Qurʾānic vocabulary
Verbs Relating to Fear in the Qurʾān
English may give us one word: to fear .
But in the Qurʾān, different verbs describe different experiences of fear — its cause, what happens within the heart, and even what a person does because of it.
خَافَ يَخَافُ
The broad, general verb for fear - expecting something harmful or disliked.
Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī — major classical Muslim scholar of Arabic, Qurʾānic vocabulary, ethics and literature, who died around 502 AH / 1108 CE. - defines it:
تَوَقُّعُ مَكْرُوهٍ عَنْ أَمَارَةٍ مَظْنُونَةٍ أَوْ مَعْلُومَةٍ
Expecting something disliked on the basis of an indication, whether presumed or known.
﴿فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ﴾
“ So do not fear them, but fear Me .”
[Āl ʿImrān 3:175]
---
خَشِيَ يَخْشَى
Not simply fear, but fear connected with knowledge and recognition of greatness.
Al-Rāghib describes الخشية as:
خَوْفٌ يَشُوبُهُ تَعْظِيمٌ
Fear mixed with reverence.
And he notes that it most often arises from knowledge of the one who is feared.
﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ﴾
“ Only those of His servants who have knowledge truly fear Allāh.”
[Fāṭir 35:28]
The choice of يَخْشَى here is remarkable.
---
وَجِلَ يَوْجَلُ
Fear as something experienced inside the heart.
Al-Rāghib gives an extraordinarily concise definition:
الْوَجَلُ: اسْتِشْعَارُ الْخَوْفِ
Wajal is the inward sensing of fear.
﴿إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ﴾
“ When Allāh is mentioned, their hearts tremble .”
[al-Anfāl 8:2]
Notice : the āyah itself mentions the hearts.
---
رَهِبَ يَرْهَبُ
Fear accompanied by caution, guarding oneself and inner disturbance.
The classical definition is:
مَخَافَةٌ مَعَ تَحَرُّزٍ وَاضْطِرَابٍ
Fear together with caution and disturbance.
﴿وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ﴾
“ And Me alone, then fear .”
[al-Baqarah 2:40]
---
فَزِعَ يَفْزَعُ
It carries the sense of sudden alarm or fright.
Al-Rāghib describes الفزع as:
انْقِبَاضٌ وَنِفَارٌ يَعْتَرِي الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ الْمُخِيفِ
A shrinking and recoiling that overtakes a person because of something frightening.
﴿فَفَزِعَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
“ Then those in the heavens and those on the earth will be struck with alarm .”
[al-Naml 27:87]
---
أَشْفَقَ يُشْفِقُ
One of the most subtle words.
Al-Rāghib says:
الْإِشْفَاقُ عِنَايَةٌ مُخْتَلِطَةٌ بِخَوْفٍ
Ishfāq is concern/care mixed with fear.
And there is an even finer distinction:
When أَشْفَقَ is followed by مِنْ , the element of fear is stronger.
When it relates to someone with على, the element of care and concern becomes stronger.
﴿وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا﴾
“ And they were apprehensive of it .”
[al-Aḥzāb 33:72]
---
حَذِرَ يَحْذَرُ
Here the focus moves from the emotion itself to what fear makes you do.
الحَذَرُ: احْتِرَازٌ عَنْ مُخِيفٍ
Ḥadhar is guarding oneself against something frightening.
So it carries the sense of being wary, alert and on guard.
﴿يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ﴾
“… being wary of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord .”
[al-Zumar 39:9]
---
فَرِقَ يَفْرَقُ
A rare and particularly vivid Qurʾānic verb.
Al-Rāghib explains:
الْفَرَقُ تَفَرُّقُ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ
Faraq is the heart being scattered by fear.
He compares the image to something being split or cracked apart.
﴿وَلَٰكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ يَفْرَقُونَ﴾
“ Rather, they are a people overcome by fear .”
[al-Tawbah 9:56]
This is an image: fear so intense that it is described almost as though the heart itself is coming apart.
---
And perhaps one of the most important:
اتَّقَى يَتَّقِي
Often, it's translated as "to fear ".
Yet it expresses more than the emotion of fear. It is fear that causes a person to take protection — to guard himself through obedience to Allāh (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and avoidance of what He has forbidden.
It originates from وَقَى — to protect, preserve, shield .
Al-Rāghib explains the underlying idea as:
جَعْلُ النَّفْسِ فِي وِقَايَةٍ مِمَّا يُخَافُ
To place oneself in protection from what one fears.
Look at how clearly the original meaning appears here:
﴿فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ﴾
“ So protect yourselves from the Fire whose fuel is people and stones .”
