Verse 21:95 – The Irreversible Decree
21:95a:
وَحَرَامٌ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ
And a prohibition is on a town (ওয়া হারামুন্ ‘আলা ক্বারইয়াতিন্; ḥ-r-m / হ-র-ম – to forbid, make sacred // ḥarām // Cognate: Hebrew: ḥerem "ban, proscription" ; q-r-y / ক-র-য় – to settle, village // qaryah // Cognate: Aramaic: qiryā "town")
21:95b:
أَهْلَكْنَاهَا
which We have destroyed (আহ্লাক্নাহা; h-l-k / হ-ল-ক – to perish, be destroyed // ahlaknā // Cognate: Hebrew: hālak "to go" [semantic shift to "pass away"])
21:95c:
أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
that they will not return. (আন্নাহুম্ লা ইয়ারজি‘ঊন; r-j-ʿ / র-জ-ʿ – to return // yarjiʿūn // Cognate: [Cognate: none])
Linguistic Gloss: And-forbidden upon a-settlement [ḥarām from ḥ-r-m "to prohibit/consecrate"; cf. Hebrew ḥerem "a devoted thing/ban"] We-caused-it-to-perish [ahlaknāhā from h-l-k "to go/pass away"; cf. Hebrew hālak] that-they not they-shall-return [lā yarjiʿūn: definitive negation of their return to this world or to repentance].
Tafsīr 21:95: The Law of No Return. Exegetes like al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Kathīr affirm this verse establishes the absolute finality of divine punishment: once a community is destroyed for its transgressions, its inhabitants are irrevocably banned from returning to the temporal world. This connects to 36:31 questioning why people ignore the unalterable fate of destroyed generations, 7:4 detailing the suddenness of such destruction, and 23:100 confirming the plea of the dying to return is unequivocally rejected. After the Battle of Badr, the Prophet ﷺ addressed the dead polytheists, stating, "You do not hear what I am saying any better than they do, but they cannot answer" (Bukhārī), confirming their transition and inability to return. Revealed in Mecca, it served as a stark warning to the Quraysh. This mirrors the biblical narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-26), whose destruction was final and where looking back was forbidden, symbolizing the impossibility of return.
Verse 89:27 – The Tranquil Soul
89:27a:
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ
O, the soul (ইয়া আইয়াতুহা ন্-নাফ্সু; n-f-s / ন-ফ-স – soul, self, breath // nafs // Cognate: Hebrew: nep̄eš "soul, living being") 89:27b:
الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
at peace! (ল্-মুত্বমাইন্নাহ্; ṭ-m-ʾ-n-n / ত-ম-ʾ-ন-ন – to be calm, secure // muṭmaʾinnah // Cognate: [Cognate: none])
Verse 89:28 – The Pleased Return
89:28a:
ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ
Return to your Lord, (র্রজি‘ঈ ইলা রব্বিকি; r-j-ʿ / র-জ-ʿ – to return // irjiʿī // Cognate: [Cognate: none] ; r-b-b / র-ব-ব – to be lord, master // rabbiki // Cognate: Akkadian: rabû "great")
89:28b:
رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً
well-pleased and well-pleasing! (রাদ্বিয়াতাম্ মারদ্বিয়্যাহ্; r-ḍ-w / র-ড-ও – to be pleased // rāḍiyatan marḍiyyah // Cognate: Ge'ez: raḍ'a "to be content")
Linguistic Gloss: O you the-soul [nafs from n-f-s, "breath"→"self/essence"; cf. Hebrew nep̄eš] the-one-at-rest [muṭmaʾinnah: quadriliteral root connoting profound tranquility], return to your-Sustainer, being-pleased [rāḍiyah: active state of contentment] and-being-made-pleased [marḍiyyah: passive state of being accepted by God].
