The Qur’anic Root KH L D

1. The semantic core in early Arabic

In Arabic, خَلَدَ بالمكان (khalada bi-l-makān) meant remaining or residing in a place. Lexicographers explained الخُلْد (al-khuld) in terms of continued existence and remaining, and used the same family for things that stayed in their condition for a very long time.

Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī records an important point: Arabs also described anything whose change and erosion occurred very slowly in terms of khulūd. For example, fixed hearthstones and stones and rocks that remained after the traces of habitation had disappeared were called خوالد (khawālid)—not because they would never perish, but because they lasted so long.

This usage also appears in pre-Islamic poetry. Describing a mark that remains on stone, Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā says:

كَالْوَحْيِ فِي حَجَرِ الْمَسِيلِ الْمُخَلَّدِ

Ka-l-waḥyi fī ḥajari l-masīli l-mukhalladi.

The stone on which the mark remains is called مخلد (mukhallad): an enduring, long-lasting stone that the effects of time have not readily worn away.

In early Arabic, an elderly man whose hair was slow to turn white or whose teeth were slow to fall out was also called مخلد (mukhallad). In this usage, the person is not actually immortal; the feature in view is changing slowly and retaining a previous condition.

The root’s core can therefore be seen in two closely related elements:

Remaining and enduring; and being slow to leave the state or place in which something has come to be.

This linguistic background is also present in the much more consequential Qur’anic expressions جنة الخلد (jannat al-khuld), دار الخلد (dār al-khuld), خالدين فيها (khālidīna fīhā) and عذاب الخلد (ʿadhāb al-khuld).

2. Khuld and khulūd in the Qur’an

The form خُلْد (khuld) occurs six times in the Qur’an, and all six occurrences are connected in some way with an enduring condition of decisive consequence.

شجرة الخلد (shajarat al-khuld) — The tree of khuld

In the account of Adam, the temptation is presented as follows:

قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَىٰ شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَىٰ

Qāla yā Ādamu hal adulluka ʿalā shajarati l-khuldi wa-mulkin lā yablā.

He said: “O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of khuld and a dominion that does not wear away?”

Ta-Ha 20:120

The placement of شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ (shajarat al-khuld) alongside مُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَىٰ (mulk lā yablā) is very important. The second expression does not define the first, but both occupy the same field: something not subject to ordinary ending and decay.

“The tree of lastingness,” or retaining the expression “shajarat al-khuld” itself, is therefore more precise than replacing it with terminology the verse does not use.

The denial of khuld for human beings in this world

Al-Anbiya states:

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ أَفَإِن مِّتَّ فَهُمُ الْخَالِدُونَ

Wa-mā jaʿalnā li-basharin min qablika l-khulda a-fa-in mitta fa-humu l-khālidūn.

We did not grant khuld to any human being before you. If you die, then, will they be the ones who remain?

Al-Anbiya 21:34

This verse is among the clearest indications of the root’s meaning. الخلد (al-khuld) stands in opposition to death, and الخالدون (al-khālidūn) are those whose worldly presence is not brought to an end by death.

A few verses earlier, it also says of the Prophets:

وَمَا جَعَلْنَاهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا خَالِدِينَ

Wa-mā jaʿalnāhum jasadan lā yaʾkulūna ṭ-ṭaʿāma wa-mā kānū khālidīn.

We did not make them bodies that did not eat food, nor were they ones who remained.

Al-Anbiya 21:8

In this context, then, being khālid is connected with continuing to live and not leaving the condition of life, and it is denied to human beings in this world.

جنة الخلد (jannat al-khuld) and دار الخلد (dār al-khuld) — The Garden and abode of khuld

In Al-Furqan we read:

قُلْ أَذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ أَمْ جَنَّةُ الْخُلْدِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ

Qul a-dhālika khayrun am jannatu l-khuldi llatī wuʿida l-muttaqūn.

Say: “Is that better, or the Garden of khuld promised to those who practice taqwā—guarding themselves against wrongdoing?”

