Mashrabaمشربة

عرفIbn Fāris gives two sound roots: things following one another in a connected series, and … (root rf)

العين والراء والفاء أصلان صحيحان يدل أحدهما على تتابع الشيء متصلا بعضه ببعض والآخر يدل على السكون والطمأنينة

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

عرف
Patterns computed · our data

The words of ع ر ف that our sources attest: the root's letters in green, the added letters in gold.

47 words7 verbs6 verbal nouns6 participles3 places and instruments6 intensives and elatives12 other nouns5 plurals2 relatives and abstracts

  • عَرَفَknow
  • مَعْرِفَةknowledge; information
  • مَعْرُوفknown
  • عَارِفknowing
  • مَعَارِف—
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs7عَرَفَ · عَرَّفَ · اِعْتَرَفَ

The root as an action: the bare Form I, and the Forms made by adding letters before, inside or after the root.grammar →

Form I vowels: فَعَلَ يَفْعِلُ (a – i; the imperfect from Lane's “aor.”)

Verbal nouns6تَعْرِيف · عَرَافَة · عَرْف

The action itself, named as a noun (maṣdar).grammar →

  • تَعْرِيفidentification; notificationautoForm IIlibrary ×4Ibn Fāris
  • عَرَافَةForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • عَرْفhow fragrant is its odour!LaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • عِرَافَةForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
Participles6مَعْرُوف · عَارِف · مُتَعَارَف

The one who does it, and the one it is done to.grammar →

Place, time and instrument3مَعْرِفَة · مَعْرَفَة · مَعْرَف

Where or when it happens, and what it is done with: the m- nouns.grammar →

  • مَعْرِفَةknowledge; informationautonoun of place (with -a)library ×107LaneIbn Fāris
  • مَعْرَفَةnoun of place (with -a)LaneIbn Fāris
  • مَعْرَفwoman beautiful in the face, or in the parts thereof that appearLanenoun of place or timeLane
Intensives, qualities and the elative6عِرْفان · عَرِيف · أَعْرَف

The quality carried far, held as a trait, or compared.grammar →

  • عِرْفانknowledge; recognitionautointensive (faʿlān)library ×5Ibn Fāris
  • عَرِيفthe chief, or head, of a people, or partyLanequality (faʿīl)library ×3LaneIbn Fāris
  • أَعْرَفmore; most awareautoelative or colour adjective (afʿal)library ×3Lane
  • عَرَّافfortunetellerautointensive (faʿʿāl)library ×1Lane
Other nouns12عُرْف · أَعْرَاف · عَرَفَات

Nouns on other patterns; their meaning is learned word by word.grammar →

Plurals5مَعَارِف · عارِفِين · عَوَارِف

Broken plurals rebuild the word on a new pattern; sound plurals add an ending.grammar →

  • مَعَارِفbroken plural of مَعْرِفَةlibrary ×26Lane
  • عارِفِينplural of knowingfrom the singularsound plural of عارِفlibrary ×9
  • عَوَارِفbroken plural of عَارِفَةLaneIbn Fāris
  • عَرّافِينplural of fortunetellerfrom the singularsound plural of عَرّافlibrary ×1
  • عُرَفَاءbroken plural of عَرِيفLane
Relative and abstract2عَرَفِيّ · عُرْفِيّ

-iyy relates a thing to its source; -iyya makes an abstract noun.grammar →

  • عَرَفِيّrelative adjective (-iyy)Lane
  • عُرْفِيّrelative adjective (-iyy)Lane
Why this shape?What each of the 24 patterns does

What each pattern does. The pattern gives a tendency, not a rule: many words have drifted into meanings of their own.

The pattern machinePour the root into a pattern; see whether the word exists

Choose a pattern; the root's letters pour into it. Then see whether the word exists in our sources. The machine makes shapes; only usage makes words.

مَفْعَلَةع ر فمَعْرَفَة
  • Attested: مَعْرِفَة, noun of place (with -a), “knowledge; information” (library, Lane, Ibn Fāris)
  • Attested: مَعْرَفَة, noun of place (with -a) (Lane, Ibn Fāris)

Place noun with -a. The place noun with the feminine -a. Sometimes it is only a variant of mafʿal; often it names the place where a thing is found in abundance (maʾsada, 'a place full of lions'). So maktab is the place of writing, and maktaba, where writings are gathered: a library, a bookshop. Our summary

But: maktaba is not in our classical dictionaries for k-t-b: Lane and al-Jawharī give maktab ('a school'), none gives maktaba. Its sense of 'library, bookshop' fits the pattern of abundance, but that is our reading of the pattern, not a classical entry. Many mafʿala words are single items of usage (maqbara 'cemetery'), which the grammarians call heard, not formed by rule.

The grammarians on this pattern (4)
  • ما يكون مفعلة لازمة لها الهاء والفتحة … وذلك إذا أردت أن تكثر الشيء بالمكان، وذلك قولك: أرض مسبعة، ومأسدة

    Chapter on what is mafʿala, with the -a and the a-vowel always: that is when you mean that a thing abounds in a place, as you say 'a land of many beasts of prey (masbaʿa), of many lions (maʾsada)'

    Sībawayh (d. c. 180/796), al-Kitāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn, 3rd ed. (Cairo: al-Khānjī, 1988), 4:94 · OpenITI line 21027–21028 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس

    and words like maẓinna and maqbara (with a or u) are not by rule

    Ibn al-Ḥājib (d. 646/1249), al-Shāfiya fī ʿilm al-taṣrīf, ed. Ḥasan Aḥmad al-ʿUthmān (Mecca: al-Maktaba al-Makkiyya, 1995), 1:30 · OpenITI line 223 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • “designate the place where the object signified by the noun from which they are formed, is found in large numbers or quantities” Wright, Grammar I, §247, p. 148 ↗ · on nouns of abundance, maf'ala · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
  • “Nouns of time and place not unfrequently take the feminine form” Wright, Grammar I, §225, p. 128 ↗ · on maf'ala as a variant of maf'al · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
About thisWhat “attested” means here; the sources

Attested means found in our data: the Quranic Arabic Corpus (lemmas, verb Forms, participles, verbal nouns, plurals), the library's words (automatic analysis), Lane's Lexicon (his headwords, the Forms he numbers, the verbal nouns and plurals he names) and Ibn Fāris's entry. Nothing is generated for this list. Meanings are Lane's first gloss in his entry, or else the analyser's gloss (“auto”). Vowelling follows the corpus, then Lane, then the analyser; verbs are given in the regular perfect. Lane's Lexicon thins out after qāf, and a few of his entries cover several roots at once: those roots show no Lane. The patterns, written with ف ع ل, are computed by us.

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170ʿaraftu al-shayʾ maʿrifatan wa-ʿirfānan (عرفت الشيء معرفة وعرفاناً), 'I knew/recognized the thing.' And amrun ʿārifun, maʿrūfun, ʿarīfun (أمر عارف، معروف، عريف) — [all describing] 'a known/recognized matter.' Al-ʿurf (ال

    al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn. The first Arabic dictionary, arranged by permutations of the root letters.

    ʿaraftu al-shayʾ maʿrifatan wa-ʿirfānan (عرفت الشيء معرفة وعرفاناً), 'I knew/recognized the thing.' And amrun ʿārifun, maʿrūfun, ʿarīfun (أمر عارف، معروف، عريف) — [all describing] 'a known/recognized matter.' Al-ʿurf (العرف): al-maʿrūf (kindness, what is good/customary). Al-Nābigha said: "God refused [all] but His justice and His decree, so neither is wrong deemed right, nor is kindness (ʿurf) lost," Al-ʿarīf (العريف): the one placed in charge of the affairs of a people over whom he has been appointed (ʿurifa); he is so named because he became known by this designation. Yawm ʿArafa (يوم عرفة): the day people stand at ʿArafāt; ʿArafāt is a mountain. Al-taʿrīf (التعريف): their standing there and their veneration on the Day of ʿArafa. Al-taʿrīf [also]: that you find something and announce it (tuʿarrifuhu), by calling out, 'Who recognizes this?' Al-iʿtirāf (الاعتراف): confession of a sin, submission, humility, and acceptance of it. The soul is ʿarūf when it is made to bear a matter and grows accustomed to it, i.e., becomes tranquil. "So they returned with the women riding behind, submissive after having been veiled," Al-iʾtijāḥ is from al-wijāḥ, which is a veil/covering, i.e., [the women] acknowledging humiliation and lowliness. Al-ʿarf: a pleasant scent. You say: 'How sweet is its scent!' God, mighty and exalted, said: 'ʿarrafahā lahum' [Q47:6], meaning He made it fragrant for them, "Many a day have I passed in delight, and a night with one bright of cheek, sweet of scent," It is said: ṭāra al-qaṭā ʿurfan fa-ʿurfan (طار القطا عرفاً فعرفاً), 'the sandgrouse flew in succession,' meaning one after another, group after group. Al-ʿurf: the mane of the horse; its plural is aʿrāf (أعراف). Maʿrifat al-faras (معرفة الفرس): the base/root of its mane. Al-ʿurf: a plant that is neither of the ḥamḍ nor the ʿiḍāh kind; it belongs to al-thumām. Shujāʿ said: 'I do not know this [plant], but I know al-ʿurfa, which is a sore/ulcer caused by [a disease called] al-akla.' It is said: aṣābat-hu ʿurfatun (أصابته عرفة), 'he was afflicted by ʿurfa.'

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    عرفت الشىء معرفة وعرفانا. وأمر عارف، معروف، عريف. والعرف: المعروف. قال النابغة «17» : أبى الله إلا عدله وقضاءه ... فلا النكر معروف ولا العرف ضائع والعريف: القيم بأمر قوم عرف عليهم، سمي به لأنه عرف بذلك الاسم. ويوم عرفة: موقف الناس بعرفات، وعرفات جبل، والتعريف: وقوفهم بها وتعظيمهم يوم عرفة. والتعريف: أن تصيب شيئا فتعرفه إذا ناديت من يعرف هذا. والاعتراف: الإقرار بالذنب، والذل، والمهانة، والرضى به. والنفس عروف إذا حملت على أمر بسأت به، أي: اطمأنت. قال «18» : فآبوا بالنساء مردفات ... عوارف بعد كن وائتجاح الائتجاح من الوجاح وهو الستر، أي: معترفات بالذل والهون «19» . والعرف: ريح طيب، تقول: ما أطيب عرفه، قال الله عز وجل: عرفها لهم «20» ، أي: طيبها، وقال «21» : ألا رب يوم قد لهوت وليلة ... بواضحة الخدين طيبة العرف ويقال: طار القطا عرفا فعرفا، أي: أولا فأولا، وجماعة بعد جماعة. والعرف: عرف الفرس، ويجمع على أعراف. ومعرفة الفرس: أصل عرفه. والعرف: نبات ليس بحمض ولا عضاة، وهو من الثمام. قال شجاع: لا أعرفه ولكن أعرف العرف وهو قرحة الأكلة، يقال: أصابته عرفة.

  • al-Jawharī · 393ʿaraftuhu maʿrifatan wa-ʿirfānan (عرفته معرفة وعرفاناً), 'I knew/recognized him.' Their saying: 'mā aʿrifu li-aḥadin yaṣraʿunī' (ما أعرف لأحد يصرعني), 'I do not acknowledge that anyone throws me [in wrestling],' means 'I

    al-Jawharī (d. c. 393/1003), al-Ṣiḥāḥ. Admits only usage he judged sound.

