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Quranic root

حلل

ḥ · l · l

The root centers on opening or releasing what is closed, bound, or restricted.

From untying a knot, the root develops meanings of release and permissibility, alighting or settling after being bound for travel, reaching an appointed place, and becoming free of a sacred or legal restriction.

  • Maqāyīs · row 1429
  • Mufradāt · row 350
8
Quran-attested forms
14
Quran senses
51
Quran occurrences

Forms in the Quran

The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.

حَلَّ

ḥalla

Part of speech
Verb · Form I
Form
I
Quran occurrences
14 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.

  1. To untie, loosen, or release what is bound.

    The Quranic imperative in the expression concerning the knot of the tongue preserves the concrete image of releasing a bond or impediment.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 20:27word 1

    And untie

  2. To alight, descend, settle, or come to rest in a place.

    Used of a person, group, or thing arriving and settling; the form may be translated simply as descend or settle according to context.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 13:31word 39

    it settles

  3. Of anger, punishment, or a threatened consequence: to descend upon, befall, or become due.

    This construction describes a consequence taking effect upon its object; it is distinct from merely settling in a place.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 20:81word 9

    lest should descend

  4. To become lawful, allowable, or free from a prohibition.

    Used of something becoming permissible, including marital and other legal permissions.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 2:228word 7

    lawful

  5. To leave the state of ihram or another consecrated restriction.

    In the pilgrimage context, the subject becomes free of the restrictions of ihram; this is a conventional extension of release from a bond.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 5:2word 25

    you come out of Ihram

أَحَلَّ

ʾaḥalla

Part of speech
Verb · Form IV
Form
IV
Quran occurrences
20 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.

  1. To make lawful, permit, or declare free for use.

    With protected or prohibited things, making lawful can imply treating what is sacred or restricted as permissible; passive forms mean that something has been made lawful.

    • Lane · entry 15272
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 2:275word 21

    While has permitted

    Quran 5:2word 5

    violate

  2. To cause someone or something to alight, settle, or take up residence in a place.

    The object is brought to or established in a place; in Quranic usage this includes bringing a people to a place and being settled in an abode.

    • Lane · entry 15272
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 14:28word 9

    and they led

    Quran 35:35word 2

    has settled us

حَلِيلَة

ḥalīlah

Part of speech
Noun · wife; plural حَلَائِل
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.

  1. A wife or spouse; حَلَائِل is its Quranic plural.

    The Quranic form is plural and refers to the wives of sons.

    • Lane · entry 15289
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 4:23word 37

    And wives

حَلَال

ḥalāl

Part of speech
Adjective · lawful
Quran occurrences
6 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.

  1. Lawful, permitted, or allowable; the opposite of forbidden.

    It describes food, provisions, or an act that religious or legal restriction does not prohibit.

    • Lane · entry 15287
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 2:168word 7

    lawful

    Quran 16:116word 8

    (is) lawful

حِلّ

ḥill

Part of speech
Noun · lawful or outside consecration
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.

  1. Lawfulness or permissibility; a state in which something is not forbidden.

    Used substantivally of food, persons, or relations that are legally permissible.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 5:5word 9

    (is) lawful

    Quran 60:10word 21

    (are) lawful

  2. Freedom from consecrated restriction; the ordinary territory outside the sacred precinct.

    The sense may describe a person who is not in ihram or a place outside the Haram; it is not merely a synonym for general moral freedom.

    • Lane · entry 15282
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 90:2word 2

    (are) free (to dwell)

مَحِلّ

maḥill

Part of speech
Noun · appointed place
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.

  1. An appointed place or point at which something arrives or reaches its prescribed end, especially the lawful place of sacrifice.

    In the pilgrimage passages it denotes the destination or appointed place where a sacrificial offering is to be slaughtered.

    • Lane · entry 15301
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 2:196word 17

    (to) its destination

    Quran 22:33word 8

    their place of sacrifice

    Quran 48:25word 12

    its place (of sacrifice)

مُحِلّ

muḥill

Part of speech
Active participle · Form IV
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.