Al-Furqan 25:15

And concerning the Fire:

النَّارُ لَهُمْ فِيهَا دَارُ الْخُلْدِ

An-nāru lahum fīhā dāru l-khuld.

The Fire is for them; in it is their abode of khuld.

Fussilat 41:28

The root itself is the same in both directions. Khuld can describe lasting existence in the Garden, and it can be used of the abode of punishment. The root خ ل د (KH L D) therefore has no inherently positive or negative moral value.

عذاب الخلد (ʿadhāb al-khuld) — The punishment of khuld

The expression عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ (ʿadhāb al-khuld) also occurs twice:

ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ

Dhūqū ʿadhāba l-khuld.

Taste the punishment of khuld.

As-Sajdah 32:14

The same expression also appears in Yunus 10:52.

In this construction, الخلد (al-khuld) highlights the enduring quality of the punishment. How its precise temporal extent should be understood within the full body of verses about the hereafter is a question beyond the root analysis of a single word.

يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ (yawm al-khulūd) — The day of khulūd

The only occurrence of the form خُلُود (khulūd) is in Qaf:

ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ

Udkhulūhā bi-salāmin dhālika yawmu l-khulūd.

Enter it in peace; this is the day of khulūd.

Qaf 50:34

Here, entering the Garden is connected with the beginning of a stage of lasting existence.

3. خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا (khālidīna fīhā) and the question of “forever”

The form خَالِد (khālid) and its plurals occur 74 times in the Qur’an and constitute the most important field for examining this root.

One straightforward example is:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Wa-lladhīna āmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti ulāʾika aṣḥābu l-jannati hum fīhā khālidūn.

Those who believed and did righteous deeds are the companions of the Garden; they abide therein.

Al-Baqarah 2:82

And concerning the Fire:

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Wa-lladhīna kafarū wa-kadhdhabū bi-āyātinā ulāʾika aṣḥābu n-nāri hum fīhā khālidūn.

Those who engaged in kufr—rejection—and denied Our signs are the companions of the Fire; they abide therein.

Al-Baqarah 2:39

The construction فِيهَا (fīhā) matters. The person is not merely “khālid” in the abstract; the person is khālid in a particular place or condition.

This does not, however, justify concluding that خالدين فيها (khālidīna fīhā) necessarily means only “for a long time.” Just as the worldly use of khuld does not by itself guarantee mathematical infinity everywhere, the meaning of the word in the context of the hereafter cannot be separated from the other elements of the verse.

For example, it is said of the people of the Garden:

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا

Khālidīna fīhā lā yabghūna ʿanhā ḥiwalā.

Abiding therein, they seek no transfer away from it.

Al-Kahf 18:108

In another verse, the Garden is called جنة الخلد (jannat al-khuld), and elsewhere يوم الخلود (yawm al-khulūd) is mentioned. Thus, even without أَبَدًا (abadan), the full context can make an extensive, enduring continuity clear.

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا (khālidīna fīhā abadan) — Abiding therein forever

In some verses, أَبَدًا (abadan) is also added:

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا

Khālidīna fīhā abadan.

Abiding therein forever.

At-Tawbah 9:100

Adding أَبَدًا (abadan) makes the temporal horizon more explicit. But this does not mean that wherever أَبَدًا (abadan) is absent, khulūd must come to an end.

The presence of an explanatory or emphatic qualifier in some verses does not, by itself, establish the absence of the corresponding meaning in every other verse.

Two propositions must therefore be distinguished:

In Arabic, خ ل د (KH L D) can also be used for prolonged endurance.

But:

The absence of أَبَدًا (abadan) in a verse about the hereafter is not, by itself, evidence that the duration of khulūd is limited.

The duration and nature of each instance must be examined through the entire construction of that verse and the related verses.

Hud 11:107 and 11:108

This caution is even more necessary in Hud:

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ

Khālidīna fīhā mā dāmati s-samāwātu wa-l-arḍu illā mā shāʾa rabbuk.

Abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills.