    ʿaraftuhu maʿrifatan wa-ʿirfānan (عرفته معرفة وعرفاناً), 'I knew/recognized him.' Their saying: 'mā aʿrifu li-aḥadin yaṣraʿunī' (ما أعرف لأحد يصرعني), 'I do not acknowledge that anyone throws me [in wrestling],' means 'I do not admit [it].' ʿaraftu al-farasa (عرفت الفرس): 'I clipped its mane.' Al-ʿarf: scent, whether pleasant or foul. It is said: 'How sweet is its scent!' In the proverb: 'lā yaʿjizu misku al-sūʾ ʿan ʿarfi al-sūʾ' (لا يعجز مسك السوء عن عرف السوء), 'The ill-touching thing does not fail to have a bad smell.' Al-ʿurfa (العرفة): a sore that appears in the pale part of the palm — according to Ibn al-Sikkīt. It is said: ʿurifa al-rajulu fa-huwa maʿrūf (عرف الرجل فهو معروف), meaning that sore has broken out on him. Al-maʿrūf (المعروف): the opposite of al-munkar; al-ʿurf: the opposite of al-nukr. It is said: awlāhu ʿurfan (أولاه عرفاً), 'he did him a kindness,' meaning maʿrūf. Al-muʿraf is also a noun derived from al-iʿtirāf; hence their saying, 'lahu ʿalayya alfun ʿurfan' (له علي ألف عرفاً), 'he has a thousand owed to me, [as an] acknowledgment,' which is an emphatic term. Al-ʿurf: the mane of the horse. His saying, exalted is He: 'wa-l-mursalāti ʿurfan' (والمرسلات عرفاً) [Q77:1], it is said this is borrowed from the horse's mane, meaning they follow one another in succession like the hairs of a horse's mane. It is said: arsaltu bi-l-ʿurf (أرسلت بالعرف), meaning 'with kindness/what is fitting.' Al-maʿrafa (المعرَفة), with fatḥa on the rāʾ: the place upon which the mane grows. Al-ʿurf and al-ʿirf (العُرْف والعِرْف): raised/elevated sand. Al-Kumayt said: "Did the encampment at al-ʿurf make you weep, and what have you to do with the transformed ruins?" This is like ʿusr and ʿusr (عسر وعسر) [both meaning 'difficulty']. Likewise al-ʿurfa; the plural is ʿuraf and aʿrāf. It is said that al-Aʿrāf (الأعراف) mentioned in the Qurʾān is a wall/barrier between Paradise and Hell. Shayʾun aʿraf (شيء أعرف): a thing that has a mane. Aʿrafa al-farasu (أعرف الفرس): its mane grew long. Iʿrawrafa (اعرورف): it became possessed of a mane. Iʿrawrafa al-rajulu: the man prepared himself for evil/trouble. Iʿrawrafa al-baḥru: the sea's waves rose. The hyena is called ʿarfāʾ (عرفاء), so named for the abundance of its hair. Al-ʿirf, with kasra, is from their saying: 'mā ʿarafa ʿirfī illā bi-akhira' (ما عرف عرفي إلا بأخرة), meaning 'he did not recognize me except recently.' You say: 'hādhā yawmu ʿArafata' (هذا يوم عرفة), undeclined [diptote], and the definite article does not enter it. ʿArafāt: a place near Minā; it is a name in the form of a plural, so it is not [further] pluralized. Al-Farrāʾ said it has no valid singular form. People's saying 'nazalnā ʿArafata' (نزلنا عرفة) resembles a coined/post-classical usage and is not pure Arabic. It is definite (maʿrifa) even though it is [grammatically] a plural, because the [final] letters do not disappear, so it became like a single thing, differing from [the case of] al-Zaydūn. You say: 'hāʾulāʾi ʿArafātun ḥasanatan' (هؤلاء عرفات حسنةً), putting the adjective in the accusative because it is indefinite [in form]. It is declinable (takes tanwīn). God, exalted, said: 'fa-idhā afaḍtum min ʿArafātin' (فإذا أفضتم من عرفات), 'And when you press on from ʿArafāt' [Q2:198]. Al-Akhfash said: it is declined [with tanwīn] only because the tāʾ took the place of the yāʾ and wāw in 'muslimīn' and 'muslimūn,' since it is masculine [in that analogy], and the tanwīn took the place of the nūn; so when it was used as a proper name, it was left in its [original] state, just as one says 'Muslimū...' [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    عرفته معرفة وعرفانا (2) . وقولهم: ما أعرف لأحد يصرعني، أي ما أعترف. وعرفت الفرس: أي جززت عرفه. والعرف: الريح طيبة كانت أو منتنة. يقال: ما أطيب عرفه. وفي المثل: " لا يعجز مسك السوء عن عرف السوء ". والعرفة: قرحة تخرج في بياض الكف عن ابن السكيت. يقال: عرف (1) الرجال فهو معروف، أي خرجت به تلك القرحة. والمعروف: ضد المنكر والعرف: ضد النكر. ويقال: أولاه عرفا، أي معروفا. والمعرف أيضا: الاسم من الاعتراف، ومنه قولهم: له علي ألف عرفا، أي اعترافا، وهو توكيد. والعرف: عرف الفرس. وقوله تعالى: {والمرسلات عرفا} ، يقال هو مستعار من عرف الفرس، أي يتتابعون كعرف الفرس ويقال: أرسلت بالعرف، أي بالمعروف. والمعرفة بفتح الراء: الموضع الذي ينبت عليه العرف. والعرف والعرف: الرمل المرتفع (2) . قال الكميت: أبكاك (3) بالعرف المنزل وما أنت والطلل المحول وهو مثل عسر وعسر. وكذلك العرفة، والجمع عرف وأعراف. ويقال الأعراف الذي في القرآن: سور بين الجنة والنار. وشئ أعرف، أي له عرف. وأعرف الفرس، أي طال عرفه. واعرورف أي صار ذا عرف. واعرورف الرجل، أي تهيأ للشر. واعرورف البحر، أي ارتفعت أمواجه. ويقال للضبع عرفاء، سميت بذلك لكثرة شعرها. والعرف بالكسر، من قولهم: ما عرف عرفى إلا بأخرة، أي ما عرفني إلا أخيرا. وتقول: هذا يوم عرفة غير منون، ولا تدخله الالف واللام. وعرفات: موضع بمنى (1) ، وهو اسم في لفظ الجمع فلا يجمع. قال الفراء ولا واحد له بصحة. وقول الناس: نزلنا عرفة شبيه بمولد، وليس بعربي محض (2) . وهى معرفة وإن كان جمعا، لان الا ما كن لا تزول، فصار كالشئ الواحد، وخالف الزيدين. تقول: هؤلاء عرفات حسنة، تنصب النعت لانه نكرة. وهى مصروفة. قال تعالى: {فإذا أفضتم من عرفات} قال الاخفش: إنما صرفت لان التاء صارت بمنزلة الياء والواو في مسلمين ومسلمون، لانه تذكيره، وصار التنوين بمنزلة النون، فلما سمى به ترك على حاله كما يقال مسلمون إذا سمى به على حاله. وكذلك القول في أذرعات وعانات وعريتنات. والعارف: الصبور. يقال: أصيب فلان فوجد عارفا. والعروف مثله. قال عنترة: فصبرت عارفة لذلك حرة ترسو إذا نفس الجبان تطلع (1) يقول: حبست نفسا عارفة، أي صابرة. والعارفة أيضا: المعروف. ورجل عروفة بالأمور، أي عارف بها، والهاء للمبالغة. والعريف والعارف بمعنى، مثل عليم وعالم. وأنشد الأخفش (2) : أو كلما وردت عكاظ قبيلة بعثوا إلي عريفهم يتوسم أي عارفهم. والعريف: النقيب، وهو دون الرئيس، والجمع: عرفاء. تقول منه عرف فلان بالضم عرافة، مثل خطب خطابة، أي صار عريفا، وإذا أردت أنه عمل ذلك قلت: عرف فلان علينا سنين يعرف عرافة، مثال كتب يكتب كتابة. والتعريف: الاعلام. والتعريف أيضا: إنشاد الضالة. والتعريف: التطييب، من العرف. وقوله تعالى: {عرفها لهم} أي طيبها. قال الشاعر يخاطب رجلا ويمدحه: عرفت كإتب عرفته اللطائم * يقول: كما عرف الاتب، وهو البقير. والعراف: الكاهن والطبيب. قال الشاعر (1) : فقلت لعراف اليمامة داوني فإنك إن أبرأتني لطبيب والتعريف: الوقوف بعرفات. يقال: عرف الناس، إذا شهدوا عرفات، وهو المعرف، للموقف. والاعتراف بالذنب: الإقرار به. واعترفت القوم، إذا سألتهم عن خبر لتعرفه. قال الشاعر (2) : أسائلة عميرة عن أبيها خلال الركب (3) تعترف الركابا وربما وضعوا اعترف موضع عرف، كما وضعوا عرف موضع اعترف. قال أبو ذؤيب يصف سحابا مرته النعامى لم يعترف خلاف النعامى من الشأم ريحا أي لم يعرف غير الجنوب، لأنها أبل الرياح وأرطبها. وتعرفت ما عند فلان، أي تطلبت حتى عرفت. وتقول: ائت فلانا فاستعرف إليه حتى يعرفك. وقد تعارف القوم، أي عرف بعضهم بعضا. وامرأة ح …

  • Ibn Fāris · 395ʿAyn, rāʾ, and fāʾ (ع ر ف) are two sound roots: one indicates the succession of a thing, connected part to part, and the other indicates stillness and tranquility.

    Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004), Maqāyīs al-Lugha. Seeks each root's original sense (aṣl).

    ʿAyn, rāʾ, and fāʾ (ع ر ف) are two sound roots: one indicates the succession of a thing, connected part to part, and the other indicates stillness and tranquility. The first is ʿurf (العرف), the mane of the horse, so named because of the succession of hair upon it. It is said: jāʾat al-qaṭā ʿurfan ʿurfan (جاءت القطا عرفاً عرفاً), 'the sandgrouse came in succession,' meaning some behind others. Of this same category is al-ʿurfa (العرفة), plural ʿuraf (عرف), which is a tract of raised land stretching between two plains, growing [vegetation] as if it were a horse's mane. And there is poetry concerning this. The other root [meaning] is maʿrifa (المعرفة) and ʿirfān (العرفان), 'knowledge/recognition.' You say: ʿarafa fulānun fulānan ʿirfānan wa-maʿrifatan (عرف فلان فلانا عرفاناً ومعرفة), 'So-and-so knew so-and-so,' and 'this is a well-known/recognized matter' (hādhā amrun maʿrūf هذا أمر معروف). This indicates what we have said about its [meaning of] repose toward it, for whoever denies (ankara) a thing feels estranged from it and shies away from it. Of this category also is al-ʿarf (العرف), the pleasant scent, which fits the analogy [of this root], because the soul finds repose in it. It is said: mā aṭyaba ʿarfahu (ما أطيب عرفه), 'How pleasant is its scent!' God, exalted and glorified, said: 'and He will admit them into Paradise, ʿarrafahā lahum (عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ)' [Q47:6], meaning He made it pleasant/fragrant for them. "Many a day have I passed in delight, and a night with one bright of cheek, sweet of scent (ʿarf)," And al-ʿurf (العرف) [also means] al-maʿrūf (المعروف), 'kindness/what is good,' so named because souls find repose in it. Al-Nābigha said: "God refused [all] but His justice and His faithfulness, so neither is wrong deemed right, nor is kindness (ʿurf) lost," As for al-ʿarīf (العريف), al-Khalīl said: he is the one placed in charge of the affairs of a people, having been set (ʿurifa) over them. He said: he is called ʿarīf only because he became known (ʿurifa) by this [designation]. It is [also] said that al-ʿirāfa (العرافة) is like a governorship, and he was so named so that he might know their affairs. As for ʿArafāt (عرفات), some said it was so named because Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, became acquainted (taʿārafā) there. Others said it was so named because when Gabriel, peace be upon him, taught Abraham, peace be upon him, the rites of the pilgrimage, he said to him, 'Have you recognized/learned (a-ʿaraft)?' Some said it was so named because it is a sanctified, venerated place, as though it had been made known/fragrant (ʿurrifa), as we mentioned regarding His saying, 'and He will admit them into Paradise, He made it pleasant for them' [Q47:6]. Standing at ʿArafāt is called taʿrīf (تعريف). Taʿrīf also means announcing a lost animal or found object, by saying, 'Who recognizes this?' It is said: iʿtarafa bi-l-shayʾ (اعترف بالشيء), 'he confessed to the thing,' when he acknowledges it, as if he recognized it and so admitted it. It is said: al-nafsu ʿarūf (النفس عروف), 'the soul is submissive,' when it is made to bear a matter and it accepts it, i.e., it settles/becomes tranquil. "So they returned with the women riding behind, submissive (ʿawārif) after having been veiled (wa-ttijāḥ)," from al-wajāj (الوجاج), which is a veil/covering. Al-ʿārif (العارف) [also means] the patient one. It is said: aṣābathu muṣībatun fa-wajada ʿarūfan (أصابته مصيبة فوجد عروفاً), 'a calamity befell him and he was found patient (ʿarūf/ṣābir).' Al-Nābigha said: "Upon patient [mares], frowning at the thrust of spears, bearing wounds, some still bleeding, some scabbed over,"

