IjAz in the QurAnA QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies ISSN (Onlin.
: 2828-2779 Received: 21-01-2025.
Revised: 01-05-2025 Accepted: 15-06-2025.
Published: 26-06-2025 DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
23917/qist.
Ijaz in the QurAn through the Use of the Word Bayt to Designate the Kaaba Before its Rebuilt by Quraysh:
Lessons for the Revivification of the AwqAf Knowledge Abderrazak Said Belabes1 Abstract The aim of the research is to highlight the inimitability of the QurAn through the use of the word Bayt, over a long period, to designate what has become known as Kaaba.
Initially, the building had a rectangular shape, with a semi-circular shape on the north side, since IbrAhm had rebuilt it with the help of his son IsmAl.
The cubic shape dates back to five years before the advent of Islam when Quraysh had rebuilt it after it was partly destroyed by a torrential rain.
Hence the name Kaaba which means cube in Arabic.
This explains why the use of the word bayt in the QurAn, under different forms, is more than five times greater than that of Kaaba.
This ijAz of the QurAn in the judicious choice of words that accord with proven historical facts is paramount in the Revivification of the AwqAf Knowledge.
The word Bayt refers to the House of Allah as a abs, that is, something that remains under the Mulk (Sovereignt.
of Allah.
This is the case by extension for any place of worship as al-BukhAr mentions through one of his titles in his Collection of Authentic AuAdth.
In this regard, the word Bayt is deeper than that of Kaaba, because it contains strata of meaning that are not found through the word Kaaba, and allows, consequently, to link things that the word Kaaba does not allow, by immersing us in the deep history of humanity in its innate state which pushes to sincerity of worship for Allah.
Thus, in terms of the organization of life, in the beginning was the Rizq of Allah, which generated the building of the Bayt as a abs, then came the Maash to provide for those who visit it to worship Allah, and the UmrAn following the grouping of people to dwell around the House of Allah.
Keywords: IjAz.
Bayt.
Ka'aba.
Waqf.
Rizq.
Maash.
UmrAn Islamic Economics Institute.
King Abdulaziz University.
Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia.
Email:
abelabes@kau.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes Introduction The word Bayt is mentioned in the Holy QurAn to designate what is known today as the Kaaba, by the names of al-Bayt.
Bayt, al-Bayt al-aram, alBayt al-Muuaram, al-Bayt al-Atq, and by symetry al-Bayt al-Mamr, fifteen The word Kaaba is mentioned twice.
What matters fundamentally is not the words and numbers themselves, but the underlying meanings.
Indeed, if the meanings are left in their original state, they will choose the words and numbers that suit them.
Hence the importance of reading by meaning beyond reading by word and number.
In this respect, the move away from generative artificial intelligence based on deep learning algorithms capable of performing various tasks related to natural language processing is welcome, although these models are attracting increasing interest.
Trends, this is prevailing tendencies or inclinations, spoil what is most authentic in knowledge and detract from the deeper research.
There is a significant difference between speaking with words, through algorithms based on statistical computations .
, and knowing by meanings which allows connections to be made under stratified configurations .
In this spirit, the present research is to lay the first labinah .
unit of building, a bric.
to explain the uabs, as a common living heritage .
, starting from its essence, starting with the following question: What can we learn from the use of the word Bayt in the QurAn to designate the Kaaba in terms of theorizing long-term uabs starting from Adam? In this regard, it aims to go beyond existing theories which consider the waqf as a gift contract, a voluntary giving of property for public use, an institution of the social and solidarity economy, a socio-economic institution, a non-profit organization, a third sector organization, an instrument of Islamic social finance, a component of Islamic non-banking financial institutions.
Despite their interest, these theories confine waqf to modern academic disciplines and niches as very specialized areas .
Common sense dictates that the later should be affected by the earlier, not the opposite .
After clarifying the research method, the inquiry will present the meanings of the root b,y,t in pre-Islamic Arabia, the meanings of the Word Bayt in Arabic language, the different names of the Kaaba mentioned in the QurAn, and the primordial interest of the word Bayt encompasses deeper meanings than that of Kaaba, before concluding to mention the main results and QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA Method The research data was obtained through a qualitative process of reading over a long period, through a reading by meaning on a long period, which was sourced from a wide range of different data resources.
