لبّ and قلب

[Hemza]

Hello,

What is the difference between لبّ and قلب? According to what I read, they both mean "heart" though until now I thought لبّ was used for the seeds/core of a plant and قلب the heart as a muscle. May they be interchanged or is the way I know is the "correct" one?

Thank you.

 

[HoopoeOfHope]

The word قلب mostly means "heart (the muscle)" and it is the word that is agreed upon to have this meaning. لب also means "heart" but in a more abstract way such as "essence", and it can mean the muscle too but this is not how it is usually used. The word لب also means "flesh of fruit" or "pulp" like when you buy orange juice with the pulp it will say عصير برتقال مع اللب.

The two words can be interchangeable at times. Generally, the word قلب is associated with تقلب "turning" and so a heart (القلب) can turn from good to evil. Meanwhile the word اللب has a more pure connotation to it.

 

[WannaBFluent]

The word لبّ can also refer to the mind, the intelligence of someone.
The root appears several times as the word الألبب in the Quran with a meaning of 'blessed with reason, endowed with reason'.

ولكم في القصاص حياة يا أولي الألباب لعلكم تتقون
(2:179)

And there is for you in legal retribution [saving of] life, O you [people] of understanding, that you may become righteous.

الحج أشهر معلومات فمن فرض فيهن الحج فلا رفث ولا فسوق ولا جدال في الحج وما تفعلوا من خير يعلمه الله وتزودوا فإن خير الزاد التقوى واتقون يا أولي الألباب
(2:197)

Ḥajj is [during] well-known months,1 so whoever has made ḥajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of iḥrām], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during ḥajj. And whatever good you do - Allāh knows it. And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allāh. And fear Me, O you of understanding.

يؤتي الحكمة من يشاء ومن يؤت الحكمة فقد أوتي خيرا كثيرا وما يذكر إلا أولو الألباب
(2:269)

He gives wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good. And none will remember except those of understanding.

Appears also in (3:7), (3:190), (5:100), (12:111), (13:19), (14:52), (38:29), (38:43), (39:9), (39:18), (39:21), (40:54) and (65:10).

*(Sahih International translations)