Quranic root
سمع
s · m · ʿ
The root centers on perceiving something by the ear: hearing a sound or speech. From this core develop intentional listening, understanding and heeding speech, awareness of what is said, report and reputation, and objects likened to an ear.
The lexical development proceeds from auditory perception to attentive listening, comprehension, acceptance or compliance, and things heard or made known. Related concrete extensions include the ear, hearing instruments, ear-like loops, and certain specialized animal and descriptive terms.
- Maqāyīs · row 2486
- Lane · entry 42148
- 10
- Quran-attested forms
- 19
- Quran senses
- 185
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
سَمِعَ
samiʿa
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- Quran occurrences
- 78 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 hear; perceive a sound or spoken expression by the ear
The basic auditory sense, whether the hearing is involuntary or deliberate; it may take a direct object.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:31word 2
“she heard”
to listen, hearken, or give ear
This intentional use is especially associated with constructions using لِ or إِلَى, though the verb may also express listening with a direct object.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:104word 9
“and listen”
to understand or comprehend what is said
Used of grasping the meaning of speech, not merely receiving its sound; this sense is explicit in Quranic passages contrasting hearing with failure to understand.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:285word 22
“We heard”
to heed and comply with an instruction
A consequence-oriented use in which hearing entails acting on what was heard, as in expressions of hearing and obeying.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:285word 22
“We heard”
to hear of or learn about something through report
The construction سَمِعَ بِهِ expresses learning of a matter or hearing it reported, rather than directly hearing its sound.
- Lane · entry 42148
to take cognizance of or know what is said
In Quranic descriptions of divine hearing, the verb can express awareness of spoken words together with the response or reckoning appropriate to them.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 58:1word 13
“hears”
أَسْمَعَ
ʾasmaʿa
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 13 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 someone to hear; make something audible to someone
The causative construction may be used of enabling or causing auditory perception, including its negation in descriptions of those unable to hear.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 27:80word 3
“cause to hear”
to make someone understand or comprehend
In the Quranic construction لَأَسْمَعَهُمْ, the causative result is understanding rather than merely receiving sound.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 8:23word 6
“surely, He (would) have made them hear”
in أَسْمِعْ بِهِ, to express wonder at how clearly someone hears
This is the special exclamatory construction attested in Quranic usage; it is not an ordinary causative imperative.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 18:26word 12
“And how clearly He hears”
تَسَمَّعَ
tasammaʿa
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form V
- Form
- V
- 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 seek or endeavor to listen; listen attentively
The Quranic reading uses the intensive/reflexive form for deliberately trying to hear what is being said.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Lane · entry 42151
Selected Quran examples
Quran 37:8word 2
“they may listen”
اِسْتَمَعَ
āistamaʿa
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form VIII
- Form
- VIII
- 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.
to listen attentively; give close ear to something
The form emphasizes intentional orientation toward what is heard and commonly occurs with إِلَى or a directly specified object.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Lane · entry 42153
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
مُسْمَع
musmaʿ
- 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.
made to hear; granted or denied a hearing
In the Quranic expression غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ, the phrase is an ambiguous formula interpreted either as an imprecation not to be made to hear, or as hearing without receiving acceptable or assented-to speech.
- Lane · entry 42177
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:46word 13
“to be heard”
مُسْمِع
musmiʿ
- 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 who causes or is able to make someone hear
The Quranic use is in a negated ability construction: ordinary agents cannot make the spiritually or physically unresponsive hear.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Lane · entry 42178
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 35:22word 13
“can make hear”
مُسْتَمِع
mustamiʿ
- 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 listens attentively; a listener
The participle denotes the participant deliberately giving ear, including a listener associated with or directed toward a particular speaker or matter.
- Lane · entry 42153
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 26:15word 7
“listening”
Quran 52:38word 7
“their listener”
سَمِيع
samīʿ
- Part of speech
- Adjective / Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 47 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.
hearing; possessing or displaying the capacity to hear
This adjectival use can describe a hearing being or a hearing faculty; it is distinct from the intensified divine epithet.
- Lane · entry 42167
- Lane · entry 42172
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 76:2word 9
“hearing”
the All-Hearing; comprehending all that is heard
Used as a divine epithet in Quranic contexts, expressing comprehensive hearing and awareness of audible things.
