In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The Easy Dictionary of the Qur'an

(Compiled in the order of recitation)

Compiled By Shaikh AbdulKarim Parekh

Translated By (Late) AbdurRasheed Kamptee Dr. Abdulazeez Abdulraheem Shaikh AbdulGhafoor Parekh

Number of Publications in Urdu

First Edition Mar. 1952 1000 Second Edition Jul. 1954 1000 Third Edition Jul. 1960 1000 Fourth Edition Sep. 1962 1000 Fifth Edition Nov. 1963 1000 Sixth Edition Aug. 1965 1000 Seventh Edition Dec. 1968 1500 Eighth Edition Sep. 1969 3000 Ninth Edition Jun. 1973 1000 Tenth Edition 1977 5000

(The Urdu version of this dictionary has been printed more than 40 times in India and Pakistan. Translations of this dictionary are also available in Turkish, Hindi, and Bengali.)

Third Revised English Edition: March 2000

Available at the following addresses in India:

Maulana AbdulKarim Parekh Lakad Gunj, Nagpur 8, India.

Maktaba Nadwatul-Ulama Nadva, Lucknow, U.P., India.

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Table of Contents

List of Surahs and corresponding Parahs.....................................................iv

List of Parahs & some interesting statistics .................................................vi

Foreword by Shaikh Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi............................................ viii

Preface by the Translators...........................................................................x

About the Author ......................................................................................xii

Preface by the Author ..............................................................................xiv

Unique Features of This Book ..................................................................xx

Suggestions for Using This Book Effectively..............................................xxi

List of Abbreviations and Symbols...........................................................xxii

Part I : Do I Know What I Read Daily?..................................................1

Part II: A Brief Journey Through Arabic Grammar............................13

Part III: The Lughatul-Qur'an..............................................................41

Where Do I Go From Here?.....................................................................244

List of Surahs and corresponding Parahs

List of Parahs & some interesting statistics

An Important lesson from these statistics:

As you can see from the statistics, the new words in each Parah decreases drastically. This is despite the fact that so many words are repeated just for the ease of the reader. In principle, if you take out the repeated words, the total number of words in this book may well be less than 2000!!! Allah Subhanahu wa ta'aala has revealed His book which contains so few words. This is another miracle of the Qur'an. These statistics should give you a strong push to go ahead and continue memorizing till the end of this book, inshaAllah.

(This is) a Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may remember.

Foreword by Shaikh Syed Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi
(Written for the original Urdu version of Lughatul-Qur'an)

All praise and thanks be to Allah, and peace be upon His chosen bondsmen and women!

The Qur'an is the final revealed Book that contains the message of guidance from Allah for all humankind. Accordingly, the salvation as well as worldly welfare of the entire humanity depends upon following the guidance ordained in this Divine Book. In other words, success in this world as well as the Hereafter for humankind is treasured in this great Book. Therefore, there is an endless need to compile Qur'anic expositions (in the context of modern challenges and evolving circumstances) while calling people towards understanding its eternal message.

Indeed, blessed are those who have been given the opportunity to serve the Qur'an in one way or another, and more so if the effort receives general acceptance among the public. This recognition fulfills the very objective of providing an easy way for reading and understanding the Qur'an.

Our beloved Al-Haaj AbdulKarim Parekh is one of these fortunate men who has served the Qur'an. He is well-known through his popular lectures and lifelong service of propagating the message of Islam. He is an ardent caller towards the Qur'an. In the city of Nagpur, India, his regular Qur'anic lessons (Dars-e-Qur'an) have affected the Muslim youth, especially the educated class, and kindled in them the spirit of servitude to Islam and living according to the tenets of the Qur'an in everyday life. Till this day Shaikh Parekh is engaged in this sterling service to Islam despite his demanding occupation as a merchant.

His book, entitled Lughatul-Qur'an, is part of his literary service which he wrote in Urdu in order to convey the message of the Qur'an among the common and educated class alike so as to make understanding the Qur'an easy for them. The evidence of its wide acceptance is that within 15 to 20 years, more than a dozen editions of the book have been printed. He has translated the difficult words of each Juz' (parah) with the help of authentic translations and according to the context in which the word is used. He has also provided the root of the word (verb) wherever necessary. Brief rules of Arabic grammar are also provided at the beginning of the book. This way, the book has become a key for Arabic words as well as a guide to studying the Qur'an with the least effort.

It may be mentioned here that because of my busy schedule, I could only browse through the book casually. May Allah reward the author and increase the usefulness and acceptance of the book, Ameen!

Syed Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi Rector, Nadwatul Ulama Lukhnow, India.

