What Does Qala (قَالَ) Mean in the Quran?
The root of saying and speech. From it come qul (say!), yaqulu (he says), qawl (a saying), and qala (he said).
Counted from the Uthmani text bundled with this site: the exact past-tense form qala, including wa-qala and fa-qala. Other forms of the same root, like qalu, yaqulu, and qul, are separate written forms and are counted separately.
Inside the Quran
The Quran teaches through conversation, between Allah and the angels, prophets and their people, the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire. Qala is the hinge of every one of those exchanges.
Once you know qala, its siblings come quickly: qalu (they said), qalat (she said), qul (say!). Whole stories in Surah Yusuf and Surah al-Kahf open up from this single root.
“And [mention, O Muḥammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we exalt You with praise and declare Your perfection?" He [Allāh] said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know."”
“[Of these stories mention] when Joseph said to his father, "O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me."”
“[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allāh. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.”
Arabic quoted letter for letter from the Uthmani text of our Quran reader. Translation: Saheeh International.
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