The Qur’anic Root R Ḍ W

Early Arabic: being pleased and being acceptable

The Dīwān of the pre-Islamic poet Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā contains this description of people whose arbitration is accepted when disputes arise:

مَتَى يَشْتَجِرْ قَوْمٌ تَقُلْ سَرَوَاتُهُمْ
هُمُ بَيْنَنَا فَهُمْ رِضًى وَهُمْ عَدْلُ

“Whenever a people fall into dispute, their leading men say: These are the ones among us; they are acceptable to us, and they are just.”

Here رِضًى describes people whose judgment and standing are accepted by others. It does not mean that these people are happy; they themselves are approved and accepted. The verbal noun functions as a description.

This example shows that the early field of riḍā extends beyond an inner feeling. Pleasure, acceptance, and approval can be aspects of the same family.

Riḍā and sakhaṭ: a contrast made by the Qur’an itself

One of the clearest examples occurs in At-Tawbah:

وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ

“Among them is someone who criticizes you over the charitable donations. If they are given some of them, they are pleased; but if they are not given any, they immediately become displeased.”

At-Tawbah 9:58

رَضُوا and يَسْخَطُونَ stand in direct opposition. This contrast clarifies the central field: acceptance and pleasure on one side, dissatisfaction and displeasure on the other.

The verse also establishes another point: being pleased is not inherently a moral virtue. Those criticized here become pleased when they receive money. What they are pleased with, and why, determines the ethical significance of their response.

Other passages make this clearer still. In Al-An‘am 6:113, those who do not believe in the Hereafter incline toward deceptive speech and لِيَرْضَوْهُ—come to approve of it. At-Tawbah 9:38 questions being content with the present life in preference to the Hereafter.

Riḍā therefore cannot in itself be equated with truth, goodness, or mindfulness of The God.

The same contrast appears in relation to divine approval. Aal ‘Imran 3:162 places رِضْوَانَ اللَّهِ directly against سَخَطٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ. The Qur’an itself thus contrasts riḍā and sakhaṭ in both human and divine contexts.

Pleasure, approval, acceptance, and agreement

The range of Qur’anic uses shows that one fixed translation cannot cover every form of the root.

Al-Baqarah 2:120 says that the Jews and Christians will not be pleased with the Prophet until he follows their religious way. Here riḍā concerns acceptance of, and satisfaction with, a person and the course he follows.

In Al-Ma’idah 5:3, The God says وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا—“I have approved Islam for you as a dīn.” “I have approved” or “I have accepted for you as a dīn” fits the root. The word itself should not be made to contain concepts such as legal ratification, the establishment of a social system, or ontological validity. Broader conclusions drawn from the whole verse and its setting belong to contextual interpretation; the lexical meaning of raḍītu remains within approval and acceptance.

تَرَاضٍ presents another aspect of the same field:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُمْ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

“You who have believed, do not consume one another’s wealth wrongfully, but let there be trade by mutual consent among you; and do not kill yourselves. The God has indeed been merciful toward you.”

An-Nisa 4:29

In this context, تَرَاضٍ does not mean shared happiness. It is agreement and mutual consent between the parties.

The family also occurs in family relationships. In Al-Baqarah 2:233, the decision to wean a child is accompanied by تَرَاضٍ مِنْهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٍ. Placing tarāḍ alongside consultation shows that the issue is the agreement of both parties on an actual decision.

The form VI pattern alone, however, cannot support a general theory of will, contracts, or rights. Reciprocity in these examples is confirmed by their actual usage and context.

Prepositions and the direction of the relationship

The Qur’an uses raḍiya in several constructions that can help clarify the relationship expressed.

رَضِيَ عَنْ, in examples such as رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ, expresses being pleased with someone. This expression occurs in Al-Ma’idah 5:119, At-Tawbah 9:100, Al-Mujadilah 58:22, and Al-Bayyinah 98:8.

رَضِيَ بِـ can highlight accepting or being content with something or a situation, as in أَرَضِيتُمْ بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا in At-Tawbah 9:38.