Preface by the Translators

We thank Allah that our generation of Muslim men and women, especially the youths, has shown a great enthusiasm to understand the Holy Qur'an. Since the first Persian translation of the Qur'an by Shah Waliullah Dehlavi over a century ago, followed by the Urdu translations by his capable sons, Shah AbdulQadir and Shah Rafiuddin, there have been occasional efforts to render the Qur'an in native languages in order to educate the Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In our times, the Lughatul Qur'an by Shaikh AbdulKarim Parekh is certainly a major landmark in this great effort.

Before you start reading this dictionary of the Qur'an, you should keep in mind that the Qur'an is not a book of theories, rather it is a practical book of guidance, to be read and acted upon. As you go through this book, you should simultaneously read the original Arabic texts of the Qur'an. In addition, a translation of Qur'an is of further help. In a few months, Insha-Allah, you will have learnt to translate the Arabic verses into your own language. It is then that you will realize the value of this little dictionary. Once you have memorized the words of the Qur'an together with their meanings, you will discover new feelings from the recitation of the Qur'an. As a matter of fact, you will feel that Allah has removed darkness from your mind and lit your heart with His Noor (Light), Insha-Allah.

Again, all praises and thanks are due to Almighty Allah that He has given us the desire and affection to understand the Qur'an. I pray that He accept the endeavors of the author and reward him in the Hereafter, Ameen. (Late) Muhammad AbdurRashid Khan Kamptee

A note by those who revised it:

All Praise be to Allah and Peace be upon all His Prophets.

The book is prepared using Microsoft Word with Arabic Support. If you are interested in translating/ printing it in any other language, all you have to do is to get the corresponding words translated and then type those words above the English words in the same Microsoft Word files. You can request the computer disk from the author, if you plan to carry out any such task. There are no copyrights. The book has been published in Hindi, Bengali, Turkish, and Gujarati (in addition to Urdu and English). Effort is underway to get this translated to Tamil.

Part I of this book is available in poster forms, which can be displayed in Mosques, schools, and houses. They serve as an excellent aid for the beginners in addition to being highly useful for understanding everyday recitations for common peoples. In these posters, a beginner is led directly to understanding of the individual words without being burdened with the grammar of the Arabic language.

In these days of Qur'an software, there are many programs where you can stop at any point and ask the computer to give you the translation of a particular word. The same is true for Qur'an with boxed translation, i.e. each word of the Qur'an is given in a box and the box below it gives its translation (available in Urdu). However, this does not replace the extensive use of this book. It can be used for a serious, purposeful, and planned study to understand the meanings of the Qur'an. It is an excellent companion for a serious student who can use this handy small volume (compared to the Qur'an with Translation) to memorize, recall, update and check his vocabulary as he proceeds in this noble path of understanding the most important Book on earth. He does not need to have Wudhu (a pretext which Shaitaan tries to give us to avoid us from studying the Qur'an) while using this book, which is required if you are studying boxed translations of the Qur'an. You can use it in your leisure mode (sitting, reclining, lying) too, since it involves memorizing the meanings of words only.

May Allah make this effort solely for His sake and accept it. Ameen.

Abdulazeez Abdulraheem AbdulGhafoor Parekh

Thursday, June 12, 1997

On 3rd English Edition: Praise be to Allah and peace be upon His prophets and messengers. Many thanks to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has given us this opportunity to revise it again and improve it further. We would like to thank all those who have given us useful suggestions and pointed out corrections, especially Dr. Zaghloul An-Najjar for his feedback and corrections on Part I and Mr. Bradley Wilkinson for his expert editing. May Allah reward them abundantly.

May Allah accept this book and make it more useful to the students of Qur'an. Abdulazeez Abdulraheem AbdulGhafoor Parekh Saturday, 25 March, 2000

About the Author

Shaikh AbdulKarim Parekh has been an ardent promoter of the message of the Holy Qur'an among the people, especially in the Indian Subcontinent. He is widely acclaimed for his lectures and Duroos (discourses and commentaries on the Holy Qur'an), which he has been delivering for the last forty years.

Among his notable works is the translation and commentary of the Holy Qur'an in simple Urdu. The emphasis on simplicity of language was to convey the message of Qur'an to common men and women of the Indian subcontinent, who in general are semiliterate. His composition, the Lughatul-Qur'an (Dictionary of Qur'an) has been published more than forty times since 1952 and has enabled countless people in India and Pakistan to develop a direct link with the Book of Allah. The foreword of Lughatul-Qur'an was written by the well known scholar, Shaikh Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi. The book has also been translated and published in some other major languages, including Hindi, Gujrati, Bengali, and Turkish.

