Qur’anic root م ر ي

1. The semantic core and usage in early Arabic

Mary: stroking and drawing out milk

Arabic مَرَى النَّاقَةَ means stroking a she-camel’s udder to make the milk flow. Through hand movement and rubbing the udder, someone draws out milk. The same act is known as مَرْيُ النَّاقَةِ.

Lexical sources distinguish ordinary milking from mary. حَلَبَ is the general verb for milking, whereas مَرَى can emphasise stroking and trying to make milk flow. This can precede milking or draw out milk that does not flow readily.

مِرْيَة or مُرْيَة is also recorded in this lexical use. Accounts differ over the initial vowel: some lexicographers accept the i vowel and others prefer u. This disagreement concerns the word in milking and should not be confused with Qur’anic مِرْيَة meaning doubt.

This act was familiar in livestock keeping. Milk comes from the she-camel’s udder, but its flow sometimes requires stimulation and rubbing. Hand movement and an effort to bring something out from within are therefore prominent in this use.

The family also occurs in descriptions of animals. نَاقَةٌ مَرِيٌّ is recorded for a she-camel abundant in milk, while مَرَى الْفَرَسُ بِيَدِهِ describes a horse moving one foreleg over the ground. Accounts describe it standing on three legs and drawing or moving the other along the ground.

These uses approach rubbing and repeated movement, but their outcomes differ. Milking brings out milk; the horse’s leg movement has no such result.

A witness from early Arabic poetry

Al-Ḥuṭayʾah, a poet whose life spanned the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, addresses people from whom he expected generosity:

«لَقَدْ مَرَيْتُكُمْ لَوْ أَنَّ دِرَّتَكُمْ
يَوْمًا يَجِيءُ بِهَا مَسْحِي وَإِبْسَاسِي»

“I have striven to draw generosity from you; if your milk ever came through my stroking and soothing, my efforts would have drawn it out.”

The poet likens his audience to a she-camel whose milk someone is trying to make flow. مَسْح denotes stroking, and إِبْسَاس concerns soothing and calling to the animal during milking.

He says he has tried to obtain their generosity without success. مَرَيْتُكُمْ does not describe literally milking people; the milking image expresses an effort to obtain property or generosity.

The verse clearly witnesses a figurative use of milking to draw generosity from another person. Reports of the poem’s setting concern al-Ḥuṭayʾah, al-Zibriqān and a complaint brought to ʿUmar. According to that report, it belongs to the early Islamic period. Its exact composition date does not emerge from the verse itself, and it cannot be presented as certain pre-Islamic poetry.

From drawing out milk to drawing out speech

Lexical sources record مَارَاهُ for disputing with someone. Some lexicographers explain it through milking: just as a milker strokes the udder to draw out milk, the disputant uses questions, objections and responses to draw out what the other person has.

In this explanation, the other person’s words and evidence are treated as something brought to light through effort and persistence.

This explanation has two limits.

First, not every debate seeks to draw out speech. A disputant sometimes has already chosen a position and only wants to reject another’s words. Second, inward doubt does not necessarily require conversation with anyone else.

The milking image can therefore make one semantic connection within the root family tangible, but cannot fully define مِرْيَة, اِمْتِرَاء and مِرَاء.

Ibn Fāris’s analysis in Maqāyīs al-Lughah also proposes another field concerning hardness and firmness, explaining disputation through harsh speech and contention between two sides. This differs from the account based on milking.

Even the lexical tradition therefore offers no single theory of the branches’ historical connection. What is clear is the material use of rubbing and drawing out, alongside doubt and disputation in language. The available evidence cannot conclusively establish which branch came first or exactly how the other developed from it.

Denying another’s right

Arabic also records مَرَاهُ حَقَّهُ for denying or withholding another’s right.

A verse transmitted in lexical sources says:

«لَئِنْ هَجَرْتَ أَخَا صِدْقٍ وَمَكْرُمَةٍ
لَقَدْ مَرَيْتَ أَخًا مَا كَانَ يَمْرِيكَا»

“If you abandon a truthful and generous brother, you have denied the right of a brother who never denied yours.”

