Abstract
There may be changes in the contents of words in the historical process. These changes in the form of meaning expansion, meaning narrowing, and meaning shift are the situations experienced by some, if not all of the words of the Qurʾān. The concept of karam, which is predominantly mentioned in Meccan sūras, is one of words that witnessed these meaning events. This concept has been used in the Qurʾān by associating it with different entities and words, consequently its context and content have changed. Before Islam, karam, which more likely refers to “boasting with nobility and generosity in the dimension of throwing away”, in the Qurʾān, it is firstly stated that makes people valuable and superior by attributing Allah, the value of man has been attached to belief and obedience to Allah, taqwā, righteous deeds, etc. In addition, it was recommended to prohibit extravagant acts with the aim of boasting, keeping a middle ground between stinginess and wasting, and observing the consent of Allah in spending. This study aims to focus on the meaning history of the concept of karam. In this context, firstly, the basic/root meaning of karam was determined by using classical dictionaries and its pre-Islamic meaning was determined with the help of Muʿallaqa poems (An Arabic poem group). Afterwards, how this concept is used in the Qurʾān with its noun and verb forms, what may be the meanings it expresses depending on the change of its context and the entity to which it is attributed are discussed.