Quranic root
حبب
ḥ · b · b
The root’s principal orientation is attachment and remaining fixed; it also has independent branches for grain or seed and for smallness or shortness. Love is understood as an inclination that attaches one to what pleases.
From the idea of attachment or fixity developed حُبّ and مَحَبّة for love and affection. The nominal branch حَبّ denotes grain or seed, while related forms extend to small rounded formations and several specialized usages.
- Maqāyīs · row 1275
- 9
- Quran-attested forms
- 11
- Quran senses
- 95
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
حَبَّبَ
ḥabbaba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form II
- Form
- II
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To make someone or something beloved, pleasing, or attractive to another; to endear.
The construction commonly has the person or thing made beloved as its object and the person to whom it is made pleasing with إِلَى.
- Lane · entry 13233
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 49:7word 15
“has endeared”
أَحَبَّ
ʾaḥabba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 64 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To love, like, approve of, or take pleasure in someone or something.
The Quran uses this for human and divine subjects and for attachment to people, actions, things, or qualities; context may render it as love, liking, approval, or preference.
- Lane · entry 13235
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:165word 9
“They love them”
To favor or show gracious regard toward someone.
In Quranic statements that God loves a person or group, the love is explained as divine favor, beneficence, and granting good; human love for God is expressed as seeking nearness to Him.
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 5:54word 13
“whom He loves”
To remain fixed or be held back through attachment; in a Quranic construction, to be detained by love of horses.
This is the special interpretation of the expression involving love of horses in Ṣād 38:32, rather than the ordinary transitive sense of loving.
- Lane · entry 13235
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 38:32word 3
“[I] preferred”
اِسْتَحَبَّ
āistaḥabba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form X
- Form
- X
- Quran occurrences
- 4 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To prefer, choose, or esteem one thing over another.
With عَلَى, the construction explicitly marks the thing preferred over its alternative; the Quran contrasts worldly or false choices with faith, guidance, or truth.
- Lane · entry 13235
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 14:3word 2
“love more”
Quran 9:23word 10
“they prefer”
أَحَبُّ
ʾaḥabbu
- Part of speech
- Adjective · comparative
- Quran occurrences
- 3 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
More beloved, dearer, or preferred; the more pleasing of two or more alternatives.
It functions as a comparative adjective and may be substantivized in comparison or preference constructions.
- Lane · entry 13255
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:8word 5
“(are) more beloved”
Quran 12:33word 4
“(is) dearer”
حَبِيب
ḥabīb
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A beloved or favored person; one who is loved.
The supplied Quran form is the irregular broken plural أَحِبَّاءُ, presented here under the singular dictionary citation form حَبِيب.
- Lane · entry 13251
Selected Quran examples
Quran 5:18word 7
“and His beloved”
حَبّ
ḥabb
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 7 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Grain or seed, especially cereal grain and similar seed-produce.
The Quran applies the word to grain in ears or produce and to seeds in the broader sense; number and case vary with the construction.
- Lane · entry 13240
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:95word 4
“(of) the grain”
Quran 36:33word 8
“grain”
حَبَّة
ḥabbah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 5 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
A single grain or seed.
This is the unit noun corresponding to the collective or general noun حَبّ; the Quran uses it for an individual grain or seed, including one hidden or weighed with complete precision.
- Lane · entry 13243
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:261word 9
“a grain”
Quran 21:47word 13
“(of) a seed”
حُبّ
ḥubb
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 9 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Love, affection, or an inclination toward what pleases and delights.
Quranic love may be love for pleasure, benefit, or excellence. In divine-human usage, divine love is associated with favor and beneficence, while human love of God is associated with seeking nearness to Him.
- Lane · entry 13241
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:165word 10
“as (they should) love”
Quran 76:8word 4
“love (for) it”
مَحَبَّة
maḥabbah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Love or affection; a quality or favor that makes an object beloved.
In the Quranic construction, the محبت bestowed upon a person is presented as a cause of being loved or regarded favorably.