Tafsīr 89:27-28: The Soul's Contented Return. Exegetes agree this is the divine address to the believer's soul at death, ushering it into God's presence. Sufis identify the Nafs al-Muṭmaʾinnah as the highest spiritual station, where the self, having conquered its lower impulses, finds perfect serenity in divine will. This state connects to 13:28, where hearts find rest in God's remembrance, and culminates in the mutual satisfaction of 5:119 ("Allah well-pleased with them, and they with Him"). The Prophet ﷺ described the believer's soul exiting the body gently "like a drop from a waterskin" (Aḥmad). This Late Meccan promise of a peaceful end contrasts sharply with Mesopotamian visions of a gloomy afterlife and parallels the tranquility of Psalm 23:4 ("though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me").
Verse 29:57 – The Certainty of Death
29:57a:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ
Every soul (কুল্লু নাফ্সিন্; k-l-l / ক-ল-ল – all, every // kullu // Cognate: Akkadian: kalû "all, totality" ; n-f-s / ন-ফ-স – soul, self // nafs // Cognate: Hebrew: nep̄eš "soul")
29:57b:
ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ
will taste death, (যা~ইক্বাতু ল্-মাওতি; dh-w-q / য-ও-ক – to taste // dhāʾiqatu // Cognate: [Cognate: none] ; m-w-t / ম-ও-ত – to die // mawt // Cognate: Aramaic: mawtā "death")
29:57c:
ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ
then to Us you will be returned. (ছুম্মা ইলাইনা তুরজা‘ঊন্; r-j-ʿ / র-জ-ʿ – to return // turjaʿūn // Cognate: [Cognate: none])
Linguistic Gloss: Every self [kullu nafs: encompassing all beings with a life-principle] is a-taster-of the-death [dhāʾiqatu al-mawt: an experiential metaphor for the inevitability of dying], then to-Us you-(all)-are-made-to-return [turjaʿūn: passive voice emphasizing the inescapable divine summons].
Tafsīr 29:57: Inevitable Death, Inescapable Return.
This verse establishes two universal truths: the certainty of mortality for every living soul and the subsequent return to God for judgment. According to al-Ṭabarī, this axiom serves to detach believers from worldly fears—especially the fear of death that might prevent migration (hijrah) for faith—by framing death not as an end but as a necessary transition to accountability. The phrase kullu nafsin dhāʾiqatul mawt is a foundational tenet, repeated in 3:185 and 21:35. It is inextricably linked to the purpose of creation articulated in 23:115, questioning those who doubt the final return. The verse echoes the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:2 ("a time to be born, and a time to die") but adds the distinctly Abrahamic dimension of a purposeful, mandatory return for judgment.
Verse 2:156 – The Believer's Response
2:156a:
الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم
Those who, when strikes them (ল্লাযীনা ইযা আস্বাবাত্হুম্; ṣ-w-b / স-ও-ব – to strike, befall // aṣābathum // Cognate: [Cognate: none]) 2:156b:
مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا
a calamity, they say, (মুসীবাতুন্ ক্বালূ; ṣ-w-b / স-ও-ব – to strike, befall // muṣībah // Cognate: [Cognate: none] ; q-w-l / ক-ও-ল – to say, speak // qālū // Cognate: Hebrew: qōl "voice, sound")
2:156c:
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ
"Indeed, we belong to Allah, (ইন্না লিল্লাহি; l-l-h / ল-ল-হ – God // li-llāhi // Cognate: Aramaic: ʾĔlāhā "God")
2:156d:
وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
and indeed, to Him we are returning." (ওয়া ইন্না ইলাইহি রাজি‘ঊন্; r-j-ʿ / র-জ-ʿ – to return // rājiʿūn // Cognate: [Cognate: none])
Linguistic Gloss: Those-who when befalls-them a-striking-event [muṣībah from ṣ-w-b, an arrow hitting its mark→misfortune], they-say, "Truly-we for-God-are, and-truly-we to-Him are-ones-who-return." [rājiʿūn: active participle emphasizing this is our constant state and direction].
