What does « Destruction / Ruin » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Destruction / Ruin (تبر) in the Quran, with 4 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

تبر

Destruction / Ruin

Root: ت - ب - ر

Quranic language 4 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 2 min read

Definition of Destruction / Ruin

Al-tabr: to break and destroy.

One says 'tabarahu' and 'tabbarahu'.

Allah says: 'And We utterly destroy (nutabbira) what they used to make' (Al-A'râf: 137).

Al-tatbîr refers to complete destruction.

The Quran uses it for the destruction of the works of idolaters and oppressors.

Destruction / Ruin in the Quran (4)

Meccan: 4 Medinan: 0

Distribution of verses by surah

Al-A'raf 1

Al-Isra 1

Al-Furqan 1

Nuh 1

Surah Al-A'raf : 139 Meccan

﴿إِنَّ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَٰطِلٌ مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ﴾

Indeed, those [worshippers] - destroyed is that in which they are [engaged], and worthless is whatever they were doing."

Surah Al-Isra : 7 Meccan

﴿إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ لِيَسُۥٓـُٔوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا۟ مَا عَلَوْا۟ تَتْبِيرًا﴾

[And said], "If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to yourselves." Then when the final promise came, [We sent your enemies] to sadden your faces and to enter the temple in Jerusalem, as they entered it the first time, and to destroy what they had taken over with [total] destruction.

Surah Al-Furqan : 39 Meccan

﴿وَكُلًّا ضَرَبْنَا لَهُ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلَ وَكُلًّا تَبَّرْنَا تَتْبِيرًا﴾

And for each We presented examples [as warnings], and each We destroyed with [total] destruction.

Surah Nuh : 28 Meccan

﴿رَّبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِنًا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَارًۢا﴾

My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a believer and the believing men and believing women. And do not increase the wrongdoers except in destruction."