Shaikh Parekh has authored various other books, such as Qaum-e-Yahud Aur Hum: Qur'an ki Raushni Mein (Jews and us: In the light of the Qur'an), Ooper ki Dunya (The world above us), Bahno ki Najat (Salvation for sisters), Aurat ki Tauheen (Insult of the woman), Vigyan Yug Mein Islam Dharam (The religion of Islam in the age of science), etc.

His lectures and Duroos are available in the form of audio cassettes. Recently, the AVM Studio of Madras produced a set of 30 audio cassettes containing the Urdu translation of the Holy Qur'an along with the Arabic recitation by the most respectable Qari of India, Hafiz Qasim Ansari.

Besides Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, English, Arabic, Gujrati, and Sindhi, Shaikh Parekh has a good command of Sanskrit, the language of Hindu religious books. His deep knowledge of other religions, such as Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other faiths, puts him in a distinguished class of Islamic scholars. In fact, he is considered as one of the most versatile scholars for addressing interreligious conferences and seminars, conducting dialogues and interacting with non-Muslim scholars.

Shaikh Parekh deals with modern challenges and conflicts in the light of the Holy Qur'an. He is highly appreciated by one and all.

Being a timber merchant by profession, Shaikh Parekh is well aware of day to day problems, conflicts, and the whole gamut of day-to-day realities faced by Indian Muslims. His approach for uplifting Muslims in India, therefore, carries a lot of weight. His incessant activities have taken him to serve various organizations, some of which are listed below:

• Managing Committee, Nadwatul-Ulama, Luckhnow, India
• All India Muslim Personal Law Board (Treasurer)
• All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat
• Faculty of Theology, Aligarh Muslim University
• Majlis-e-Ta'limul-Qur'an, Nagpur
• Central India Institute of Medical Sciences
• Citizen's Peace Committee, Nagpur

In short, Shaikh Parekh has dedicated his life to spreading the message of the Qur'an to both Muslims and non-Muslims. He pays special attention to educating the Muslim women who are a neglected lot in India. He has contributed greatly to building a cordial atmosphere among various religious communities of India. This is essential in propagating the message of Islam.

Preface by the Author

It is a great favor of Allah that many Muslims are nowadays more inclined to read and understand the Holy Qur'an. Alhamdulillah (All praise and thanksgiving be to Allah), the number of such people is increasing. In order to encourage as well as help such readers of the Holy Qur'an, I compiled the difficult words of the Qur'an in the form of a book in Urdu, titled Aasaan Lughatul Qur'an (Easy Dictionary of Qur'an) and published it as a dictionary way back in 1952. In this dictionary, words were placed in order of their occurrence in the Surahs (chapter) of the Qur'an, avoiding those words which were repeated. For example, the words Alif-laammeem of Surah Al-Baqarah (Chapter: The Cow) come first and those of Surah Aale-Imran (Chapter: The Family of Imran) come next, and so on.

The first edition was sold out quickly. A revised edition was published in 1954. The reviews and remarks published in various religious magazines as well as the notes forwarded by the learned scholars of India and Pakistan were given due consideration in revising the book. Common Arabic words familiar to Urdu speakers were introduced in order to make the book more comprehensive. Once again, the second edition too sold out quickly. I thank Allah for making the book so popular and Insha-Allah useful to the readers of the Holy Qur'an.

It was indeed the mercy of Allah that the usefulness of this small book was confirmed. It received appreciation from a wide cross section of people, including students, businessmen, academicians, and those associated with religious institutions. With the help of this dictionary, I believe that in a very little time and with some effort, all could understand the meaning and enjoy the literary beauty of the Holy Qur'an to a great extent.

Transforming the individual

The book was so designed that beginning with a little grammatical exercise, you will be able to translate the Arabic words of the Qur'an into your language and grasp the general meaning of the Qur'anic passages. As a result, you will experience greater devotion and more interest in performing the daily Salahs and Taraweeh in Ramadan. Perhaps for the first time you will realize what is recited in prayers. Thus, the teachings of the Holy Qur'an will go directly to your heart and strengthen the belief of Tawheed (the Unity of Allah), Risalah (the Prophethood), Al-Qiyamah (the Resurrection), Al-Hashr (the Gathering on the day of Judgment), and

Transforming the society

The benefit of the book has already transcended to another realization. Those who were learning Arabic and the meaning of the Holy Qur'an with the help of this dictionary gradually came into close contact with one another in spite of being attached to different fiqhi schools of thought. With time, they have became conspicuous in the Indian society and evolved as preachers of the Holy Qur'an. They later constituted an organization, known as Majlis Taleemul-Qur'an, devoting themselves to the preaching and teaching of the Holy Qur'an for the sake of attaining the Grace of Allah, enjoining people to do good and forbidding evil.