This verse shows مَرَى concerning denial or rejection of a right in some Arabic uses. Its secure attribution and composition date are unknown, however, so it cannot serve as independent pre-Islamic evidence.

This use matters because doubt, disputation and denial have distinct boundaries. Someone can doubt something, then dispute or deny it; these three behaviours do not necessarily always occur together.

The same distinction appears in some Qur’anic uses and the recitation variant in Al-Najm.

2. Miryah: doubt about a matter

مِرْيَة occurs five times in the Qur’an, each denoting doubt or uncertainty about a particular subject.

Lexical sources place the word close to shakk, doubt. Some identify a more specific kind of uncertainty. مِرْيَة’s form alone, however, does not establish that someone is necessarily debating another person or has reached outright denial.

فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ

Hūd 11:17 says:

«أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ وَمِنْ قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَىٰ إِمَامًا وَرَحْمَةً أُولَٰئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الْأَحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ»

“Is someone standing on clear evidence from his Lord, followed by a witness from Him, and preceded by Moses’ Book as a guide and mercy, [like others]? Those believe in it. Whoever among the factions commits kufr towards it, the Fire is his appointed place. So do not be in doubt about it. It is indeed the truth from your Lord, but most people do not believe.”

(Hūd 11:17)

فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ accompanies إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ here. The subject is a truth identified as coming from the Lord.

مِرْيَة expresses doubt about that truth. The verse continues by forbidding doubt and affirming its truth.

The construction alone does not establish that the person addressed had actually been in doubt before the command. It is a prohibition, which can prevent entry into a state or emphasise keeping away from it.

مِمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ

Hūd 11:109 says:

«فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ مَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُهُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ»

“So do not be in doubt about what these people worship. They worship only as their fathers worshipped before, and We will certainly give them their share in full, without reduction.”

(Hūd 11:109)

مِمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ identifies doubt’s subject. The continuation connects their behaviour with following their fathers’ manner of worship and speaks of receiving their share.

م ر ي itself nevertheless means neither worship nor following forefathers. Doubt is the state or position raised concerning that conduct.

Nor should the verse be taken as ordering its audience to judge all people’s beliefs without examination. It concerns a particular group and behaviour described in the surah’s context.

Doubt that continues

Al-Ḥajj 22:55 says:

«وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ»

“Those who have committed kufr will remain in doubt about it until the Hour comes upon them suddenly, or the punishment of a barren day comes to them.”

(Al-Ḥajj 22:55)

مِرْيَة occurs with وَلَا يَزَالُ here. That construction emphasises the continuation of doubt.

The preceding verses discuss revelation, Satan’s interventions and suggestions, the testing of hearts and recognition of truth. مِنْهُ’s pronoun must therefore be examined in relation to this flow of discourse, and different possibilities exist for its precise antecedent.

That disagreement does not change مِرْيَة’s meaning. The word denotes doubt; its continuation emerges from لَا يَزَالُ.

Persistence in doubt therefore should not become part of miryah’s lexical meaning. The complete sentence describes that condition.

مِنْ لِقَائِهِ: doubt about which meeting?

Al-Sajdah 32:23 says:

«وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ فَلَا تَكُنْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْ لِقَائِهِ وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ»

“We indeed gave Moses the Book; so do not be in doubt about meeting him or receiving it, and We made it guidance for the Children of Israel.”

(Al-Sajdah 32:23)

مِرْيَة denotes doubt here, but identifying لِقَائِهِ’s referent is not straightforward.

Linguistic and exegetical analyses propose meeting Moses, Moses receiving the Book, or encountering what Moses encountered. Some historical accounts also propose meeting Moses in a particular event.

These possibilities differ in their implications for the whole verse. Since both Moses and the Book occur in the sentence, identifying the pronoun’s antecedent requires closer examination of construction and context.

One possibility should not be inserted as certain without evidence merely to make translation fluent.