- Lane · entry 13258
- Mufradāt · row 287
Selected Quran examples
Quran 20:39word 18
“love”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:165يُحِبُّونَهُمْThey love them
- 2:165كَحُبِّas (they should) love
- 2:165حُبًّۭا(in) love
- 2:177حُبِّهِۦspite of his love (for it)
- 2:190يُحِبُّlike
Broader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 44 Classical meanings
حَبَّ
To be or become loved, beloved, liked, or approved.
A Form I intransitive or stative usage, distinct from the common transitive Form IV.
- Lane · entry 13232
حَبَّ
A verb or fixed formula of praise meaning that someone or something is lovely, pleasing, excellent, or especially beloved.
Includes the praise and wonder uses حَبَّ بِفُلَانٍ, حُبَّ بِفُلَانٍ, and the fixed expression حَبَّذَا.
- Lane · entry 13232
- Lane · entry 13253
حَبَّ
To stand still, stop, or pause.
A separate Form I verbal branch.
- Lane · entry 13232
حُبَّ
To become fatigued or tired.
Reported with the dammah pronunciation of the verb.
- Lane · entry 13232
حَبَّبَ
To form medicine into pills, small clots, or balls.
A technical transitive use with medicine as the object.
- Lane · entry 13233
حَبَّبَ
To fill a waterskin or similar container.
A transitive use referring to filling a skin or vessel with liquid.
- Lane · entry 13233
مُحَابَّة
Mutual love, affection, liking, or friendly behavior.
The Form III and Form VI constructions describe reciprocal affection or acting in a friendly manner toward one another.
- Lane · entry 13234
- Lane · entry 13237
أَحَبَّ
Of a camel, to kneel and remain fixed, refuse to rise, or be unable to move.
The reported causes include restiveness, exhaustion, illness, or approaching death; the specific Quranic interpretation is separately recorded under the Quranic Form IV.
- Lane · entry 13235
أَحَبَّ
To recover from an illness.
A rare Form IV verbal usage.
- Lane · entry 13235
أَحَبَّ
Of a plant or crop, to bear or produce grain.
A Form IV intransitive use of seed-produce.
- Lane · entry 13235
تَحَبَّبَ
To show or manifest love and affection, or to make oneself an object of love.
The construction commonly takes إِلَى for the person toward whom affection is shown or in whose regard one seeks to become beloved.
- Lane · entry 13236
- Lane · entry 13260
تَحَبَّبَ
To become swollen, full, or satiated with drink; of a container or animal, to become filled with water.
A Form V branch used of a jar-like swelling, a waterskin, cattle, camels, or similar subjects.
- Lane · entry 13236
تَحَبَّبَ
To form into small grains, bubbles, clots, or bead-like particles.
Used of hoarfrost, saliva, milk, butter, honey, and medicine; the shared idea is granular or clotted formation.
- Lane · entry 13236
حَبّ
Pimples, small pustules, or similar small protuberances.
The noun is a collective expression, with حَبَّة for an individual pustule; the Form V use describes skin becoming covered with them.
- Lane · entry 13236
- Lane · entry 13240
اِسْتَحَبَّ
Of the stomachs of cattle or camels, to retain water so that the interval between waterings becomes prolonged.
A rare Form X livestock usage, distinct from the Quranic preference sense.
- Lane · entry 13238
حَبْ
A cry used to urge a male camel onward.
An imperative or calling expression in camel-driving vocabulary.
- Lane · entry 13239
حَبَّة
A specifically named seed or fruit, including the green terebinth fruit and the black aromatic seed of nigella.
These are lexicalized plant names or specialized applications, not the general Quranic grain sense.
- Lane · entry 13240
حَبّ
Hail.
Occurs in expressions such as حَبُّ الغَمَامِ and حَبُّ المُزْنِ.
- Lane · entry 13240
حُبّ
A jar or large vessel, especially one used for water or wine; also the stand supporting such a jar.
This is an Arabicized non-love noun and should not be confused with حُبّ meaning love.
- Lane · entry 13241
حِبّ
An earring formed from a single bead.
A specialized nominal use referring to the bead from which the earring is made.
- Lane · entry 13242
حَبَّة
A grain-weight, especially the recognized weight based on a barley grain.
A technical weight term derived from the individual grain.
- Lane · entry 13243
حَبَّة
A small piece, portion, or bit of something.
A general diminutive or unit-like use, distinct from a literal seed.
