Quranic root
قرب
q · r · b
A root centered on nearness, the opposite of distance: being close in place, time, relation, rank, access, or degree.
The lexical field extends from physical approach and proximity to temporal imminence, kinship, favored status, seeking nearness to God, offerings made for that purpose, and specialized uses involving approach to water, approximation, and containment.
- Maqāyīs · row 3749
- Mufradāt · row 1167
- 10
- Quran-attested forms
- 17
- Quran senses
- 96
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
قَرُبَ
qaruba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- Quran occurrences
- 11 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 approach, come near, or be close to something.
Used for physical proximity and approach; the Quranic imperfect forms occur especially in prohibitions against approaching a person, place, object, or act.
- Lane · entry 8053
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:34word 2
“come near”
To approach or engage in an act or object; in the construction قَرِبَ المرأةَ, to have sexual intercourse by euphemism.
In prohibitive constructions, the wording can prohibit not only the final act but also approaching or engaging in what leads to it. لا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ is an established euphemism for sexual intercourse, while لا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَى prohibits approaching or engaging in fornication.
- Lane · entry 8053
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:32word 2
“go near”
Quran 2:222word 12
“approach them”
قَرَّبَ
qarraba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form II
- Form
- II
- 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.
To cause to be near; to bring or draw someone or something close.
Transitive causative use, including bringing a person near or placing an object near someone.
- Lane · entry 8054
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 19:52word 6
“and brought him near”
To bring near in standing, favor, access, or rank.
The object is brought near figuratively, as an associate, favored person, or one granted proximity to God or a ruler.
- Lane · entry 8054
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Selected Quran examples
Quran 34:37word 6
“will bring you close”
To present, offer, or place something before someone, especially as an offering.
In the Quranic construction قَرَّبَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ, the object is presented or placed before the recipients; the related offering construction includes presenting a قربان.
- Lane · entry 8054
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 51:27word 1
“And he placed it near”
Quran 5:27word 8
“both offered”
اِقْتَرَبَ
āiqtaraba
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form VIII
- Form
- VIII
- 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.
To draw near, come near, or become imminent.
Used for an approaching event or time as well as ordinary coming near; the form can convey intensified or completed approach.
- Lane · entry 8053
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 21:1word 1
“(Has) approached”
Quran 54:1word 1
“Has come near”
To draw near to God through worship or submission.
The imperative وَاقْتَرِب is a religious construction of drawing near, not a claim of bodily movement toward God.
- Mufradāt · row 1167
- Lane · entry 8053
Selected Quran examples
Quran 96:19word 5
“and draw near (to Allah)”
أَقْرَبُ
ʾaqrabu
- Part of speech
- Adjective / Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 19 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.
Nearer or nearest; closer in place, time, degree, or standing.
Comparative or superlative adjective, sometimes substantivized; the comparison may concern physical distance, appropriateness, or rank.
- Lane · entry 8084
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 16:77word 13
“(is) nearer”
Quran 5:82word 11
“nearest of them”
A nearer or closest relative; near kin.
Substantivized plural forms refer to relatives or kindred, with nearness understood in kinship rather than physical distance.
- Lane · entry 8074
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Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:180word 12
“and the near relatives”
مَقْرَبَة
maqrabah
- 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.
Near relationship or kinship.
A relational noun describing someone connected by close kinship.
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 90:15word 3
“near relationship”
مُقَرَّب
muqarrab
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 8 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.
Brought near, admitted to favor, or granted honored proximity, especially to God.
Passive participle of قَرَّبَ; in Quranic contexts it denotes persons granted a privileged spiritual rank or nearness, not merely physical proximity.
- Lane · entry 8054
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:45word 20
“those brought near (to Allah)”
Quran 4:172word 10
“the ones who are near (to Allah)”
Quran 56:88word 5
“those brought near”
قَرِيب
qarīb
- Part of speech
- Adjective / Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 26 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.
