What does « Origin / Root » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Origin / Root (أصل) in the Quran, with 10 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

أصل

Origin / Root

Root: ء - ص - ل

Quranic language 10 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 2 min read

Definition of Origin / Root

Al-asl (the root): what something is built upon.

Plural 'usûl'.

Allah says: 'A good word is like a good tree whose root is firm' (Ibrâhîm: 24).

Aslahu means to cut its root.

Allah says: 'Cut them (hassîlûhâ) to their roots' (Al-Hashr: 5).

Al-asîl: the time between afternoon and sunset.

Origin / Root in the Quran (10)

Meccan: 4 Medinan: 6

Distribution of verses by surah

Al-A'raf 1

Ar-Ra'd 1

Ibrahim 1

An-Nur 1

Al-Furqan 1

Al-Ahzab 1

As-Saffat 1

Al-Fath 1

Al-Hashr 1

Al-Insan 1

Surah Al-A'raf : 205 Meccan

﴿وَٱذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِى نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ ٱلْجَهْرِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْءَاصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلْغَٰفِلِينَ﴾

And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.

Surah Ar-Ra'd : 15 Medinan

﴿وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَٰلُهُم بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْءَاصَالِ﴾

And to Allah prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth, willingly or by compulsion, and their shadows [as well] in the mornings and the afternoons.

Surah Ibrahim : 24 Meccan

﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ﴾

Have you not considered how Allah presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky?

Surah An-Nur : 36 Medinan

﴿فِى بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا ٱسْمُهُۥ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْءَاصَالِ﴾

[Such niches are] in mosques which Allah has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned therein; exalting Him within them in the morning and the evenings

Surah Al-Furqan : 5 Meccan

﴿وَقَالُوٓا۟ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ٱكْتَتَبَهَا فَهِىَ تُمْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا﴾

And they say, "Legends of the former peoples which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon."

Surah Al-Ahzab : 42 Medinan

﴿وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا﴾

And exalt Him morning and afternoon.

Surah As-Saffat : 64 Meccan

﴿إِنَّهَا شَجَرَةٌ تَخْرُجُ فِىٓ أَصْلِ ٱلْجَحِيمِ﴾

Indeed, it is a tree issuing from the bottom of the Hellfire,

Surah Al-Fath : 9 Medinan

﴿لِّتُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا﴾

That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.

Surah Al-Hashr : 5 Medinan

﴿مَا قَطَعْتُم مِّن لِّينَةٍ أَوْ تَرَكْتُمُوهَا قَآئِمَةً عَلَىٰٓ أُصُولِهَا فَبِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيُخْزِىَ ٱلْفَٰسِقِينَ﴾

Whatever you have cut down of [their] palm trees or left standing on their trunks - it was by permission of Allah and so He would disgrace the defiantly disobedient.

Surah Al-Insan : 25 Medinan

﴿وَٱذْكُرِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا﴾

And mention the name of your Lord [in prayer] morning and evening