Nevertheless, disagreement over the antecedent does not obscure مِرْيَة. In every interpretation, it concerns doubt about a subject specified through liqāʾihi, its or his meeting.

Doubt about meeting the Lord

Fuṣṣilat 41:54 says:

«أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْ لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ أَلَا إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُحِيطٌ»

“Be aware: they are indeed in doubt about meeting their Lord. Be aware: He indeed encompasses everything.”

(Fuṣṣilat 41:54)

Unlike Al-Sajdah 32:23, the subject is explicit here through لِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ.

The verse says they doubt meeting their Lord and then speaks of The God encompassing everything.

This shows that miryah can concern a future matter or a truth the audience has not yet encountered.

Miryah itself nevertheless means neither denial of the Hereafter nor repudiation of The God. The subject of doubt emerges from liqāʾ rabbihim, meeting their Lord.

These five occurrences show مِرْيَة naming doubt, whose subject can be revelation, people’s conduct or meeting the Lord. The subject’s nature emerges from accompanying words rather than the root itself.

3. Al-mumtarīn: those who doubt

مُمْتَرٍ is an active participle from Form VIII and denotes someone uncertain or doubtful about something. Its Qur’anic plural الْمُمْتَرِينَ occurs four times.

Al-Baqarah 2:147 says:

«الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ»

“The truth is from your Lord, so never be among those who doubt.”

(Al-Baqarah 2:147)

This sentence occurs among the qiblah verses. After the command to face towards the Sacred Mosque and mention of those given the Book, the Qur’an affirms the truth of what comes from the Lord.

Āl ʿImrān 3:60 has a very similar construction:

«الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُنْ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ»

“The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt.”

(Āl ʿImrān 3:60)

Its context differs, however. The preceding verses discuss Jesus, his birth and his relationship to The God.

A similar phrase therefore occurs in two different subjects. مُمْتَرِينَ itself means neither qiblah nor Jesus; it describes only the position of those who doubt.

Al-Anʿām 6:114, after discussing the Book sent down in detail, also says:

«فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ»

“So never be among those who doubt.”

(Al-Anʿām 6:114; the verse’s ending)

Yūnus 10:94 says:

«فَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِمَّا أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَاءَكَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ»

“If you are in doubt about what We have sent down to you, ask those who read the Book before you. The truth has indeed come to you from your Lord, so never be among those who doubt.”

(Yūnus 10:94)

This verse particularly matters for comparing shakk and imtirāʾ. شَكّ appears at the beginning and الْمُمْتَرِينَ at the end.

Both concern a lack of certainty. The Qur’an nevertheless uses two different linguistic forms in one sentence.

Another point is the conditional فَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي شَكٍّ. It does not alone report that the audience necessarily was in doubt. The conditional raises a situation and states a way to consult and ask questions.

Asking those knowledgeable about earlier Books is presented here against remaining in uncertainty. The verse therefore should not make questioning and investigation inherently blameworthy.

The four occurrences of الْمُمْتَرِينَ share a warning against doubt concerning a truth stated in context. The description itself, however, does not explain each person’s intention, reason or method of responding to that truth.

4. Imtarā: doubt that can accompany opposition and contention

اِمْتَرَى is Form VIII. Arabic records it for doubting a subject; some uses also involve debate and disagreement.

Form VIII alone does not establish that someone deliberately induced doubt within themselves, argued with another or intended to deny truth. Context must establish those features.

Doubt concerning creation and an appointed term

Al-Anʿām 6:2 says:

«هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ قَضَىٰ أَجَلًا وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى عِنْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ»

“He is the One who created you from clay, then decreed a term, and a specified term is with Him; yet you doubt.”

(Al-Anʿām 6:2)

تَمْتَرُونَ denotes the audience’s doubt. Its subject occurs within a context of creation, the appointed term and The God’s power.

ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ highlights the distance between the truth the verse presents and the audience’s position.

The verb itself does not specify exactly which part of the preceding statement they dispute. Their doubt might concern creation, the term, return or these matters together. A narrower identification requires examining the wider context.