Tafsīr 2:156: The Declaration of Divine Ownership. This verse defines the verbal and cognitive response of the patient (ṣābirīn) mentioned in the preceding verse (2:155). This declaration, the istirjāʿ, is, per Ibn Kathīr, the key to unlocking divine blessings in tribulation. It is a profound acknowledgment of two realities: absolute divine ownership ("we belong to Allah") and the certainty of the final return ("to Him we are returning"). This mindset dismantles grief's foundations by reframing loss as a temporary return of a trust to its rightful owner. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged this declaration, promising a divine reward and replacement (Muslim). Revealed in the early Medinan period, it fortified the community against imminent hardships. This finds a powerful parallel in the declaration of Job 1:21: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
The root's meaning can be speculatively deconstructed through the pictographic origins of its letters:
Resh (ר): From raʾš ("head"). Pictograph of a human head (?). Signifies: direction, beginning, top.
Gimel (ג): From gaml ("throwing stick" or "camel"). Pictograph of a boomerang or a camel's neck (?). Signifies: movement, carrying, turning.
Ayin (ع): From ʿayn ("eye"). Pictograph of an eye (👁). Signifies: sight, perception, knowledge, source/spring.
Pictographic Narrative (Hypothesis): A potential reconstruction of meaning could be "turning the head (
r) with a motion (g) toward a perceived (ʿ) origin." This maps remarkably well onto the physical act of returning.
An exhaustive linguistic analysis of the Arabic root ر-ج-ع (r-j-ʿ), prompted by the specific Quranic form ارْجِعُونِ (irjiʿūni).
The form ارْجِعُونِ (irjiʿūni) is a Form I imperative verb, 2nd person masculine plural, with a suffixed 1st person singular object pronoun (-nī, the final vowel dropped for prosody). It translates to "Return me!" or "Send me back!". This command's profound weight comes from its context in the Qur'an (23:99), where it is the desperate plea of a dying person facing divine judgment, begging for a second chance at life. This eschatological significance informs the entire semantic field of its root.
Arabic Triliteral Root: ر-ج-ع (r-j-ʿ)
Proto-Semitic Reconstruction: *r-g-ʿ
The reconstructed Proto-Semitic (PS) form is *r-g-ʿ. The phonetic shift from PS velar stop *g to the Arabic palatal affricate j /dʒ/ is a well-attested sound law. The other phonemes, *r and *ʿ, are stable across the family.
The semantic field in Proto-Semitic likely encompassed "to return," "to turn back," and "to answer" or "to reply" (a verbal "return"). However, a significant semantic divergence occurred between the branches (see §3.3). While it solidified as the primary verb for "return" in Central (Arabic) and South Semitic, its meaning shifted in Northwest Semitic.
The root ر-ج-ع is exceptionally productive, spanning physical, abstract, and theological domains.
Form I: رَجَعَ / يَرْجِعُ (
rajaʿa / yarjiʿu) - to return, come back.Masdar: رُجُوع (
rujūʿ) - a returning.
Form II: رَجَّعَ (
rajjaʿa) - to cause to return, send back (causative); to echo, repeat a sound.Form III: رَاجَعَ (
rājaʿa) - to go back over something with someone; to consult, review, check.Form IV: أَرْجَعَ (
ʾarjaʿa) - to return something to someone, give back (transitive causative).Form V: تَرَجَّعَ (
tarajjaʿa) - to reverberate; to be repeated.Form VII: اِنْرَجَعَ (
inrajaʿa) - to be returned (passive, archaic).Form VIII: اِرْتَجَعَ (
irtajaʿa) - to take back, retract (a statement); to buy back.Form X: اِسْتَرْجَعَ (
istarjaʿa) - to ask for something to be returned; to reclaim. In a religious context, it means to say the phrase إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ ("Verily we belong to God, and verily to Him do we return") upon hearing of a death or calamity, signifying resignation to the ultimate return.Noun: رَجْعَة (
rajʿa) - a single act of returning; a return to a divorced wife; relapse.Noun: مَرْجِع (
marjiʿ) - place of return; a source, reference, authority (that to which one "returns" for knowledge).Adjective/Noun: رَجْعِيّ (
rajʿī) - reactionary, regressive.Noun: رَجِيع (
rajīʿ) - dung, excrement (that which is "returned" from the body).Active Participle: رَاجِع (
rājiʿ) - one who is returning.Noun: مَرَاجِع (
marājiʿ) - plural ofmarjiʿ; references, bibliography.Noun: رَجْعُ الصَدَى (
rajʿ al-ṣadā) - echo (lit. "return of the sound").