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    العين والراء والفاء أصلان صحيحان يدل أحدهما على تتابع الشيء متصلا بعضه ببعض والآخر يدل على السكون والطمأنينة فالأول العرف عرف الفرس وسمي بذلك لتتابع الشعر عليه ويقال جاءت القطا عرفا عرفا أي بعضها خلف بعض ومن الباب العرفة وجمعها عرف وهي أرض منقادة مرتفعة بين سهلتين تنبت كأنها عرف فرس ومن الشعر في ذلك والأصل الآخر المعرفة والعرفان تقول عرف فلان فلانا عرفانا ومعرفة وهذا أمر معروف وهذا يدل على ما قلناه من سكونه إليه لأن من أنكر شيئا توحش منه ونبا عنه ومن الباب العرف وهي الرائحة الطيبة وهي القياس لأن النفس تسكن إليها يقال ما أطيب عرفه قال الله سبحانه وتعالى : ﴿ ويدخلهم الجنة عرفها لهم ﴾ أي طيبها قال : — إلا رب يوم قد لهوت وليلة … بواضحة الخدين طيبة العرف … والعرف المعروف وسمي بذلك لأن النفوس تسكن إليه قال النابغة : — أبى الله إلا عدله ووفاءه … فلا النكر معروف ولا العرف ضائع … فأما العريف فقال الخليل هو القيم بأمر قوم قد عرف عليهم قال وإنما سمي عريفا لأنه عرف بذلك ويقال بل العرافة كالولاية وكأنه سمي بذلك ليعرف أحوالهم وأما عرفات فقال قوم سميت بذلك لأن آدم وحواء عليهما السلام تعارفا بها وقال آخرون بل سميت بذلك لأن جبريل عليه السلام لما علم إبراهيم عليه السلام مناسك الحج قال له أعرفت وقال قوم بل سميت بذلك لأنه مكان مقدس معظم كأنه قد عرف كما ذكرنا في قوله تعالى : ﴿ ويدخلهم الجنة عرفها لهم ﴾ والوقوف بعرفات تعريف والتعريف تعريف الضالة واللقطة أن يقول من يعرف هذا ويقال اعترف بالشيء إذا أقر كأنه عرفه فأقر به ويقال النفس عروف إذا حملت على أمر فباءت به أي اطمأنت وقال : — فآبوا بالنساء مردفات … عوارف بعد كن واتجاح … من الوجاج وهو الستر والعارف الصابر يقال أصابته مصيبة فوجد عروفا أي صابرا قال النابغة : — على عارفات للطعان عوابس … بهن كلوم بين دام وجالب …

  • al-Rāghib · 502Al-maʿrifa (المعرفة) and al-ʿirfān (العرفان): the perception of a thing by reflection and consideration of its effect/trace;

    al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī (d. c. 502/1108), al-Mufradāt. Quranic vocabulary, from core sense to Quranic usage.

    Al-maʿrifa (المعرفة) and al-ʿirfān (العرفان): the perception of a thing by reflection and consideration of its effect/trace; it is more specific than ʿilm (knowledge), and its opposite is inkār (denial). One says, 'So-and-so knows (yaʿrifu) God,' but one does not say 'he yaʿlamu God' transitively to a single object, because human knowledge of God consists of reflecting upon His effects/traces, not perceiving His essence. One says, 'God yaʿlamu (knows) such-and-such,' but one does not say 'yaʿrifu such-and-such,' because maʿrifa is used for limited knowledge arrived at through reflection. Its root is from ʿaraftu, i.e., 'I perceived its ʿarf,' i.e., its scent; or from 'I perceived its ʿurf,' i.e., its cheek. One says: 'ʿaraftu such-and-such.' God, exalted, said: 'fa-lammā jāʾahum mā ʿarafū' (فلما جاءهم ما عرفوا), 'But when there came to them that which they recognized...' [Q2:89]; 'fa-ʿarafahum wa-hum lahu munkirūn' (فعرفهم وهم له منكرون), 'and he recognized them while they knew him not' [Q12:58]; 'la-ʿaraftahum bi-sīmāhum' (فلعرفتهم بسيماهم), 'you would surely recognize them by their mark' [Q47:30]; 'yaʿrifūnahu kamā yaʿrifūna abnāʾahum' (يعرفونه كما يعرفون أبناءهم), 'they recognize him just as they recognize their own sons' [Q2:146]. The opposite of maʿrifa is inkār (denial), while the opposite of ʿilm is jahl (ignorance). He said: 'yaʿrifūna niʿmata Llāhi thumma yunkirūnahā' (يعرفون نعمت الله ثم ينكرونها), 'They recognize the favor of God, then they deny it' [Q16:83]. Al-ʿārif (العارف), in the mutual understanding of a people, is one distinguished by the knowledge of God, knowledge of His dominion, and excellent conduct toward Him, exalted. One says: 'ʿarrafahu kadhā' (عرّفه كذا). God, exalted, said: 'ʿarrafa baʿḍahu wa-aʿraḍa ʿan baʿḍin' (عرف بعضه وأعرض عن بعض), 'he made known part of it and turned away from part' [Q66:3]. And taʿārafū (تعارفوا): they came to know one another. He said: 'li-taʿārafū' (لتعارفوا), 'that you may know one another' [Q49:13]. And He said: 'yataʿārafūna baynahum' (يتعارفون بينهم), 'they will recognize one another among themselves' [Q10:45]. And ʿarrafahu (عرّفه): He gave it an ʿurf, i.e., a pleasant scent. He said regarding Paradise: 'ʿarrafahā lahum' (عرفها لهم), 'He made it fragrant/pleasant for them' [Q47:6], meaning He made it pleasant and adorned it for them; it is also said: He made it known to them by describing it to them, making them yearn for it, and guiding them to it. As for His saying: 'fa-idhā afaḍtum min ʿArafāt' (فإذا أفضتم من عرفات) [Q2:198], it is the name of a specific tract of land; it is said it was so named because it was where the mutual recognition (maʿrifa) took place between Adam and Eve; and it is also said, rather, [it was named so] because of the servants' seeking to draw near in knowledge (taʿarruf) to God, exalted, through acts of worship and supplications. Al-maʿrūf (المعروف): a name for every act whose goodness is recognized by reason or by the [revealed] Law; al-munkar (المنكر): that which is rejected by either of them. He said: 'yaʾmurūna bi-l-maʿrūfi wa-yanhawna ʿani-l-munkar' (يأمرون بالمعروف وينهون عن المنكر), 'they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong' [Q3:104]. And God, exalted, said: 'wa-ʾmur bi-l-maʿrūfi wa-nha ʿani-l-munkar' (وأمر بالمعروف وانه عن المنكر), 'Enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong' [Q31:17]. 'wa-qulna qawlan maʿrūfan' (وقلن قولاً معروفاً), 'and speak in an honorable manner' [Q33:32]. For this reason, moderation in generosity is called maʿrūf, since it is deemed good both by reason and by the Law, as in: 'wa-man kāna faqīran fa-l-yaʾkul bi-l-maʿrūf' (ومن كان فقيراً فليأكل بالمعروف), 'and whoever is poor, let him consume with moderation' [Q4:6]; 'illā man amara bi-ṣadaqatin aw maʿrūf' (إلا من أمر بصدقة أو معروف), 'except one who enjoins charity or that which is right' [Q4:114]; 'wa-li-l-muṭallaqāti matāʿun bi-l-maʿrūf' (وللمطلقات متاع بالمعروف), 'For divorced women is a provision according to what is fair' [Q2:241], i.e., with moderation and kindness; and His saying: 'fa-amsikūhunna bi-maʿrūfin aw fāriqūhunna bi-maʿrūf' (فأمسكوهن بمعروف أو فارقوهن بمعروف), 'then retain them according to what is right or release them according to what is right' [Q65:2]; and His saying: 'qawlun maʿrūfun wa-maghfiratun khayrun min ṣadaqa' (قول معروف ومغفرة خير من صدقة), 'a kind word and forgiveness are better than charity' [Q2:263], i.e., a gracious response and blessing is better than charity [accompanied by something objectionable]; and al-ʿurf: kindness [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    المعرفة والعرفان: إدراك الشيء بتفكر وتدبر لأثره، وهو أخص من العلم، ويضاده الإنكار، ويقال: فلان يعرف الله ولا يقال: يعلم الله متعديا إلى مفعول واحد، لما كان معرفة البشر لله هي بتدبر آثاره دون إدراك ذاته، ويقال: الله يعلم كذا، ولا يقال: يعرف كذا، لما كانت المعرفة تستعمل في العلم القاصر المتوصل به بتفكر، وأصله من: عرفت. أي: أصبت عرفه. أي: رائحته، أو من أصبت عرفه. أي: خده، يقال: عرفت كذا. قال تعالى: فلما جاءهم ما عرفوا [البقرة/ 89] ، فعرفهم وهم له منكرون [يوسف/ 58] ، فلعرفتهم بسيماهم [محمد/ 30] ، يعرفونه كما يعرفون أبناءهم [البقرة/ 146] . ويضاد المعرفة الإنكار، والعلم الجهل. قال: يعرفون نعمت الله ثم ينكرونها [النحل/ 83] ، والعارف في تعارف قوم: هو المختص بمعرفة الله، ومعرفة ملكوته، وحسن معاملته تعالى، يقال: عرفه كذا. قال تعالى: عرف بعضه وأعرض عن بعض [التحريم/ 3] ، وتعارفوا: عرف بعضهم بعضا. قال: لتعارفوا [الحجرات/ 13] ، وقال: يتعارفون بينهم [يونس/ 45] ، وعرفه: جعل له عرفا. أي: ريحا طيبا. قال في الجنة: عرفها لهم [محمد/ 6] ، أي: طيبها وزينها «1» لهم، وقيل: عرفها لهم بأن وصفها لهم، وشوقهم إليها وهداهم. وقوله: فإذا أفضتم من عرفات [البقرة/ 198] ، فاسم لبقعة مخصوصة، وقيل: سميت بذلك لوقوع المعرفة فيها بين آدم وحواء «2» ، وقيل: بل لتعرف العباد إلى الله تعالى بالعبادات والأدعية. والمعروف: اسم لكل فعل يعرف بالعقل أو الشرع حسنه، والمنكر: ما ينكر بهما. قال: يأمرون بالمعروف وينهون عن المنكر [آل عمران/ 104] ، وقال تعالى: وأمر بالمعروف وانه عن المنكر [لقمان/ 17] ، وقلن قولا معروفا [الأحزاب/ 32] ، ولهذا قيل للاقتصاد في الجود: معروف، لما كان ذلك مستحسنا في العقول وبالشرع. نحو: ومن كان فقيرا فليأكل بالمعروف [النساء/ 6] ، إلا من أمر بصدقة أو معروف [النساء/ 114] ، وللمطلقات متاع بالمعروف [البقرة/ 241] ، أي: بالاقتصاد والإحسان، وقوله: فأمسكوهن بمعروف أو فارقوهن بمعروف [الطلاق/ 2] ، وقوله: قول معروف ومغفرة خير من صدقة [البقرة/ 263] ، أي: رد بالجميل ودعاء خير من صدقة كذلك، والعرف: المعروف من الإحسان، وقال: وأمر بالعرف [الأعراف/ 199] . وعرف الفرس والديك معروف، وجاء القطا عرفا. أي: متتابعة. قال تعالى: والمرسلات عرفا [المرسلات/ 1] ، والعراف كالكاهن إلا أن العراف يختص بمن يخبر بالأحوال المستقبلة، والكاهن بمن يخبر بالأحوال الماضية، والعريف بمن يعرف الناس ويعرفهم، قال الشاعر:

  • Lisān · 711Al-ʿirfān (العرفان): knowledge (al-ʿilm).

    Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311), Lisān al-ʿArab. The great compendium of the earlier dictionaries (entry shortened).

    Al-ʿirfān (العرفان): knowledge (al-ʿilm). Ibn Sīda said: The two [maʿrifa and ʿilm] are distinguished by a definition not suited to this place. ʿarafahu yaʿrifuhu ʿirfatan wa-ʿirfānan wa-maʿrifatan wa-ʿtarafahu (عرفه يعرفه عرفة وعرفاناً ومعرفة واعترفه): [he knew/recognized him]. Abū Dhuʾayb said, describing a cloud: "The south wind drove it, and it recognized no wind other than the south wind from Syria," A man [described as] ʿarūf and ʿarūfa (عروف وعروفة): one who knows/recognizes matters, and does not fail to recognize anyone he has seen once; the tāʾ marbūṭa in ʿarūfa is for intensification. Al-ʿarīf and al-ʿārif have the same meaning, like ʿalīm and ʿālim. Ṭarīf ibn Mālik al-ʿAnbarī said — it is also said Ṭarīf ibn ʿAmr: "Is it that whenever a tribe arrives at ʿUkāẓ, they send to me their ʿarīf to scrutinize [me]?" i.e., their one who knows [them well]. Sībawayh said: it is [of the pattern] faʿīl with the meaning of fāʿil, like their saying ḍarīb qidāḥ; the plural is ʿurafāʾ (عرفاء). An 'ʿarīf and ʿārif matter' [means]: maʿrūf, [here] fāʿil with the meaning of mafʿūl. Al-Azharī said: I have not heard 'amr ʿārif' meaning maʿrūf from anyone but al-Layth; what we have established from the authorities is 'rajul ʿārif,' meaning patient/steadfast — said by Abū ʿUbayda and others. Al-ʿirf, with kasra: from their saying 'mā ʿarafa ʿirfī illā bi-akhira,' meaning 'he did not recognize me except recently.' It is said: aʿrafa fulānun fulānan wa-ʿarrafahu (أعرف فلان فلاناً وعرّفه), when he made him aware of his offense and then forgave him. ʿarrafahu al-amra: he informed him of the matter. ʿarrafahu baytahu: he informed him of the location of his house. ʿarrafahu bihi: he marked/branded him with it. Sībawayh said: '[one says] ʿaraftuhu Zaydan' (عرفته زيداً), taking the view that ʿaraftu, when doubled [i.e., as ʿarraftu], becomes transitive to two objects, meaning that you say 'ʿaraftu Zaydan' and it is transitive to one object, then you double the middle radical and it becomes transitive to two objects. He said: as for 'ʿarraftuhu bi-Zaydin' (عرفته بزيد), you mean by it 'I identified him by this mark and made him clear by it,' which is other than the first meaning, for 'ʿarraftuhu bi-Zaydin' is like saying 'sammaytuhu bi-Zaydin' [I named him with the name Zayd]. And also his [Sībawayh's] statement, when he wants to give preference to one point of grammar or language over another: 'wa-l-awwalu aʿraf' (والأول أعرف), 'the former is more known.' Ibn Sīda said: in my view, this is based on the supposition of [the passive] 'ʿurifa,' because the thing is [properly] maʿrūf (known), not ʿārif (knowing), and the form of exclamation/preference is properly derived from the active [agent], not from the passive [object], though Sībawayh reported: 'mā abghaḍahu ilayya' (ما أبغضه إليّ), meaning 'he is hated [by me],' thus expressing exclamation about the object just as about the subject, even saying 'mā abghaḍanī lahu' (ما أبغضني له). So accordingly it is valid for 'aʿraf' here to be [used for] comparison and exclamation regarding the object, which is the [thing] known. Al-taʿrīf: informing/making known. Al-taʿrīf also [means]: proclaiming/announcing a lost animal. ʿarrafa al-ḍāllata: he proclaimed/sought [publicly for] the lost animal. Iʿtarafa al-qawm: he questioned/inquired of the people; it is also said: he asked them about news in order to learn it. Bishr ibn Abī Khāzim said: "Does ʿUmayra ask about her father, among the army, inquiring of the riding-camels?" Ibn Barrī said: and taʿarrafa comes with the meaning of iʿtarafa. Ṭarīf al-ʿAnbarī said: "Recognize me, that I am indeed the one, armed in my weapons, marked among the horsemen," and sometimes they use iʿtarafa in the place of ʿarafa, just as they use ʿarafa [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    العرفان: العلم؛ قال ابن سيده: وينفصلان بتحديد لا يليق بهذا المكان، عرفه يعرفه عرفة وعرفانا وعرفانا ومعرفة واعترفه؛ قال أبو ذؤيب يصف سحابا: مرته النعامى، فلم يعترف ... خلاف النعامى من الشام ريحا ورجل عروف وعروفة: عارف يعرف الأمور ولا ينكر أحدا رآه مرة، والهاء في عروفة للمبالغة. والعريف والعارف بمعنى مثل عليم وعالم؛ قال طريف بن مالك العنبري، وقيل طريف بن عمرو: أوكلما وردت عكاظ قبيلة، ... بعثوا إلي عريفهم يتوسم؟ أي عارفهم؛ قال سيبويه: هو فعيل بمعنى فاعل كقولهم ضريب قداح، والجمع عرفاء. وأمر عريف وعارف: معروف، فاعل بمعنى مفعول؛ قال الأزهري: لم أسمع أمر عارف أي معروف لغير الليث، والذي حصلناه للأئمة رجل عارف أي صبور؛ قاله أبو عبيدة وغيره. والعرف، بالكسر: من قولهم ما عرف عرفي إلا بأخرة أي ما عرفني إلا أخيرا. ويقال: أعرف فلان فلانا وعرفه إذا وقفه على ذنبه ثم عفا عنه. وعرفه الأمر: أعلمه إياه. وعرفه بيته: أعلمه بمكانه. وعرفه به: وسمه؛ قال سيبويه: عرفته زيدا، فذهب إلى تعدية عرفت بالتثقيل إلى مفعولين، يعني أنك تقول عرفت زيدا فيتعدى إلى واحد ثم تثقل العين فيتعدى إلى مفعولين، قال: وأما عرفته بزيد فإنما تريد عرفته بهذه العلامة وأوضحته بها فهو سوى المعنى الأول، وإنما عرفته بزيد كقولك سميته بزيد، وقوله أيضا إذا أراد أن يفضل شيئا من النحو أو اللغة على شيء: والأول أعرف؛ قال ابن سيده: عندي أنه على توهم عرف لأن الشيء إنما هو معروف لا عارف، وصيغة التعجب إنما هي من الفاعل دون المفعول، وقد حكى سيبويه: ما أبغضه إلي أي أنه مبغض، فتعجب من المفعول كما يتعجب من الفاعل حتى قال: ما أبغضني له، فعلى هذا يصلح أن يكون أعرف هنا مفاضلة وتعجبا من المفعول الذي هو المعروف. والتعريف: الإعلام. والتعريف أيضا: إنشاد الضالة. وعرف الضالة: نشدها. واعترف القوم: سألهم، وقيل: سألهم عن خبر ليعرفه؛ قال بشر بن أبي خازم: أسائلة عميرة عن أبيها، ... خلال الجيش، تعترف الركابا؟ قال ابن بري: ويأتي تعرف بمعنى اعترف؛ قال طريف العنبري: تعرفوني أنني أنا ذاكم، ... شاك سلاحي، في الفوارس، معلم وربما وضعوا اعترف موضع عرف كما وضعوا عرف موضع اعترف، وأنشد بيت أبي ذؤيب يصف السحاب وقد تقدم في أول الترجمة أي لم يعرف غير الجنوب لأنها أبل الرياح وأرطبها. وتعرفت ما عند فلان أي تطلبت حتى عرفت. وتقول: ائت فلانا فاستعرف إليه حتى يعرفك. وقد تعارف القوم أي عرف بعضهم بعضا. وأما الذي جاء في حديث اللقطة: فإن جاء من يعترفها فمعناه معرفته إياها بصفتها وإن لم يرها في يدك. يقال: عرف فلان الضالة أي ذكرها وطلب من يعرفها فجاء رجل يعترفها أي يصفها بصفة يعلم أنه صاحبها. وفي حديث ابن مسعود: فيقال لهم هل تعرفون ربكم؟ فيقولون: إذا اعترف لنا عرفناه أي إذا وصف نفسه بصفة نحققه بها عرفناه. واستعرف إليه: انتسب له ليعرفه. وتعرفه المكان وفيه: تأمله به؛ أنشد سيبويه: وقالوا: تعرفها المنازل من منى، ... وما كل من وافى منى أنا عارف وقوله عز وجل: وإذ أسر النبي إلى بعض أزواجه حديثا فلما نبأت به وأظهره الله عليه عرف بعضه وأعرض عن بعض وقرئ: عرف بعضه ، بالتخفيف، قال الفراء: من قرأ عرف بالتشديد فمعناه أنه عرف حفصة بعض الحديث وترك بعضا، قال: وكأن من قرأ بالتخفيف أراد غضب من ذلك وجازى عليه كما تقول للرجل يسيء إليك: والله لأعرفن لك ذلك، قال: وقد لعمري جازى حفصة بطلاقها، وقال الفراء: وهو وجه حسن، قرأ بذلك أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي، قال الأزهري: وقرأ الكسائي والأعمش عن أبي بكر عن عاصم عرف بعضه ، خفيفة، وقرأ حمزة ونافع وابن كثير وأبو عمرو وابن عامر اليحصبي عرف بعضه ، بالتشديد؛ وفي حديث عوف بن مالك: لتردنه أو لأعرفنكها عند رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم ، أي لأجازينك بها حتى تعرف سوء صنيعك، وهي كلمة تقال عند التهديد والوعيد. ويقال للحازي عراف وللقناقن عراف وللطبيب عراف لمعرفة كل منهم بعلمه. والعراف: الكاهن؛ قال عروة بن حزام: فقلت لعراف اليمامة: داوني، ... فإنك، إن أبرأتني، لطبيب وفي الحديث: من أتى عرافا أو كاهنا فقد كفر بما أنزل على محمد، صلى الله عليه وسلم ؛ أراد بالعراف المنجم أو الحازي الذي يدعي علم الغيب الذي استأثر الله بعلمه. والمعارف: الوجوه. والمعروف: الوجه لأن الإنسان يعرف به؛ قال أبو كبير الهذلي: متكورين على المعارف، بينهم ... ضرب كتعطاط المزاد الأثجل والمعراف واحد. والمعارف: محاسن الوجه، وهو من ذلك. وامرأة حسنة المعارف أي الوجه وما يظهر منها، واحدها معرف؛ قال الراعي: متلفمين على معارفنا، ... نثني لهن حواشي العصب ومعارف الأرض: أوجهها وما عرف منها. وعريف القوم: سيدهم. والعريف: القيم والسيد لمعرفته بسياسة القوم، وبه فسر بعضهم بيت طريف العنبري، وقد تقدم، وقد عرف عليهم يعرف عرافة. والعريف: النقيب وهو دون الرئيس، والجمع عرفاء، تقول منه: عرف فلان، …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    E. W. Lane (d. 1876), An Arabic-English Lexicon. English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    عَرَفَهُ