The word data designates what serves as a basis for reasoning, examination, or research.
Primary sources are the QurAn and Sauu al-BukhAr .
to collect data on the word Bayt to designate the Kaaba.
Secondary sources concerns the books of Al-JurjAn .
DalAil al-IjAz (The Evidences of the Inimitability of the Holy QurA.
, the book of al-Azraq .
AkhbAr Makkah, the paper of Belabes .
'The forgotten history of the waqf: The Kaaba', as well as Al-Mujam al-Tarkh li-al-Lugha al-Arabiyah (Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Languag.
published by the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah .
The research begins with a descriptive reading of the data to collect information that corresponds exactly to the research problem.
Then, it proceeds to the analysis of the materials used through a qualitative approach that explores the underlying meanings of the words Bayt and Kaaba, considering that in the texts of the QurAn and the Sunnah the meaning is master and the word servant.
The results of this study should provide a thorough grounding of the scientific presuppositions underlying the words Bayt and Kaaba starting from the following question: How do we know what we think we know? We construct the world, while we think we perceive it.
What we call 'reality' is an interpretation, constructed by and through the words we use.
This research will contribute to the fields of Quranic studies relating to the tal .
of awqAf on extensive scientific evidence, the deep interpretation of the words Bayt and Kaaba, as well as their underlying meanings, and may constitute a reference for future researchers interested in the revivification of the awqAf knowledge, over a long period, beyond the beaten path based on the financialisation of daily life .
, which is based on the belief that there is no life without economy and no economy without finance, ignoring Allah's Rizq, that is, the provisions that Allah provides to all creation.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes Result and Discussion Meanings of the root b,y,t in pre-Islamic Arabia Epigraphic research, which focuses on the study of ancient inscriptions, engraved or sometimes painted on durable supports, reveals the Jadhr .
)A(A )A() (OA, appears in a South Arabian inscription dating from the first half of the year 1000 before the Christ Jesus Aepeace be upon himAe, this is before the advent of Islam.
In this epigraphy, the root (A )) (O) (Awhich could mean Mabad .
Qar .
Manzil .
ouse, building serving as a home, dwelling, residenc.
DAr .
earth, home of a famil.
Ailah .
, an Ashrah .
, refers to a temple.
Furthermore, the same root (A )) (O) (Aappears in a North Arabian Safaitic inscription referring to a house in a group of people united by a common characteristics .
Figure 1.
Meanings of the root b,y,t in pre-Islamic Arabia Mabad .
Ashrah .
Qar .
Ailah .
Manzil .
DAr .
Source: Author's Design Meanings of the Word Bayt in Arabic language After the advent of Islam, the word Bayt refers to the Maskan .
and the Mawah .
Hay .
and Qablah .
Imraat alRajul .
oman of the ma.
Kalam Mawzn min Shir .
inimum metric unit of a Qabr .
Sharf .
oble, honorabl.
Farsh .
edding or set of pieces QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA that cover the be.
and MatA' .
ersonal effect.
IyAl al-Rajul .
he children of the al-Kaaba al-Musharafah (The Holy Kaaba, may Allah increase its hono.
al-Bayt al-aram .
he honorable hous.
al-Bayt al-Atiq .
he ancient house.
Kaab.
al-Bayt al-Mamr .
requented house, exact replica of the Kaaba located directly above it in the seventh heave.
Bayt al-Maqdis .
he holy hous.
Ahl al-Bayt .
eople, neighbors, of the House of Alla.
Bayt al-MAl .
ouse for money, used as an equivalent for the treasury house where public fund is kep.
Bayt al-Qaid .
hich is aimed a.
Figure 2.
Meanings of the word bayt in Arabic Language Kalam Mawzn .
inimum Qabr .
Sharf .
Imraat alRajul .
oman of the ma.
Farsh .
MatA' .
ersonal Qablah .
IyAl alRajul .
he children of the ma.
Hay .
) Kaaba Musharafa h (The Holy Kaaba Mawah .
al-Bayt alHaram .
he Maskan .
al-Bayt alAtiq .
he al-Bayt alMamr Bayt alMaqdis .
he holy (Frequente d Hous.
Source: Author's Design These meanings give an idea of the richness of the Arabic language which, much more than a simple means of communication, embodies an inestimable spiritual, moral, principial, cultural, historical, and scientific heritage which is not appropriately valued.