Hud 11:107

And concerning the other group:

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا فَفِي الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ

Wa-ammā lladhīna suʿidū fa-fī l-jannati khālidīna fīhā mā dāmati s-samāwātu wa-l-arḍu illā mā shāʾa rabbuka ʿaṭāʾan ghayra majdhūdh.

As for those who were made happy, they are in the Garden, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills—a gift never cut off.

Hud 11:108

In verses like these, the word خالدين (khālidīn) alone cannot settle every detail of duration. The temporal qualifiers, the exception, and, in the second verse, عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ (ʿaṭāʾan ghayra majdhūdh) are also part of the Qur’an’s expression.

Root analysis should clarify the meaning of khuld; establishing a complete account of the ultimate fate in the hereafter requires consideration of all the elements of the verses.

4. The root’s verbs: remaining, making something last, and sustained inclination

لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ (laʿallakum takhludūn) — Perhaps you may endure

The Form I verb occurs only twice. One occurrence is in Ash-Shuara:

وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ

Wa-tattakhidhūna maṣāniʿa laʿallakum takhludūn.

And you take up constructions, perhaps that you may endure.

Ash-Shuara 26:129

The context concerns building and the hope of lasting. This verse again shows that khuld is connected with overcoming decay and ending.

But the verse itself does not establish such endurance for them; لَعَلَّكُمْ (laʿallakum) describes their desire or behavior.

The other verb occurs in relation to punishment:

وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا

Wa-yakhlud fīhi muhānan.

And remain therein, humiliated.

Al-Furqan 25:69

Here, فيه (fīhi) again identifies where the remaining takes place, and the context of punishment in the hereafter determines its nature.

يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ (yaḥsabu anna mālahu akhladahu) — He thinks his wealth has made him last

Al-Humazah states:

الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ ۝ يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ

Alladhī jamaʿa mālan wa-ʿaddadah. Yaḥsabu anna mālahu akhladah.

The one who amassed wealth and counted it; he thinks that his wealth has made him last.

Al-Humazah 104:2–3

Here أَخْلَدَهُ (akhladahu) is transitive: in his imagination, wealth has caused his continued, lasting existence.

The verse does not say that wealth actually possesses such power. The verb falls within the clause introduced by يَحْسَبُ (yaḥsabu); this is the human being’s supposition.

Explanations such as “wealth gives a person psychological immortality” should therefore not be constructed from the root. The direct meaning is the belief that one has been made lasting through wealth.

أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ (akhlada ilā al-arḍ) — He inclined toward the earth

Al-Araf states:

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ

Wa-law shiʾnā la-rafaʿnāhu bihā wa-lākinnahu akhlada ilā l-arḍi wa-ttabaʿa hawāh.

Had We willed, We would have raised him through them, but he inclined toward the earth and followed his own desire.

Al-Araf 7:176

In early Arabic, أخلد إلى الشيء (akhlada ilā al-shayʾ) is recorded for inclining toward, leaning upon, and remaining with something. The verse’s meaning should therefore not be constructed from the image of the earth being “low.”

The contrast between لَرَفَعْنَاهُ (la-rafaʿnāhu) and أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ (akhlada ilā al-arḍ) matters within the verse itself. Expressions such as “he clung to a morally low level,” however, are a step of contextual interpretation, rather than the lexical definition of أخلد (akhlada).

A basic translation could be:

“But he inclined toward the earth.”

Or:

“But he became attached to the earth and remained with it.”

The preposition إلى (ilā) indicates the direction of this inclination.

5. Mukhalladūn: remaining in a state, or adorned?

This form occurs twice in the Qur’an:

يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ

Yaṭūfu ʿalayhim wildānun mukhalladūn.

Boys who are mukhalladūn circulate among them.

Al-Waqiah 56:17

And:

وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ حَسِبْتَهُمْ لُؤْلُؤًا مَّنثُورًا

Wa-yaṭūfu ʿalayhim wildānun mukhalladūna idhā raʾaytahum ḥasibtahum luʾluʾan manthūrā.

Boys who are mukhalladūn circulate among them; when you see them, you would think them scattered pearls.

Al-Insan 76:19

Early lexical sources report two lines of explanation for مخلدون (mukhalladūn).

