a-s-f

Description

The Arabic root أسف (a-s-f) carries two interrelated semantic meanings in the Quran: deep grief, sorrow, and regret on one hand, and intense anger or wrath on the other. This dual meaning reflects the connection between emotional distress and righteous indignation, where the root can express both the profound sorrow of believers facing loss or hardship (as in Prophet Ya'qub's grief over Yusuf) and divine or human anger in response to wrongdoing or disobedience. The root's significance lies in its portrayal of intense emotional states that drive moral and spiritual responses, whether through patient endurance of grief or justified anger against transgression.