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The “Longest Word” in the Qur’an Isn’t a Word: Unpacking فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ
The Holy Qur’an, though a Semitic language text, contains what is often cited as its “longest word”: فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ (fa’asqaynākumūhu), a single chain of 11 letters which functions as a full sentence. This article decodes its meaning, identifies its verse, and presents other intriguing facts about the Qur’an’s linguistic structure and statistics.
The Holy Qur’an, extensively analyzed for its profound linguistic structure, contains a fascinating linguistic feature often referred to as its “longest word“: فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ (fa’asqaynākumūhu).
This article breaks down this eleven-letter chain, which grammatically functions as a complete sentence (not a word!), and explores other intriguing facts about the Qur’an, including its word count, number of verses, and common linguistic elements.
Let’s start and have a look at فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ.
The longest “word” in the Qur’an
The longest word in the Qur’an is: “fa’asqaynākumūhu” (فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ).
Okay, this is not a word, it is a sentence. It is actually the longest chain of letters. It consists of 11 letters.
Anyway, it is interesting to take a look at the word: فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ.
Semitic languages work differently
Arabic is a Semitic language. It works very different compared to English or French. There is only little use in looking for the shortest or longest word because most words have a root consisting of three letters.
You can add vowels, pre- and suffixes, and put the root into several patterns. Notice that in Arabic, the above-mentioned “word” is actually a whole sentence.
In which verse do you find the “longest word” of the Qur’an?
فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ is found in sura 15 The Rocky Tract – in Arabic: al-Hijr (سُورة الْحِجْر):
The words of Sura 15:22
وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ فَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ وَمَا أَنتُمْ لَهُ بِخَازِنِينَ
We send the winds to fertilize, and We bring down water from the sky for you to drink – you do not control its sources.
| o, thus (particle) | فَ |
| to give to drink (past tense); irrigate | أَسْقَى |
| we gave to drink | أَسْقَيْنا |
| you (indirect object) | كُم |
| it (direct object) | هُ |
Other interesting facts about the Qur’an
How many words does the Qur’an contain?
Answer: Most scholars say 77,429 words. It is not clear how to count them. In the Qur’an, at the beginning of some suras, you will find strange combinations of letters which do not have a meaning; at least we don’t know them. They are called al-Muqatta‘āt (الْمُقَطَّعات).
Some more statistics – please note that some people count several aspects differently, but the order of magnitude is of course the same.
- Number of Suras: 114
- Number of verses: 6,236
- Number of dots in Qur’an: 1,015.030
- Number of letters: 323,671
- Most common word: from (مِن); it occurs 2,763 times
What kind of things does the Qur’an mention?
- 16 places, cities or countries
- 15 names of things that can be eaten or drunk
- 7 colors
- 1 month – Ramadan (رَمَضان)
- 1 woman – Maryam (Mary)
Wanna continue reading? Here is more:
- Why the Quran Can Be Hard to Read: 6 Keys to Its Unique Stylistic Beauty
- Why Many Muslims Believe Netflix’s ‘Messiah’ Is About the Dajjal (The Antichrist)
- Why Does the Qur’an Use لَمْ نَكُ? The Deletion of the Nun in كان
- What’s the difference between نَزَّلَ and أَنْزَلَ?
- What’s the Real Difference Between al-Rahman and al-Rahim?
Wanna cite this article?
Drißner, G. (2017, April 3). The “Longest Word” in the Qur’an Isn’t a Word: Unpacking فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/islam/longest-word-quran/
Published: April 3, 2017
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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Although Maryam (Mary) is the only woman mentioned by name – there are other women mentioned in the Quran such as Pharoah’s wife; the wife of the traveller who purchased Yusuf; the old woman who complained about her husband; Maryam’s mother who made the supplication, Ibrahim’s wife Hajra and Sara; the Queen of Saba (Sheba) ; Lot’s wife; Moses‘ mother and his sister ; the Prophet’s wives; etc
Interesting read, thanks!
Although I was surprised to read Maryam being the only female mentioned by name in the Qur’an.
I guess some others are referred to, such as Hawa (Eve) and Aasiyah (Pharaohs wife).
I’m glad I found this website :)
I’m so interested in learning theArabic language. I am in LinkedIn and I have a plethora of Arabic friends but I’m sure there are just as many dialects as Spanish
Is there an Arabic language that would read the same in all different Muslim countries?