As we saw in an earlier post the different verb forms are tied to several meanings. Today we are going to look at the verb form fā’ala and the two meanings that are related to it.
- mutual participation (tashāruk)
- continuance (muwālāh)
In this post we are going to focus on the second meaning. According to ibn Fāris The radicals ha, jīm and ra points to two different meanings; something being cut off, and something being tightened or knitted. The word for migration, hijrah is derived from these radicals. To make hijrah is to cut the relation between yourself and something else. This other thing doesn’t have to be a place, as we are going to see, even if the word hijrah frequently is used in this way.
The verb hajara means to emigrate, and the verb hājara is usually translated in the same way, but there is a difference between the form of the verbs, and difference in form generally implies difference in meaning. Hājara has the meaning of continuance and this meaning can be understood from the following hadith:
والمهاجر من هاجرالسوء
And the [true] immigrant is he who keeps on fleeing from evil.
This verb form shows us that fleeing or migrating is a continuous effort and that we constantly need to be on the move, physically as well as spiritually in order to escape from outer and inner evil.
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