The Qur'anic Root B Q R
Cow, cows, the cattle-kind of cows; with the Qur'anic use distinguished from the broader Arabic branch of splitting and opening.
Introduction to the Root
The root B Q R in the Arabic lexical family has two prominent fields.
One branch is connected with baqar, baqarah, and the name of the cattle-kind of cows.
The other branch, in the verb baqara and its derivatives, is seen with the meaning of splitting, opening, laying open, and in some uses, expanding and investigating.
For example, in Arabic one says:
baqara al-shay'a
He split something or opened it.
From this same branch, uses such as opening, investigating a matter, or expanding something are also reported in lexical sources.
But the existence of these two branches in one root family does not by itself prove that the animal name was necessarily formed from the verb “to split,” or the reverse. The historical direction of derivation is a separate issue and should not be concluded merely from root similarity.
So first we should recognize the linguistic family, and then see which forms of this family the Qur'an actually uses.
Qur'anic Use of the Root
In the Qur'an, the root B Q R appears nine times, and all of its uses are connected with cow and the cattle-kind of cows.
The Qur'anic forms are:
baqar — three times
baqarat — twice
baqarah — four times
The Qur'an does not use any verb from this root with the meaning of “splitting,” “opening,” or “investigating.”
Therefore, in the Qur'anic entry, two levels must be kept distinct:
the Arabic lexical family:
Cow; and also a branch of splitting and opening.
the actual Qur'anic use:
Only cow and the cattle-kind of cows.
Short meaning of the root in Qur'anic use:
Cow, cows, the cattle-kind of cows.
Qur'anic Forms and Derivatives
baqar
A collective generic noun for the cattle-kind of cows.
It appears three times in the Qur'an:
- Al-Baqarah 2:70
- Al-Anam 6:144
- Al-Anam 6:146
baqarah
One individual from the kind baqar.
It appears four times in Al-Baqarah 2:67, 68, 69, and 71.
baqarat
The counted plural of baqarah.
It appears twice in Yusuf 12:43 and 12:46.
“baqar” as a Collective Generic Noun
Morphologically in Arabic, baqar is one of the known examples of a collective generic noun.
A collective generic noun is a word that denotes a kind or a collection of individuals of that kind, while one unit of it is usually marked by adding the ta' of unity.
For example:
shajar → shajarah
Trees / the tree-kind → one tree
nakhl → nakhlah
Palms / the palm-kind → one palm
baqar → baqarah
The cattle-kind of cows / cows → one cow
Therefore, the ة in baqarah should not automatically be treated as a marker of biological femaleness. In this structure, its main function is to mark one unit from a collective generic noun.
Does “baqarah” Necessarily Mean a Female Cow?
This point is very important for translation.
In Arabic lexical sources, baqarah is introduced as one unit from the kind baqar, and it is explicitly stated that this form can be used for male or female. The ة here is the ta' of unity, not necessarily a sign that the animal is female.
The Qur'an itself also shows that al-baqar is a broad kind that includes male and female:
وَمِنَ الْإِبِلِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ اثْنَيْنِ ۗ قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۖ أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ وَصَّاكُمُ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا ۚ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِّيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
“And of the camels, two; and of the cows, two. Say: Did He forbid the two males, or the two females, or what the wombs of the two females contain? Or were you witnesses when The God instructed you with this? Then who is more wrong than one who fabricates a lie against The God in order to mislead people without knowledge? Indeed, The God does not guide the wrongdoing people.”
So for baqarah, the base equivalent “cow” is safer and more precise than “female cow,” unless the context independently specifies the biological sex of the animal.
Reference Cards for Qur'anic Forms
The cattle-kind of cows; cows as a collective or generic category.
One individual from baqar; a cow, not necessarily a female cow.
Several counted individuals from baqar; cows.
Semantic Core in Qur'anic Use
In the Qur'an, there is no need to build an artificial abstract concept for B Q R.
Its practical core is clear:
The known animal, the cow, and its kind.