This is why Allah Has done through the QurAn the Arabic language the vehicle for the expression of His meanings of inestimable value.
But we still need to be aware of the invaluable importance of this meanings by deepening our knowledge of Arabic.
Hence the QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes importance of exploring expressions based on the word Bayt referring to the Kaaba.
The different names of the Kaaba mentioned in the QurAn In the QurAn, six words have been mentioned to refer to the Kaaba, as compiled in the table 1.
The question then is: What is the secret of the existence of several names for the same thing? The multiplicity of names indicates the honor of the one who is named.
Due to the greatness, status, and sanctity of the House of Allah, it has been called by many names.
If we refer to the order of the surah listed in the QurAn, we get the following: al-Bayt .
he Hous.
, al-Bayt alarAm .
he Sacred Hous.
, al-Kaaba (Cube-Shaped Buildin.
, al-Bayt alMuuaram .
he Forbidden Hous.
, al-Bayt al-Atq .
he Earliest Hous.
, al-Bayt alMamr .
he Much-Frequented Hous.
Table 1.
The different names of the Kaaba mentioned in the QurAn Words Surah and Verse The concerned al-Kaaba .
: 95.
Human and Jinn in Earth al-Bayt Bayt Baytika al-Bayt al-arAm al-Bayt al-Muuaram al-Bayt al-Atq al-Bayt al-Mamr .
: 125.
3: 96.
8: .
: 125.
22: .
: .
: 2.
: .
: .
: .
Human and Jinn in Earth Human and Jinn in Earth Human and Jinn in Earth Human and Jinn in Earth Human and Jinn in Earth Human and Jinn in Earth Angels in Heaven Source: Author's Compilation In terms of frequency, the word Bayt appears five times, the words Kaaba.
Bayt, and al-Bayt al-arAm twice, and the words Baytika, al-Bayt alMuuaram, al-Bayt al-Atq, al-Bayt al-Maamr once, as illustrated in Figure 3.
This shows the importance of the word Bayt given that it implicitly refers to Allah the Eternal and the Majestic.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA al-Bayt .
al-Kaaba .
al-Bayt al-arAm .
al-Bayt al-Maamr .
al-Bayt al-Muuaram .
al-Bayt al-Atq .
Source: Author's Design In terms of the subjects concerned, five categories appear: Human.
Jinn.
Believers.
IbrAhm Aepeace be upon himAe, his descendants, and Angels.
This explains why the House of Allah has existed since Adam Aepeace be upon himAe and shows that Tawuid, which states that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, is intended for the entire humanity.
There is a reason why the word Bayt is used more frequently than the word Kaaba in the QurAn and Sunnah.
In his auu, al-BukhAr .
relates that the Prophet Aepeace and blessings of Allah be upon himAe said to Aishah Aemay Allah be pleased with herAe: "Do not you see that when your folk built the Kaaba, they did not build it on all the foundations built by Abraham?".
The Quraysh rebuilt the Bayt, partly destroyed by a torrential rain, five years before the coming of Islam .
, by making the building smaller with regard to its original foundations.
This gave it a parallelepiped shape similar to a cube.
Hence the name Kaaba, which literally means cube in Arabic, as illustrated in figure 4.
The Prophet Aepeace and blessings of Allah be upon himAe wished to rebuild the Bayt on the foundations of IbrAhm Aepeace be upon himAe by integrating the part that the Quraysh had left outside, and adding two doors attached to the ground.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes Figure 4.
The re-building of the Bayt by IbrAhm then Quraysh Quraysh's re-building IbrAhm's re-building re-building Source: Author's Own This historical exploration over a long period reveals that the name Bayt is the original name dating from the time of Adam Aepeace be upon himAe, the name Kaaba came much later at the time of Quraysh, but the question is more far-reaching than that if we continue to deepen it through reading by meaning.
The word Bayt encompasses deeper meanings than that of Kaaba The word Bayt encompasses meanings not found, at first sight at least, in the word Kaaba:
a The word Bayt refers to a place where believers celebrate the worship of Allah as the One and Only God.
This fundamental link between the original House of God and Monotheism bears witness to the universal value of the Kaaba and its place in the common heritage of humanity .
a The word Bayt refers to a building that was built by order of Allah.