Doubt about news that arrives

In Al-Ḥijr 15:63, the envoys tell Lot:

«قَالُوا بَلْ جِئْنَاكَ بِمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ»

“They said: ‘Rather, we have brought you what they used to doubt.’”

(Al-Ḥijr 15:63)

يَمْتَرُونَ concerns something Lot’s people doubted.

The following verses discuss the arrival of the divine command and the deliverance of Lot and his family. Their doubt therefore occurs within a warning and an event whose occurrence they did not take seriously.

Imtirāʾ itself means neither punishment nor the arrival of angels; the story supplies doubt’s subject.

Disagreement about Jesus

Maryam 19:34 says:

«ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ قَوْلَ الْحَقِّ الَّذِي فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ»

“That is Jesus, son of Mary: the statement of truth about which they doubt and disagree.”

(Maryam 19:34)

يَمْتَرُونَ occurs here in discourse about Jesus.

The preceding verses discuss his birth, his speech and service to The God. The following verses reject attributing a son to The God.

The doubt and disagreement therefore concern a truth related to Jesus and his standing.

Imtirāʾ can thus concern a topic disputed between different groups. Its lexical meaning should not, however, be restricted to a particular Christological dispute; elsewhere the same verb concerns the Hour and divine warnings.

فَلَا تَمْتَرُنَّ بِهَا

Al-Zukhruf 43:61 says:

«وَإِنَّهُ لَعِلْمٌ لِلسَّاعَةِ فَلَا تَمْتَرُنَّ بِهَا وَاتَّبِعُونِ هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُسْتَقِيمٌ»

“He is indeed a sign for knowledge of the Hour, so do not doubt it, and follow me. This is a straight path.”

(Al-Zukhruf 43:61)

تَمْتَرُنَّ has an emphatic nūn here, stressing the prohibition against doubt.

بِهَا refers back to السَّاعَة, so the doubt concerns the Hour.

Linguistic and exegetical discussion concerns إِنَّهُ’s antecedent. The text has لَعِلْمٌ; reports also attribute لَعَلَمٌ, with a vowel on both ʿayn and lām, to Ibn ʿAbbās and others, but this is outside the ten canonical recitations. This difference concerns explaining the verse’s relationship with the Hour rather than the meaning of tamtarunna itself.

The verse ends with وَاتَّبِعُونِ. That command comes from another root; following should not become part of imtirāʾ’s lexical meaning.

Doubt confronted by manifest reality

Al-Dukhān 44:50 says:

«إِنَّ هَٰذَا مَا كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تَمْتَرُونَ»

“This is indeed what you used to doubt.”

(Al-Dukhān 44:50)

This sentence occurs among verses concerning the punishment and outcome of those who denied truth.

What had previously been doubted is now presented as before them.

The difference from Al-Anʿām 6:2 concerns subject and time. Al-Anʿām discusses the audience’s doubt in present life; Al-Dukhān discusses a doubt that existed previously and now encounters reality.

Imtirāʾ itself therefore means neither punishment nor truth becoming manifest. The full verse constructions convey these concepts.

5. Mirāʾ and tamārī: disputation and opposition in speech

Doubt was prominent in the preceding uses. The Qur’an also uses the same family for debate and disputation.

فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا

Al-Kahf 18:22 says:

«سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَاثَةٌ رَابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ قُلْ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِمْ مَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِمْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا»

“They will say: three, their fourth being their dog; and they will say: five, their sixth being their dog, conjecturing about the unseen; and they will say: seven, their eighth being their dog. Say: ‘My Lord knows their number best; only a few know them.’ So do not dispute concerning them except with an evident disputation, and do not seek an opinion concerning them from any of those people.”

(Al-Kahf 18:22)

This is مِرَاء’s most significant Qur’anic use, since the verb تُمَارِ and verbal noun مِرَاءً occur in one sentence.

تُمَارِ is Form III, whose verbal noun is مِرَاء. The discussion concerns the number of the Companions of the Cave.

