فقد

Core meaning

To notice the absence of what should be there, and to set out in search of it.

Uses

1. تَفْقِدُونَ, نَفْقِدُ → "to be missing" : the lack noticed by those who no longer have the thing.

   • «مَّاذَا تَفْقِدُونَ» — "What are you missing?" (12:71)
   • «نَفْقِدُ صُوَاعَ ٱلْمَلِكِ» — "We are missing the king's measuring vessel" (12:72)

2. تَفَقَّدَ → "to review" : form V: the attentive examination that brings a lack to light.

   • «وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ» — "And he reviewed the birds" (27:20)

Evidence from the text

The three uses follow the same order: a lack, then a search. In 12:71-72, the absence of the king's measuring vessel sets off the call to the caravan and the search of the bags. In 27:20, Sulayman reviews his birds, notices that the hoopoe is not there, "Or is she among the absent?" (27:20), and at once demands an account of that absence (27:21).

The root therefore does not name the loss suffered, but the lack noticed by an attention that searches.

Distinctions

• غيب — absence itself (ٱلْغَآئِبِين, 27:20), whereas فقد names the lack noticed by the one who searches

See also

طير (the birds reviewed)