وجه

Core meaning

The face: what one presents and turns toward something; hence the direction one aims at and the standing one receives.

Uses

1. وَجْه, وُجُوه → "face", "faces" : the face, which carries the intent of the one who turns it.

   • «أَفَمَن يَتَّقِى بِوَجْهِهِۦ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ» — "He who shields himself with his face from the worst punishment" (39:24)
   • «يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى ٱلنَّارِ» — "the day their faces capsize in the Fire" (33:66)

2. وَجْه ٱللَّه → "the direction of God" : the face toward which one turns, the aim of the act.

   • «وَمَا تُنفِقُونَ إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ ٱللَّهِ» — "And you spend only seeking the direction of God" (2:272)

3. وَجِيه → "of high standing" : the one whose face is received and recognized.

   • «وَكَانَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَجِيهًۭا» — "and he was, with God, of high standing" (33:69)

Evidence from the text

The face is not named for itself: it is what one presents and turns. In 39:24, a man shields himself "with his face" from the punishment; in 2:144, the face turning in every direction in the sky is given a course. Overturned or toppled, the face remains the face: "their faces capsize in the Fire" (33:66), "their faces will be toppled into the Fire" (27:90). In 2:272, spending has no other aim than "the direction of God", the face toward which one turns. "Direction" is said only of orientation: the one held toward the Law (30:30), and the face of God that one aims at.

وَجِيه extends the same gesture to standing: the one whose face is received. Moussa was "with God, of high standing" (33:69), as Al-Massih is in this world and the next (3:45).

Distinctions

• قبل — what stands facing one and is taken as a course; وجه, the face itself, turned toward what it aims at

See also

ولى (turning the face toward a direction, or away from it)