رمى

Core meaning

To throw toward a target: a stone, sparks, or an accusation cast upon someone.

Uses

1. رَمَىٰ, تَرْمِى → "to throw", "to hurl" : the gesture directed at what it aims at.

   • «وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ» — "And you did not throw, when you threw, but it was God who threw" (8:17)
   • «تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ» — "which were hurling stones of formed clay at them" (105:4)
   • «إِنَّهَا تَرْمِى بِشَرَرٍۢ كَٱلْقَصْرِ» — "It throws up sparks as huge as palaces" (77:32)

2. يَرْمُونَ, يَرْمِ بِهِۦ → "to accuse" : to cast a charge upon a person.

   • «وَٱلَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ أَزْوَٰجَهُمْ» — "And those who accuse their spouses" (24:6)
   • «ثُمَّ يَرْمِ بِهِۦ بَرِيٓـًۭٔا» — "then accuses one who is quit of it" (4:112)

Evidence from the text

The gesture always has a target. In 8:17, the verb recurs three times: the gesture made, denied, then ascribed to God; only a gesture that aims can be ascribed in this way. The birds hurl their stones at the army (105:4), the Fire throws up its sparks (77:32).

The accusation is a charge cast upon someone: women protected by the marital bond (24:4, 24:23), spouses (24:6), one who is quit of it (4:112). What was thrown must then be proven: four witnesses (24:4), or four testimonies by God (24:6); failing that, the accuser makes himself "the bearer of a slander" (4:112).

Distinctions

• رجم — to cast away: to throw someone out of the group, where رمى aims at a target

See also

حجر (the stone)