Non-Arabic Words in the Qur'an

Ulum al Qur'an

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Non-Arabic Words in the Qur'an

There is some difference of opinion among scholars whether the language of the Qur'an includes expressions which are not Arabic. Some (among them Tabari and Baqillani) hold that all in the Qur'an is Arabic and that words of non-Arabic origin found in the Qur'an were nevertheless part of Arabic speech. Although these words were of non-Arab origin the Arabs used and observed them and they became genuinely integrated in the Arabic language.

However, it is conceded that there are non-Arabic proper names in the Qur'an, such as Isra'il, Imran, Nuh., etc.

Others have said that the Qur'an does contain words not used in the Arabic language, such as e.g.:

al-Qistas (17:35), derived from the Greek language.
al-Sijjil (15: 74), derived from the Persian language.
al-Ghassaq (78: 25), derived from the Turkish language.
al-Tur (2:63), derived from the Syriac language.
al-Kifl (57: 28), derived from the Abyssinian language.

Some scholars have written books on the topic of 'foreign vocabulary in the Qur'an', e.g. Suyuti, who compiled a small book with a list of 118 expressions in different languages. [The Mutawakkili of Al-Suyuti7, trans. by William Y. Bell, Yale University Dissertations, 1924; see also Itqan.]