h-w-n

Description

The Arabic root هون (h-w-n) carries the core semantic meaning of ease, lightness, gentleness, and by extension, lowness or insignificance. In the Quran, it manifests in contrasting contexts: positively describing humble, gentle behavior and worship (walking in humbleness, speaking softly), and negatively indicating something made light of, insignificant, or humiliating (being humiliated, treating matters as trivial). This dual usage reflects how the same quality of "lightness" can be virtuous when applied to one's demeanor before God and others, but condemnable when it involves diminishing what should be respected or taken seriously.