شفى

See also: سفی, سقي, سقى, and شفي

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ش ف ي (š-f-y).

Verb

1. to heal, to cure
   • 7th century CE, The Quran‎^[1]:

     قَالَ أَفَرَأَيْتُم مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْبُدُونَ أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمُ ٱلْأَقْدَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ عَدُوٌّ لِي إِلَّا رَبَّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ وَٱلَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

     qāla ʔafaraʔaytum mā kuntum taʕbudūna ʔantum waʔābāʔukumu l-ʔaqdamūna faʔinnahum ʕaduwwun lī ʔillā rabba l-ʕālamīna llaḏī ḵalaqanī fahuwa yahdīni wallaḏī huwa yuṭʕimunī wayasqīni waʔiḏā mariḍtu fahuwa yašfīni

     He said: "Do ye then see whom ye have been worshipping - Ye and your fathers before you? - For they are enemies to me; not so the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds; Who created me, and it is He Who guides me; Who gives me food and drink, and when I am ill, it is He Who cures me."

2. (passive voice) to heal, to recover, to be cured, to get better (see شُفِيَ (šufiya))

Usage notes

• The verb expresses the traditional notion of healing as an essentially spiritual process. Therefore the agent used with the active voice of شَفَى (šafā) is usually God or an envoy of his, such as a prophet or saint. It is rather uncommon, though not impossible, to apply it to medical professionals, treatments, medications, etc. Generally, the verb is more often encountered in the passive voice, in which the spiritual connotation is less marked.