    1. عَرَفَهُ, (S, O, Msb, K, &c.,) aor. عَرِفَ , (O, K,) inf. n. مَعْرِفَةٌ (S, O, K) and عِرْفَانٌ (S, O, Msb, K) and عِرِفَّانٌ (K) and عِرْفَةٌ, (Msb, K,) or مَعْرِفَةٌ is a simple subst., (Msb,) He knew it; he had cognition of it; or he was, or became, acquainted with it; syn. عَلِمَهُ: (K:) or he knew it (عَلِمَهُ) by means of any of the five senses; (Msb;) [and also, by mental perception:] Er-Rághib says, المَعْرِفَةُ is the perceiving a thing by reflection, and by consideration of the effect thereof [upon the mind or sense], so that it has a more special meaning than العِلْمُ, and its contr. is الإِنْكَارُ; and one says, فُلَانٌ يَعْرِفُ ٱللّٰهَ وَرَسُولَهُ [Such a one knows God and his apostle], but one does not say يَعْلَمُ ٱللّٰهَ, making the verb [thus] to have a single objective complement, since man's مَعْرِفَة [or knowledge] of God is [the result of] the consideration of his effects, without the perception of his essence; and one says, اَللّٰهُ يَعْلَمُ كَذَا, but not يَعْرِفُ كذا, since المَعْرِفَةُ is used in relation to عِلْم [or knowledge] which is defective, to which one attains by reflection: it is from عَرَفْتُهُ meaning I found, or experienced, its عَرْف i. e. odour; or as meaning I attained its عُرْف i. e. limit: (TA:) it is said in the B that المَعْرِفَةُ differs from العِلْمُ, in meaning, in several ways: the former concerns the thing itself [which is its object;] whereas the latter concerns the states, or conditions, or qualities, thereof: also the former generally denotes the perceiving a thing as a thing that has been absent from the mind, thus differing from the latter; therefore the contr. of the former is الإِنْكَارُ, and the contr. of the latter is الجَهْلُ; and the former is the knowing a thing itself as distinguished from other things; whereas the latter concerns a thing collectively with other things: (TA in art. علم:) and sometimes they put اعترف in the place of عَرَفَ; (S, O;) [i. e.] اعترف الشَّىْءَ signifies عَرَفَهُ: (Mgh, K:) and so, sometimes, does استعرفُه. (Har p. 486.) And عَرَفَ is also used in the place of اعترف [in the first of the senses assigned to the latter below]. (S, O.) See the latter verb, in four places. عَرَفَهُ also signifies He requited him. (O, K.) Ks read, (O, K,) and so five others, (Az, TA,) in the Kur [lxvi. 3], (O,) عَرَفَ بَعْضَهُ, meaning He requited her, namely, Hafsah, for part [thereof, i. e.] of what she had done: (Fr, O, K:) and he did so indeed by divorcing her: (Fr, TA:) or it means he acknowledged part thereof: (K:) but others read بَعْضَهُ عَرَّفَ, which, likewise, has the former of the two meanings expl. above: (Bd:) or this means he told Hafsah part thereof. (Fr, O, Bd, * TA. [See also 2.]) As first expl. above, this phrase is like the saying to him who does good or who does evil, أَنَا أَعْرِفُ لأَهْلِ الإِحْسَانِ وَأَعْرِفُ لِأَهْلِ الإِسَآءَةِ, (O,) or لِلْمُحْسِنِ وَالمُسِىْءِ, (K,) [I know how to requite the doer of good and the doer of evil,] i. e. the case of the doer of good and that of the doer of evil are not hidden from me nor is the suitable requital of him. (O, K.) لَأَعْرِفَنَّكَهَا عَنْدَ رَسُولِ ٱللّٰهِ occurs in a trad., meaning I will assuredly requite thee for it in the presence of the Apostle of God so that he shall know thy evil-doing: and is used in threatening. (TA.) عَرَفَ الفَرَسَ, (S, O, K,) aor. عَرِفَ , (O,) inf. n. عَرْفٌ, (O, K,) He clipped the عُرْف [i. e. mane] of the horse. (S, O, K.) عَرَفْتُ عَلَى القَوْمِ, aor. عَرُفَ , inf. n. عِرَافَةٌ, I was, or became, عَرِيف over the people, or party; i. e., manager, or orderer, of their affairs; as also عَرُفْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ: (Msb:) or عَرُفَ, inf. n. عَرَاعَةٌ, signifies he was, or became, an عَرِيف; (S, O, K;) as also عَرَفَ, aor. عَرِفَ ; (K;) i. e., a نَقِيب: (S, O:) and when you mean that he acted as an عَرِيف, you say, عَرَفَ عَلَيْنَا سِنِينَ, aor. عَرُفَ , inf. n. عِرَافَةٌ, [he acted over us as an عريف during some years,] like كَتَبَ, aor. يَكْتُبُ, inf. n. كِتَابَةٌ. (S, O, K. *) عَرَفَ لِلْأَمْرِ, aor. عَرِفَ , He was patient in relation to the affair, or event; (K;) as also اعترف, (O, K,) as some say. (O.) And عُرِفَ عِنْدَ المُصِيبَةِ He was patient on the occasion of the affliction, or misfortune. (TA.) And عَرَفَ He was, or became, submissive, or tractable; (Ibn-'Abbád, O, TA;) and so اعترف, (IAar, O, K,) said of a man, (IAar, O,) and of a beast that one rides. (O.) عَرُفَ, inf. n. عَرَافَةٌ, He (a man) was, or became, pleasant, or sweet, in his odour. (TA.) And اعرف, said of food, It was sweet in its عَرْف, i. e. odour. (TA.) عَرِفَ He (a man, TA) made much use of perfume. (IAar, O, K.) And He relinquished, or abstained from, perfume. (IAar, O.) عُرِفَ, (S, O, K,) inf. n. عَرْفٌ, (K, TA,) accord. to one or more of the copies of the K عِرْفَانٌ, (TA,) He (a man, S, O) had a purulent pustule, termed عَرْفَة, come forth in the whiteness [or palm] of his hand. (S, O, K.)

    تَعْرِيفٌ

    2. تَعْرِيفٌ signifies The making to know; syn. إِعْلَامٌ: (S, O, K, TA:) [or rather it has a more restricted signification than the latter word, as is indicated in the preceding paragraph:] and in this sense its verb may have two objective complements: one says, عرّفهُ الأَمْرَ He made him to know the affair, or case; syn. أَعْلَمَهُ إِيَّاهُ: [or he acquainted him with it; or told him of it:] and عرّفهُ بَيْتَهُ He made him to know, or acquainted him with, the place of his house, or tent; syn. أَعْلَمَهُ بِمَكَانِهِ: (TA:) [and] one says عَرَّفْتُهُ بِهِ, meaning I made him to know it by means of any of the five senses [or by mental perception; as also عَرَّفْتُهُ إِيَّاهُ]. (Msb.) See also 1, former half. And see 4. Also The making known; contr. of تَنْكِيرٌ. (O, K.) عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُ, in the Kur [lxvi. 3], has been expl. as meaning He made known part thereof. (TA. [For other explanations, see 1.]) And عَرَّفْتُهُ بِزَيْدٍ means I made him known by the name of Zeyd; like the phrase سَمَّيْتُهُ بِزَيْدٍ. (Sb, TA.) [Hence, The explaining a term: and an explanation thereof: thus used, its pl. is تَعْرِيفَاتٌ: it has a less restricted meaning than حَدٌّ, which signifies the “ defining, ” and “ a definition. ” And The making a noun, or a nominal proposition, determinate. Hence also,] The crying a stray-beast, or a beast or some other thing that has been lost; (S, TA;) the mentioning it [and describing it] and seeking to find him who had knowledge of it. (TA.) And [hence likewise,] عرّفهُ بِذَنْبِهِ He branded him, or stigmatized him, with his misdeed. (TA.) Also The rendering [a thing] fragrant; (S, O, * K, * TA;) from العَرْفُ: (S:) and the adorning [it], decorating [it], or embellishing [it]. (TA.) عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ, in the Kur [xlvii. 7], is said to mean He hath rendered it fragrant [i. e. Paradise (الجَنَّة)] for them: (S, O:) or it means He hath described it to them so that, when they enter it, they shall know it by that description, or so that they shall know their places of abode therein: (O:) or He hath described it to them, and made them desirous of it: (Er-Rághib, TA:) [and the like is said by Bd:] or He hath defined it for them so that there shall be for every one a distinct paradise. (Bd.) One says also, عرّف رَأْسَهُ بِالدُّهْنِ He moistened the hair of his head abundantly with oil, or with the oil; syn. رَوَّاهُ. (TA.) And عرّف طَعَامَهُ He made his food to have much seasoning, or condiment. (TA.) Also The halting [of the pilgrims] at 'Arafát. (S, O, K.) You say, عرّفوا, (S, Mgh, O, Msb,) inf. n. as above, They halted at 'Arafát; (Mgh, Msb;) or they were present at 'Arafát; (S, O.) And [hence], in a postclassical sense, They imitated the people of 'Arafát, in some other place, by going forth to the desert and there praying, and humbling themselves, or offering earnest supplication; (Mgh;) or by assembling in their mosques to pray and to beg forgiveness: (Har p. 672:) the first who did this was Ibn-'Abbás, at El-Basrah. (Mgh, and Har ubi suprá.) And عرّف بِالهَدْىِ He brought the animal for sacrifice to 'Arafát. (Mgh.) عرّف الشَّرَّ بَيْنَهُمْ He excited evil, or mischief, between them, or among them: the verb in this phrase being formed by permutation from أَ َّ ثَ. (Yaakoob, TA.)

    اعرف فُلَانًا

    4. اعرف فُلَانًا He told such a one of his misdeed, then forgave him; and so عرّفهُ. (TA.) اعرف (said of a horse, S, O) He had a long عُرْف [or mane]. (S, O, K.) See also 1, near the end.

    تعرّف

    5. تعرّف It was, or became, known. (Har p. 6.) And تعرّف إِلَيْهِ He made himself known to him; (TA;) [and so استعرف; for] you say, أَتَيْتُ مُتَنَكِّرًا ثُمَّ ٱسْتَعْرَفْتُ i. e. [I came disguising myself, or assuming an unknown appearance, then] I made known who I was: (L:) and اِئْتِ فُلَانًا فَٱسْتَعْرِفْ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَعْرِفَكَ [Come thou to such a one and make thyself known to him, that he may know thee]. (S, O, K. *) [See also 8.] [Hence,] one says, تعرّف إِلَى ٱللّٰهِ بِالعِبَادَاتِ وَالأَدْعِيَةِ [He made himself known to God by religious services and prayers]. (Er-Rághib, TA.) And تَعَرَّفْ إِلَى ٱللّٰهِ فِى الرَّخَآءِ يَعْرِفْكَ فِى الشِّدَّةَ, occurring in a saying of the Prophet to Ibn-'Abbás, [may be rendered Make thyself known to God by obedience in ampleness of circumstances, then He will acknowledge thee in straitness: or] means render thou obedience to God [&c., then] He will requite thee [&c.]. (O.) تعرّفهُ [He acquainted himself, or made himself acquainted, with it, or him; informed himself of it; learned it; and discovered it: often used in these senses: for an instance of the last, see تَفَرَّسَ: it is similar to تَعَلَّمَهُ, but more restricted in meaning. And] He sought the knowledge of it: (Har p. 6:) [or he did so leisurely, or repeatedly, and effectually:] you say, تَعَرَّفْتُ مَا عِنْدَ فُلَانٍ I sought leisurely, or repeatedly, after the knowledge of what such a one possessed until I knew it. (S, O, K. *) And تعرّفهُ المَكَانَ, and فِى المَكَانِ, He looked at it, endeavouring to obtain a clear knowledge thereof, in the place; syn. تَأَمَّلَهُ بِهِ. (TA.) [تَعَرُّفٌ is also expl. in the KL by the Pers. words بعرف كارى كردن, app. meaning The acting with عُرْف i. e. goodness, &c.: but Golius has hence rendered the verb “ convenienter opus fecit. ”]

    تعارفوا

    6. تعارفوا They knew, or were acquainted with, one another. (S, O, K.) And i. q. تَفَاخَرُوا [i. e. They vied, competed, or contended for superiority, in glorying, or boasting, or in glory, &c.; or simply they vied, one with another]: it occurs in a trad., or, as some relate it, with ز; and both are expl. as having this meaning. (TA.)

