Quranic root
ورث
w · r · th
Transfer of possession or legacy from one holder or group to another through lineage or another recognized connection.
The root extends from inherited property to nonmaterial legacies such as knowledge, status, and custom, and to the eventual return of possessions to a surviving ultimate possessor.
- Maqāyīs · row 5078
- Mufradāt · row 1566
- 5
- Quran-attested forms
- 8
- Quran senses
- 35
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
وَرِثَ
waritha
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- 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 inherit property or another transferable possession from a predecessor.
The inherited object may be expressed directly or introduced with مِنْ or عَنْ. The construction normally denotes succession to what another possessed, rather than a new sale or contract.
- Lane · entry 45140
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 4:11word 39
“and inherit[ed] him”
To receive a nonmaterial legacy, such as knowledge, prophethood, or virtue, from an earlier holder.
The Quran applies inheritance language to transmission of knowledge and prophetic or moral distinction, not only to material wealth.
- Lane · entry 45140
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 7:169word 5
“(who) inherited”
To become the eventual possessor of what remains after another’s passing or disappearance.
The Quran uses this construction for God’s ultimate possession after creatures and their possessions pass away, and for the righteous receiving what is destined for them.
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 19:40word 3
“[We] will inherit”
أَوْرَثَ
ʾawratha
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 12 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 inherit; to bestow or assign an inherited possession or legacy.
The recipient may be made an heir to property, land, scripture, or a promised reward. Passive forms present the recipients as having been made heirs or endowed with an inheritance.
- Lane · entry 45142
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 7:43word 33
“you have been made to inherit it”
Quran 43:72word 4
“you are made to inherit”
مِيرَاثٌ
mīrāthun
- 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.
Inherited property, wealth, or heritage passing to a successor.
The Quran uses the noun for an inheritance or heritage that comes into another’s possession, including figurative or universal possession such as the inheritance of the heavens and earth.
- Lane · entry 45145
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:180word 24
“(is the) heritage”
Quran 57:10word 9
“(is the) heritage”
تُرَاثٌ
turāthun
- 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.
Inherited property or legacy passed down from an earlier holder.
This Quranic noun denotes what is inherited and consumed or claimed as a legacy; it is a lexical variant of the inheritance vocabulary, not a separate process of acquisition.
- Lane · entry 45145
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 89:19word 2
“the inheritance”
وَارِثٌ
wārithun
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- 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.
An heir or inheritor: one who receives property, a legacy, or a promised possession through inheritance.
The Quran applies the active participle both to an ordinary heir and to recipients of a promised domain or reward; the referent need not be a literal child or legal heir.
- Lane · entry 45147
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:233word 31
“the (father's) heir”
Quran 23:10word 3
“(are) the inheritors”
The Inheritor: the one who remains after other possessors perish, to whom their possessions ultimately return.
This is the Quranic theological epithet for God and describes ultimate continuance and ownership rather than ordinary human succession.
- Lane · entry 45147
- Mufradāt · row 1566
Selected Quran examples
Quran 15:23word 6
“(are) the Inheritors”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:233ٱلْوَارِثِthe (father's) heir
- 3:180مِيرَٰثُ(is the) heritage
- 4:11وَوَرِثَهُۥٓand inherit[ed] him
- 4:12يُورَثُ(whose wealth) is to be inherited
- 4:19تَرِثُوا۟you inherit
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 14 Classical meanings
وَرِثَ
To inherit honor, glory, or another nonmaterial distinction.
A figurative extension of inheritance language to reputation, eminence, or personal glory.
- Lane · entry 45140
وَرِثَ
To obtain something without exertion or prior effort.
A general extension of the inheritance verb for something received without having to acquire it through one’s own labor.
- Mufradāt · row 1566
وَرَّثَ
To make someone an heir, including a person who was not otherwise among the heirs, and assign that person a share.
This causative Form II construction concerns formal inclusion among heirs or the allocation of an inheritance.
- Lane · entry 45141
وَرَّثَ
To stir or rekindle a fire so that it burns or blazes.
A separate lexical use, identified as a dialectal form of أَرَّثَ.
- Lane · entry 45141
أَوْرَثَ
To occasion something as a result or consequence.
A figurative causative construction, as when an illness produces weakness.
- Lane · entry 45142
تَوَارَثَ
To pass successively from one person or generation to another by inheritance.
The Form VI construction can be used figuratively for events or misfortunes taking a person in succession.
- Lane · entry 45143
وَرْثٌ
Fresh, juicy, or moist substance.
A separate nominal homonym, unrelated in sense to inherited property.
- Lane · entry 45144
وِرْثٌ
What is inherited; an inheritance or heritage, especially property or wealth.
This noun denotes the inherited possession itself and is distinguished in one lexical account from إِرْثٌ used for rank or quality.
- Lane · entry 45145
وِرْثٌ
An inherited custom, ancestral usage, or nonmaterial legacy such as glory.
Used for a condition, practice, or distinction received from earlier generations rather than for a physical estate.
- Lane · entry 45145
إِرْثٌ
Inherited rank, quality, nobility, or reputation.
This is the reported lexical distinction that assigns the form إِرْثٌ to inherited status or qualities rather than material property.
- Lane · entry 45145
وَرْثَةٌ
Fire.
A separate nominal homonym.
- Lane · entry 45146
وَارِثٌ
A survivor or continuing thing that outlasts another.
Used in a conventional prayer for faculties or their benefit to remain sound until the speaker’s death.
- Lane · entry 45147
مَوْرُوثٌ
Inherited property.
A passive-participial adjective describing property received from a predecessor.
- Lane · entry 45151
مُتَوَارَثٌ
Inherited or transmitted successively among generations, especially glory.
Describes a distinction or possession shared through successive inheritance.
- Lane · entry 45152
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The وَارِثٌ public headword is normalized to the singular active-participle citation form; the QAC group also contains the broken-plural surface form وَرَثَةٌ.