The Qur’an quotes several claims and places رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ among them: speaking conjecturally about something without clear knowledge.

It then says رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِمْ: my Lord knows their number best.

At the end it limits disputation to مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا.

What does mirāʾan ẓāhiran mean?

ظَاهِرًا comes from ظ ه ر and concerns being evident. Here it describes مِرَاء and limits the scope of disputation.

Linguistic explanations place the phrase close to a limited, evident discussion without plunging into complex, unsupported contention.

It does not automatically establish that the Qur’an prohibits every discussion or investigation of a disputed topic. The verse itself exempts one kind through إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا.

Ẓāhir here can also convey a brief discussion without delving into the uncertain number. That is distinct from an empty display or worthless debate. The qualification affects the manner and limits of this particular discussion, rather than denying every careful examination of evidence.

The verse’s particular subject is the Companions of the Cave’s number. The Qur’an states what is needed to understand the story and stresses The God’s knowledge of their exact number.

The limit on disputation here relates to insufficient support for numerical claims. It cannot become a universal rule making examination and disagreement about every Qur’anic matter wrong.

Is every dispute or question mirāʾ?

مِرَاء concerns disputation in language, but not every scholarly conversation or request for evidence is necessarily mirāʾ.

Someone can ask to understand a topic, request evidence or examine another interpretation. These behaviours do not themselves mean denial or contention to defeat the other party.

In Al-Kahf 18:22, the main difficulty concerns claims about something unseen without sufficient knowledge. The Qur’an prevents continued fruitless disputation and redirects attention to reliable knowledge.

Mirāʾ therefore should not be applied to every research effort, conversation or critical examination regardless of context.

Disputing concerning the Hour

Al-Shūrā 42:18 says:

«يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مُشْفِقُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا الْحَقُّ أَلَا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُمَارُونَ فِي السَّاعَةِ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ»

“Those who do not believe in it seek to hasten it; those who believe are apprehensive of it and know that it is the truth. Be aware: those who dispute concerning the Hour are indeed in far-reaching error.”

(Al-Shūrā 42:18)

يُمَارُونَ is Form III and denotes disputing concerning the Hour.

Comparison with the verse’s beginning matters. On one side, the Qur’an identifies people who do not take the Hour seriously and seek to hasten its arrival; on the other, believers who fear it and know its truth.

يُمَارُونَ فِي السَّاعَةِ follows. Here disputation connects with denial and disregard for the Hour’s truth.

Mārā itself does not mean denying resurrection. فِي السَّاعَةِ identifies the subject, while context and لَفِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ supply the conduct’s negative value.

أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ

Al-Najm 53:12 says:

«أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ»

“Do you dispute with him concerning what he sees?”

(Al-Najm 53:12)

This follows discourse about what the Messenger saw and the truthfulness of his perception.

In Ḥafṣ’s recitation, أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ is Form III, referring to disputing with him concerning what he sees.

The word also has an important recitation variant. Ḥamzah, al-Kisāʾī, Yaʿqūb and Khalaf the Tenth read أَفَتَمْرُونَهُ, without an alif after the mīm and with a formation from the basic verb.

This recitation highlights denying or refusing to accept what someone has seen. The early usage مَرَاهُ حَقَّهُ is also cited: denying or withholding someone’s right.

The difference is therefore more than visual. One highlights disputation, the other denial and rejection. Both oppose what the Messenger has seen, but their morphological routes differ.

The verse does not make mirāʾ mean seeing. Seeing emerges from يَرَىٰ and disputation from تُمَارُونَهُ.

Identifying exactly what was seen also requires examination of the preceding and following verses. This verb itself does not identify the object of vision. A theological conclusion about its nature therefore should not become part of the root’s definition.

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمَارَىٰ

Al-Najm 53:55 says:

«فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمَارَىٰ»

“So concerning which of your Lord’s favours and signs do you doubt and dispute?”

(Al-Najm 53:55)

تَتَمَارَىٰ is Form VI. Here it addresses one person, rather than necessarily two or more people actually debating each other.

