Quranic root
فحش
f · ḥ · sh
A semantic principle of ugliness, offensiveness, and gross violation of proper measure.
The root develops from exceeding due measure into what is foul, shameful, or morally reprehensible in conduct and speech; an extended branch denotes avarice as an especially blameworthy trait.
- Maqāyīs · row 3528
- Lane · entry 33371
- Lane · entry 33381
- Mufradāt · row 1093
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 3
- Quran senses
- 24
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
فَحْشَاءُ
faḥshāʾu
- 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.
Grossly shameful or immoral conduct, speech, or deed; a grave indecency.
The noun denotes what is greatly ugly or reprehensible in acts and utterances and is not restricted to a particular kind of misconduct. It can function as a general category of grave indecency.
- Mufradāt · row 1093
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:268word 5
“to immorality”
Quran 7:28word 16
“immorality”
Quran 16:90word 11
“the immorality”
Quran 24:21word 14
“the immorality”
فَاحِشَةٌ
fāḥishahun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 17 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 grossly shameful or immoral act or utterance; a grave indecency or enormity.
The term can denote any act or saying judged excessively foul, evil, or contrary to rectitude, rather than a sexual offense alone. In certain legal or domestic interpretations of Quranic usages, it is applied to a wife's leaving without permission or to foul language against her husband's relations.
- Lane · entry 33382
- Mufradāt · row 1093
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:135word 4
“immorality”
Sexual immorality, especially fornication or adultery; a euphemistic designation for zina.
This specific use appears in constructions describing someone as committing a fāḥishah and in passages where the surrounding context identifies the indecency as sexual misconduct. The noun retains its broader meaning in other Quranic occurrences.
- Lane · entry 33382
- Mufradāt · row 1093
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:15word 3
“[the] immorality”
Quran 17:32word 6
“an immorality”
Quran 29:28word 7
“the immorality”
Quran 65:1word 22
“an immorality”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:169وَٱلْفَحْشَآءِand the shameful
- 2:268بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ ۖto immorality
- 3:135فَـٰحِشَةًimmorality
- 4:15ٱلْفَـٰحِشَةَ[the] immorality
- 4:19بِفَـٰحِشَةٍۢimmorality
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 12 Classical meanings
فَحُشَ
To become excessive, immoderate, or beyond measure; to become foul, evil, abominable, or unseemly; to increase progressively in foulness.
A cited expression with a woman describes her as becoming foul or ugly and old; this is a specific construction rather than a restriction on the general verb.
- Lane · entry 33371
فَاحَشَ
To vie with another in foul, gross, or obscene speech; to engage in such discourse with him.
A reciprocal or competitive construction involving indecent speech or language.
- Lane · entry 33373
أَفْحَشَ
To utter foul, evil, gross, immodest, lewd, or obscene speech, and to manifest or reveal such speech.
Used with speech, language, or words, including speech directed against another person.
- Lane · entry 33374
أَفْحَشَ
To become niggardly, tenacious, or avaricious.
An extended Form IV usage distinct from uttering indecent speech.
- Lane · entry 33374
اِسْتَفْحَشَ
To deem or regard something as foul, evil, abominable, or beyond measure.
A transitive evaluative construction meaning to judge a thing excessively foul or objectionable.
- Lane · entry 33377
فُحْشٌ
Excess, exorbitance, or transgression of proper bounds; especially foul, gross, or obscene speech or language.
The noun can describe excess generally and is particularly applied to indecent speech, including a foul reply.
- Lane · entry 33378
فَاحِشٌ
Excessive, immoderate, or beyond proper bounds; foul, evil, abominable, or unseemly.
Applied to a thing, affair, speech, language, or action; of a person, it can describe one who transgresses proper limits, especially in speech or reply.
- Lane · entry 33381
فَاحِشٌ
Evil or foul in disposition.
A characterization of a person's moral or behavioral disposition.
- Lane · entry 33381
فَاحِشٌ
Niggardly, tenacious, or excessively avaricious.
An extended adjectival use for extreme miserliness.
- Lane · entry 33381
فَاحِشَةٌ
Niggardliness, tenaciousness, or avarice, especially withholding or abstaining from payment of the poor-rate.
A specialized Classical Arabic use distinct from the noun's Quran-attested meanings of grave indecency and sexual immorality.
- Lane · entry 33382
مُتَفَحِّشٌ
One who deliberately affects or takes upon himself the reviling of others.
An active-participial description of abusive or insulting conduct.
- Lane · entry 33384
مُتَفَحِّشٌ
One who commits a forbidden indecency or other gross excess.
A person characterized by committing a fāḥishah or comparable forbidden excess.
- Lane · entry 33384
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Lane association of the avarice specialization with “Kur ii.271” is not treated as a modern QAC location; the supplied QAC occurrences include 2:268 but not 2:271, so that specialization is retained as Classical-only rather than claimed as a Quranic occurrence.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
It is uncertain whether Lane's citation “Kur ii.271” reflects a citation or interpretive association that can be mapped to the supplied فَحْشَاءُ occurrence at 2:268; the lexical avarice branch is preserved, but no direct Quranic form sense is asserted for it.