Quranic root
نشر
n · sh · r
An opening or unfolding that leads to outward extension, branching, or dispersal.
The root develops from opening and spreading physical things to the diffusion of words, clouds, people, and scents, and to the bringing forth of life after death or dormancy.
- Maqāyīs · row 4633
- Mufradāt · row 1442
- 10
- Quran-attested forms
- 12
- Quran senses
- 21
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
نَشَرَ
nashara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- 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.
To spread out, unfold, or lay open.
In the supplied Quranic occurrences, the action applies to mercy and to records or pages; the passive form may be rendered “laid open.”
- Lane · entry 43722
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
To revive or raise the dead to life.
This Quran-attested use is preserved from a reported Quranic reading discussed in the lexical evidence; it is distinct from the supplied canonical Form I occurrences that describe spreading or opening.
- Lane · entry 43722
- Mufradāt · row 1442
أَنشَرَ
ʾanshara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- 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.
To bring the dead to life; to revive what is lifeless.
In the Quran this includes raising the dead and reviving a dead land through rain.
- Lane · entry 43722
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 21:21word 7
“raise (the dead)”
Quran 43:11word 7
“then We revive”
Quran 80:22word 4
“He will resurrect him”
اِنْتَشَرَ
āintashara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form VIII
- Form
- VIII
- 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.
To spread out, disperse, or go forth.
The Quranic construction describes people becoming dispersed or going out into the land after an activity; the form also denotes something becoming spread out.
- Lane · entry 43728
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
مَنْشُور
manshūr
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 2 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.
Spread out, opened, or unrolled.
Used of a record or writing that is opened out or of a scroll that is unrolled.
- Lane · entry 43731
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:13word 13
“wide open”
Quran 52:3word 3
“unrolled”
مُنْشَر
munshar
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- 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.
Raised to life again; resurrected.
The supplied Quranic form is plural and refers to people who will not be raised again.
- Lane · entry 43722
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 44:35word 8
“(will be) raised again”
مُنَشَّر
munashshar
- Part of speech
- Passive participle / adjective
- 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.
Spread out or distributed widely.
The intensive pattern can convey extensive spreading or application to many writings or objects; the Quranic occurrence describes sheets spread out.
- Lane · entry 43737
Selected Quran examples
Quran 74:52word 9
“spread out”
مُنْتَشِر
muntashir
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- 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.
Spreading or spread out.
An active participial description of something in a state of outward extension or dispersion.
- Lane · entry 43728
Selected Quran examples
Quran 54:7word 8
“spreading”
نَشْر
nashr
- 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.
Spreading or scattering, especially the spreading of clouds or the scattering of rain.
In the Quranic oath expression, the “spreaders” may be understood as angels spreading rain or as winds spreading clouds or bringing rain.
- Lane · entry 43735
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 77:3word 2
“far and wide”
نُشُور
nushūr
- 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.
Resurrection; rising to life after death.
A Quranic noun for the resurrection or the return of the dead to life.
- Lane · entry 43722
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 25:3word 22
“resurrection”
Quran 35:9word 17
“(will be) the Resurrection”
Quran 67:15word 14
“(is) the Resurrection”
Going forth and becoming active in the daytime.
In the expression describing the day as نشور, it denotes people’s dispersal and pursuit of their needs and livelihood, rather than resurrection.
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 25:47word 11
“a resurrection”
نَاشِرَة
nāshirah
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- 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.
One that spreads or scatters.
In the Quranic plural oath expression, it refers interpretively to angels scattering rain or to winds spreading clouds or rain.
- Lane · entry 43735
- Mufradāt · row 1442
Selected Quran examples
Quran 77:3word 1
“And the ones that scatter”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 17:13مَنشُورًاwide open
- 18:16يَنشُرْWill spread
- 21:21يُنشِرُونَraise (the dead)
- 25:3نُشُورًۭاresurrection
- 25:40نُشُورًۭاResurrection
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 35 Classical meanings
نَشَرَ
To spread or publish news.
A conventional figurative use with news or reports as the object.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
To scatter or disperse people or livestock.
Especially used of releasing people, sheep, goats, or camels after they had been confined.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
To sprinkle water; of wind, to disperse mist or clouds.
These are related weather and water uses of the Form I verb.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
To charm away sickness, madness, or demonic possession.
Used with عن and associated with a نُشْرَة, a charm or amulet.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
Of nursing, to strengthen a bone.
A specialized construction describing the effect of suckling on the bone.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
Of herbage or a plant, to revive and grow again after rain.