Near or close in place.
Describes spatial proximity; the adjective may retain the masculine form with a conventionally feminine subject in some Quranic and Classical constructions.
- Lane · entry 8074
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 11:81word 29
“near”
Near in time; imminent, soon, or after a short interval.
Used of future or past time and may be translated “soon,” “shortly,” or “impending” according to context.
- Lane · entry 8074
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Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:17word 12
“soon after”
Near in care, response, or accessible presence.
In descriptions of God or divine mercy, nearness is relational and spiritual—expressing care, response, or availability rather than bodily location.
- Lane · entry 8074
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Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:186word 6
“near”
قُرْبَان
qurbān
- Part of speech
- Noun
- 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.
An offering presented for nearness to God; by conventional extension, a sacrifice.
Includes a sacrificial offering and, more broadly, anything presented as an act of seeking divine nearness.
- Lane · entry 8070
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 5:27word 9
“a sacrifice”
Quran 3:183word 12
“a sacrifice”
Quran 46:28word 8
“gods as a way of approach”
قُرْبَىٰ
qurbāā
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 16 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.
Kinship, near relatives, or kindred.
A relational noun referring to close family connection or those connected by kinship; it can also denote the relationship itself.
- Lane · entry 8075
- Lane · entry 8074
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 42:23word 18
“the relatives”
Quran 4:36word 10
“the relatives”
Quran 6:152word 27
“a near relative”
قُرْبَة
qurbah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- 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.
A means or act of seeking nearness to God.
Includes a righteous deed, prayer, offering, or other act intended to gain divine favor or proximity; the plural قُرُبَات refers to such means or acts.
- Lane · entry 8064
- Mufradāt · row 1167
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:99word 18
“(is) a means of nearness”
Quran 9:99word 11
“(as) means of nearness”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:35تَقْرَبَا[you two] approach
- 2:83ٱلْقُرْبَىٰrelatives
- 2:177ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ(of) the near relatives
- 2:180وَٱلْأَقْرَبِينَand the near relatives
- 2:186قَرِيبٌ ۖnear
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 53 Classical meanings
قَرُبَ
To form an opinion approaching certainty.
A figurative extension of nearness applied to judgment or estimation.
- Lane · entry 8053
قَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ
To become near to setting.
A rare usage in which the ق is reported as a substitute for ك in the corresponding verb.
- Lane · entry 8053
قَرَبَ
To journey toward water by night in order to reach it soon, especially on the following morning.
A specialized pastoral term concerning a person or group traveling with camels toward a watering place.
- Lane · entry 8053
- Lane · entry 8062
- Lane · entry 8056
قَارِب
A person seeking or journeying toward water, especially by night.
The term may be restricted to nighttime water-seeking according to some authorities.
- Lane · entry 8082
قَرَبَ
To seek, aim at, or undertake the accomplishment of an affair.
A figurative extension from journeying toward a sought destination or water.
- Lane · entry 8053
إِقْرَاب
Drawing near or causing proximity.
A verbal noun and derived usage associated with approach and nearness.
- Lane · entry 8053
قِرَاب
The sheath, scabbard, or carrying case of a sword or knife.
May refer narrowly to the scabbard or more broadly to a case containing the weapon and related equipment.
- Lane · entry 8053
- Lane · entry 8073
قِرَاب
Near a specified time.
Used adverbially, as in arriving near nightfall or near the night.
- Lane · entry 8073
قِرَاب
Nearly equal or nearly equivalent in quantity or amount.
Used of an amount that nearly fills, matches, or equals a stated quantity.
- Lane · entry 8073
قُرْب
The flank or side of the body, especially the region from the side to the soft parts of the belly or armpit.
Especially used of an animal, particularly a horse; the plural أَقْرَاب can also occur in a culinary expression for feeding a guest with flanks.
- Lane · entry 8061
- Lane · entry 8053
قُرْب
Nearness or vicinity in place.