A little grammar can do a great job

Practical experience has taught me that most students aspiring to learn Arabic are bound to get dejected if they begin with the unsavory complexities of Arabic grammar. To overcome this difficulty I prepared a few simplified lessons on grammar and introduced them at the beginning of the dictionary. I hope that it will be a more direct approach of teaching Arabic, without having to vex the otherwise enthusiastic student with too much formal grammar.

The addition of the simple lessons on grammar and composition was made in the edition published in 1960. The idea was successful and students were more encouraged to learn the Holy Qur'an with the help of this dictionary. The Lughat became so popular that by1973 nine editions had been printed.

Once again, it was purely a blessing and favor of Allah who revealed the Holy Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him, pbuh).

Why memorize the words?

It is a fact that children do not begin to learn their mother tongue with grammar; rather, they learn words of speech and start speaking with the collection of words in their memory. They continue to grasp the meaning of new words, memorize them and reproduce from their memory as and when needed to express their feelings. Thus, building a sizable vocabulary should naturally form the first step in order to learn another language.

Next, one has to learn the proper usage of words. Words with two or more meanings may create some difficulty, but it can be overcome with their specific usage. For example, the word book has various meanings in English depending upon the context in which it is used, as shown below:

1. I have booked (dispatched) my luggage by passenger train
2. The book I am reading is the Holy Qur'an
3. I have booked (reserved) my seat by mail train

There are many words in Arabic that have multiple meanings, but you have nothing to worry at this stage. Just try to memorize the specific meanings according to their perfect usage exemplified in the Qur'an.

Some useful hints

My advise is to study the simple lessons on grammar very carefully. Then memorize the difficult words and their meanings by chapter, according to your capacity and time. Next try to translate the Arabic verses in your own language. For your satisfaction, compare your translation with the published ones by some learned scholars. Thus the fear of making mistakes will disappear, and you will be encouraged to move on. Ultimately a stage will come when you will be able to translate Qur'anic passages independently.

Having achieved this, you will understand the meaning when you read the Holy Qur'an, insha-Allah. Your heart will feel the divine sanctity, the literary elegance, and the captivating charm of the Holy Qur'an. It is important that as you recite the Holy Qur'an, you pray to Allah to help you act according to its teachings. Keep in mind that Allah is the Teacher of the Holy Qur'an, and He can teach each one of us. Without His favor, nothing is possible and all endeavors will end in futility. He is the Hearer of all prayers. Always pray to Him for guidance and knowledge.

A Word of Caution

There are some people who speak about the Holy Qur'an using its index only. This is an improper approach. Such people miss the very essence of the revealed verses and remain deprived of the real charm and elegance of the Holy Qur'an. Instead of recognizing their own fault, they try to twist the verses of the Holy Book to suit their whims. In fact, they are not aware of the dignity of the one Who has revealed the Holy Qur'an and also the dignity of the Prophet � to whom it was revealed. When their twisted interpretations contradict the established practices and well recorded sayings of the Holy Prophet �, these self-styled pseudo-scholars may even deny the very edifice of the Prophetic Sunnah and Ahadith. May Allah protect us from such pseudo-scholars.

There are yet others who outstretch their arguments that the Qur'anic verses are too difficult for a common Muslim to understand. Although they are otherwise respectable among the genuine scholars, they in fact have made a careless generalization.

Both views are erroneous. History witnesses that only the Shaitaan achieved double scores. Firstly, those who say that the Holy Qur'an is too difficult leave the common Muslim ignorant and inactive in following the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. Secondly, some of those who defend the Sunnah and Ahadith against their rejecters go beyond the right (middle) course and creat imaginary difficulties. They say that the Holy Qur'an is beyond approach by the common Muslims. The net result is that Muslims in general are deprived of learning the Holy Qur'an and its teachings.

The Hadith and Sunnah are the only legal interpretations and practical embodiments of the Holy Qur'an and its teachings. The message of the Holy Qur'an cannot be grasped completely unless one understands the Holy Qur'an as interpreted in Hadith and compiled in the established Tafaseer.

I would advise people, especially those who try to understand the Holy Qur'an by using only the index, to read the Holy Qur'an in its original Arabic along with its translation. Soon they will realize how and where they have been misled by their whims of reading and interpreting it in this way.

