الدنيا · al-dunyā · this world, this present life

• Met in: V1 p2 ¶1: «والآخرة مقبلة والدنيا مدبرة»
• Dictionary form: دُنْيَا (corpus lemma, 115 times in the Quran)
• Pattern: فُعْلَى (fuʿlā), the feminine of أَدْنَى, "nearer, lower" (in the Quran 12 times). So الدنيا is literally "the nearer (life)", set against الآخرة, "the last (life)".
• Meaning here: This world, which is "turning its back" and leaving.

Ibn Faris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root دنو, vol 2, p 302

الدال والنون والحرف المعتل أصل واحد يقاس بعضه على بعض، وهو المقاربة

One origin, consistent throughout: nearness.

Urdu bridge

دنیا is everyday Urdu for "the world". The Arabic keeps the root sense "the near one", which Urdu has lost. (to be confirmed)

Quran

133 words from this root (Quranic Arabic Corpus). Most common: دُنْيَا ×115, أَدْنَى ×12.

بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا

But you prefer the worldly life,

Surah Al-A'laa (87), ayah 16 · Saheeh International

Why this ayah: Preferring the life of this world: the problem the Ihya attacks. (The next ayah, 87:17, says the Hereafter is better and more lasting.)

In the Ihya

الدنيا: 2,377 times, the most frequent content word in the Ihya. Book 26 is the Condemnation of the World.