Quranic root
يمن
y · m · n
The root centers on the right hand and right-hand side, with associated extensions to strength, blessing, felicity, oath, and possession or authority.
The semantic development proceeds from the right hand and right side to auspiciousness and blessing, the oath associated with clasping right hands, and possession or authority expressed through the right hand. The same orientation also underlies the geographic name Yemen and related demonyms and products.
- Maqāyīs · row 5267
- Mufradāt · row 1629
- 3
- Quran-attested forms
- 7
- Quran senses
- 71
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
أَيْمَنُ
ʾaymanu
- Part of speech
- Adjective
- 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.
Right; situated on or associated with the right-hand side.
Used adjectivally in the supplied Quranic occurrences for the right side or direction.
- Lane · entry 12199
Selected Quran examples
مَيْمَنَةٌ
maymanahun
- 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.
The right-hand side or right-associated company; in the Quran, the blessed party on the right.
Used in expressions for those associated with the right, where right-hand orientation carries an association with felicity and blessing.
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 56:8word 2
“(of) the right”
Quran 90:18word 3
“(of) the right (hand)”
يَمِينٌ
yamīnun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 65 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 right hand; by extension, the right-hand side or direction.
Covers literal hand references and directional expressions such as being or acting at the right.
- Lane · entry 12195
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 39:67word 13
“in His Right Hand”
A forceful taking or seizure by the right hand, hence restraint, repulsion, or prevention.
Attested in the Quranic construction of taking someone by the right hand to prevent or overpower them.
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 69:45word 3
“by the right hand”
The right-associated party: people of felicity, blessing, or good fortune.
Used in expressions such as أصحاب اليمين, where the right is conventionally associated with felicity and blessing.
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 56:27word 2
“(of) the right”
An oath; a covenant or commitment confirmed by an oath.
Used for sworn undertakings and their confirmation, including covenants expressed or ratified by oath.
- Lane · entry 12195
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 68:39word 3
“oaths”
Right-hand possession or authority; those under such possession or authority.
In the Quranic possession construction مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ, the right hand is a metonym for possession or authority.
- Mufradāt · row 1629
Selected Quran examples
Quran 24:33word 16
“your right hands”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:224لِّأَيْمَـٰنِكُمْin your oaths
- 2:225أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْyour oaths
- 3:77وَأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْand their oaths
- 4:3أَيْمَـٰنُكُمْ ۚyour right hand
- 4:24أَيْمَـٰنُكُمْ ۖrightfully
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 12 Classical meanings
يُمِنَ
To be prosperous, fortunate, or lucky.
An intransitive Form I verb expressing good fortune.
- Lane · entry 12188
أَيْمَنَ
To make something incline or turn toward the right.
A causative Form IV use describing the direction into which something is made to incline.
- Lane · entry 12190
تَيَمَّنَ
To be placed on one's right side in the grave.
A specialized physical or funerary use.
- Lane · entry 12191
تَيَمَّنَ
To seek or derive blessing or good fortune from something; to regard it as auspicious.
Used with a source of blessing such as counsel, a word, or speech; opposed to regarding something as ominous.
- Lane · entry 12191
يُمْنٌ
Prosperity, good fortune, luck, or auspiciousness.
A noun for favorable fortune, contrasted with ill luck or misfortune.
- Lane · entry 12193
يَمِينٌ
The south.
A directional use distinct from the ordinary meanings of right side and oath.
- Lane · entry 12195
يَمَانٍ
A garment from Yemen.
A nisbah-based designation for a Yemeni garment.
- Lane · entry 12196
أَيْمَنُ
Lucky, auspicious, or especially fortunate.
A classical adjectival branch distinct from the Quran-attested directional sense of أَيْمَنُ.
- Lane · entry 12199
أَيْمُنٌ
A singular noun used in swearing.
Used only in oath formulas; it is not a particle or a plural of يَمِينٌ and is derived from يُمْنٌ.
- Lane · entry 12200
مَيْمَنَةٌ
The right wing of an army.
A military formation term; this specialization is broader Classical Arabic evidence, not a claim about the Quranic contexts.
- Lane · entry 12202
مَيْمُونٌ
Fortunate, happy, or blessed.
An adjectival description of a person or thing characterized by good fortune or blessing.
- Lane · entry 12203
تَيَمُّنٌ
Having or receiving a blessing.
A verbal noun for the experience or acquisition of blessing.
- Lane · entry 12204
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
أَيْمَنُ is Quran-attested here in the directional sense “right”; its separately attested Classical Arabic sense “lucky” is kept outside the Quranic sense.
For يَمِينٌ, “rightfully” in possession contexts is a constructional rendering of right-hand possession or authority, not a separate basic hand meaning.
The forceful seizure sense is tied to the Quranic construction of taking someone by the right hand and should not be generalized to every occurrence of يَمِينٌ.