْوِيلًا:
فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلًا
Their pairing shows that they are not completely identical. Tabdil points more to one thing taking the place of what is there; tahwil emphasizes turning, transferring, or redirecting a path or state. Their precise boundary must be studied from the uses of both roots.
10. Examination of the Morphological Forms
Form II: بَدَّلَ
Form II is the broadest Qur'anic form of this root. In it, the subject causes a thing, description, speech, or condition to become another thing or condition. Yet Form II by itself does not indicate complete change of essence, absolute totality, or all-sided exchange. The extent of change is known from the objects and context.
Form IV: أَبْدَلَ
In the Qur'an it appears only in three verses:
فَأَرَدْنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُمَا رَبُّهُمَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُ
عَسَىٰ رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَاجًا خَيْرًا مِنْكُنَّ
عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
In all three, better quality is expressed by خَيْرًا. Therefore one cannot make from these examples a rule that أَبْدَلَ inherently always means a better replacement.
Form V: تَبَدَّلَ
In three verses, the subject takes or chooses something in place of something else. The two sides in الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ, الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ, and تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ clarify the relation of exchange or selection.
Form X: اسْتَبْدَلَ
In the Qur'an it is used both for choosing something lower in place of something better and for replacing one people with another. From these uses one cannot conclude that Form X always means requesting a replacement. In يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ, The God replaces; He is not asking another for a replacement.
11. Grammatical and Structural Notes
Structures with two objects
In sentences such as:
يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ
سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ is what loses its place, and حَسَنَاتٍ is what stands in its place.
The same structure appears, with grammatical differences, in بَدَّلَ حُسْنًا بَعْدَ سُوءٍ and نُبَدِّلَ خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ.
The structure with مَكَان
The word مَكَان makes replacement explicit:
وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ
وَإِذَا بَدَّلْنَا آيَةً مَكَانَ آيَةٍ
ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ
In these cases, one thing or state stands in the place of another.
Structures with غَيْر
غَيْر makes the difference of the replacement explicit:
قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ
جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا
قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ
الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ
But غَيْر does not always prove complete separation in every feature. Something can be other than what came before while still having type, continuity, or relationship with it.
The preposition باء in exchange structures
In the clear Qur'anic examples, what is taken or chosen comes before باء, and what is left comes after it:
الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ
الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ
الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ
Thus, in these specific structures, باء enters upon the side that is relinquished or set aside.
But this pattern should not be generalized to every Arabic sentence or every form of the root without examination. For example, بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ has another syntactic complexity and must be studied independently.
12. Examination of Saba 34:16
وَبَدَّلْنَاهُمْ بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَيْ أُكُلٍ خَمْطٍ وَأَثْلٍ وَشَيْءٍ مِنْ سِدْرٍ قَلِيلٍ
And We replaced their two gardens for them with two gardens having bitter fruit, tamarisk, and a little lote-tree.
In this sentence, جَنَّتَيْهِمْ comes after باء, and جَنَّتَيْنِ appears as the replacement. The first gardens were lost, and gardens with undesirable produce took their place.
This verse shows that whether the replacement is better or worse is understood from the description of the two sides and the context. ب د ل itself has no fixed value direction.
13. Comparison with Near Roots
ب د ل compared with غ ي ر
غ ي ر has a broader field and indicates difference, otherness, or change. ب د ل emphasizes the relation of replacement more strongly.
But the boundary that gh-y-r only changes an attribute while preserving essence, and badal always changes essence, is not correct. The Qur'an itself uses غَيْر inside ب د ل structures: جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا, قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ, and الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ. غ ي ر states difference; ب د ل states the relation of one side taking the place of another.
ب د ل compared with خ ل ف
خ ل ف is connected with coming after, succession, remaining behind, or standing after another. A successor may come after another without the act of direct exchange being highlighted.
ب د ل focuses more on the act of replacement or exchange itself. Still, the two roots can come close in some contexts of succession.
ب د ل compared with ح و ل
ح و ل is connected with turning, transfer, changing direction, changing state, or movement. In Fatir 35:43, tabdil and tahwil appear together, and that pairing shows that one does not fully replace the other.
Tabdil highlights replacing one thing or condition with another; tahwil highlights transfer, turning, or moving from one state or direction into another. This is a tendency, not a mechanical law.
ب د ل compared with ن س خ
Naskh may be connected with removing, transferring, recording, or replacing a ruling or writing. ب د ل is a more general root for replacement.
