'-s-b

Description

The Arabic root ع-ص-ب ('ayn-ṣād-bā') carries the core semantic meaning of binding, wrapping tightly, or forming a cohesive band, which extends metaphorically to refer to a group of people bound together by kinship or common purpose, typically a band of male relatives or supporters. In the Quranic context, it appears most notably in Surah Yusuf describing Joseph's brothers as a united group ('uṣbah), emphasizing their numerical strength and cohesion against him, while the derived meaning of "distressful" relates to something that binds or constricts one with difficulty or hardship. This root thus conveys both the physical concept of tightness and binding, and the social concept of a tightly-knit group, often with implications of strength in numbers or oppressive constraint.