- Lane · entry 42167
- Lane · entry 42172
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:1word 20
“(is) the All-Hearer”
سَمْع
samʿ
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 22 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.
the faculty or sense of hearing; the ear as the organ of hearing
The noun may refer to the auditory faculty and, by metonymy, to the ear or ears themselves; Quranic usage may use the singular collectively.
- Lane · entry 42155
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:7word 6
“their hearing”
hearing or listening as an activity
This use denotes the act or exercise of hearing, including giving ear to a sound or communication.
- Lane · entry 42155
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 72:9word 6
“for hearing”
سَمَّاع
sammāʿ
- Part of speech
- Intensive active participle
- Quran occurrences
- 4 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 avid or habitual listener; one who listens and relays what is heard
In the Quranic constructions سَمَّاعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ and سَمَّاعُونَ لِقَوْمٍ آخَرِينَ, the listening is associated with false reporting or with listening on behalf of another party.
- Lane · entry 42171
- Mufradāt · row 724
Selected Quran examples
Quran 5:41word 20
“They (are) listeners”
Quran 9:47word 13
“who would have listened”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:7سَمْعِهِمْ ۖtheir hearing
- 2:20بِسَمْعِهِمْtheir hearing
- 2:75يَسْمَعُونَ(who used to) hear
- 2:93وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ ۖand listen
- 2:93سَمِعْنَاWe heard
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 43 Classical meanings
سَمِعَ
to accept, pay regard to, answer, assent to, or comply with something said, requested, praised, or prayed for
A broader classical extension from hearing to accepting or responding; it includes expressions concerning praise, prayer, evidence, or speech.
- Lane · entry 42148
- Lane · entry 42155
تَسْمِيع
the act of making someone hear; causing a sound or narrative to reach someone
The verbal noun of Form II, including making someone hear a sound or report.
- Lane · entry 42149
تَسْمِيعٌ
to publicize, make notorious, spread abroad, or raise something from obscurity to fame
Used of making a matter or person widely talked about or known.
- Lane · entry 42149
- Lane · entry 42152
- Lane · entry 42156
- Lane · entry 42158
تَسْمِيعٌ
to make someone hear abusive, foul, or insulting speech; revile
A specialized Form II use involving making another hear what is evil or offensive.
- Lane · entry 42149
أَسْمَعَ
to tell or inform someone of a thing
A causative communicative use distinct from merely making a sound audible.
- Lane · entry 42150
أَسْمَعَ
to cause deafness or invoke deafness against someone
Attested in a maledictory expression wishing that a person not be made to hear.
- Lane · entry 42150
أَسْمَعَ
to sing or perform for others to hear
Used of a singer, especially in the imperative addressed to a female singer.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Lane · entry 42178
أَسْمَعَ
to say something worthy of being heard and followed
A conventional evaluative use describing an excellent or authoritative saying.
- Lane · entry 42150
أَسْمَعَ / مِسْمَع
to fit an ear-like loop or attachment to a bucket or basket
A technical use for attaching the loop or its paired wooden supports used in drawing a vessel.
- Lane · entry 42150
- Lane · entry 42179
سَمْع / سَمَاع
making something heard; hearing it by hearsay or through a report
These nouns can function as nominal substitutes for the causative of hearing and can describe receiving information from another person.
- Lane · entry 42155
- Lane · entry 42156
- Lane · entry 42165
- Lane · entry 42168
أُمُّ السَّمْع
the brain
A fixed anatomical expression, literally associated with the seat or source of hearing.
- Lane · entry 42155
سَمْع / سَمَاع
what is heard, including a report, discourse, or received item of knowledge
This includes received hearsay and, in technical usage, material established through transmitted or received usage.
- Lane · entry 42155
- Lane · entry 42165
سَمْع
a thing that rests in or reaches the ear and is heard
A result or content-of-hearing use rather than the auditory faculty itself.
- Lane · entry 42155
سِمْع
a report heard of but not encountered or fulfilled
Used in the prayer سِمْعًا لَا بَلْغًا for calamity or unwelcome news that may be heard but not come to the speaker.
- Lane · entry 42156
سِمْع
fame, report, or good reputation
The noun may denote what is heard about a person and hence his public reputation.
- Lane · entry 42156
سِمْع
a mongrel beast of prey, described as the offspring of a wolf and a hyena
A specialized zoological noun unrelated to the ordinary auditory sense.
- Lane · entry 42156
سَمْعَة
a single act of hearing, hearkening, or listening
A count noun referring to one hearing or instance of listening.
