n-k-d

Description

The Arabic root ن-ك-د (n-k-d) carries the core meaning of hardship, difficulty, or something that comes forth grudgingly and with scarcity, often referring to land that produces little vegetation or yields that require great effort. In its Quranic usage in Surah Al-A'raf (7:58), it describes barren or cursed land that brings forth its produce only with difficulty and in meager amounts, contrasting with good land that produces abundantly by Allah's permission. This root emphasizes the spiritual parallel between physical barrenness and the hardened hearts of disbelievers who resist divine guidance and produce no good works despite receiving the same revelation as believers.