Color, age, fatness, leanness, agricultural work, slaughter, food rulings, or the role of the cow in a dream are not included in the meaning of baqar itself.
They come from the adjectives, verbs, and context of each verse.
Al-Baqarah 2:67; The First Command
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تَذْبَحُوا بَقَرَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا ۖ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
“And when Moses said to his people: Indeed, The God commands you to slaughter a cow. They said: Do you take us in mockery? He said: I seek refuge in The God from being among the ignorant.”
The initial command is very simple:
أَن تَذْبَحُوا بَقَرَةً
“that you slaughter a cow.”
baqaratan is indefinite, and in this word itself there is no description of the animal’s age, color, or function.
This point must be preserved in the meaning of the root. The later limitations do not come out of the word baqarah itself; they are added in response to later questions.
Al-Baqarah 2:68; Restriction by Age
قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ ۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا فَارِضٌ وَلَا بِكْرٌ عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ ۖ فَافْعَلُوا مَا تُؤْمَرُونَ
“They said: Call upon your Lord for us so that He may make clear to us what it is. He said: He says it is a cow, neither old nor young, but between that; so do what you are commanded.”
In this verse, the age-related feature comes from other words:
farid
bikr
awan
So none of these features is part of the meaning of baqarah.
Al-Baqarah 2:69; Restriction by Color
قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا ۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ
“They said: Call upon your Lord for us so that He may make clear to us what its color is. He said: He says it is a yellow cow; its color is bright, delighting those who look.”
The color comes from:
صَفْرَاءُ
Its intensity and brightness from:
فَاقِعٌ لَّوْنُهَا
and the visual effect from:
تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ
None of these is inside the meaning of baqarah itself.
Al-Baqarah 2:70; “al-baqar” and the Collection of Cows
قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا وَإِنَّا إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَمُهْتَدُونَ
“They said: Call upon your Lord for us so that He may make clear to us what it is; indeed, the cows have become alike to us, and we, if The God wills, will be guided.”
Here the Qur'an moves from baqarah, one unit, to al-baqar, the kind or collection of cows:
إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا
This difference is one of the best examples for understanding the relation between baqar / baqarah.
Al-Baqarah 2:71; Agricultural Function and Other Features
قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَّا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَّا شِيَةَ فِيهَا ۚ قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ ۚ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
“He said: He says it is a cow not subdued for work, that would stir the earth and water the cultivation; sound, with no mark in it. They said: Now you have brought the truth. So they slaughtered it, though they almost did not do it.”
This verse shows that cattle in the audience’s environment could be connected with agricultural work:
تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ
and:
تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ
But this point should not be turned into the meaning of baqar itself.
In fact, this verse speaks about a cow that had not been used for these tasks.
So from this verse one may speak about the real role of cattle in the agricultural economy of that environment, but one cannot conclude that baqar lexically means “agricultural animal” or “symbol of settled civilization.”
From an Open Indefinite Noun to Restricting Attributes
The story of the cow has a noteworthy linguistic movement.
The first command:
بَقَرَةً
is an indefinite noun without any description.
Then, through repeated questions, new attributes are added:
age,
color,
work condition,
soundness,
and absence of a mark.
So the structure of the text really moves from a general and open noun to a more restricted and specified instance.
This linguistic observation is defensible.
But assigning specific psychological motives such as “stubbornness,” or building a general principle such as “the audience’s restriction of the command of truth,” should be examined in an article of reflection or tafsir, not in the definition of the root B Q R.
Al-Anam 6:144; baqar Includes Male and Female
وَمِنَ الْإِبِلِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ اثْنَيْنِ ۗ قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۖ أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ وَصَّاكُمُ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا ۚ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِّيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
“And of the camels, two; and of the cows, two. Say: Did He forbid the two males, or the two females, or what the wombs of the two females contain? Or were you witnesses when The God instructed you with this? Then who is more wrong than one who fabricates a lie against The God in order to mislead people without knowledge? Indeed, The God does not guide the wrongdoing people.”