With رَضِيَ لِـ, something is approved or accepted for someone. In Az-Zumar 39:7, disbelief is not approved for the servants, whereas gratitude is approved for them.

These distinctions are useful, but they are not mechanical rules. A preposition alone does not create a new meaning for the root. The verb, its object, and the whole construction must be read together.

Divine approval without human need

Divine riḍā must be understood alongside the freedom from need that the Qur’an explicitly affirms. Using the same verb of humans and The God does not by itself establish that its manner is identical in both cases.

Az-Zumar makes the relevant boundary clear:

إِنْ تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ وَإِنْ تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ

“If you disbelieve, The God has no need of you, and He does not approve disbelief for His servants. If you give thanks, He approves it for you. No bearer of a burden bears another’s burden. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do. He knows what is within the breasts.”

Az-Zumar 39:7

Before speaking of approval, the verse states that The God is غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ. In this context, His approval must therefore not be understood as His servants meeting a need or making up a deficiency in Him.

“Approve” is a natural rendering in this verse: The God does not approve disbelief for His servants, and He approves gratitude for them.

Elsewhere an action may receive approval, as in تَرْضَاهُ in An-Naml 27:19; a person may receive it, as the believers do in Al-Fath 48:18; and someone may seek رضوان الله or مرضات الله, as in Aal ‘Imran 3:162 and Al-Baqarah 2:207. The common element is divine acceptance and approval of a person or action. These expressions alone do not describe the psychological nature of riḍā.

The reciprocal expression رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ also appears in the four verses cited above. It expresses pleasure in both directions, but the shared verb is insufficient to establish that divine and human pleasure are identical in nature.

Arḍā, tarāḍā, and irtaḍā: changes in relationship

Form IV, أَرْضَىٰ, means to please someone else. At-Tawbah 9:8 provides a revealing example:

يُرْضُونَكُمْ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتَأْبَىٰ قُلُوبُهُمْ

They please you with their mouths, while their hearts refuse.

This use shows that pleasing someone can be outward only. Satisfying an audience does not in itself establish the speaker’s sincerity.

The verb تَرَاضَىٰ occurs twice, in Al-Baqarah 2:232 and An-Nisa 4:24, and the verbal noun تَرَاضٍ twice, in Al-Baqarah 2:233 and An-Nisa 4:29. These uses express mutual consent in family and financial decisions.

ارْتَضَىٰ occurs three times, with The God as the subject in every instance. Al-Anbiya 21:28 concerns someone He has approved; An-Nur 24:55 concerns the dīn He has approved for them; and Al-Jinn 72:27 concerns a messenger He has approved.

In some of these contexts, choosing may follow naturally from approval, especially when someone is accepted for a role from among others. But form VIII alone does not warrant a rule that irtaḍā always means “chose.” Approval and acceptance are the more basic meaning; selection follows from that acceptance where the context calls for it.

Riḍwān and marḍāh: other forms of the same field

رِضْوَان occurs 13 times, always in connection with divine approval. Some examples explicitly mention the approval of The God, while in others a pronoun or the context establishes that relationship.

In At-Tawbah 9:72, after promising gardens and good dwellings, the Qur’an says:

وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ

“And approval from The God is greater.”

The sentence distinguishes riḍwān from the blessings mentioned before it. Riḍwān is therefore not a garden, a place, or a material reward; it remains within the field of divine pleasure and approval.

The form رِضْوَان alone does not establish that the word inherently means exceptionally intense approval or a technical degree distinct from riḍā. In At-Tawbah 9:72, the verse itself expresses the greatness of riḍwān through أَكْبَرُ.

مَرْضَاة occurs five times. Four concern the pleasure of The God, but At-Tahrim 66:1 says:

تَبْتَغِي مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَاجِكَ

That is, “You seek the pleasure of your wives.”

This use clearly shows that marḍāh is not intrinsically a sacred term or one exclusive to The God. It is another noun within the field of approval and pleasure.

Rāḍiyah and marḍiyyah: being pleased and being approved

Al-Fajr places two directions of the root side by side:

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ۝ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً ۝ فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي ۝ وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

“You, the reassured soul, return to your Lord, pleased and approved. Enter among My servants, and enter My garden.”