    اعترف بِهِ

    8. اعترف بِهِ He acknowledged it, or confessed it, (S, Mgh, O, Msb, K,) namely, a misdeed, (S, O,) or a thing; (Mgh, Msb;) and so به عَرَفَ and لَهُ, namely, his misdeed [&c.]; (K;) [for] sometimes they put عَرَفَ in the place of اعترف; (O;) and so عَرَفَهُ: (Ksh and Bd and Jel in xvi. 85:) [الإِحْسَانِ عِرْفَانُ (occurring in the K voce شُكْرٌ &c.) means The acknowledgment, or confession, of beneficence; thankfulness, or gratitude:] and one says, لأَِحَدٍ يَصْرَعُنِى مَا أَعْرِفُ (S, O, TA) i. e. ما أَعْتَرِفُ, (S, O,) meaning I do not acknowledge [any one that will throw me down]: this was said by an Arab of the desert. (TA.) اعترف إِلَىَّ He acquainted me with his name and condition. (K.) And اعترف لَهُ He described himself to him in such a manner as that he would certify himself of him thereby. (TA.) [See also 5.] اعترف also signifies He described a thing that had been picked up, and a stray-beast, in such a manner as that he would be known to be its owner. (TA.) And you say, اِعْتَرَفْتُ القَوْمَ, (S, O,) or فُلَانًا, (K,) I asked the people, or party, (S, O,) or such a one, (K,) respecting a subject of information, in order that I might know it. (S, O, K.) See also 1, former half. And see 1, last quarter, in two places.

    استعرف

    10. استعرف [He sought, or desired, knowledge; or asked if any had knowledge; of a person or thing: a meaning clearly shown in the M by an explanation of a verse cited in art. بلو, conj. 8, q. v.]. استعرف إِلَيْهِ: see 5. Also He mentioned his relationship, lineage, or genealogy, to him. (TA.) استعرفهُ: see 1, former half.

    اِعْرَوْرَفَ

    12. اِعْرَوْرَفَ He (a horse, TA) had a mane (عُرْف). (S, O, TA.) اعرورف الفَرَسَ He (a man, O) mounted upon the mane (عُرْف) of the horse. (O, K. [In the CK, والفَرَسُ عَلا عُرْفُهُ is erroneously put for وَالفَرَسَ عَلَا عَلَى عُرْفِهِ.]) And اعرورف (said of a man, K) (assumed tropical:) He rose upon the أَعْرَاف [pl. of عُرْفٌ, and app. here meaning the wall between Paradise and Hell: (see the Kur vii. 44:) probably used in this sense in a trad.]. (Ibn-'Abbád, O, K.) Said of the sea, (tropical:) Its waves became high, (S, O, K, TA,) like the عُرْف [or mane]: and in like manner said of the torrent, (tropical:) It became heapy and high. (TA.) Said of blood, (assumed tropical:) It had froth (O, K) like the عُرْف [or mane]. (O.) Said of palm-trees (نَخْل), (tropical:) They became dense, and luxuriant, or abundant, or thickly intermixed, like the عُرْف [or mane] of the hyena. (O, K, TA.) And, said of a man, (tropical:) He prepared himself for evil, or mischief, (S, O, K, TA,) and raised his head, or stretched forth his neck, for that purpose. (TA.) [See also 12 in art. عزف.]

    عَرْفٌ

    عَرْفٌ An odour, whether fragrant or fetid, (S, O, K, TA,) in most instances the former, (K, TA,) as when it is used in relation to Paradise: (TA:) and عَرْفَةٌ signifies [the same, i. e.] رِيحٌ (K, TK) and رَائِحَةٌ. (TK.) One says, ما أَطْيَبَ عَرْفَهُ [How fragrant is its odour!]. (S, O.) And لَا يَعْجِزُ مَسْكُ السَّوْءِ عَنْ عَرْفِ السَّوْءِ [The bad hide will not lack the fetid odour]; (S, O, K;) a prov.; (S, O;) applied to the low, ignoble, mean, or sordid, who will not cease from his evil doing; he being likened to the hide that is not fit for being tanned; (O, K;) wherefore it is cast aside, and becomes fetid. (O.) And some read, in the Kur [lxxvii. 1], وَٱلْمُرْسَلَاتِ عَرْفًا, [as meaning By the winds that are sent forth with fragrance,] instead of عُرْفًا. (TA.) Also A certain plant: or the ثُمَام [or panic grass]: (K:) or a certain plant, not of the [kind called] حَمْض, nor of the [kind called] عِضَاه; (Ibn-'Abbád, O, L, K;) of the [kind called] ثُمَام. (Ibn-'Abbád, O, L.)

    عُرْفٌ

    عُرْفٌ [Acknowledgment, or confession;] a subst. from الاِعْتِرَافُ, (S, O, K, TA,) as meaning الإِقْرَارُ. (TA.) Hence, (S, O,) you say, (K,) لَهُ عَلَىَّ أَلْفٌ عُرْفًا, meaning اِعْتِرَافًا [i. e. A thousand is due to him on my part by acknowlegment, or confession]; (S, O, * K;) the last word being a corroborative. (S, O.) Also i. q. مَعْرُوفٌ; (S, O, Msb, K;) as also عَارِفَةٌ, (S, O, K,) of which the pl. is عَوَارِفُ; (O, K;) عُرْفٌ being contr. of نُكْرٌ, (S, O, K,) and مَعْرُوفٌ being contr. of مُنْكَرٌ [as syn. with نُكْرٌ]; (S, Mgh, O, K;) i. e. Goodness, or a good quality or action; and gentleness, or lenity; and beneficence, [favour, kindness, or bounty,] or a benefit, a benefaction, or an act of beneficence [or favour or kindness]: (Msb:) عُرْفٌ is also expl. as signifying liberality, or bounty; (K, TA;) and so عُرُفٌ, which is a dial. var. thereof: (TA:) and a thing liberally, or freely, bestowed; or given: (K:) and مَعْرُوفٌ is expl. as signifying liberality, or bounty, when it is with moderation, or with a right and just aim: [and sometimes it means simply moderation:] and sincere, or honest, advice or counsel or action: and good fellowship with one's family and with others of mankind: it is an epithet in which the quality of a subst. predominates: (TA:) and signifies any action, or deed, of which the goodness is known by reason and by the law; and مُنْكَرٌ signifies the contr. thereof. (Er-Rághib, TA.) It is said in the Kur [vii. 198], وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ, (O,) meaning [And enjoin thou goodness, &c., or] what is deemed good, or approved, of actions. (Bd.) And you say, أَوْلَاهُ عُرْفًا, (S, O,) or عَارِفَةً, (TA,) meaning مَعْرُوفًا [i. e. He did to him, or conferred upon him, a benefit, &c.]. (S, O, TA.) وَلِلْمُطَلَّقَاتِ مَتَاعٌ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ [in the Kur ii. 242] means [And for the divorced women there shall be a provision of necessaries] with moderation, or right and just aim, and beneficence. (TA.) And قَوْلٌ مَعْرُوفٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ يَتْبَعُهَا أَذًى [in the same, ii. 265,] means Refusal with pleasing [or gracious] speech, (Bd, Jel, TA,) and prayer [expressed to the beggar, that God may sustain him,] (TA,) and forgiveness granted to the beggar for his importunity (Bd, Jel) or obtained by such refusal from God or from the beggar, (Bd,) are better than an alms which annoyance follows (TA) by reproach for a benefit conferred and for begging. (Jel.) And مَنْ كَانَ فَقِيرًا فَلْيَأْكُلْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ [in the same, iv. 6,] means [And such as is poor, let him take for himself (lit. eat)] according to what is approved by reason and by the law, (TA,) or according to his need (Bd) and the recompense of his labour. (Bd, Jel.) [العُرْفُ, in lexicology, signifies The commonly-known, commonly-received, or common conventional, language; common parlance, or common usage: mostly meaning that of a whole people; in which case, the epithet العَامُّ is sometimes added: but often meaning that of a particular class; as, for instance, of the lawyers. Hence the terms حَقِيقَةٌ عُرْفًا and مَجَازٌ عُرْفًا, expl. in arts. حق and جوز. See also مُتَعَارَفٌ: and see عَادَةٌ.] Also The عُرْف of the horse; (S, O;) [i. e. the mane;] the hair (Mgh, Msb, K) that grows on the ridge (Msb) of the neck of the horse (Mgh, Msb, K) or similar beast; (Msb;) as also عُرُفٌ: (K:) [see also مَعْرَفَةٌ:] or the part, of the neck, which is the place of growth of the hair: [see again مَعْرَفَةٌ:] and the part, of the neck [of a bird], which is the place of growth of the feathers: (TA:) [or the feathers themselves of the neck; used in this sense in the K and TA in art. برل, as is shown by the context therein:] and the [comb or] elongated piece of flesh on the upper part of the head of a cock; to which the بَظْر of a girl is likened: (Msb:) pl. أَعْرَافٌ [properly a pl. of pauc.] (O, TA) and عُرُوفٌ. (TA.) As used it in relation to a man, explaining the phrase جَآءَ فُلَانٌ مُبْرَثِلًّا لِلشَّرِّ as meaning نَافِشًا عُرْفَهُ [i. e. (assumed tropical:) Such a one came as though ruffling the feathers of his neck to do evil, or mischief]. (TA.) And [hence] it is said in a trad., جَاؤُوا كَأَنَّهُمْ عُرُفٌ (assumed tropical:) [They came as though they were a mane], meaning, following one another. (TA.) And one says, جَآء القَوْمُ عُرْفًا عُرْفًا (assumed tropical:) [The people, or party, came] one after another: like the saying, طَارَ القَطَا عُرْفًا (assumed tropical:) [The sand-grouse flew] one after another. (K.) And hence, وَٱلْمُرْسَلَاتِ عُرْفًا, (S, O, K,) in the Kur [lxxvii. 1], a metaphorical phrase, from the عُرْف of the horse, meaning (tropical:) [By the angels, or the winds, that are sent forth] consecutively, like [the several portions of] the عُرْف [or mane] of the horse: (S, O:) or the meaning is, sent forth بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ, (S, O, K, TA,) i. e. with beneficence, or benefit: (TA:) [for further explanations, see the expositions of Z and Bd or others: and see also art. رسل:] some read عَرْفًا [expl. in the next preceding paragraph]. (TA.) [Hence also,] (tropical:) The waves of the sea. (K, TA.) And (assumed tropical:) Elevated sand; as also عُرُفٌ and عُرْفَةٌ: pl. (of the last, TA) عُرَفٌ and (of the first, TA) أَعْرَافٌ: (S, O, K:) and all signify likewise (assumed tropical:) an elevated place: (K:) and the first, (assumed tropical:) the elevated, or overtopping, back of a portion of sand, (K, TA,) and of a mountain, and of anything high: and (assumed tropical:) an elevated portion of the earth or ground: and [the pl.] أَعْرَافٌ (assumed tropical:) the حَرْث [meaning land ploughed, or prepared, for sowing] that is upon the [channels for irrigation that are called] فُلْجَان [pl. of فَلَجٌ] and قَوَائِد [pl. of قَائِدٌ]. (TA.) [The pl.] الأَعْرَافُ, (S, O, K,) mentioned in the Kur [vii. 44 and 46], (S, O,) is applied to (assumed tropical:) A wall between Paradise and Hell: (S, O, K:) so it is said: (S, O:) or the upper parts of the wall: or by عَلَى الأَعْرَافِ may be there meant عَلَى مَعْرِفَةِ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ وَأَهْلِ النَّارِ [i. e., app., and possessing knowledge of the people of Paradise and of the people of Hell: for it seems that مُحْتَوُونَ, or the like, is to be understood before على]. (Zj, TA.) [And hence it is the name of The Seventh Chapter of the Kur-án.] By أَصْحَابُ الأَعْرَافِ [The occupants of the اعراف], there mentioned, are said to be meant persons whose good and evil works have been equal, so that they shall not have merited Paradise by the former nor Hell by the latter: or prophets: or angels. (Zj, TA.) See also عُرْفَةٌ. [The pl.] أَعْرَافٌ also signifies (tropical:) The higher, or highest, (K, TA,) and first, or foremost, (TA,) of winds; (K, TA;) and likewise of clouds, and of mists. (TA.) And عُرْفٌ signifies also, (As, O, K,) in the speech of the people of El-Bahreyn, (As, O,) A species [or variety] of palm-trees; (As, O, K;) and so [the pl.] أَعْرَافٌ (O, K) is expl. by IDrd: (O:) or when they first yield fruit, or edible fruit, or ripe fruit; (K, TA;) or when they attain to doing so: (TA:) or a [sort of] palmtree in El-Bahreyn, also called بُرْشُوم; (K, TA;) but this is what is meant by As and IDrd. (TA.) And The tree of the أُتْرُجّ [i. e. citrus medica, or citron]. (K.) Also pl. of عَرُوفٌ: and of أَعْرَفُ and عَرْفَآءُ. (K.)