The existence of بَدَّلْنَا آيَةً مَكَانَ آيَةٍ by itself does not prove all later theories of abrogation. The study of ن س خ and the concept of ayah must be independent.
ب د ل compared with ص ر ف
Sarf more often indicates turning, diverting, directing, or returning in different ways. ب د ل emphasizes putting another thing or state in place of the former state.
14. The Stability of Divine Words and Sunnah
The uses of لَا مُبَدِّلَ and لَا تَبْدِيلَ show that some matters in the domain of divine will, judgment, and sunnah are outside the reach of independent alteration by others.
But these verses should not be reduced to the simple statement that nothing in creation ever changes. The Qur'an itself attributes many acts of ب د ل to The God:
- changing fear into security
- replacing skins
- changing the earth
- replacing peoples
- replacing bad deeds with good deeds
- placing one ayah in the position of another
So the issue is not the absolute negation of every change. Rather, it is the negation of any power that could move the words, sunnah, or final judgment of The God contrary to His will.
15. Translation Suggestions for Forqan
One single equivalent is not suitable for every derivative of ب د ل. Translation must follow the structure of the verse.
بَدَّلَ
Suitable equivalents: changed, exchanged, replaced, turned into something else, placed something else in its place.
أَبْدَلَ
Suitable equivalents: placed in its place, replaced. Better quality should appear in translation only when خَيْرًا or a similar clue is present.
تَبَدَّلَ
Suitable equivalents: took something in place of something, exchanged one thing for another, chose one thing and set another aside.
اسْتَبْدَلَ
Suitable equivalents: replaced, took something in place of something, brought another person or group in their place.
تَبْدِيل
Suitable equivalents: change, replacement, transformation. "Concrete replacement-making" is too heavy, unnatural, and overly restrictive for many verses.
بَدَل
Suitable equivalents: substitute, replacement, what is taken in place of another.
Al-Furqan 25:70
Base suggested translation:
Those are the ones whose bad deeds The God replaces with good deeds.
Separate explanation: this verse comes after repentance, iman, and righteous action. The manner in which bad deeds are replaced by good deeds is not explained in the verse and should not be restricted to one theory.
An-Nisa 4:56
Base suggested translation:
Whenever their skins are roasted, We replace them with other skins so that they may taste the punishment.
An-Nur 24:55
Base suggested translation:
And after their fear, He will replace it with security.
Muhammad 47:38
Base suggested translation:
If you turn away, He will replace you with another people; then they will not be like you.
16. Final Definitions of the Derivatives
بَدَّلَ
Caused a thing, speech, condition, or description to move aside, change, or have another thing or condition stand in its place.
أَبْدَلَ
Placed another thing in the position of what came before. The quality of the replacement is known from context.
تَبَدَّلَ
Accepted, took, or chose one thing in place of another.
اسْتَبْدَلَ
Replaced one thing or person with another, or took one thing in place of another.
بَدَل
Something taken or accepted in place of another thing.
تَبْدِيل
The act of changing or replacing.
مُبَدِّل
One who produces change or replacement.
اسْتِبْدَال
Placing a person or thing in the position of another person or thing.
17. Conclusion
The root ب د ل in the Qur'an indicates a relation in which a thing, person, speech, description, or condition moves aside, changes, or loses its former place, and another thing or condition stands in its place.
This replacement takes many forms:
- a saying is exchanged for another saying.
- a will or speech is altered.
- a blessing is answered with kufr.
- hardship gives way to ease.
- fear becomes security.
- other skins replace burned skins.
- another earth replaces the former earth, or the earth enters another form.
- one people are replaced by another people.
- kufr is chosen in place of iman, and the impure in place of the pure.
- after repentance, iman, and righteous action, bad deeds are replaced with good deeds.
From this set it becomes clear that ب د ل is neither merely superficial change nor always complete destruction of essence and creation of an unrelated being. The stable element is the relation between the former side or state and the replacement that comes after it or in its place.
The differences of morphological forms are real, but they must not produce more meaning than Qur'anic evidence allows. Form IV is not inherently better replacement; better quality is understood from خَيْرًا. Form X is not always a request for replacement or a civilizational act. Form II also does not always indicate complete change of essence.
A final cautious definition is:
ب د ل indicates the changing or replacing of a thing, person, speech, description, or condition, so that another thing or condition stands in its place. The type, extent, direction, and value of this replacement come from the derivative, grammatical structure, and context of each verse, not from the root alone.