This speaks to something fundamental in the lives of creatures, this is Angels.
Jinns.
Humans, as well as all creatures on earth and in heaven.
Allah says: AThe seven heavens, the earth, and whosoever in them, exalt Him.
There is nothing that does not exalt with His praise, but you do not understand their exaltationA (QurAn 17, .
a The word Bayt refers to the fact that Kaaba is the first place of worship built on earth for the Prophets.
This means that the Kaaba in particular and the mosques in general are awqAf in essence.
As Ibn Taymiyah .
wrote: "It known that the Kaaba is the best waqf that exists on earth".
The word "it known" explains why the primary sources on the AhkAm alAwqAf (Shariah injunctions regarding awqA.
did not explicitly mention the QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA Kaaba and the mosques as awqAf because this is what is known to scholars who are firmly grounded in knowledge .
But the one who reads by the meaning in a serious manner can deduce from their writings what indicates this .
Contrary to what is occurring today where the works on the AukAm alAwqAf explicitly refer to the Kaaba and the mosques as awqAf, first and foremost the QubA mosque and the Prophet's mosque .
This means that in human history over a long period dating back to Adam Aepeace be upon himAe, waqf arose before the emergence of private property, and public property.
In other words, before the emergence of the market and the nation-state.
It should not be forgotten that the word market became a notion of political economy founding a general conception of society in the 18th century under the influence of the writings of Etienne de Condillac and Adam Smith .
The theory of the nation-state emerged in the 15th century in Europe and was consecrated by the French Revolution in 1789 .
a The word Bayt refers to a building that was established by order of Allah for mankind, as the following verse of the QurAn .
, .
indicates: ASurely the first House .
f worshi.
established for mankind is the one at Bakkah .
ow known as Makkah as the place where believers rush to fulfill the worshi.
Aia blessed sanctuary and a guide for .
The Bayt, as the first house of God on earth, reminds us that the right of collective enjoyment preceded the right of private property, often presented as obvious, this is as something natural.
But, as the historian Fabien Locher .
reminds us, "private property has absolutely nothing natural".
It is a social construct that arose following the enclosure movement in England in the 13th century .
The French Revolution established private property as an inviolable and sacred right, as attested by article 544 of the civil code of 1804 .
The word "established", used in the style of the majhl .
, implies that the House of Allah existed before the advent of mankind on earth, first of all.
Adam and awA Aepeace be upon themAe.
Moreover, the word "established" confirms the hypothesis that the Bayt was built not by a specific Angel, like Jibrl Aepeace be upon himAe, but by Angels.
This hypothesis deserves to be confronted with more facts, although that would not be an easy task, with regard to the data compiled to date.
a The word Bayt refers to the importance for humans to organize their lives around the houses of Allah in order to enjoy the rizq and barakah in what Allah provides them resources, whether tangible and intangible, material and immaterial, visible and invisible, to fulfill the rights of Allah and the rights of QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes Allah said in a quds uadth: "We have brought down al-mAl .
hat it is beneficia.
for establishing alAt and acquitting zakAt" .
This is evidenced by the invocation of IbrAhm Aepeace be upon himAe:
AAnd when IbrAhm supplicated: "O my Lord, make this town a place of security, and provide its people with fruits who believe in God and the Last DayA (QurAn 2, .
, as well as his invocation in favor of his son IsmAl Aepeace be upon himAe and his wife reported in auu al-BukhAr .
: "Our Lord! Bless their meat and their water".
Thus, in the beginning was the Rizq, which generated the building of the Bayt, then came the Maash to provide for those who visit it to worship Allah, and the UmrAn following the human grouping to dwell around the Bayt, as illustrated in figure 5.
Figure 5.
Organization of life on the quadriptic Rizq.
Bayt.
MaAsh.
UmrAn Rizq Bayt UmrAn MaAsh Source: Author's Design In this regard, from the point of view of tasl al-maarifah .
oundation of knowledg.
, the word rizq is more convenient than those of mAl, kasb, maAsh, tadbr al-manzil .
ousehold managemen.
, iqtiAd .
, because it allows to link things that other words do not allow.
With the word Rizq there is no need to add the 'Islamic' adjective because Rizq comes from God, and AAllah gives abundant or limited Rizq to whoever He willsA (QurAn 13, .