  1. One who makes something lawful or treats it as permissible.

    In the Quranic construction with game and ihram, it denotes making the game permissible while the relevant consecrated restriction is in force.

    • Lane · entry 15272
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 5:1word 15

    being permitted

تَحِلَّة

taḥillah

Part of speech
Verbal 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.

  1. The means by which an oath is released from its binding force, especially its expiation or kaffāra.

    In the Quranic expression, it refers to the prescribed act that dissolves the obligation of an oath.

    • Lane · entry 15271
    • Lane · entry 15298
    • Mufradāt · row 350
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 66:2word 5

    (the) dissolution

Occurrences in the Quran

Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.

  • 2:168حَلَـٰلًۭاlawful
  • 2:187أُحِلَّPermitted
  • 2:196مَحِلَّهُۥ ۚ(to) its destination
  • 2:228يَحِلُّlawful
  • 2:229يَحِلُّlawful
View all 51 occurrences

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 68 Classical meanings
  • حَلَّ

    To dissolve, melt, or liquefy a solid or congealed thing.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Lane · entry 15273
  • حَلَّ

    To solve a problem or riddle, and by extension to analyze a thing.

    These are figurative extensions of releasing something difficult or compounded.

    • Lane · entry 15270
    • Lane · entry 15274
  • حَلَّ

    Of a sacrificial animal, to arrive at the place where it may lawfully be slaughtered.

    • Lane · entry 15270
  • حَلَّ

    To be free from an obligation or responsibility; of a woman, to become free of a marriage impediment; of an oath, to become discharged.

    These are conventional release constructions distinct from the general adjective حلال.

    • Lane · entry 15270
  • حَلَّ

    To run.

    A rare lexical use recorded independently from the ordinary meanings of the root.

    • Lane · entry 15270
  • حَلَّ

    Of a man, to suffer pain in the hips or knees.

    • Lane · entry 15270
  • حَلَّلَ / تَحْلِيل

    To do something only lightly or moderately, without exceeding the ordinary bounds.

    The usage includes a slight blow, a restrained action, or a light contact with the ground.

    • Lane · entry 15271
  • حَلَّلَ

    To remove or dispel a disease.

    • Lane · entry 15271
  • حَلَّلَ

    To clothe someone in a حُلَّة.

    • Lane · entry 15271
  • أَحَلَّ

    To cause punishment to befall someone or to make punishment become due upon him.

    This is a causative consequence construction, not the ordinary legal sense of permitting an act.

    • Lane · entry 15272
  • أَحَلَّ

    To release someone from an obligation, responsibility, or claim.

    • Lane · entry 15272
  • أَحَلَّ

    To enter the profane months, leave the sacred territory, or become free of an obligation.

    This intransitive or reflexive use is recorded in Classical Arabic outside the supplied Quran form evidence.

    • Lane · entry 15272
  • أَحَلَّ

    To make attack, fighting, or another prohibited act lawful against someone.

    The construction may describe one who makes another's honour, property, or person open to attack.

    • Lane · entry 15272
  • أَحَلَّ

    Of a ewe, goat, or camel, to produce or release milk abundantly, sometimes without giving birth.

    • Lane · entry 15272
  • تَحَلَّلَ

    For an illness to go away gradually.

    • Lane · entry 15273
  • تَحَلَّلَ

    To finish one's prayer.

    A conventional use describing release from the state of prayer.

    • Lane · entry 15273
  • تَحَلَّلَ

    For a journey to leave a person ill, or for a person to fall ill after returning from a journey.

    • Lane · entry 15273
  • اِنْحَلَّ

    To become untied or undone; also to become dissolved, or for a problem to become solved and a thing analyzed.

    These are intransitive or passive developments of releasing or loosening.

    • Lane · entry 15274
  • اِنْحَلَّ

    To relax or become free of self-restraint; of an oath, to become freed from its obligation.