    عِرْفٌ

    عِرْفٌ, with kesr, is from the saying, مَا عَرَفَ عِرْفِى إِلَّا بِأَخَرَةٍ, (S, O,) which means He did not know me save at the last, or lastly, or latterly. (S, O, K.) And it signifies Patience. (IAar, O, K.) A poet says, (namely Aboo-Dahbal ElJumahee, TA,) [Say thou to the son of Keys, the brother of Er-Rukeiyat, How good is patience in afflictions!]. (IAar, O, TA.)

    عُرُفٌ

    عُرُفٌ: see عُرْفٌ, in three places.

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Technical definitions9 · Ibn ʿArabī’s Iṣṭilāḥ, al-Jurjānī’s Taʿrīfāt
  • العارف والمعرفة

    من اشهده الرب نفسه فظهرت عليه الاحوال والمعرفة حاله.

    Al-ʿārif (العارف) and al-maʿrifa (المعرفة): [al-ʿārif is] one to whom the Lord has made Himself witnessed, so that [spiritual] states (aḥwāl) manifest upon him, and maʿrifa (gnosis) is his state.

    Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-Ṣūfiyya, line 366 ↗

  • الابتداء العرفي

    يطلق على الشيء الذي يقع قبل المقصود، فيتناول الحمدلة بعد البسملة.

    Al-ibtidāʾ al-ʿurfī (الابتداء العرفي), 'the conventional beginning': applied to that which occurs before the intended [main matter], thus encompassing the ḥamdala after the basmala.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 54 ↗

  • الأعراف

    هو المطلع، وهو مقام شهود الحق في كل شيء متجليا بصفاته التي ذلك الشيء مظهرها، وهو مقام الإشراف على الأطراف، قال الله تعالى: {وعلى الأعراف رجال يعرفون كلا بسيماهم} وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "إن لكل آية ظهرا وبطنا وحدا ومقطعا".

    Al-Aʿrāf (الأعراف): it is al-maṭlaʿ (the vantage point/overlook); it is the station of witnessing the Real (al-Ḥaqq) in every thing, manifest through His attributes of which that thing is the locus of manifestation; and it is the station of overseeing all the extremities/sides. God, exalted, said: 'wa-ʿalā al-Aʿrāfi rijālun yaʿrifūna kullan bi-sīmāhum' (وعلى الأعراف رجال يعرفون كلا بسيماهم), 'And upon the Heights (al-Aʿrāf) are men who recognize all by their mark' [Q7:46]. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'Indeed every verse has an outward and an inward [meaning], a limit and a point of transition.'

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 592 ↗

  • الأمر بالمعروف

    الإرشاد إلى المراشد المنجية، والنهي عن المنكر: الزجر عما لا يلائم في الشريعة، وقيل: الأمر بالمعروف: أمر بما يوافق الكتاب والسنة، والنهي عن المنكر: نهي عما تميل إليه النفس والشهوة، وقيل الأمر بالمعروف إشارة إلى ما يرضي الله تعالى من أفعال

    Al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf (الأمر بالمعروف), 'enjoining what is right': guidance toward the paths of salvation; and al-nahy ʿan al-munkar (النهي عن المنكر), 'forbidding what is wrong': restraining from what does not conform to the [revealed] Law. It is also said: al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf is a command to what conforms to the Book and the Sunna, while al-nahy ʿan al-munkar is a prohibition of what the soul and desire incline toward. It is also said that al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf refers to what pleases God, exalted, among the acts [entry continues]

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 708 ↗

  • التعريف

    عبارة عن ذكر شيء تستلزم معرفته معرفة شيء آخر.

    Al-taʿrīf (التعريف), 'definition': an expression referring to the mention of a thing, knowledge of which necessarily entails knowledge of another thing.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 1257 ↗

  • التعريف الحقيقي

    هو أن يكون حقيقة ما وضع اللفظ بإزائه من حيث هي فيعرف بغيرها.

    Al-taʿrīf al-ḥaqīqī (التعريف الحقيقي), 'the real/essential definition': it is that the reality of that for which the term was coined, considered as such, is made known by [defining it in terms of] something other than itself.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 1258 ↗

  • التعريف اللفظي

    هو أن يكون اللفظ واضح الدلالة على معنى فيفصل بلفظ أوضح؛ دلالة على ذلك المعنى، كقولك: الغضنفر الأسد، وليس هذا تعريفا حقيقيا يراد به إفادة تصور غير حاصل، وإنما المراد تعيين ما وضع له لفظ الغضنفر من بين سائر المعاني.

    Al-taʿrīf al-lafẓī (التعريف اللفظي), 'the verbal/nominal definition': it is that a term, whose meaning is clear, is explained by a clearer term in indicating that meaning, as in your saying: 'al-ghaḍanfar is the lion.' This is not a real definition intended to convey a conception not already attained; rather, the intent is merely to specify, among all [possible] meanings, that for which the term 'al-ghaḍanfar' was coined.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 1260 ↗

  • العرف

    ما استقرت النفوس عليه بشهادة العقول، وتلقته الطبائع بالقبول، وهو حجة أيضا، لكنه أسرع إلى الفهم، وكذا العادة، هي ما استمر الناس عليه على حكم العقول وعادوا إليه مرة بعد أخرى.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 2962 ↗

  • العرفي

    ما يتوقف على فعل، مثل المدح والثناء.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 2965 ↗

The same three letters in all six orders. Choose one.

ع ر ف

العين والراء والفاء أصلان صحيحان يدل أحدهما على تتابع الشيء متصلا بعضه ببعض والآخر يدل على السكون والطمأنينة

ʿ-r-f is two sound roots: one indicates the succession of a thing, connected one part to another, and the other indicates stillness and tranquility.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×70

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

About thisal-Khalīl, Ibn Jinnī, Ibn Fāris; the counts across the dictionary

al-Khalīl (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn, as transmitted by al-Layth: a two-letter word “turns in two ways”, a three-letter word “in six ways” (masdūsa), four letters in 24, five in 120; “its used forms are written down and its unused ones dropped” (line 975 ↗). The dictionary is built on this: each chapter takes a set of letters and names which orders are used (mustaʿmal) and which unused (muhmal). The ring shows that verdict, from the chapter heading as edited (documented in the text; how much of the book is al-Khalīl's own is disputed).

A reported total. al-Suyūṭī transmits, from Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī, that al-Khalīl put the possible forms, used and unused, of two to five letters at 12,305,412 (al-Muzhir, line 1347 ↗). It is reported, not found in the ʿAyn. It equals exactly the arrangements of 2 to 5 different letters out of 28 (756 + 19,656 + 491,400 + 11,793,600); the breakdown printed beside it is corrupt, and al-Zubaydī's count, given next, differs (6,659,400).

Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, names the greater derivation (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar): bind a three-letter root and its six orders to one meaning, and bring stray members back “by the subtlety of the craft and interpretation” (line 7536 ↗). He says himself that it does not hold for every root (line 167 ↗; line 7603 ↗).

Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004) gives each root its own aṣl and treats a rearranged word as maqlūb, “turned round”, and so not a root of its own: “j-b-dh is not a root, because it is a single word, turned round” (Maqāyīs, line 6147 ↗). The ring sets his aṣl for each order side by side; whether they meet is the question.

Neighbours on the ring differ by one swap of two letters.

The critique. A source quoted by al-Suyūṭī calls the greater derivation Ibn Jinnī's innovation, “not relied on in the language” (al-Muzhir, line 6159 ↗).

The other axis. The root's letters also go into patterns that keep their order and change the frame: the patterns (awzān) and the verb Forms I–X.

Across Ibn Fāris's dictionary. Of the 2,300 possible sets of three different sound letters (no hamza, w or y), 1,021 have at least one order as an entry. How many of their six orders are entries:

Ibn Fāris, entries found (1,021 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6319
  2. 2 of 6218
  3. 3 of 6164
  4. 4 of 6155
  5. 5 of 6107
  6. 6 of 658
al-Khalīl, orders his headings call used (746 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6148
  2. 2 of 6108
  3. 3 of 6157
  4. 4 of 6179
  5. 5 of 6111
  6. 6 of 643

Of the orders al-Khalīl calls used, 2,097 are entries in Ibn Fāris and 267 are not; 17 that he calls unused are entries in Ibn Fāris.

Our computation from the OpenITI texts; heading detection can miss entries

Attested here means found in our digital texts (Ibn Fāris, Lisān al-ʿArab, Lane, the Quranic Arabic Corpus), with w and y kept apart and hamza spellings merged; it is our data, not a classical verdict. English beside the Arabic is AI translation. Sources and grades: docs/research/root-permutations.md.

How each letter is made, in brief, from Sībawayh's and Ibn Jinnī's own sentences (linked); their words are under Reference.

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ع

ومن أوسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء

From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26548–26549 ↗

ومن وسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء

From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 970 ↗

ر

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا لانحرافه إلى اللام مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26557–26558 ↗

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا، لانحرافه إلى اللام، مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, lines 980–981 ↗

ف

ومن باطن الشفة السفلى وأطراف الثنايا العلى مخرج الفاء

From the inside of the lower lip and the edges of the upper front teeth is the place of the fāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26562 ↗

ومن باطن الشفة السفلى وأطراف الثنايا العلى، مخرج الفاء

From the inside of the lower lip and the edges of the upper front teeth is the place of the fāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 985 ↗

Sībawayh, al-Kitāb (ed. Hārūn) and Ibn Jinnī, Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb; OpenITI digital texts (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Full credits on each letter's page.

In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ع

Level of existence: الطبيعة · Nature

Divine Name: الباطن · The Inward (al-Bāṭin)

Lunar mansion: الثريا · al-Thurayyā (the Pleiades)

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 63825

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 9 line 2572 ↗

ر

Level of existence: السماء الخامسة · the fifth heaven

Divine Name: المصور · the Form-Giver (al-Muṣawwir)

Lunar mansion: الغفر · al-Ghafr

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64675

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582

ف

Level of existence: الملائكة · the angels

Divine Name: القوى · the Strong (al-Qawī)

Lunar mansion: سعد الأخبية · Saʿd al-Akhbiya

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 65823

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ع

فهي اسم لقدوم أو رحيل.

It is a name for arrival or departure.

فهي اسم للساكن في الذات التي تقوم به.

It is a name for that which dwells in the self and by which the self subsists.

فهي اسم لخبث الذات.

It is a name for the foulness of the self.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

ر

فهي إشارة إلى جميع الخيرات الظاهرة والباطنة.

It is an indication of all goods, outward and inward.

فهي إشارة إلى الواحد في نفسه وهو ظاهر.

It is an indication of the one in itself, and it is manifest.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي فيه الروح وليس من بني آدم، أو إشارة إلى الروح نفسها.