This verse is direct evidence that al-baqar includes the cattle-kind of cows, male and female.
So baqar should not be translated as “female cows.”
Al-Anam 6:146; baqar beside ghanam
وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا كُلَّ ذِي ظُفُرٍ ۖ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهُمَا إِلَّا مَا حَمَلَتْ ظُهُورُهُمَا أَوِ الْحَوَايَا أَوْ مَا اخْتَلَطَ بِعَظْمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُم بِبَغْيِهِمْ ۖ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ
“And upon those who became Jews We forbade every possessor of claw; and from the cows and sheep/goats We forbade them their fats, except what their backs carried, or the intestines, or what was mixed with bone. That We repaid them for their transgression; and indeed We are truthful.”
In this verse:
الْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ
two animal kinds stand beside one another.
The rulings about fat come from the context of this verse and add nothing to the lexical meaning of baqar.
Yusuf 12:43; Seven Cows in the Dream
وَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ إِنِّي أَرَىٰ سَبْعَ بَقَرَاتٍ سِمَانٍ يَأْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَسَبْعَ سُنبُلَاتٍ خُضْرٍ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَاتٍ ۖ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِي فِي رُؤْيَايَ إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّؤْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ
“And the king said: I see seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears and others dry. O chiefs, give me your view concerning my dream, if you interpret dreams.”
In this verse:
سَبْعَ بَقَرَاتٍ
expresses several specified and counted individuals from the cattle-kind of cows.
siman expresses fatness, and `ijaf leanness.
None of these descriptions is included in the meaning of baqarat.
Yusuf 12:46; Repetition of the Dream Image
يُوسُفُ أَيُّهَا الصِّدِّيقُ أَفْتِنَا فِي سَبْعِ بَقَرَاتٍ سِمَانٍ يَأْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَسَبْعِ سُنبُلَاتٍ خُضْرٍ وَأُخَرَ يَابِسَاتٍ لَّعَلِّي أَرْجِعُ إِلَى النَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
“Yusuf, O truthful one, give us your view concerning seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears and others dry, so that I may return to the people, perhaps they will know.”
Later in the story, this image is connected in the interpretation of the dream with years of abundance and hardship.
But one must distinguish between the meaning of the word and the meaning of the symbol in the dream:
baqarat = cows
not “years.”
The years are understood from the interpretation of the dream, not from the dictionary meaning of baqarat.
The Branch of “Splitting and Opening” in Arabic
In the Arabic family B Q R, the verb baqara is recorded with the meaning of splitting, opening, and laying open.
In some extended uses, this field also reaches investigating, revealing, or expanding.
This branch matters for knowing the full root family, even if the Qur'an does not use it.
But three levels must remain separate:
the existence of the “splitting” branch in Arabic — established.
the existence of the name “baqar” for cows — established.
the claim that the name of the cow was necessarily formed from splitting the earth while plowing — this needs separate historical evidence and is not established merely by shared root letters.
Was the Cow Named “baqar” because of Splitting the Earth?
In some early lexical sources, a relation is proposed between the name of the cow and plowing or splitting the earth.
This proposal is understandable as an image, because cattle can overturn the earth in agriculture, and the Qur'an too, in Al-Baqarah 71, speaks of:
تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ
But these two points are not enough to prove the historical direction of derivation.
The verse does not say the animal’s name came from plowing.
Also, the existence of two related meanings in one root does not automatically show which meaning is older or how one emerged from the other.
Therefore, this relation should remain a root-etymological proposal, not a definitive definition.
About Comparison with Other Semitic Languages
The existence of forms close in letters in other Semitic languages can be useful for historical research, but written resemblance or the sharing of three consonants by itself does not prove that all words connected to “cow,” “morning,” “searching,” and “splitting” emerged from one single semantic image.
For such a conclusion, sound change, word history, evidence from related languages, and the direction of semantic change must be examined independently.