- Lane · entry 42157
سُمْعَة
publicity or reputation sought by making an act known and talked about
Often paired with رِيَاءً for an action performed to be seen and heard of by people.
- Lane · entry 42158
سِمْعَة
a manner or quality of hearing or listening
Describes the way in which something is heard.
- Lane · entry 42159
سُمْعُنَّة
a woman who listens and tries to see, then forms an opinion despite hearing or seeing nothing
A specialized descriptive epithet for a woman characterized by this habitual behavior.
- Lane · entry 42162
سَمَعْمَع
small or slight, light and quick, clever or cunning
An intensive descriptive epithet applied to people and, in one use, to a wolf.
- Lane · entry 42163
سَمَعْمَع
a woman who grins or frowns on someone's arrival and wails after his departure
A specialized descriptive use of the same epithet.
- Lane · entry 42163
سَمَعْمَع
a tall and slender man
A distinct adjectival use applied to a person of that build.
- Lane · entry 42163
سَمَعْمَع
a wicked, deceitful, or crafty devil
A figurative or zoological-descriptive epithet.
- Lane · entry 42163
سَمَاع
hear!
An imperative verbal noun functioning as an exhortation or command.
- Lane · entry 42164
سَمَاع
singing, song, or any pleasant musical sound enjoyed by the ears
The noun may include vocal or instrumental performance and other agreeable sound.
- Lane · entry 42165
سَمِيع
made to hear or told
A classical adjectival use distinct from the Quranic divine epithet and from the ordinary adjective meaning hearing.
- Lane · entry 42167
السَّمِيعَان
the two long wooden pieces fixed in a ploughing yoke
A specialized agricultural term.
- Lane · entry 42167
سَمَاعِيّ
relating to what has been received by hearsay or established by transmitted usage
A technical term in lexicology and grammar.
- Lane · entry 42169
سُمَّع
light, active, or agile
A descriptive epithet, also applied to a ghoul.
- Lane · entry 42170
سَمَّاع
a spy who searches for information and brings it
A specialized extension of habitual listening and relaying information.
- Lane · entry 42171
سَمَّاع
obedient
An attributed or figurative extension from listening to compliance.
- Lane · entry 42171
سَامِع
a hearing or attentive ear, especially one quick to catch faint sounds
Also used of an animal, especially a lion, that detects distant sounds of people or prey.
- Lane · entry 42172
سَامِع
a lion capable of hearing faint sounds from afar
A specialized zoological application of the epithet.
- Lane · entry 42172
مَسْمَع
a place from which or in which one hears or listens
Used in expressions describing someone within sight and hearing or in a position to be heard.
- Lane · entry 42176
مُسْمِع
a shackle
A figurative technical application of the active-participial form.
- Lane · entry 42178
مِسْمَع
an instrument of hearing
A derived noun for an implement associated with hearing.
- Lane · entry 42179
مِسْمَعان
the two wooden pieces inserted into the loops of a basket for drawing earth from a well
A technical plural or dual use related to ear-like attachments.
- Lane · entry 42179
مِسْمَعان
a pair of socks or stockings worn by a hunter pursuing gazelles in intense heat
A specialized hunting term.
- Lane · entry 42179
مُسَمَّع
shackled
A specialized passive-participial use, especially in the expression describing someone shackled and collared.
- Lane · entry 42180
مَسْمُوعَات
things heard
A plural noun for heard reports, sounds, or items of auditory knowledge.
- Lane · entry 42181
مَسَامِع
the bodily openings or holes
A plural use extended beyond the ear to include such openings as the eyes, nostrils, and anus.
- Lane · entry 42182
تَسَامَعَ
to feign hearing
A specialized Form VI use in which one pretends to hear.
- Lane · entry 42152
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic expression غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ has several reported interpretations, including an imprecation not to be made to hear and hypocritical or non-acceptance interpretations; it should not be reduced to one English gloss.
The Form IV exclamatory construction أَسْمِعْ بِهِ is grammatically distinct from ordinary causative أَسْمَعَ.
The Quranic plural سَمَّاعُونَ is displayed under the normalized singular citation form سَمَّاع.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
lane-unit:smE:42148:g1:sub6 records a disputed alleged use in which the ear is said to see; the source itself rejects it as corrupt or non-Arabic, so it is not assigned as a dictionary meaning.