What Does Kana (كَانَ) Mean in the Quran?
The root of being and existence. Kun, the divine command Be!, comes from this same root.
Counted from the Uthmani text bundled with this site: the exact form kana, including wa-kana and fa-kana. Related forms like kanu, yakunu, and kun are separate written forms and are counted separately.
Inside the Quran
Kana is the Arabic "was", and one of the glue words of the Quran. Sentences like wa kanallahu ghafuran rahima, and Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful, use kana to describe what Allah never ceases to be.
When the Quran says kana about Allah it does not mean He once was and no longer is. It carries the sense of has always been, a nuance worth knowing from your first day of reading.
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allāh an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allāh and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allāh often.”
“It is not [befitting] for Allāh to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.”
“Degrees [of high position] from Him and forgiveness and mercy. And Allāh is ever Forgiving and Merciful.”
Arabic quoted letter for letter from the Uthmani text of our Quran reader. Translation: Saheeh International.
Practice with the full Quran, word by word, in the Barakah Life app
Every ayah with word-by-word meaning, transliteration, and audio you can slow down. What you just learned here, you can practise on the whole mushaf.
Get the Barakah app