Form VI alone therefore does not establish two parties in a real conversation. Here the verb can concern doubting or contesting something.

بِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكَ identifies its subject. Denial or doubt thus concerns the favours and signs discussed in the preceding verses.

Tatamārā itself does not establish that every doubt necessarily concerns divine favour. The complement and construction of this verse establish that subject.

فَتَمَارَوْا بِالنُّذُرِ: contesting the warnings

Al-Qamar 54:36 says:

«وَلَقَدْ أَنْذَرَهُمْ بَطْشَتَنَا فَتَمَارَوْا بِالنُّذُرِ»

“He had indeed warned them of Our forceful seizure; then they disputed and doubted the warnings.”

(Al-Qamar 54:36)

فَتَمَارَوْا is Form VI and describes a group who did not accept Lot’s warnings.

النُّذُر identifies the subject of disputation. Tamāraw itself does not mean warning; it expresses their response to warnings.

Here disputation accompanies refusing news and continuing wrongful conduct. This does not make every conversation about someone’s warnings an instance of the same verse. The context concerns a particular group and event.

This verse and Al-Najm 53:55 show تَمَارَى used both for a group and one person addressed. Reciprocity and several people’s presence therefore are not fixed requirements of this formation’s meaning.

6. Differences from neighbouring roots and translation suggestions

م ر ي (مِرْيَة) and ش ك ك (شَكّ)

Shakk generally concerns a lack of certainty about something. Someone can hesitate between two possibilities or not yet have reached a conclusion about a report’s accuracy.

Miryah also approaches doubt. Both families occur in Yūnus 10:94: first فَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي شَكٍّ, then فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ.

Their juxtaposition shows considerable semantic proximity, but does not alone prove that one necessarily is a more intense stage than the other.

Some lexicographers describe miryah as a more specific doubt involving wavering judgement or discussion of the matter. This can indicate a real tendency, but some Qur’anic uses have no reference to overt disputation.

Translations should therefore choose doubt or uncertainty according to the sentence, consulting the full construction for their precise relationship.

م ر ي (مِرْيَة) and ر ي ب (رَيْب)

Rayb also concerns doubt and uncertainty, but some uses involve suspicion, anxiety and the possibility of a defect or dishonesty.

Qur’anic رَيْب concerns the Book, the Hour and other subjects. Miryah likewise concerns a truth doubted by the audience in passages such as Fuṣṣilat 41:54 and Al-Ḥajj 22:55.

These families overlap, but should not acquire an absolute distinction in which rayb always means accusatory doubt and miryah always overt disputation.

The Qur’an uses constructions such as فِي with both and specifies doubt’s subject separately. Context must establish the nature of suspicion or opposition.

م ر ي (مِرَاء) and ج د ل (جَدَل)

Jidāl concerns debate and verbal contention. The Qur’an discusses improper disputation and also commands debating well.

Al-Naḥl 16:125 says:

«وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ»

“And dispute with them in the manner that is best.”

(Al-Naḥl 16:125; part of the verse)

This shows that disputation itself is not always blameworthy in Qur’anic language.

Mirāʾ also approaches debate and disputation, but its Qur’anic uses more prominently involve doubt, opposition to news or contention over an uncertain claim.

In Al-Kahf 18:22 the Qur’an limits mirāʾ rather than prohibiting it absolutely without exception.

Not every jidāl therefore is mirāʾ, nor does every mirāʾ necessarily involve a bad intention in its lexical meaning. The conduct’s value depends on its subject, evidence, manner and context.

م ر ي (مَارَى) and ح ج ج (حَاجَّ)

Muḥājjah belongs to ح ج ج and concerns presenting evidence and argument. Someone can bring a proof for their claim or discuss the other party’s proof.

Mumārāh, disputation, can likewise involve requesting evidence and responding, but م ر ي itself does not mean clear proof.

Āl ʿImrān 3:61 concerns those arguing about a subject after knowledge has arrived. Al-Najm 53:12 concerns disputation about what has been seen.