2.2 Semantic Field Mapping
This network illustrates the expansion from a concrete core to abstract and theological domains.
[CORE: RETURN TO ORIGIN (رُجُوع)]
/ | \
/ | \
PHYSICAL MOTION TEMPORAL/REPETITIVE CAUSAL/TRANSACTIONAL
(rajaʿa - to go back) (rājaʿa - to review) (ʾarjaʿa - to give back)
| | |
| ABSTRACT/CONCEPTUAL |
BIOLOGICAL (marjiʿ - reference/source) SOCIAL/LEGAL
(rajīʿ - excrement) | (rajʿa - return to wife)
| |
THEOLOGICAL/ESCHATOLOGICAL POLITICAL
(istirjāʿ - return to God) (rajʿiyya - reactionism)
|
QURANIC APEX
(irjiʿī - "O soul, return!")
(irjiʿūni - "Return me!")
Cognitive Semantic Analysis: The root operates on the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL image schema. The core meaning is a reversal along the "PATH" to return to the "SOURCE." This schema is then metaphorically extended:
ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY: To
rājaʿa(review) is to "go back" over the path of an argument.KNOWLEDGE IS A LANDSCAPE: A
marjiʿ(source) is a landmark to which one "returns" for orientation.LIFE IS A JOURNEY FROM GOD: Death is the ultimate
rujūʿ(return) to the divine "SOURCE."
3. Textual Documentation Across Time & Space
3.1 Pre-Islamic & Early Arabic Sources
Epigraphic Evidence: The root is attested in pre-Islamic inscriptions.
Safaitic: The verb
rgʿis used with the meaning "to return from pasture."Ancient South Arabian: The root
rgʿis found meaning "to return, restore."
Pre-Islamic Poetry: The root is common. For example, in the Muʿallaqa of Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā, he speaks of war's consequences that "return" to bite the aggressors.
3.2 Quranic Usage
The root appears over 100 times, central to Quranic theology.
The Plea of the Damned:
...حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ(...ḥattā ʾidhā jāʾa ʾaḥadahumu l-mawtu qāla rabbi-rjiʿūni) - "...Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, 'My Lord, send me back!'" (23:99).The Call to the Righteous Soul:
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً(yā-ʾayyatuhā n-nafsu l-muṭmaʾinnatu-rjiʿī ʾilā rabbiki rāḍiyatan marḍiyyatan) - "O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]." (89:27-28).The Inevitable Return:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ(kullu nafsin dhāʾiqatu l-mawti thumma ʾilaynā turjaʿūna) - "Every soul will taste death. Then to Us you will be returned." (29:57).The Formula of Resignation:
...الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ(...alladhīna ʾidhā ʾaṣābathum muṣībatun qālū ʾinnā li-llāhi wa-ʾinnā ʾilayhi rājiʿūna) - "...those who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed, we belong to God, and indeed to Him we will return.'" (2:156).
Conclusion: Arabic's use of ر-ج-ع as the primary verb for "return" sets it apart from its Northern Semitic cousins, which prefer a root based on šwb/twb. This lexical choice is a significant differentiator.
Synthesis & Implications
Integrated Analysis
The journey of the root ر-ج-ع is a story of semantic specialization and theological deepening. Originating in Proto-Semitic with a likely meaning of "to turn back," it underwent a crucial split. While it faded into a niche meaning "moment/rest" in Northwest Semitic, it blossomed in Arabic and South Arabian into the principal verb for "return." Its phonetically motivated structure, evoking the kinesthetics of turning back to a source, lent itself to profound metaphorical extension. In the matrix of Islamic thought, particularly through the Qur'an, this physical act was mapped onto the most significant journey of all: the soul's return to its creator. The plea irjiʿūni is the tragic inversion of the joyful command irjiʿī, capturing the two possible destinies of the human soul at the end of its journey.
