What does « Foreigner / Non-Arab » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Foreigner / Non-Arab (عجم) in the Quran, with 3 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

عجم

Foreigner / Non-Arab

Root: ع - ج - م

Jurisprudence (fiqh) 3 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 3 min read

Definition of Foreigner / Non-Arab

Al-'ujma: the opposite of clarity.

Al-i'jam: making obscure.

Ista'jama: he found it obscure. 'Ajam is used for non-Arabs because their language is obscure to Arabs.

The Almighty says: 'a non-Arabic tongue' (Fussilat 44).

Foreigner / Non-Arab in the Quran (3)

Meccan: 3 Medinan: 0

Distribution of verses by surah

An-Nahl 1

Ash-Shu'ara 1

Fussilat 1

Surah An-Nahl : 103 Meccan

﴿وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٌ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّ وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّ مُّبِينٌ﴾

And We certainly know that they say, "It is only a human being who teaches the Prophet." The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this Qur'an is [in] a clear Arabic language.

Surah Ash-Shu'ara : 198 Meccan

﴿وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَٰهُ عَلَىٰ بَعْضِ ٱلْأَعْجَمِينَ﴾

And even if We had revealed it to one among the foreigners

Surah Fussilat : 44 Meccan

﴿وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَٰهُ قُرْءَانًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ ءَايَٰتُهُۥٓ ءَا۬عْجَمِىٌّ وَعَرَبِىٌّ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍ﴾

And if We had made it a non-Arabic Qur'an, they would have said, "Why are its verses not explained in detail [in our language]? Is it a foreign [recitation] and an Arab [messenger]?" Say, "It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure." And those who do not believe - in their ears is deafness, and it is upon them blindness. Those are being called from a distant place.