The uses approach each other within disagreement and debate. Similarity of setting nevertheless does not make the roots fully synonymous.

Distinguishing similar-looking roots

م ر ي should not be confused with م ر ر or م ر أ.

مَرَّ, to pass, and مَرَّة, once or one time, belong to م ر ر. So does مُسْتَمِرّ, concerning continuity. Similarity in sound should not make them identical to imtirāʾ.

مَرِيئًا in Al-Nisāʾ 4:4 belongs to another linguistic family concerning wholesomeness. Its similarity to مِرْيَة does not establish shared meaning.

مَرْيَم is a proper name in the Qur’an. Similar letters do not authorise deriving doubt, disputation or milking from that name. Mary’s name and its history require separate examination.

مَرْوَة, in Al-Ṣafā and Al-Marwah, relates to words concerning stone and hardness. It should not be equated with every م ر ي use without independent derivational examination.

Translation suggestions for Forqan

Doubt is the most suitable general equivalent for مِرْيَة. Uncertainty can also be natural in some verses, helping retain a distinction from explicit شَكّ where the construction supports it.

فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ can be rendered “so do not be in doubt about it.”

الْمُمْتَرِينَ approaches doubters or those in doubt. In Al-Baqarah 2:147 and Āl ʿImrān 3:60, this rendering suits the passage without adding accusation or deliberate denial.

تَمْتَرُونَ and يَمْتَرُونَ suit “you doubt” and “they are in doubt.” Where disagreement and contention are clear, “they dispute concerning it” is also possible.

تُمَارِ and يُمَارُونَ should primarily be rendered through disputing. مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا in Al-Kahf 18:22 can be rendered “an evident disputation,” with its limited scope and avoidance of probing an uncertain number explained separately.

Ḥafṣ’s أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ in Al-Najm 53:12 naturally becomes “do you dispute with him concerning what he sees?” The variant أَفَتَمْرُونَهُ more prominently conveys “do you deny what he sees?”

تَتَمَارَىٰ in Al-Najm 53:55 suits “you doubt,” since one person is addressed and the verse does not necessarily describe a conversation between two people.

فَتَمَارَوْا بِالنُّذُرِ in Al-Qamar 54:36 can become “they disputed concerning the warnings.”

Doubt, disputation and denial should remain distinct in all these renderings. Not every م ر ي use necessarily encompasses all three simultaneously.

7. Conclusion

Arabic م ر ي has several established uses. Material مَرْي concerns rubbing a she-camel’s udder to make milk flow and trying to draw something out. In language, the family concerns doubt, disputation and, in some constructions, denial of a right.

Lexicographers give different accounts of the branches’ connection: one likens disputation to drawing out milk, another stresses hardness and verbal contention. These help explain semantic relations but do not conclusively establish derivational history.

All Qur’anic uses belong to doubt and disputation. مِرْيَة primarily denotes doubt about a subject. اِمْتَرَى can express that same doubt and sometimes accompanies disagreement and opposition. مَارَى and مِرَاء more strongly emphasise verbal disputation. Qur’anic تَمَارَى applies both to one person addressed and a group, without always requiring an actual two-sided conversation.

An important distinction is between questioning to understand truth and unsupported disputation. Yūnus 10:94 conditionally presents consultation and questioning knowledgeable people; Al-Kahf 18:22 limits disputation about the Companions of the Cave’s number to مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا. Neither verse should become a rejection of questioning, research or examining evidence.

The Qur’an also warns against doubt in a truth presented as clear. In such contexts miryah and imtirāʾ can accompany persistent opposition and refusing truth. These features emerge from construction and context rather than every derivative’s independent meaning.

The semantic core of Qur’anic م ر ي should retain two related branches: doubt and uncertainty about a matter’s truth, and disputation and contention over that matter. Denial and rejection approach this field in some uses, but not every doubt is denial, nor every conversation blameworthy disputation.

This definition allows miryah, imtirāʾ, mumārāh and mirāʾ to be understood according to their actual formations and uses, without merging them into one vague meaning of doubt, debate or deliberate opposition.