Used as a substantive or adverbial expression for being within a short distance.
- Lane · entry 8061
قُرْب
Nearness in time; soon.
A temporal use distinct from spatial vicinity.
- Lane · entry 8061
قُرْبَة
Nearness of station, grade, rank, or favor.
Used of admission into another’s favor or of a privileged position, apart from the specifically devotional sense.
- Lane · entry 8064
قِرْبَة
A skin or leather vessel used for carrying water or milk.
A container made from an animal skin, with several established plural forms.
- Lane · entry 8065
قَرَبَة
A quantity in a vessel that nearly fills it.
Used in the expression فِيهِ قَرَبَةٌ of a vessel nearly filled.
- Lane · entry 8066
قَرْبَان
A vessel that is nearly full.
A distinct nominal use, unrelated to the offering noun قُرْبَان.
- Lane · entry 8069
قُرْبَان
A favored, intimate, or special associate or companion, especially of a ruler or other person of authority.
A person is called this because of privileged nearness or admission into favor.
- Lane · entry 8070
- Lane · entry 8054
قَارَبَ
To be nearly full, nearly equal, or nearly equivalent to a stated amount.
Used of a vessel approaching fullness or of an amount approaching another amount.
- Lane · entry 8055
قَارَبَ
To make steps, words, or events close together or nearly continuous.
Applies to shortened steps, rapidly delivered speech, closely spaced words, or nearly uninterrupted affairs.
- Lane · entry 8055
قَارَبَ
To consider someone or something near or nearly so.
A cognitive use involving estimation rather than actual physical proximity.
- Lane · entry 8055
قَارَبَ
To exchange good or pleasing speech with someone.
A conventional interpersonal use of the Form III verb.
- Lane · entry 8055
قَارَبَ
To pursue a moderate, right, or just course, neither exceeding nor falling short.
Used of conduct in an affair, including fair dealing in buying or selling.
- Lane · entry 8055
مُقَارَبَة
A sexual approach or intercourse-related act.
A specialized expression involving raising the leg for sexual intercourse.
- Lane · entry 8055
أَقْرَبَ
To be near giving birth or bringing forth young.
Used of a pregnant woman or female animal; the evidence lists mares, ewes, goats, and asses, with differing remarks about camels.
- Lane · entry 8056
- Lane · entry 8088
أَقْرَبَ
To approach the age at which an animal sheds its central or other teeth.
Used especially of a colt or young camel.
- Lane · entry 8056
أَقْرَبَ
To perform something nearly equal or similar to a specified model.
Attested in the expression for performing a prayer nearly like the Prophet’s prayer.
- Lane · entry 8056
تَقَرَّبْ
Advance, come forward, or hasten.
The evidence specifically identifies the imperative as the form used in this sense.
- Lane · entry 8057
تَقَرَّبَ
To draw oneself near, ally oneself, ingratiate oneself, or seek access and favor.
May describe approach through affection, friendship, a performed act, or righteous action; it can also be used of seeking nearness to God.
- Lane · entry 8057
تَقَرَّبَ
To place one’s hand on one’s flank while walking or hastening.
A specialized bodily description of movement.
- Lane · entry 8057
تَقَارَبَ
To draw near to one another or become close together.
Reciprocal or collective Form VI use.
- Lane · entry 8058
تَقَارَبَ
To become few, reduced, or diminished.
Used of camels and, by extension, other things that become fewer or deteriorate.
- Lane · entry 8058
تَقَارَبَ
To become nearly ripe.
Used of seed produce, standing corn, or similar crops.
- Lane · entry 8058
تَقَارَبَ
To become contracted or shortened in duration.
A figurative temporal extension of becoming close together.
- Lane · entry 8058
اِسْتَقْرَبَ
To reckon something remote as near or regard it as close.
The opposite of اِسْتَبْعَدَ in the cited construction.
- Lane · entry 8060
قَرِيب
A relation or relative by birth or marriage.
