kh-r-j

Description

The Arabic root خرج (kh-r-j) fundamentally conveys the concept of exiting, emerging, or bringing forth from one state or place to another, appearing throughout the Quran in forms that emphasize physical departure, expulsion, extraction, or the manifestation of something hidden into the visible realm. This root carries profound theological significance in Quranic discourse, describing both literal movements like the expulsion of believers from Mecca and the exodus from lands, as well as metaphysical concepts such as Allah bringing forth the living from the dead, extracting produce from the earth, and the emergence of humanity from the grave on Judgment Day. The derived forms also encompass economic terminology like kharaj (tribute or land tax) and expenditure, connecting the physical act of something coming out with the notion of giving or paying out resources, thus linking material and spiritual dimensions of emergence and transition in Islamic thought.