For this reason, in this Qur'anic entry we avoid building a theory such as:
“cow, morning, and searching are all forms of one concept of splitting in order to reach light or depth.”
Such an image may be attractive, but at the present level it does not have enough support to be placed in the scientific definition of the root.
baqar Compared with an`am
an`am includes a broader range of domesticated livestock.
baqar is one specific kind of animal.
So translating baqar as “quadrupeds” or “livestock” is too broad.
baqar Compared with `ijl
`ijl in the Qur'an refers to a calf.
baqar expresses the cattle-kind of cows, and baqarah is one individual from that kind.
These two roots should not be merged, even if biologically they concern the same animal family.
Morphological and Syntactic Notes
baqarah
In:
أَن تَذْبَحُوا بَقَرَةً
baqarah is one indefinite unit from the collective generic noun baqar.
The final ta' in this structure is the ta' of unity.
al-baqar
In:
إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا
al-baqar expresses the kind or collection of cows.
baqarat
In:
سَبْعَ بَقَرَاتٍ
it expresses several counted units from the same kind.
Therefore, these three forms can respectively show the relation of collective kind, one unit, and several counted units.
Challenges of Understanding and Translation
First, the article should not begin by rejecting meanings. It should first introduce the lexical family B Q R, and then specify the Qur'anic use from within that family.
Second, the ة in baqarah should not automatically be treated as the sign of a female cow. In this structure, the ta' of unity marks one individual from a collective generic noun.
Third, the meaning of “splitting” should not be inserted into the cow verses, because the Qur'an does not use this verbal branch in this root.
Fourth, from the existence of the “splitting” branch, one should not conclude that the name of the cow was necessarily made from plowing the earth.
Fifth, the real role of cattle in agriculture should not be turned into “a symbol of settled civilization.” That reading goes beyond the meaning of the root and the direct evidence of the verses.
Sixth, in the story of the cow, one can observe the movement from an unrestricted indefinite noun to restricting attributes, but psychological analysis of the questioners’ motives should be examined in reflection on the verse.
Seventh, in the story of Yusuf, the cows are symbols in a dream; their interpretation as years should not enter the lexical meaning of baqarat.
Translation Suggestions for Forqan
For baqar:
cows
or, depending on the structure:
the cattle-kind of cows
For baqarah:
cow
For baqarat:
cows
In:
سَبْعَ بَقَرَاتٍ
“seven cows”
“Female cow” should not become the fixed equivalent of baqarah, unless the context itself determines the biological sex of the animal.
Short Meaning of the Root for Forqan
Short meaning in Qur'anic use:
Cow, cows, the cattle-kind of cows.
The broader Arabic lexical family:
Cow; and a branch connected with splitting, opening, and laying open.
These two levels should remain distinguishable in the article.
Conclusion
The root B Q R in the Arabic lexical family is not limited only to the name of the cow; one branch of it is also connected with splitting, opening, and expanding.
But the Qur'an uses only the animal branch of this family.
The nine Qur'anic uses of this root appear in three forms:
baqar — a collective generic noun.
baqarah — one unit of that kind, with the ta' of unity.
baqarat — several counted units.
This structure also shows that baqarah should not be defined as “female cow” merely because of its final ta'.
In the story of Al-Baqarah, attributes such as age, color, and work condition are gradually added to a baqarah; but these attributes are not part of the meaning of the root.
In Al-Anam, al-baqar is clearly a kind that includes male and female.
In Yusuf, baqarat are the cows of the dream, and their connection to years comes from the interpretation of the dream.
The branch of “splitting” in Arabic is real, but its historical link with the cow-name and wider Semitic theories should only be accepted if independent evidence exists.
The final definition of this entry can be stated as follows:
In the Arabic family, B Q R includes both the name of the cattle-kind of cows and a branch connected with splitting and opening; but in Qur'anic use, all nine cases refer only to cow and the cattle-kind of cows. baqar is a collective generic noun, baqarah is one unit from that kind, and baqarat is several counted units.