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These are excerpts from Lexical Synonyms in the Holy Qur’an and their Translations: A Case Study by Samia Muhsen Al-Jabri of Umm Al-Qura University

Synonymy in Arabic language

The study of synonyms or near synonyms in Quran is an extremely interesting field. The richness of synonyms in Arabic can be ascribed to a wide range of factors. The existence of synonyms is relevant to Arabic rhetoric, eloquence and figures of speech.

There are two opposing points of view concerning synonymy.

First point of view

The first is to accept the idea and hence create collections of synonyms.

Al-’sma‘i (216/831), for instance, has compiled a list of seventy names for 'stones' in Arabic; others have collated fifty names for 'sword' whilst others have documented five hundred names for 'lion' and one hundred names for 'snake' (Al-Munajid 2007:36).

Second point of view

The second group of scholars reject the notion of synonymy outright,

claiming that language contains no synonyms. Ibn Al-’arabi (231/845) and Ibn-Faris (395/1004) maintain that it is illogical to have two or more words in a language with one reference. They also assert that the different synonymous names compiled in books are not synonyms, but rather one name with various different attributes (Abdel-Tawab 1987:311).

Accordingly, 'the lexical items جواد (fast horse), and أدهم (completely black horse) are attributes rather than synonyms of حصان (horse) (Shehab 2009:870). The second group of scholars appears to reject the idea of having complete or absolute synonyms.

Shiyab (2007) has indicated that the Arabic words (حصان) (hisaan), فرس (faras), جواد (jawaad), and أغر (agarr) stand for the English word 'horse'. Although these words can be used interchangeably in most contexts (since they all refer to the word horse), they are not interchangeable in all contexts.

If we take all these words for horse, we may find the following meanings that are synonymous and used in a context related to that word:

  1. The word 'hisaan' has the components of horse and male.
  2. The word 'faras' has the components of horse and male or female.
  3. The word 'jawaad' has the components of a particular horse, which is fast, and male or female.
  4. The word 'agarr' has the components of a particular horse, which has a white patch on its forehead and is male or female.

Do synonyms occur in Quran?

Various points of view have been proposed concerning the existence of synonyms or near synonyms in the Holy Quran.

Al-Munajid (2007:109) has indicated that, like linguists, scholars of Qur’an studies and exegesis have different points of view concerning synonyms. Some accept the idea of having synonyms in the Holy Qur’an, whilst others reject the idea completely.

AlMunajid notes that each lexical item in the Holy Qur’an is selected precisely to convey a certain meaning different from other related lexical items. He believes that there are no complete synonyms in the Holy Quran. An analysis of the words in the Holy Qur’an which are closely related in meaning indicates that there are no synonyms in the Holy Qur’an, and this is one of its miracles (BintAsh ati’ 1966:14).

Ghali (1997:5) has identified differences among near synonymous lexical items in the Holy Qur’an. He has noted that although some words are interpreted by some translators as having the same meaning, the context shows their differences, however slight these might be. Abdul-Wali (2007) asserts that the versatility of Qur’an lexemes and styles has not been captured in most English versions of the Qur’an.