Palindrome in the Quran Sura 74:3
This article analyses the supposed palindrome in the Quranic verse 74:3.
Verse 74:3 in the Quran
In context:
74:1 يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ O you who covers himself [with a garment],
74:2 قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ Arise and warn
74:3 وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ And your Lord glorify
74:4 وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ And your clothing purify
74:5 وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ And uncleanliness avoid
The verse 74:3 consists of two words:
- وَرَبَّكَ - wa-rabba-ka - "and your lord" (literally and-lord-yours)
- فَكَبِّرْ - fa-kabbir - "glorify" (literally and/then-glorify)
The (non-existing) palindrome
A palindrome is a text that is spelled exactly the same when read backwards. For example the word "rotator":
r o t a t o r (spelled forwards)
r o t a t o r (spelled backwards)
Here is the Arabic text spelled forward and backwards:
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
رِبَّكَفَ كَبَّرَو
w a r a b b a k a f a k a b b i r (spelled forwards)
r i b b a k a f a k a b b a r a w (spelled backwards)
The verse is NOT a palindrome.