Arabic vocabulary
مَحْفُوظpreserved in Arabic
مَحْفُوظ is how you say “preserved” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ح ف ظ (ḥ-f-ẓ)noun/adjective (passive participle, ism mafʿūl of form I)Pronounced maḥfūẓ
Meaning of preserved in Arabic
- preserved, guarded, protected, kept safe — describes something acted upon by ḥafiẓa — kept and taken care of
- kept from being lost or perishing — reflects the core sense of the root: preventing a thing from perishing or being lost
- memorized, committed to memory — of a text, since ḥafiẓa is also used of retaining something in the mind, e.g. the Qur'an
Maḥfūẓ is the passive participle of ḥafiẓa ("he kept, preserved, guarded, protected, or took care of it; prevented it from perishing or becoming lost"), so it describes something that is being safeguarded or kept intact rather than the one doing the keeping (that would be ḥāfiẓ). Because the same root verb is used of retaining a text in memory (e.g. "he kept the Qur'an in his mind, knew it by heart"), maḥfūẓ can also describe something committed to memory, not only something physically protected.
Words from the same root
- حَفِظَto keep, preserve, guard, protect, take care of; also to memorize/know by heart (form I verb)
- حِفْظkeeping, preservation, care; also memorization (verbal noun of ḥafiẓa)
- حَافِظone who preserves or guards; a keeper; also one who has memorized the Qur'an
- حَفِيظvery watchful, ever-protecting (intensive form)
- احتفظto keep for oneself, retain, hold on to (form VIII)
- مُحَافَظَةconstant, diligent keeping to or maintaining of something, e.g. the prayers (form III verbal noun)
- تحفّظto guard oneself, be careful and watchful (form V)
Common questions
- How do you say "preserved" in Arabic?
- مَحْفُوظ (maḥfūẓ).
- What is the root of مَحْفُوظ and what does it relate to?
- It comes from the root ح ف ظ (ḥ-f-ẓ), which gives ḥifẓ (preservation/memorization), ḥāfiẓ (guardian, or one who has memorized a text), and ḥafīẓ (ever-watchful, protecting).
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فذكر شأن مبدأ عمله ونهايته فمبدؤه محفوظ عليه ونهايته الجزاء عليه
And He mentioned the significance of the beginning and end of his deeds; the beginning is preserved for him, and the end is recompense for him.
مَحْفُوظٌ — preserved. This is a passive participle, a noun-like description meaning 'kept' or 'guarded', serving as the predicate: its beginning is preserved. Built from a verb, it names the state the beginning is in, the way English uses a past participle as an adjective.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →
Related words
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