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA Conclusion At the end of this exciting adventure of research to discover the unknown, it appears that the word Bayt is deeper than that of Kaaba, because it contains strata of meaning that are not found through the word Kaaba, and allows, consequently, to link things that the word Kaaba does not allow, by immersing us in the deep history of humanity in its innate state which pushes to worship Allah.
This result is vital, from the point of view of tasl al-maarifah .
oundation of knowledg.
, because it testifies to one of the mysteries of the eloquence in the QurAn insofar as two words contain a common meaning, but one of them contains additional strata of meaning, which had an impact on the way we perceive the words that structure our live.
In this regard, the word Bayt, which refers to the House of Allah, implicitly contains the meaning of uabs, since Allah is first and foremost the owner of the heavens and the earth, and the ownership of creatures is inscribed in this order.
This becomes the House of God and is a common good that humans only have the right to enjoy.
It cannot be the object of private ownership, nor of sale, nor of mortgage, nor of gift, nor of This applies to mosques which are aubAs in essence, that is, they remain under the Mulk (Sovereignty.
Supreme Powe.
of Allah.
We can therefore understand the limits of contemporary conceptualizations of awqAf, which are all based on the idea that there could be no waqf without private property.
It is nevertheless crucial to contextualize the facts to conduct a research that deserved attention.
However, these theories do not grasp the difference between the possession and the sanctification of the right to private property, which stipulates that individual property is the essence that structures the organization of life in society.
Hence the importance of the literature which criticizes proprietarianism, that is, the ideology that reduces all questions of life to the right to private property .
Compared to classical literature which states that waqf can be formed through a qawl .
or a fil .
that indicates it according to custom .
, this research shows that talking differs in the words it uses in terms of deep additional meanings.
Such a result confirms al-JurjAn's statement that meanings if left in their natural state, they choose the words that suit them.
This close connection between the meaning as master and the word as servant explains why in the QurAn the frequency of the word Bayt is more than five times greater than the word Kaaba, although at first sight the two words appear synonymous.
Who thinks he sees well does not know how to see.
We must heal the illusion of seeing well.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 Abderrazak Said Belabes This is one of the reasons for which Allah said: ATravel through the land and observeA (QurAn 29, .
As a recommendation for future research, the hypothesis that the House of Allah was built by angels deserves further exploration.
Knowing how to put yourself to the test, getting out of your comfort zone, and pushing back your limits Aein short, moving towards the unknownAe, that is, what makes research so enjoyable.
This will be the subject of my next research, despite data scarcity.
It should be noted that it is not size of the data that matters, but how you make it speak through reading by meaning.
This shows the limits of generative artificial intelligence which feeds on an ever-increasing volume of data and ever-faster computing power.
By its very nature, a speculative bubble cannot last.
It is in humanity's interest to focus on reading through meaning whose every nuance in the choice of word reveals an unsuspected depth defies the most sophisticated quantitative algorithms.
Allah says: AO you who believe! Do not say .
o the Prophet Aeblessings and peace of Allah be upon himA.
: RAina [Lend ear to u.
, but say Unzurna [Favour us with your attentio.
A (QurAn 2, .
Author Contributions Abderrazak Said Belabes: Investigation in Makkah.
Idea of the subject.
Conceptualization.
Methodology.
Writing Ae review & editing.
Supervision.
Project administration.
Methodology.
Writing Ae review & editing.
Acknowledgment This paper is the second article in a Research Program on the Kaaba that I have been carrying out for the last five years.
The full paper was written in the Holy City of Makkah.
After the sowing through long readings, comes the harvest of deep meanings whose existence we did not suspect.
I would like to acknowledge a scholar, who does not want his name to be mentioned, for having offered me a favorable conditions to the realization of this research in his library in Makkah.
Moreover.
I thank an anonymous reviewer for his critical reading of the article, not forgetting, people from Makkah whom I met at Jabal Khandamah, which stands as the second mountain behind Abu Qubays in Makkah, peaking at more than five hundred meters above sea level, and my students of the master in Islamic economic analysis and policies, and those of the executive master in management and economics of awqAf, with whom I had a discussion on the subject.
Any mistakes and errors that are made are mine and mine alone.
The opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of institution where I work as an academician.
QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies.
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No 2, 2025 IjAz in the QurAnA Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Funding This research did not receive any financial support.
Bibliography