    • Lane · entry 15274
  • اِسْتَحَلَّ

    To deem or account something lawful, or to ask that it be made lawful; hence, to profane or violate what should be protected.

    • Lane · entry 15276
  • حَلْحَلَ

    To remove people from their place, unsettle them, and put them in motion.

    • Lane · entry 15277
  • حَلْ / حَلْحَال

    A cry used to chide or urge a she-camel or camels.

    The cry is directed particularly to female camels in the cited lexical description.

    • Lane · entry 15277
    • Lane · entry 15279
    • Lane · entry 15292
  • تَحَلْحَلَ

    To move away from a place, leave it, or become displaced.

    • Lane · entry 15278
  • حَلّ

    Sesame oil or sesame seed.

    This is a homonymous nominal use distinguished by vocalization and lexical definition.

    • Lane · entry 15280
  • حِلّ

    A butt or other object used as a target for shooting or throwing.

    • Lane · entry 15282
  • حَلَّة

    A large basket or basket-shaped vessel, including a regional copper cooking pot.

    • Lane · entry 15283
  • حَلَّة

    The direction or intended course toward a thing.

    • Lane · entry 15283
  • حَلَّة

    Weakness or languor in a person.

    • Lane · entry 15283
  • حُلَّة

    A dress or suit of garments, especially one consisting of an izar and a ridaʾ or two matching garments.

    The word can also denote a fine or new garment in broader usage.

    • Lane · entry 15284
  • حُلَّة

    A weapon or set of weapons, figuratively something one puts on.

    • Lane · entry 15284
  • حُلَّة

    A wife, by metaphorical association with a garment or covering.

    • Lane · entry 15284
  • حِلَّة

    A mode or manner of alighting, lodging, or settling.

    • Lane · entry 15285
  • حِلَّة

    A settlement or collection of tents or houses, and by extension the people dwelling there.

    The term may denote a large tribal encampment or a hundred or more houses.

    • Lane · entry 15285
  • حِلَّة

    A sitting place, assembly place, or the people gathered there.

    • Lane · entry 15285
  • حَلَل

    Laxness or weakness in an animal's legs, hocks, tendons, or sinews.

    The description is especially associated with camels, though related animal usage is also recorded.

    • Lane · entry 15286
  • حَلَل

    Paucity of flesh in the buttocks or thighs, or smallness and closeness of the buttocks.

    The cited description applies this term to a woman.

    • Lane · entry 15286
  • حَلَل

    Pain in a man's hips, haunches, or knees.

    • Lane · entry 15286
  • حَلَال

    A man who has left ihram or is outside the sacred state.

    This is a substantivized person-description, distinct from the adjective meaning lawful.

    • Lane · entry 15287
  • حَلَال

    A woman free of an impediment to marriage, such as having completed her waiting period.

    • Lane · entry 15287
  • حَلِيل

    A husband or fellow spouse; literally, one who shares a dwelling or intimate place.

    The corresponding feminine is حَلِيلَة; the Quranic plural حَلَائِل refers to wives.

    • Lane · entry 15289
    • Mufradāt · row 350
  • حَلِيل

    A fellow-lodger or fellow-resident in one house.

    • Lane · entry 15289
  • حَلِيل

    A neighbour.

    • Lane · entry 15289
  • حَلِيل

    A guest.

    • Lane · entry 15289
  • حَلَّال

    One who solves astronomical problems.

    • Lane · entry 15290
  • حُلَّان

    Blood that goes for nothing or is treated as having no account.

    This occurs in the cited idiom about blood being unavenged.

    • Lane · entry 15291
  • حُلَاحِل

    A grave, steadfast, courageous, or prominent chief; a man of weight and virtue.

    The cited lexical restriction applies the term to a man, not a woman.

    • Lane · entry 15293
  • حَالّ

    One who unties, undoes, or opens a knot; the act of untying.

    This is the active-participial noun of the concrete untying construction.

    • Lane · entry 15294
  • حَالّ

    One who alights, settles, lodges, or abides in a place; also a settled or alighting group.

