Q:

Assalamo’alaikum.

In surah 55: 15 word marij and

surah 70: 3 word ma’arij.

I want to know difference between marij and ma’arij. I googled and found that marij means smokeless flame and ma’arij means ascending upstairs,  and plural of miraj.  I am confused because only difference is ‘aa’.  “Marij Ma’arij”.

Please explain to me sir.  Jajakallahukhair.

A:

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In Arabic, the two words are from different roots. The first one is from the verbal form of maraja; its active name form is maarij with hamzah. Ma’arij, on the other hand, is plural mi’raj; it is not hamzah but ayn.

The verbal form of it is araja (which begins with ayn and not hamza). It is of a different root. ‘Araja (with ayn) means to ascend, and mi’raj is the ladder.

The verse using maarij in the Qur’an reads: “And He created jinn from smokeless fire” whereas the verses of Surah al-Ma’arij reads:

“A questioner asked about an impending punishment upon the disbelievers which none can avert, from God, Lord of the ascending ways.

 Unto Him ascend the angels and the Spirit on a day whose measure is fifty thousand years.”

I would urge you not to study Arabic by relying on the transliteration.; You ought to learn Arabic from a trained teacher of the Arabic language. That is the only way to understand the roots of Arabic words and their variant usages.

No matter how old you are, you can still learn at least the basics, if you are willing to seek the proper method.

Allah Almighty knows best.