- Lane · entry 13243
حَبَّةُ القَلْب
The heart’s core or innermost substance.
The expression may refer to the dark inner part, clot, or blood of the heart and figuratively to the center of one’s feelings.
- Lane · entry 13243
حَبَّة
A want, need, or requisite object.
A nominal use synonymous with حاجَةٌ.
- Lane · entry 13243
حُبَّة
A beloved person or persons; one of the objects especially dear to the soul.
A plural-like or collective use of the nominal form.
- Lane · entry 13244
حُبَّة
What one loves to receive, possess, or choose.
Used in the expression حُبَّتُكَ for a desired gift, possession, or choice.
- Lane · entry 13244
حُبَّة
A grape stone or grape seed.
A specialized botanical use, sometimes reported without the doubled consonant.
- Lane · entry 13244
حِبَّة
The seeds and dry herbage of wild, desert, leguminous, or aromatic plants, including forage gathered by grazing animals.
A collective or quasi-plural noun for uncultivated seeds, leaves, and broken dry herbage.
- Lane · entry 13245
حَبَب
A beautiful, regular arrangement of the teeth.
A figurative comparison of the teeth to rows of grains.
- Lane · entry 13246
حَبَب
Streaks, bubbles, or small accumulations of saliva on or over the teeth.
The terms describe visible saliva formations in the mouth.
- Lane · entry 13246
حَبَاب
The utmost limit of one’s power, love, effort, or endeavor.
In the idiom حَبَابُكَ, it denotes the maximum that one can or will do.
- Lane · entry 13248
حَبَاب
The mass, waves, ripples, streaks, or bubbles on the surface of water, and by extension similar features of sand or a beverage.
The exact application varies between the body of water and its broken or bubbling surface.
- Lane · entry 13248
حَبَاب
Dew-drops, especially evening dew on trees and similar surfaces.
A figurative or extended usage may describe musky dew or bubbles.
- Lane · entry 13248
حُبَاب
A serpent, especially a non-malignant serpent; also, according to one explanation, a name of a devil.
The devil-name explanation is secondary to the serpent sense and is linked to the traditional association of serpents with devils.
- Lane · entry 13249
حُبَاب
A black aquatic insect or small aquatic animal.
A collective or quasi-collective noun with a separately reported singular form.
- Lane · entry 13249
أُمُّ حُبَاب
The present worldly life.
A metonymic expression.
- Lane · entry 13249
حُبَاحِب
A firefly or similar night-flying insect that emits a faint light; by extension, faint fire or sparks.
The expression نارُ الحُبَاحِب may refer to the insect’s light, sparks from striking stones or wood, or a proverbially weak fire.
- Lane · entry 13252
أُمُّ حُبَاحِب
A spotted flying insect resembling a small locust.
A specialized insect name, described as having yellow, green, and red markings.
- Lane · entry 13252
حَابّ
An arrow that falls in the space around the target butt.
A technical archery term; its plural is حَوَابّ.
- Lane · entry 13254
مُحَبّ
An epithet applied to Medina.
A specialized proper-name or honorific usage.
- Lane · entry 13256
حَبِيب
A loving person, lover, or friend.
This is the active-person sense of حبيب, distinct from its passive sense ‘beloved’.
- Lane · entry 13251
أَبُو حَبِيب
A kid, or young goat.
A fixed expression or nickname.
- Lane · entry 13251
مُحَبَّب
One made beloved or attractive to people.
A passive participial adjective, synonymous in this usage with one who makes himself pleasing or beloved.
- Lane · entry 13260
أُمُّ مَحْبُوب
A surname or epithet for a serpent.
A specialized animal name.
- Lane · entry 13261
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Form IV Quran group is normalized to the classical citation form أَحَبَّ although the supplied QAC lemma is an inflected internal morphology form.
The Form IV occurrence in Ṣād 38:32 has a special lexical interpretation involving being held back or fixed by attachment to horses; it should not be generalized to all occurrences of أَحَبَّ.
Divine love in the Quran is explained in the supplied lexical evidence as favor and beneficence, while human love of God is associated with seeking nearness; this is a usage interpretation rather than a separate general translation of every occurrence.