One explanation derives it from the same meaning of endurance: those who remain in their state, untouched by change and aging. Arabs also called a man “mukhallad” if his hair was slow to turn white or his teeth remained as he grew older. Al-Rāghib likewise treats this usage as evidence for the meaning of being slow to change.

Another explanation in early sources connects مخلدون (mukhalladūn) with خِلْدة (khildah), a kind of ornament or earring, and proposes the meaning “adorned with ornaments.” Lisān al-ʿArab records both views.

Accordingly, مخلدون (mukhalladūn) should not be translated definitively as “youths who remain at this same age forever” without acknowledging the disagreement.

In relation to the core of خ ل د (KH L D), the meaning remaining in a state and not changing is very natural. Yet the early account concerning ornaments is also part of the word’s lexical history and must be recognized.

A basic translation can retain “mukhalladūn” itself or use “remaining in their state,” with the lexical disagreement addressed in the explanation.

6. Comparing خ ل د (KH L D) with related roots and words

خ ل د (KH L D) (خَلَدَ (khalada)) and ب ق ي (B Q Y) (بَقِيَ (baqiya))

Baqāʾ expresses the basic fact of remaining and not perishing.

Khulūd tends more toward enduring in a state or place, with change and decay slow to reach it.

These fields are close, but not identical. For example, in Ta-Ha 20:120, شجرة الخلد (shajarat al-khuld) appears alongside ملك لا يبلى (mulk lā yablā): two related expressions that point to endurance and resistance to decay from different angles.

This distinction should not be turned into a fixed hierarchy in which, for example, baqāʾ is always shorter or khulūd always longer. Each root has its own network of usage.

خ ل د (KH L D) (خُلُود (khulūd)) and أ ب د (ʾ B D) (أَبَد (abad))

This comparison is particularly important for translation.

Khulūd emphasizes lasting and remaining in a state or place.

Abad relates directly to temporal extension and, in constructions such as خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا (khālidīna fīhā abadan), makes the temporal horizon of that abiding explicit.

But the presence of أَبَدًا (abadan) in some verses does not mean that khulūd must be temporary in every other verse.

Likewise, the presence of khulūd does not permit translating it as “infinite time” in every worldly usage without considering the context.

These two words therefore overlap, but do not perform the same function.

خ ل د (KH L D) (خَلَدَ (khalada)) and ل ب ث (L B TH) (لَبِثَ (labitha))

Labth means remaining or staying for a period, and the Qur’an repeatedly uses it with a number of years, a day, or part of a day.

Khulūd carries a stronger sense of persistence and resistance to change or departure.

Both may sometimes need to be translated into English as “remaining,” but their root meanings are not identical.

خ ل د (KH L D) (خَلَدَ (khalada)) and د و م (D W M) (دَامَ (dāma))

Dawām means continuing.

In addition to continuity, khulūd in many usages emphasizes remaining in the same state or place.

Again, this distinction is a tendency. It should not be made into a mechanical rule for every Arabic construction.

7. Challenges of understanding and suggested translations

The most important caution with this root concerns mechanically equating khulūd with a single fixed equivalent.

Translating it as “everlasting” in many verses about the hereafter can convey the overall force of the context. If the aim is a precise study of the root itself, however, “abiding,” “enduring,” or “abiding therein” sometimes represents the Arabic construction more clearly.

Conversely, the fact that Arabs also called very long-lasting things “khālid” or “khawālid” should not become a means of limiting all verses about the hereafter to “a long but finite period.” The temporal meaning of each verse is not determined by the root alone.

Nor should أَبَدًا (abadan) be regarded as a merely redundant word with no effect. When the Qur’an adds it, temporal extension is explicitly expressed. But its absence does not by itself establish a temporal limit.

The meaning “becoming immortal” should not be introduced into the translation of أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ (akhlada ilā al-arḍ). The construction with إلى (ilā) is closer to inclining toward, leaning upon, and remaining with something.

With مُخَلَّدُون (mukhalladūn), too, the early lexical disagreement must be retained, and “forever young” should not be presented without explanation as the only possible meaning.