Read and understand the Qur'an

With the rampant ignorance about the meaning of the Holy Qur'an there are yet greater chances of their being deceived by selfish scholars. If the knowledge of the Holy Qur'an becomes common, none will be able to deceive the readers of the Holy Qur'an. I would even say that none will dare to mistranslate or misguide the people. Similarly, those scholars who say that it is very difficult to understand the meanings of the Holy Qur'an, and as such it is beyond the approach of common people, will also find no takers of their wrong arguments. In fact, the more we recite the Holy Qur'an in our prayers or otherwise, the lesser will be the chance that we will be misguided.

About the English Translation

Mr. Muhammad AbdurRashid Khan and Adambhai Essabhai have taken pains to compile this book, which is based on the Urdu edition of Lughatul-Qur'an. I have scrutinized their work and I am satisfied that the spirit and essence of the Arabic words are fully preserved.

While translating the Arabic words into English, they have restricted themselves mostly to the English translations of the Holy Qur'an by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and by Abdullah Yousuf Ali only. However, a few words have been taken from the translations of Maulana AbdulMajid Daryabadi, Muhammad Asad, and Dr. Muhammad Taqiuddin Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.

All said and done, now I leave this tenth edition along with the English version in the hands of the readers. No human work is perfect and free from flaws. Therefore, if readers point out any omission or mistakes, we shall be pleased and thankful to them. Appropriate corrections will be made in future edition Insha-Allah.

The Hindi and Bengali versions have also been released. In the present edition we have provided serial numbers to each word for the facility of the readers. The words with more than one meaning have been repeated when they are used in a different context. Up to the twentieth Juz' (parah), every Ruku (which represents a collection of a few verses) has been marked. Thereafter only the quarter, half, and three-fourth of a Juz' (parah) have been marked.

To conclude ...

A quarter of a century has passed ever since the first edition of this little dictionary was printed. Over the years the book was revised and reprinted as its popularity grew. I do not know if I will get yet another opportunity in my life time to revise the book. Life on earth is so limited and short, but it is for sure that one day we are all to meet before Allah when, as the Qur'an says: And you will see every nation bowing the knee: Every nation will be called to its Record (Al-Qur'an 45:28). It will be only on that day that this humble author will know the result of his endeavors. The readers too, will know how good was their learning and whether their good deeds have been fruitful.

The Holy Qur'an tells us of different events and various stages of life after death. Man should adopt the rightly guided path presented in the Qur'an before death overtakes him. That is the theme of the Holy book.

Verily this Qur'an does guide to that which is most right (or stable path) (Al-Qur'an: 17:9).

AbdulKarim Parekh Lakadganj, NAGPUR 8 (M.S.) India Tel (Off): 0091-712-768075, 0091-712-762756, 0091-712-7777420 Tel (Res): 0091-712-762836, 0091-712-762307 Fax: 0091-712-761219

Unique features of this book

This book has been printed in Urdu more than 40 times and is now available in many different languages. It has been a means of bringing numerous peoples closer to the book of Allah. Some of the unique features of this book are:

• It presents the meanings of the Arabic words of the Qur'an in the order of their occurrence. It avoids repetition of words to a great extent. However, the words are repeated quite a few times for the facility of the reader.
• It avoids the painful exercise of locating each word in a dictionary.
• Since you will learn the Arabic through the Qur'an, you will have the double advantage, of learning Arabic and learning the Qur'an. So whatever effort you spend, will directly be counted, Insha-Allah, as 'hasanah' (a good deed).
• You will instantly feel the effects of studying this book in your daily Prayers, insha-Allah. This will encourage you to keep going. Such encouragement may not be there if you learn Arabic from any other source.
• This book can be kept in an office, house, or in a travel kit. When you take a break, just start memorizing the words of those Surahs you plan to study or review words of those Surahs which you have covered so far.

Suggestions For Using This Book Effectively

Start with Part I and be thorough with it. Spend a couple of days with Part II, since it will be extremely helpful later on. After that you will be ready to study the main part. Just follow these steps:

• Start from the beginning (Surah Al-Baqarah, Al-e-Imran, and so on).
• Go page by page or Ruku by Ruku or whatever part of the Qur'an you are comfortable with.
• For each part, (a) memorize the meanings of new words; (b) read the translation and try to connect the Arabic words and their meanings with the translation.

You can download the entire zip file that contains all 11 pdf files click here...

Or download each file individually:

Foreword
Daily Recitations
Grammer
Quran 1
Quran 2
Quran 3
Quran 4
Quran 5
Quran 6
Quran 7
Quran 8