j-'-l
Description
The Arabic root ج-ع-ل (j-'-l) carries the core meaning of making, creating, or establishing something with purpose and intentionality, often implying the assignment of specific qualities, functions, or roles to what is created. In the Quran, this root appears 346 times and is theologically significant because it emphasizes Allah's deliberate act of fashioning creation with wisdom and purpose—not just bringing things into existence, but actively appointing them with particular characteristics, positions, or functions within the divine plan. Unlike the root خ-ل-ق (kh-l-q) which focuses on creation ex nihilo, ja'ala emphasizes the transformative, designating, and purposeful arrangement of created things, such as making humans vicegerents on earth, establishing night and day as signs, or appointing prophets with their missions.
Derived Words in the Quran
Showing 151–200 of 346