Suggested translations for Forqan

الْخُلْد (al-khuld):
“Khuld,” “lastingness,” or “enduring continuance,” according to context.

شَجَرَةُ الْخُلْد (shajarat al-khuld):
“The tree of khuld” or “the tree of lastingness.”

جَنَّةُ الْخُلْد (jannat al-khuld):
“The Garden of khuld” or “the Garden of lastingness.”

دَارُ الْخُلْد (dār al-khuld):
“The abode of khuld” or “the abode of lastingness.”

عَذَابُ الْخُلْد (ʿadhāb al-khuld):
“The punishment of khuld” or “enduring punishment.”

يَوْمُ الْخُلُود (yawm al-khulūd):
“The day of khulūd” or “the day of lastingness.”

خَالِدُونَ (khālidūn) / خَالِدِينَ (khālidīn):
“They abide,” “abiding,” or “they remain enduringly,” according to the sentence structure.

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا (khālidīna fīhā):
“Abiding therein.”

If the whole context makes endlessness clear, a natural English translation can convey that meaning. It remains preferable, however, to distinguish translation from analysis of the root itself.

خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا (khālidīna fīhā abadan):
“Abiding therein forever.”

لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ (laʿallakum takhludūn):
“Perhaps you may endure”;
or, in a suitable interpretive translation, “as though you wish to remain forever.”

يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ (yaḥsabu anna mālahu akhladahu):
“He thinks that his wealth has made him last.”

أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ (akhlada ilā al-arḍ):
“He inclined toward the earth”;
“he became attached to the earth”;
“he leaned upon the earth and remained with it.”

وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ (wildānun mukhalladūn):
“Boys who are mukhalladūn” or “boys who remain in their state.”

The lexical explanation should also mention the view concerning adornment with ornaments, without declaring one meaning certain in the absence of conclusive grounds.

Conclusion

The root خ ل د (KH L D) in the Qur’an signifies remaining, enduring, and being slow to leave a state or place.

Early Arabic shows that this family did not always mean infinite time. Stones, rocks, and even a person in whom signs of aging appeared slowly could be described with this root. Their common feature was endurance and resistance to change.

The Qur’an uses this family in a variety of contexts. It denies الخلد (al-khuld) to human beings in worldly life; concerning a person who hoards wealth, it speaks of the supposition that his wealth has أخلده (akhladahu), made him last; concerning someone who أخلد إلى الأرض (akhlada ilā al-arḍ), it expresses inclination toward and remaining with the earth; and in the hereafter, it speaks of جنة الخلد (jannat al-khuld), دار الخلد (dār al-khuld), عذاب الخلد (ʿadhāb al-khuld), يوم الخلود (yawm al-khulūd), and repeatedly of خالدين فيها (khālidīna fīhā).

Khulūd in the Qur’an is therefore not merely “eternal life” as a theological term. Its core is endurance, while the context of each verse determines the extent of that endurance.

The same point matters with أَبَدًا (abadan). Adding it in خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا (khālidīna fīhā abadan) makes temporal continuity explicit, but its absence cannot by itself prove that khulūd is finite. In some other verses, expressions such as جنة الخلد (jannat al-khuld), يوم الخلود (yawm al-khulūd), لا يبغون عنها حولا (lā yabghūna ʿanhā ḥiwalā) and other contextual elements clarify the nature of the abiding. The precise duration of any condition in the hereafter must be examined through the verses together, rather than a single word alone.

مُخَلَّدُون (mukhalladūn) also shows that the root’s meaning is not confined to place; a state, too, can endure. Its common explanation is remaining in a condition without change or aging, although the interpretation concerning ornaments and earrings is also recorded in early sources and should not be omitted.

A concise and cautious definition of the root is therefore:

خ ل د (KH L D): Remaining and enduring in a state or place in such a way that departure, decay, or change is delayed or absent. In language, this endurance can be prolonged, and in particular Qur’anic contexts it can extend to ultimate continuity; its precise extent is determined by the construction and context of each verse.