What does « Young man / Boy » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Young man / Boy (غلم) in the Quran, with 13 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

غلم

Young man / Boy

Root: غ - ل - م

Creed (aqida) 13 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 3 min read

Definition of Young man / Boy

Al-ghulam: the young boy with sprouting mustache.

One says: ghulam with clear ghuluma and ghulumiyya.

The Almighty says: 'We give you tidings of a boy' (Maryam 7). 'A servant belonging to some of Our servants' (Al-Kahf 65).

Young man / Boy in the Quran (13)

Meccan: 12 Medinan: 1

Distribution of verses by surah

Maryam 4

Al-Kahf 3

Âl 'Imrân 1

Yusuf 1

Al-Hijr 1

As-Saffat 1

Adh-Dhariyat 1

At-Tur 1

Surah Âl 'Imrân : 40 Medinan

﴿قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَٰمٌ وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِىَ ٱلْكِبَرُ وَٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرٌ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ ٱللَّهُ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَآءُ﴾

He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when I have reached old age and my wife is barren?" The angel said, "Such is Allah; He does what He wills."

Surah Yusuf : 19 Meccan

﴿وَجَآءَتْ سَيَّارَةٌ فَأَرْسَلُوا۟ وَارِدَهُمْ فَأَدْلَىٰ دَلْوَهُۥ قَالَ يَٰبُشْرَىٰ هَٰذَا غُلَٰمٌ وَأَسَرُّوهُ بِضَٰعَةً وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾

And there came a company of travelers; then they sent their water drawer, and he let down his bucket. He said, "Good news! Here is a boy." And they concealed him, [taking him] as merchandise; and Allah was knowing of what they did.

Surah Al-Hijr : 53 Meccan

﴿قَالُوا۟ لَا تَوْجَلْ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ﴾

[The angels] said, "Fear not. Indeed, we give you good tidings of a learned boy."

Surah Al-Kahf : 74 Meccan

﴿فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَٰمًا فَقَتَلَهُۥ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةًۢ بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْـًٔا نُّكْرًا﴾

So they set out, until when they met a boy, al-Khidh r killed him. [Moses] said, "Have you killed a pure soul for other than [having killed] a soul? You have certainly done a deplorable thing."

Surah Al-Kahf : 80 Meccan

﴿وَأَمَّا ٱلْغُلَٰمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَٰنًا وَكُفْرًا﴾

And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.

Surah Al-Kahf : 82 Meccan

﴿وَأَمَّا ٱلْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَٰمَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُۥ كَنزٌ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَٰلِحًا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبْلُغَآ أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُۥ عَنْ أَمْرِى ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا﴾

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they reach maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience."

Surah Maryam : 7 Meccan

﴿يَٰزَكَرِيَّآ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَٰمٍ ٱسْمُهُۥ يَحْيَىٰ لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا﴾

[He was told], "O Zechariah, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name will be John. We have not assigned to any before [this] name."

Surah Maryam : 8 Meccan

﴿قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَٰمٌ وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا﴾

He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when my wife has been barren and I have reached extreme old age?"

Surah Maryam : 19 Meccan

﴿قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَٰمًا زَكِيًّا﴾

He said, "I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy."

Surah Maryam : 20 Meccan

﴿قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَٰمٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّا﴾

She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?"

Surah As-Saffat : 101 Meccan

﴿فَبَشَّرْنَٰهُ بِغُلَٰمٍ حَلِيمٍ﴾

So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy.

Surah Adh-Dhariyat : 28 Meccan

﴿فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ﴾

And he felt from them apprehension. They said, "Fear not," and gave him good tidings of a learned boy.

Surah At-Tur : 24 Meccan

﴿وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ غِلْمَانٌ لَّهُمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لُؤْلُؤٌ مَّكْنُونٌ﴾

There will circulate among them [servant] boys [especially] for them, as if they were pearls well-protected.

Words from the same root as Young man / Boy

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Fri 24 Muharram
الجمعة 24 محرّم