Al-Fajr 89:27, 89:28, 89:29, 89:30

رَاضِيَة has an active orientation: the soul is pleased. مَرْضِيَّة expresses the other direction: the soul itself is approved. The masculine مَرْضِيّ also occurs concerning Ishmael in Maryam 19:55: وَكَانَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيًّا, “And he was approved in the sight of his Lord.” In Maryam 19:6, Zechariah says وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا, “And make him, my Lord, pleasing.” رَضِيّ is an adjective on the faʿīl pattern. In this request it describes the child as pleasing and acceptable; the pattern alone does not establish intensity or an additional meaning.

عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ also occurs twice, in Al-Haqqah 69:21 and Al-Qari‘ah 101:7. Here the adjective modifies life, rather than a soul or person. The construction can be understood as a life with which its possessor is pleased. Attributing riḍā to life does not mean that life itself has human will and feelings.

A literal English “a pleased life” would therefore be unnatural. Depending on context, “a satisfying life” or “a life of contentment” better conveys the expression.

This example reminds us that a morphological form cannot simply be transferred into English without considering the Arabic construction and what it describes.

Riḍā alongside love and reassurance

Riḍā has connections with love, joy, calm, and reassurance, but none of these simply defines the others.

Two people may trade عن تراض, by mutual consent, without personal affection for one another. Someone may accept a decision or situation without feeling great joy.

Yunus 10:7 describes those who do not expect to meet Him: وَرَضُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَاطْمَأَنُّوا بِهَا—they were content with the present life and felt secure in it. The two expressions occurring together does not by itself establish a complete boundary between their meanings. Nor, however, is there reason to treat riḍā and iṭmiʾnān as one word with one meaning. Here riḍā is acceptance of, and contentment with, the present life; the precise meaning of iṭmiʾnān should be examined through uses of its own family.

Love may cause or accompany approval, but riḍā cannot be reduced to loving. Accepting a transaction, approving an action, or finding a person acceptable does not necessarily express the same relationship as ḥubb.

Translation proposals for Forqan

No single English equivalent suits the whole family.

Depending on context, رَضِيَ may be rendered “be pleased,” “be content,” “approve,” or “accept.” With a person as its object, “be pleased with” is natural; with a course, action, or situation, “approve” or “be content with” may be more precise.

أَرْضَىٰ usually means “please” or “satisfy” someone.

تَرَاضٍ in financial and family contexts is “mutual consent” or “agreement with the consent of both parties.”

ارْتَضَىٰ may be translated “approve” or “accept.” Where the context clearly involves selection, “choose” is also possible, but selection should not become the fixed meaning of this form.

رِضْوَان in the Qur’an is “approval,” “pleasure,” or “divine approval.” Adding the idea of favor or benevolent care is unnecessary in the basic rendering unless the context separately calls for it.

مَرْضَاة likewise expresses approval or pleasure, whether it belongs to The God or a human being.

For رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً, “pleased and approved” keeps the two directions clear.

For عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ, “a satisfying life” can be more natural: a literal “a pleased life” would distort the English expression.

Conclusion

R Ḍ W cannot be limited to happiness or a pleasant feeling. The family concerns pleasure, approval, and acceptance, and the Qur’an itself contrasts it with sakhaṭ, displeasure.

Someone may be pleased with a person or situation; approve and accept something; reach mutual consent with others; or, as a person or through an action, receive divine approval. These uses share a field without all describing a single psychological state.

The root also carries no fixed moral value. Someone may be pleased with something right or wrong. The value of that pleasure comes from its object and the context.

When attributed to The God, riḍā must not be understood as meeting a need or remedying a deficiency. The Qur’an places His freedom from need alongside His approval of gratitude and disapproval of disbelief. Approval, acceptance, and pleasure express this relationship; the nature of divine riḍā cannot be inferred solely from the same word being used of humans.

R Ḍ W: pleasure, approval, or acceptance directed toward a person, thing, situation, or action, in contrast to displeasure. This may be one-sided or mutual, human or divine. It does not in itself determine the moral value of its object.