It is an indication of a thing that has spirit in it but is not of the children of Adam, or an indication of the spirit itself.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

ف

فهي لنفي الخبث بعد ما كان جنسه معلوما بالخبث، فهي إشارة إلى أنه طاهر وجنسه خبيث، والخبث مثل المعاصي وما أشبهها.

It is for negating foulness in something whose genus is known for foulness. It thus indicates that the thing is pure while its genus is foul; foulness being like sins and the like.

فهي لتزويل الخبث.

It is for removing foulness.

فهي إشارة إلى الذات وما احتوت عليه، وفي بعض الأحيان قد يكون معها التقليل.

It is an indication of the self and what it contains; at times it may carry a sense of diminution.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus14 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterع ر

Ibn Fāris groups his roots under two-letter chapters (“the X and the Y and what makes them three”). These are the roots of this root's chapter with the core sense he gives each. Setting them side by side is our juxtaposition; he does not himself draw a shared meaning. His chapter heading, line 22110 ↗

  • عرزالعين والراء والزاء أصل صحيح يدل على استصعاب وانقباضL22111
  • عرسالعين والراء والسين أصل واحد صحيح تعود فروعه إليه وهو الملازمةL22116
  • عرشالعين الراء والشين أصل صحيح واحد يدل على ارتفاع في شيء مبني ثم يستعار في غير ذلكQ 33 · L22155
  • عرصالعين والراء والصاد أصلان صحيحان أحدهما يدل على إظلال شيء على شيء والآخر يدل على الاضطراب وقد ذكر الخليل القياسين جميعاL22194
  • عرقالعين والراء والقاف أربعة أصول صحيحة أحدها الشيء يتولد من شىء كالندى والرشح وما أشبهه والآخر الشيء ذو السنخ فسنخه منقاس من هذا الباب والثالث كشط شيء عL22389
  • عركالعين والراء والكاف أصل واحد صحيح يدل على دلك وما أشبهه من تمريس شيء بشيء أو تمرسه بهL22478
  • عرمالعين والراء والميم أصل صحيح واحد يدل على شدة وحدةQ 1 · L22513
  • عرنالعين والراء والنون أصل صحيح واحد يدل على ثبات وإثبات شيء كالشيء المركبL22530
  • عروىالعين والراء والحرف المعتل أصلان صحيحان متباينان يدل أحدهما على ثبات وملازمة وغشيان والآخر يدل على خلو ومفارقةL22542
  • عربالعين والراء والباء أصول ثلاثة أحدها الإنابة والإفصاح والآخر النشاط وطيب النفس والثالث فساد في جسم أو عضوQ 22 · L22602
  • عرتالعين والراء والتاء العرت الدلك والرمح العرات مثل العراص وهو المضطربL22634
  • عرثقال أبو بكر العرث الانتزاع عرثه عرثا إذا انتزعه وهو من المجملL22635
  • عرجالعين والراء والجيم ثلاثة أصول الأول يدل على ميل وميل والآخر على عدد والآخر على سمو وارتقاءQ 9 · L22636
  • عردالعين والراء والدال أصلان صحيحان يدل أحدهما على قوة واشتداد والآخر على ميل وحيادL22664
In the sister scriptsHebrew ע ר פSyriac ܥ ܪ ܦ
Arabicع ر ف
Hebrewע ר פ
Syriacܥ ܪ ܦ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩲 𐩧 𐩰
Phoenician𐤏 𐤓 𐤐

Letter for letter, by the regular sound correspondences of the Semitic languages (Arabic keeps several sounds the others merged). This shows how the root would be spelled; whether a related word exists is a separate question, answered in the Semitic lens. Where an Arabic sibilant (s, sh) continues two older sounds, both spellings are shown.

  • Classical lexiconAl-Khalīl gives maʿrifa and ʿirfān for knowing.well attested

    The lexicographers in chronological order, from al-Khalīl to Lane.

    Al-Khalīl gives maʿrifa and ʿirfān for knowing. He also lists these senses: ʿurf as al-maʿrūf, the good that is recognised; ʿarīf, the overseer of a people; ʿArafa and ʿArafāt; taʿrīf, both the standing at ʿArafāt and the public announcement of a found object; iʿtirāf, confession of a fault together with abasement and acceptance of it; and nafs ʿarūf, a soul that settles when made to bear something. Al-Jawharī adds ʿurf as smell, good or bad; ʿurf as the horse's mane; maʿrūf as the opposite of munkar; and the acknowledgment formula lahu ʿalayya alf ʿurfan. Ibn Fāris orders all this under two roots. The first is continuous succession: the mane, sand-grouse flying ʿurfan ʿurfan, and the ʿurfa ridge. The second is sukūn: knowing, and also pleasant scent, since the soul settles on it (Q 47:6). Al-Rāghib defines maʿrifa as perceiving a thing through reflection on its traces, narrower than ʿilm and opposed to inkār. For that reason one says a person yaʿrifu Allāh, while God is said to yaʿlamu, never to yaʿrifu. Ibn Manẓūr equates ʿirfān with ʿilm but notes Ibn Sīda's remark that the two can be told apart by a finer definition, and cites Sībawayh that ʿarīf is faʿīl with the sense of fāʿil. Lane glosses 'he knew it; he had cognition of it', notes the Miṣbāḥ restriction to the five senses, and quotes al-Rāghib.

    Draws on: al-Khalīl · al-Jawharī · Ibn Fāris · al-Rāghib · Ibn Manẓūr · Lane

  • Letters & soundThe grammarians class rāʾ as the repeated letter (mukarrar).speculative

    What the theorists of sound symbolism would say of these letters. Speculative by nature.

    The grammarians class rāʾ as the repeated letter (mukarrar). An imsās-style reading in Ibn Jinnī's manner could connect that trilled articulation with Ibn Fāris's first root, succession of one thing after another as in the mane. In Ibn ʿArabī's correspondence of letters to cosmic levels, rāʾ is assigned to the Fifth Heaven and fāʾ to the Angels; the data give no assignment for ʿayn. Al-Dabbāgh, as reported in al-Ibrīz, reads ʿayn as arrival or departure, rāʾ as all goods outward and inward, and fāʾ as the negation of foulness in something whose genus is foul. Of these, the fāʾ reading sits suggestively beside maʿrūf as the approved good. Mainstream linguistics treats all such letter-meaning claims as suggestive at most, since Semitic root meanings are not generally predictable from their consonants.

    Draws on: Ibn ʿArabī letter-cosmology · al-Dabbāgh (al-Ibrīz) · Ibn Jinnī imsās

    • al-Lamaṭī, al-Ibrīz min kalām ... ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh
    • Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, ch. 198 (the Breath)
  • Root structureSeveral of Ibn Fāris's ʿ-r siblings carry senses that sit beside ʿ-r-f's root of sukūn.speculative

    The two-letter nucleus (Ibn Fāris's own chapters) and the permutations of the letters (Ibn Jinnī).

    Several of Ibn Fāris's ʿ-r siblings carry senses that sit beside ʿ-r-f's root of sukūn. He glosses ʿ-r-s as mulāzama (constant attachment), ʿ-r-n as thubāt (fixity), and one root of ʿ-r-w as thubāt and mulāzama. His ʿ-r-š denotes elevation in something built, which can be read alongside ʿurf and aʿrāf as raised ground. Among the permutations, r-f-ʿ (29 Quranic occurrences, 'the opposite of lowering'), f-r-ʿ ('height, loftiness, fullness') and r-ʿ-f ('precedence, going ahead') form a cluster of height and forwardness. That cluster is the kind of material Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation would group with the mane and ridge senses of ʿ-r-f. ʿ-f-r is attested with various meanings, and the data give no aṣl statement for f-ʿ-r. These alignments are juxtapositions only; Ibn Fāris himself does not link the siblings.

    Draws on: Ibn Fāris nucleus ʿ-r · permutations · Ibn Jinnī al-ishtiqāq al-akbar

    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha, ʿ-r chapter
    • Ibn Jinnī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, bāb al-ishtiqāq al-akbar (link not verified)
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsNo confident Northwest Semitic cognate exists for the sense 'to know'.plausible

    Cognates in the sister languages, and whether the word was borrowed.

    No confident Northwest Semitic cognate exists for the sense 'to know'. Geʿez ʿarafa 'to rest, cease, repose' is regularly compared (Leslau). If the comparison holds, it matches Ibn Fāris's second root of stillness and tranquillity rather strikingly. Hebrew ʿōref 'nape, back of the neck' is sometimes set beside Arabic ʿurf 'mane'; this is plausible but not certain. The Arabic word shows no sign of being borrowed.

    Draws on: Geʿez · Hebrew · no loan

    • Leslau, Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez, s.v. ʿarafa
    • Brown–Driver–Briggs, s.v. ʿōref
  • Quranic exegesisQ 2:146 says the People of the Book 'know him as they know their sons'.well attested

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    Q 2:146 says the People of the Book 'know him as they know their sons'. Al-Ṭabarī reads this as their recognition of the Prophet, or of the truth of the qibla change, from their own scripture. Q 2:89 ('when there came to them what they recognised, they disbelieved in it') is read the same way, as recognition met with denial, and al-Rāghib cites it for maʿrifa as the opposite of inkār. Bi-l-maʿrūf in the retaliation and bequest verses (2:178, 2:180) is taken as what is equitable and customarily acknowledged. Q 40:11, fa-ʿtarafnā bi-dhunūbinā, uses iʿtirāf in al-Khalīl's sense of confessing a fault. The exegetes derive al-aʿrāf (7:46) from ʿurf as elevated ground: a height between Garden and Fire. Al-Ṭabarī reports that its people are those whose good and evil deeds balance. For 77:1, al-mursalāti ʿurfan, al-Zamakhsharī and al-Rāzī give both 'in succession like a horse's mane' and 'sent with what is good (maʿrūf)'.

    Draws on: al-Ṭabarī · al-Zamakhsharī · al-Rāzī · al-Rāghib

  • Philosophy & kalāmIn kalām, maʿrifat Allāh is widely named as the first obligation (awwal wājib) on the responsible person, with debate over whether it is reached by rational inquiry (naẓar) and whether naẓar itself comes first.plausible

    The word as a technical term in falsafa and theology.

    In kalām, maʿrifat Allāh is widely named as the first obligation (awwal wājib) on the responsible person, with debate over whether it is reached by rational inquiry (naẓar) and whether naẓar itself comes first. Avicenna gives ʿārif a technical place in the ninth namaṭ of al-Ishārāt wa-l-tanbīhāt, 'on the stations of the knowers'. There the ʿārif is marked off from the ascetic and the worshipper by directing his thought to the holiness of the Real. Al-Ghazālī and later authors commonly contrast maʿrifa with discursive ʿilm, in line with al-Rāghib's lexical distinction.

    Draws on: kalām · Avicenna

  • Akbarian readingIn Faṣṣ Ādam, the knowledge of the origin of the forms of the world receptive to their spirits cannot be known (lā yaʿrifuhu) by the intellect through reflective consideration;well attested

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In Faṣṣ Ādam, the knowledge of the origin of the forms of the world receptive to their spirits cannot be known (lā yaʿrifuhu) by the intellect through reflective consideration; it comes only from divine unveiling (kashf). The chapter also states that no one knows of the Real except what his own essence gives. The angels' objection to Adam is traced to their not knowing themselves: 'had they known (ʿarafū) themselves they would have known (ʿalimū), and had they known they would have been protected.' The sentence places ʿarafa and ʿalima in sequence and echoes the self-knowledge saying he frequently cites. His Iṣṭilāḥ defines the ʿārif as one whom the Lord has made witness Himself, so that states appear upon him; maʿrifa is that person's ḥāl.

    Draws on: Fuṣūṣ, Faṣṣ Ādam · Iṣṭilāḥāt

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam
    • Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-ṣūfiyya, s.v. al-ʿārif wa-l-maʿrifa
Neighbouring rootsThe roots that share letters with this one, as a map you can open out