5.2 Theoretical Contributions
Lexical Divergence: This root is a textbook case of how a single proto-root can diverge semantically across daughter languages, filling different lexical niches. It challenges simplistic one-to-one mapping in reconstruction.
Sound Symbolism: It provides strong evidence for non-arbitrary, iconic relationships between sound and meaning, rooted in embodied cognition.
Cultural Conceptualization: It shows how a basic concept ("return") can be elevated and saturated with theological meaning, becoming a cornerstone of a cultural and religious worldview.
5.3 Future Research Directions
Deeper investigation into the semantic link between "return" (Arabic) and "moment/rest" (Hebrew). Is "rest" the result of a "return," or is a "moment" a brief "return" to stasis?
A broader search for potential cognates in other Afroasiatic branches, using less strict phonetic correspondence rules to identify possible deep connections.
7. Mandatory Summary Table
Phonosemantic, Onomatopoeic, and Key Etymological Dimensions — Summary & Significance
| Aspect | Core Findings (1-2 lines) | Significance for Root’s History & Semantics |
| Phonosemantic Pattern | The sequence /r/ (motion) + /j/ (pivot) + /ʿ/ (interiority/source) iconically maps onto the physical act of returning. | This motivated, non-arbitrary structure provided a robust cognitive foundation for the root's concrete and abstract meanings. |
| Onomatopoeic Evidence | None. The root is iconic and phonetically motivated, but does not imitate a sound. | This distinguishes it from echoic words and places it in the more complex category of sound symbolism linked to kinesthetics. |
| Proto-Forms & Sound Laws | Proto-Semitic *r-g-ʿ is secure. Proto-Afroasiatic origins are unattested and speculative. | The root is firmly Semitic, but its deep prehistory is unknown. Its evolution follows predictable sound laws (e.g., *g > j). |
| PIE / Wanderwort Links | No credible links to Proto-Indo-European or evidence of being a loanword. | The root's development is internal to the Afroasiatic (specifically Semitic) family, not a product of external contact. |
| Pictographic / Hieroglyphic Correlates | A speculative reading of Proto-Sinaitic letters (Head-Motion-Eye) aligns with the meaning. Egyptian parallels are conceptual (motion glyphs), not etymological. | This suggests the root's semantics may be rooted in a primordial, pre-literate conceptualization of the physical act of turning to see one's origin. |
| Morphological Iconicity | Verbal forms clearly map to semantic functions: causatives (II, IV), reciprocity (III), and seeking (X) add predictable layers of meaning. | The root's productivity is systematic, allowing for nuanced expression from causing a return to the spiritual act of seeking it from God. |
| Cultural-Cognitive Insights | The root's meaning diverged significantly from Hebrew/Aramaic (šwb), making it a key lexical marker for Arabic. The Qur'an elevated it to a central theological concept of eschatological return. | This lexical choice had profound consequences, shaping the very language used to describe humanity's ultimate destiny in one of the world's major religions. |
Semantic Field Mapping
This network illustrates the expansion from a concrete core to abstract and theological domains.
[CORE: RETURN TO ORIGIN (رُجُوع)]
/ | \
/ | \
PHYSICAL MOTION TEMPORAL/REPETITIVE CAUSAL/TRANSACTIONAL
(rajaʿa - to go back) (rājaʿa - to review) (ʾarjaʿa - to give back)
| | |
| ABSTRACT/CONCEPTUAL |
BIOLOGICAL (marjiʿ - reference/source) SOCIAL/LEGAL
(rajīʿ - excrement) | (rajʿa - return to wife)
| |
THEOLOGICAL/ESCHATOLOGICAL POLITICAL
(istirjāʿ - return to God) (rajʿiyya - reactionism)
|
QURANIC APEX
(irjiʿī - "O soul, return!")
(irjiʿūni - "Return me!")