Discover the meaning of the term Al-frʿ (فرع) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThe counterpart of the origin (asl); it is the name of a thing built upon another.
The counterpart of the asl (origin); it is the name of a thing built upon something other than it.
The uppermost part of everything, and one of the branches of the tree; as in the word of the Most High: 'and its branches in the sky.'
The far'a of a thing: it grew tall and rose high; so he is far'i (at the top). 'Farra'a al-shay' far'an wa furu'an': he raised it. 'Farra'a al-bikr': he deflowered her.
'Farra'a bayn al-mukhtasimin': he separated the disputants. 'Farra'a fi al-jabal': he climbed the mountain. 'Fara'a minhu': he descended from it (the opposite).
'Farra'a min hadha al-asl masa'il': he derived issues from this origin as its branches.
Of everything: its upper part, namely what branches forth from its root. (Plural): furu'. : Of a woman: her hair.
Al-far'a: the summit of the mountain and its highest part. : The upper part of the road. Al-far': the first offspring of camels and sheep; the people of the Jahiliyya used to slaughter it to their idols seeking blessing.
(Plural): fur'. The single one is far'a. Al-far'a: the far'.
Of everything: its upper part, namely what branches forth from its root; hence one says: 'issues branched forth from this origin,' that is, he extracted them and they issued forth (al-Misbah al-Munir, entry 'far'', p. 178).
The counterpart of the asl (origin); it is the name of a thing built upon another and measured by it, namely what branches forth from its root; its plural is furu'. It is also the first offspring the she-camel bears, which they used to slaughter to their deities in the Jahiliyya.