In this relational use the adjective is substantivized and takes ordinary feminine, dual, and plural forms.
- Lane · entry 8074
قَرِيب
Near or allied through affection, friendship, or cordiality.
A social and emotional use rather than spatial proximity.
- Lane · entry 8074
قَرِيب
Near in quality, likeness, learning, or degree.
Used in comparisons such as being near to the likeness or competence of another.
- Lane · entry 8074
قِرِّيب
Salted fish while still fresh and moist.
A rare nominal use with variant pronunciation reported in the lexicons.
- Lane · entry 8074
قَرَابَة
Relationship or kinship, including relationship through the womb or female side.
A relational noun whose precise scope may distinguish general lineage from uterine or maternal kinship.
- Lane · entry 8075
قُرَابَة
A believer’s intuitive insight or an opinion approaching knowledge and assurance.
A specialized expression describing spiritual discernment or inspired perception.
- Lane · entry 8076
قُرَابَى
Near together or close to one another.
Used in the expression جَاؤُوا قُرَابَى of people arriving close together.
- Lane · entry 8078
قَرَّاب
A maker of water skins or related leather containers.
An occupational noun derived from the water-skin sense of the root.
- Lane · entry 8080
قَارِب
A small boat, skiff, or ship’s boat.
A nautical noun, distinct from the water-seeker use of قَارِب.
- Lane · entry 8082
قَوْرَب
Water so copious that one cannot cope with or master it.
A specialized nominal description of overpowering water.
- Lane · entry 8083
تَقَرُّبَات
Foretokens that water is near, such as small pebbles encountered by a well-digger.
A technical plural expression concerning signs that a spring is close beneath the ground.
- Lane · entry 8085
مَقْرَب
A near or nearest road, path, or approach; sometimes a small way leading into a larger one.
The term can also denote a conspicuous road or a place of alighting or encampment according to the cited authorities.
- Lane · entry 8086
مُقْرَب
A horse kept close at hand and prepared for riding or running; by extension, a saddled or prepared camel.
Descriptions vary between a generously treated horse kept near the dwelling, a horse prepared by restricted feeding, and mounts equipped for riding.
- Lane · entry 8087
مُقَارِب
Middling, ordinary, inexpensive, or not of high quality.
Used of a person, garment, commodity, religion, or other thing that falls between good and bad or is cheap rather than precious.
- Lane · entry 8095
مُتَقَارِب
A short person whose extremities are close together.
A bodily description derived from the idea of parts being near one another.
- Lane · entry 8096
المُتَقَارِب
The Arabic poetic meter al-Mutaqārib.
A technical prosodic term, so called because its metrical feet or pegs are close together.
- Lane · entry 8096
قَرَّبَ
To offer a visitor welcome by wishing that his dwelling be made near or convenient.
Part of the greeting حَيَّاكَ اللهُ وَقَرَّبَ دَارَكَ addressed to a guest.
- Lane · entry 8054
تَقْرِيب
Presenting an argument so that the desired conclusion follows necessarily.
A technical use of the verbal noun in reasoning and proof.
- Lane · entry 8054
تَقْرِيب
A particular running gait of a horse, between ordinary trotting and full gallop.
The gait involves raising and setting down the forelegs together; two grades, a higher and lower type, are reported.
- Lane · entry 8054
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The normalized public headword قَرُبَ represents the QAC Form I imperfect group whose attested surface forms are تَقْرَبَ, تَقْرَبُ, and يَقْرَبُ.
In descriptions of God or divine mercy, Quranic nearness is relational, spiritual, or expressive of care and response, not bodily location.
قَرِيب may retain a masculine form with a conventionally feminine subject in some Classical constructions, including the Quranic expression concerning divine mercy.
The plural Quranic group قُرُبَٰت is presented under the singular citation form قُرْبَة because the packet separately attests the singular and the plural has the same devotional meaning.