Includes the greening of dried pasture and the putting forth of leaves or new growth.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَشَرَ
To saw or cut wood.
The action is performed with a مِنْشَار, a saw.
- Lane · entry 43722
نَاشَرَ
To spread or unfold garments together with someone.
A Form III construction expressing shared participation in spreading the garments.
- Lane · entry 43724
تَنَاشَرَ
To spread or unfold garments mutually.
A reciprocal Form VI construction.
- Lane · entry 43727
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of news, to spread or become public.
A figurative Form VIII use with news spreading among people.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of an odor, to diffuse or spread.
A figurative Form VIII use describing diffusion through an area.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of the day or another extended thing, to lengthen or extend.
A figurative extension of outward or longitudinal spreading.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of an animal’s sinew or tendon, to swell or become inflated from fatigue.
A technical veterinary use; the condition may involve injury or displacement of the tendon.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
To become sexually aroused; of the penis, to become erect.
An anatomical and sexual use of the Form VIII verb.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of water, to become sprinkled or dispersed.
A water-related use of the intransitive Form VIII.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of sheep, goats, or camels, to become scattered after confinement.
The scattering may result from the animals being released or from the negligence of their herder.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of affairs or circumstances, to become disorganized or unsettled.
A figurative use equivalent to becoming broken up or dispersed.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
To set out and proceed on a journey.
A conventional Form VIII use in which movement outward is foregrounded.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِنْتَشَرَ
Of a wolf, to make an incursion among sheep or goats.
A specialized construction describing movement into a flock.
- Lane · entry 43728
اِسْتَنْشَرَ
To ask someone to unfold or explain something.
The person asked is the source from whom the thing is to be unfolded or made clear.
- Lane · entry 43729
نَشْر
Odor or scent, especially a pleasant scent.
The term may also denote odor generally, including bodily odor in specified expressions.
- Lane · entry 43730
نَشْر
Herbage that revives after drying when rain falls.
This may refer to regrown pasture or to the plant growth produced by seasonal rain; some descriptions note its harmfulness to livestock when it first appears.
- Lane · entry 43730
نَشْر
Life.
A lexical noun meaning attested independently of the Quranic noun نُشُور for resurrection.
- Lane · entry 43730
نَشَر
A spread, unfolded, or scattered state; something spread out.
This noun can function as a passive-like form and is explicitly associated with مَنْشُور and مُنْتَشِر.
- Lane · entry 43731
نَشَر
Sprinkled water.
A noun for water dispersed in the course of ablution or a similar act.
- Lane · entry 43731
نَشَر
A discomposed or disorganized state of affairs.
A figurative use in which what has been unfolded is restored to order.
- Lane · entry 43731
نُشْرَة
A charm, amulet, or ritual recitation used to cure sickness or possession.
The term describes a treatment understood as dispersing the malady; the sources also report criticism of or disagreement about this practice.
- Lane · entry 43732
نُشَارَة
Sawdust or material falling from a saw.
A noun for the residue produced by sawing.
- Lane · entry 43734
نَاشِر
Eager or covetous.
A figurative idiom describes someone as coming with the ears spread or pricked up.
- Lane · entry 43722
- Lane · entry 43735
نَاشِر
Land bearing herbage that has revived after rain.
The herbage may be seasonal pasture produced by the rain called الرَّبِيع.
- Lane · entry 43735
المَنْشَر
The place of resurrection.
A specialized place noun derived from the notion of being raised or brought forth.
- Lane · entry 43736
مِنْشَار
A saw, an instrument for cutting wood.
The ordinary tool noun associated with sawing.
- Lane · entry 43738
مِنْشَار
A wooden, pronged implement for winnowing grain.
A less common technical use of the same instrument noun.
- Lane · entry 43738
مَنْشُور
An unsealed official writing or decree.
A historical administrative use, including a sultan’s or governor’s written فرمان; its plural is مَنَاشِير.
- Lane · entry 43739
مَنْشُور
A man whose affairs or condition are disorganized.
A figurative characterization of a person in a disordered state.
- Lane · entry 43739
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Form I resurrection sense is preserved because the lexical evidence explicitly discusses a Quranic reading for that use; the supplied canonical Form I occurrence locations themselves show spreading or opening.
In the expression associated with 77:3, the spreaders are interpreted variously as angels scattering rain or winds spreading clouds or rain.
نُشُور in 25:47 is lexically explained as daytime activity and going forth, even though the supplied contextual English gloss uses “a resurrection.”