Near-synonyms 2: to know and to act; to understand and to be aware

To reflect, to meditate, to be aware

تَفَكّر / تدبّر / تَفَقَّهَ / عقَل

The root عقل appears many times in the Qur’an, always in the verbal form عقَل (« to reason »), but never in the noun form عَقْل (« intellect » or « reason »). This leads some researchers to say that it is an incitement to put « the intellect » into action and not to take for granted what it apprehends.

The verb تفكّر expresses the idea of meditative reflection. In the Qur’an, it always concerns considering the « signs » or « parables » that the Lord addresses to us.

The verb تدبّر comes from the root دبر, which means « behind ». This leads linguists to say that it means « to reflect on what is behind things » — in other words, not to confine oneself to their surface. It appears only twice in the Qur’an, and in both cases it concerns reflecting on the Sacred Text itself.

As for the verb تفقّه, it derives from the verb فقِه, which means « to understand things deeply or precisely ». It thus means to strive to acquire this deep understanding.

إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الصُّمُّ الْبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
Indeed, the worst of creatures in the sight of God are the deaf and dumb who do not reason. (8:22)

أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ
Have they not reflected within themselves? God created the heavens and the earth and what is between them only in truth. (30:8)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And among His signs is that He created for you, from yourselves, spouses that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. There are indeed in that signs for a people who reflect. (30:21)

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And they ask you what they should spend [in charity]. Say: « The surplus. » Thus does God make clear to you the signs, that perhaps you may reflect. (2:219)

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا
Do they not then reflect upon the Qur’an? Had it been from other than God, they would have found in it much contradiction! (4:82)

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا
Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? (47:24)

فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنْذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ
Why does not a group from each clan go forth to acquire deep understanding of religion and to warn their people when they return to them, that perhaps they may beware? (9:122)

To understand

فقِه ــَـ / فهِم ــَـ

The verb فهم simply means « to understand ». It nevertheless appears only once in the Qur’an, in its derived form فهّم (« to make understand »).

The verb فقِه more specifically denotes the « deep (or precise) understanding » of a thing. Unlike the previous one, it is very common in the Sacred Text. Note that the word فِقْه took on the sense of « jurisprudence » with the development of the Islamic sciences, but its Qur’anic sense is indeed « understanding » (see also the verb تَفَقَّه above, derived from it).

فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ وَكُلًّا آتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا
We made it (the matter) understood by Solomon. And to both We had given wisdom and knowledge. (21:79)

وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
And untie the knot of my tongue [so] that they may understand my speech. (20:27-28)

قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَفْقَهُونَ
We have detailed the signs for a people who understand. (6:98)

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا
We have created for Hell many jinn and humans. They have hearts with which they do not understand. (7:179)

وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ
There is nothing that does not celebrate His praise, but you do not understand their glorification. (17:44)

To know (savoir and connaître)

دَرَى / يَدِرِي / علِم ــَـ / عرَف ــِـ

Linguists are generally rather perplexed by the distinction between these two terms. The best definition, in my view, is the one given by Badr al-Dîn al-ʿAynî:

الفرق بَين الْعلم والمعرفة، أَن الْمعرفَة إِدْرَاك الجزئيات، وَالْعلم إِدْرَاك الكليات
« The difference between ʿilm and maʿrifa is that the latter consists in the apprehension of analytical (or particular: juzʾiyyât) realities, and the former consists in the apprehension of synthetic (or general: kulliyyât) realities. »

These verbs are quite similar to « to know [a fact] » and « to be acquainted with » in French (savoir / connaître). Thus عرف is used for the knowledge one has of a person or a city, as complex realities: « I know Mecca » (أعرف مكّة). Conversely, علم and دري are used to express the knowledge of a simple fact, or one envisaged globally: « I know that Ahmad is Meccan » (أعلم أنّ أحمد مكّيّ). This verb is moreover often followed by أَنَّ (that). In modern Arabic, عرف is often used in the sense of knowing a fact, which creates great confusion compared with Qur’anic usage.

Note that in some cases, as in French, the two terms converge: one can say « you know the truth » either way. There are nevertheless puzzling cases in the Qur’anic text where علم seems to take the sense of عرف. A few rare translators, such as Dr. Hamidullah, keep the verb « to know » to translate it:

وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ
« And had I known the unseen, I would have amassed much good, and no harm would have touched me. » (7:188) (Dr. Hamidullah) — Perhaps it should be understood: « Had I known [what] the unseen world [conceals]. »

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ
« And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Book except [as] wishful thinking, and who do nothing but conjecture. » (2:78) (Dr. Hamidullah) — Perhaps: « They do not know what the Book is… » All this would deserve a thorough study.

تَرَى أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ
You see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the Truth. (5:83)

بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْحَقَّ فَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ
Nay, but most of them do not know the Truth, so they turn away. (21:24)

In the first case, it concerns The Truth envisaged as a single reality; in the second, a part of the truth, considered in its plurality and complexity. The verb عرَف also means « to recognize »: it is indeed in this sense that it is most often used in the Qur’an. The verb دري is used in the Qur’an only in the negative form, to mean « not to know ».

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ
Those to whom We gave the Book know it as they know their own children. (2:146)

يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنْكِرُونَهَا
They recognize the favour of God, then they deny it. (16:83)

سَيُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ فَتَعْرِفُونَهَا
He will show you His signs, and you will recognize them. (27:93)

وَجَاءَ إِخْوَةُ يُوسُفَ فَدَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَعَرَفَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ مُنْكِرُونَ
And the brothers of Joseph came and entered upon him. He recognized them, but they did not recognize him. (12:58)

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
So know that there is no deity but God. (47:19)

أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Do you not know that God is powerful over all things? (2:106)

قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
They said: « Will You place therein one who will spread corruption and shed blood, while we celebrate Your praise and sanctify You? » He said: « Indeed, I know what you do not know! » (2:30)

وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ
No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. (31:34)

قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ
Say: « I am not a novelty among the messengers, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you. » (46:9)

To do, to work

صنَع ــَـ / فعَل ــَـ / عمِل ــَـ

The verb عمل carries an idea of action performed slowly and calmly, or over time. This is why it also takes the sense of « to work ».

Conversely, فعل indicates an action performed quickly, immediately or punctually. It is the verb used to designate the actions of God, echoing the Qur’anic passage كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ — « every day He is engaged in some [new] matter » (55:29).

As for the verb صنع, it carries the idea of creation and of action done with precision and exactness. Figuratively, it is also used to designate the works of human beings, implying the idea of a singular and diligent work.

وَلَكِنْ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
But their hearts hardened, and Satan made their own deeds seem fair to them. (6:43)

فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى
Their Lord answered them: « I do not let the work of any worker among you be lost, male or female, who does good. » (3:195)

أَمَّا السَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَاكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِي الْبَحْرِ
As for the ship, it belonged to poor people who worked at sea. (18:79)

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? (105:1)

فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
So they slaughtered the cow, though they almost did not do it. (2:71)

قَالُوا أَأَنْتَ فَعَلْتَ هَٰذَا بِآلِهَتِنَا يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ
They said: « Is it you, Abraham, who did this to our gods? » (21:62)

صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
[Such is] the work of God, who has perfected all things. (27:88)

وَاصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا
And build the ship under Our eyes and according to Our revelation. (11:37)

وَسَوْفَ يُنَبِّئُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ
And God will inform them of what they used to do. (5:14)