Quranic root
سطر
s · ṭ · r
The root centers on arranging things in lines or ordered rows, especially writing and other aligned things.
From the idea of ordered lines come writing and recording; أَسَاطِيرُ specializes in tales presented as written fabrications, while مُصَيْطِرٌ develops the sense of an overseer exercising authority or sustained attention over something.
- Maqāyīs · row 2418
- Mufradāt · row 691
- 5
- Quran-attested forms
- 6
- Quran senses
- 16
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
سَطَرَ
saṭara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- 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 write or inscribe, arranging words in written lines
The Quranic form occurs in the imperfect and refers to the act of writing.
- Lane · entry 41089
- Mufradāt · row 691
Selected Quran examples
Quran 68:1word 4
“they write”
أُسْطُورَةٌ
ʾusṭūrahun
- Part of speech
- Noun · plural form in the Quran
- 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.
tales or stories, especially stories of the ancients characterized as fabricated, baseless, or falsely written
The Quran uses the plural أَسَاطِيرُ in dismissive claims about supposed ancient tales; the expression can emphasize their legendary or fictitious character and their alleged written transmission.
- Lane · entry 41103
- Mufradāt · row 691
Selected Quran examples
Quran 25:5word 2
“Tales”
Quran 16:24word 8
“Tales”
مَسْطُورٌ
masṭūrun
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- 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.
written, recorded, or set down in writing
In Quranic usage, the written thing may be understood as fixed and preserved in a record.
- Mufradāt · row 691
- Lane · entry 41089
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:58word 18
“written”
Quran 52:2word 2
“written”
مُصَيْطِرٌ
muṣayṭirun
- Part of speech
- Active 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.
one who exercises authority or control over others
The Quranic construction presents control or governing authority as something denied or questioned in relation to people.
- Lane · entry 41094
- Lane · entry 41109
- Mufradāt · row 691
Selected Quran examples
Quran 88:22word 3
“a controller”
Quran 52:37word 7
“the controllers”
an overseer or guardian who attends closely to conditions and may record conduct
This Quranic interpretive branch emphasizes sustained oversight, guardianship, or keeping an account rather than coercive authority alone.
- Lane · entry 41094
- Lane · entry 41109
- Mufradāt · row 691
Selected Quran examples
Quran 88:22word 3
“a controller”
مُسْتَطَرٌ
mustaṭarun
- 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.
written down or recorded
The form describes something entered into a written record.
- Mufradāt · row 691
Selected Quran examples
Quran 54:53word 4
“(is) written down”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 6:25أَسَـٰطِيرُ(the) tales
- 8:31أَسَـٰطِيرُtales
- 16:24أَسَـٰطِيرُTales
- 17:58مَسْطُورًۭاwritten
- 23:83أَسَـٰطِيرُ(the) tales
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 18 Classical meanings
سَطَرَ
to rule or line a book
- Lane · entry 41089
سَطَرَ
to cut another person with a sword
A figurative or extended usage.
- Lane · entry 41089
سَطَرَ
to throw someone down prostrate
- Lane · entry 41089
سَطَّرَ
to compose or tell falsehoods, baseless stories, or stories embellished with lies
This is a Form II usage involving the production or narration of fabricated stories.
- Lane · entry 41090
سَطَّرَ
to cause someone to form wishes or desires
- Lane · entry 41090
أَسْطَرَ
to pass over the line in which one's name was written
- Lane · entry 41091
أَسْطَرَ
to make a mistake or error in reading or recitation
An extended usage associated with reading or reciting a written text.
- Lane · entry 41091
إِسْطَارَّ
to become a particular kind of wine, especially an acidic or newly made wine whose taste and odor have changed
A rare technical usage concerning wine.
- Lane · entry 41093
سَطْرٌ
a line of writing or a written line; by extension, a row or array of buildings, trees, palms, people, or similar things
The row sense is an extension from ordered lines of writing to aligned things.
- Lane · entry 41096
- Mufradāt · row 691
سَطْرٌ
a single uniform arrangement or settled course of an affair
Used in the idiom meaning to make an affair one uniform thing.
- Lane · entry 41096
سَطْرٌ
a yearling of goats, or of sheep and goats
A distinct livestock term.
- Lane · entry 41096
سُطْرَةٌ
an object of wish or desire
Used of the desired outcome or object that one seeks to accomplish.
- Lane · entry 41099
سَاطِرٌ
a butcher
- Lane · entry 41101
سَاطُورٌ
a butcher's cleaver or large knife for cutting a slaughtered animal
- Lane · entry 41102
مِسْطَرَةٌ
an instrument used to rule or line a book
A tool placed under paper so that lines can be made across it.
- Lane · entry 41104
مُسَطَّرٌ
written or lined
A passive participial form associated with writing or ruling lines.
- Lane · entry 41105
مُسْطَارٌ
dust rising into the sky
A figurative usage likening the rising dust to a row of palms or other aligned things.
- Lane · entry 41107
مُسْطَارٌ
a kind of wine, especially acidic, newly made, or having an altered taste and odor
A rare wine term with several reported descriptive specifications.
- Lane · entry 41107
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
أَسَاطِيرُ has competing classical analyses as a plural form, including derivation from أُسْطُورَةٌ or other line-related plural formations; the Quranic sense remains tales or legends presented as fabricated or baseless.
مُصَيْطِرٌ is conventionally written with ص in the Quranic form, while the lexical discussion also records س as the original or alternative spelling.