[al-Baqarah 2:24]
And the very same verb appears in:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
“ O you who have believed, fear Allāh and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers .”
al-Baqarah 2:278
But in the Qurʾān, different verbs describe different experiences of fear — its cause, what happens within the heart, and even what a person does because of it.
خَافَ يَخَافُ
The broad, general verb for fear - expecting something harmful or disliked.
Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī — major classical Muslim scholar of Arabic, Qurʾānic vocabulary, ethics and literature, who died around 502 AH / 1108 CE. - defines it:
تَوَقُّعُ مَكْرُوهٍ عَنْ أَمَارَةٍ مَظْنُونَةٍ أَوْ مَعْلُومَةٍ
Expecting something disliked on the basis of an indication, whether presumed or known.
﴿فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ﴾
“ So do not fear them, but fear Me .”
[Āl ʿImrān 3:175]
---
خَشِيَ يَخْشَى
Not simply fear, but fear connected with knowledge and recognition of greatness.
Al-Rāghib describes الخشية as:
خَوْفٌ يَشُوبُهُ تَعْظِيمٌ
Fear mixed with reverence.
And he notes that it most often arises from knowledge of the one who is feared.
﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ﴾
“ Only those of His servants who have knowledge truly fear Allāh.”
[Fāṭir 35:28]
The choice of يَخْشَى here is remarkable.
---
وَجِلَ يَوْجَلُ
Fear as something experienced inside the heart.
Al-Rāghib gives an extraordinarily concise definition:
الْوَجَلُ: اسْتِشْعَارُ الْخَوْفِ
Wajal is the inward sensing of fear.
﴿إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ﴾
“ When Allāh is mentioned, their hearts tremble .”
[al-Anfāl 8:2]
Notice : the āyah itself mentions the hearts.
---
رَهِبَ يَرْهَبُ
Fear accompanied by caution, guarding oneself and inner disturbance.
The classical definition is:
مَخَافَةٌ مَعَ تَحَرُّزٍ وَاضْطِرَابٍ
Fear together with caution and disturbance.
﴿وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ﴾
“ And Me alone, then fear .”
[al-Baqarah 2:40]
---
فَزِعَ يَفْزَعُ
It carries the sense of sudden alarm or fright.
Al-Rāghib describes الفزع as:
انْقِبَاضٌ وَنِفَارٌ يَعْتَرِي الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ الْمُخِيفِ
A shrinking and recoiling that overtakes a person because of something frightening.
﴿فَفَزِعَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
“ Then those in the heavens and those on the earth will be struck with alarm .”
[al-Naml 27:87]
---
أَشْفَقَ يُشْفِقُ
One of the most subtle words.
Al-Rāghib says:
الْإِشْفَاقُ عِنَايَةٌ مُخْتَلِطَةٌ بِخَوْفٍ
Ishfāq is concern/care mixed with fear.
And there is an even finer distinction:
When أَشْفَقَ is followed by مِنْ , the element of fear is stronger.
When it relates to someone with على, the element of care and concern becomes stronger.
﴿وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا﴾
“ And they were apprehensive of it .”
[al-Aḥzāb 33:72]
---
حَذِرَ يَحْذَرُ
Here the focus moves from the emotion itself to what fear makes you do.
الحَذَرُ: احْتِرَازٌ عَنْ مُخِيفٍ
Ḥadhar is guarding oneself against something frightening.
So it carries the sense of being wary, alert and on guard.
﴿يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ﴾
“… being wary of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord .”
[al-Zumar 39:9]
---
فَرِقَ يَفْرَقُ
A rare and particularly vivid Qurʾānic verb.
Al-Rāghib explains:
الْفَرَقُ تَفَرُّقُ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ
Faraq is the heart being scattered by fear.
He compares the image to something being split or cracked apart.
﴿وَلَٰكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ يَفْرَقُونَ﴾
“ Rather, they are a people overcome by fear .”
[al-Tawbah 9:56]
This is an image: fear so intense that it is described almost as though the heart itself is coming apart.
---
And perhaps one of the most important:
اتَّقَى يَتَّقِي
Often, it's translated as "to fear ".
Yet it expresses more than the emotion of fear. It is fear that causes a person to take protection — to guard himself through obedience to Allāh (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and avoidance of what He has forbidden.
It originates from وَقَى — to protect, preserve, shield .
Al-Rāghib explains the underlying idea as:
جَعْلُ النَّفْسِ فِي وِقَايَةٍ مِمَّا يُخَافُ
To place oneself in protection from what one fears.
Look at how clearly the original meaning appears here:
﴿فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ﴾
“ So protect yourselves from the Fire whose fuel is people and stones .”
[al-Baqarah 2:24]
And the very same verb appears in:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
“ O you who have believed, fear Allāh and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers .”
al-Baqarah 2:278