    • Lane · entry 15294
  • الحَالّ المُرْتَحِل

    A person who completes recitation of the Quran and immediately begins it again.

    This is an idiomatic designation based on the image of one who is continually travelling.

    • Lane · entry 15294
  • حَالّ / مَحِلّ

    Due or falling due; the end of the appointed term of a debt.

    The noun مَحِلّ can denote the time or term when payment becomes due.

    • Lane · entry 15294
    • Lane · entry 15301
    • Lane · entry 15303
  • أَحَلّ

    Having the laxness or weakness called حَلَل in the legs or hocks.

    The cited usage is chiefly applied to horses, camels, and similar animals.

    • Lane · entry 15295
  • أَحَلّ

    Of a woman, having little flesh in the buttocks or thighs.

    • Lane · entry 15295
  • إِحْلِيل

    The orifice through which urine passes from the penis, or milk passes from the breast or udder.

    This is an anatomical noun.

    • Lane · entry 15296
  • مَحَلّ

    A place where a person or group alights, lodges, settles, or takes up residence.

    The noun can denote a particular settlement-place or place of arrival.

    • Lane · entry 15300
  • مَحَلّ

    A place in a general sense, including a position or syntactic place occupied by something.

    This includes the grammatical expression for a word's syntactic position.

    • Lane · entry 15300
  • مَحَلّ

    A grammatical term for an adverbial noun of place or time.

    • Lane · entry 15300
  • مَحَلّ

    A person regarded as a suitable locus or instance for a quality to be predicated of him.

    This is a figurative extension of place or locus.

    • Lane · entry 15300
  • مَحِلّ

    The term or appointed time when a debt falls due.

    • Lane · entry 15301
  • مُحِلّ

    One who makes a person alight or settle; also, in a specialized usage, the equipment that enables a traveller to settle wherever he wishes.

    The equipment is enumerated as cooking, milling, cutting, lighting, water, and related camp implements.

    • Lane · entry 15303
  • مُحِلّ

    That which makes a debt fall due or brings its appointed term near.

    • Lane · entry 15303
  • مُحِلّ

    A person against whom fighting or killing is regarded as lawful, or who has no protected covenant.

    This is the contralateral legal sense to مُحْرِم in the cited descriptions.

    • Lane · entry 15303
  • مُحِلّ

    One who violates something sacred or does not recognize the sanctity of a sacred month.

    • Lane · entry 15303
  • مُحَلَّل

    Water at which camels have stayed and consequently made turbid.

    • Lane · entry 15305
  • مُحَلَّل

    A man whose remarriage to a wife divorced three times has become lawful after her intervening marriage and divorce.

    This is a specialized legal-marital term.

    • Lane · entry 15305
  • مُحَلَّل

    A thing small in quantity.

    • Lane · entry 15305
  • مُحَلِّل

    A man who marries a thrice-divorced woman with the arrangement that he will divorce her after consummation so that she may remarry her former husband.

    This is the specialized legal-marital use of the active participle.

    • Lane · entry 15306
  • مُحَلِّل

    In a race for stakes, the third participant who enters without staking and thereby makes the contest lawful under the described rules.

    If he wins he takes the stakes; if he loses he is not fined.

    • Lane · entry 15306
  • مِحْلَال

    A place, meadow, land, or house where people frequently alight or settle.

    The term can also imply a place that invites or supports frequent settlement, especially through abundant herbage.

    • Lane · entry 15307

Cautions

Points that affect how this root should be read.

  • The Quranic Form I verb has distinct vocalized and constructional uses: untying, settling or descending, becoming due, becoming lawful, and leaving ihram should not be collapsed into one gloss.

  • The public headword حَلِيلَة is normalized from the Quranic plural حَلَائِل; the supplied occurrence itself is plural.

  • The public headword مُحِلّ is normalized from the Quranic active-participial form مُحِلِّى.

  • Lane's Quran references in its primary text were not converted into modern verse locations unless the corresponding QAC location was supplied and secure.