و ر ثinheritance

ورثة · waratha · heirs

• Met in: V1 p5 ¶7b: «العلماء ورثة الأنبياء», "the scholars are the heirs of the prophets". Ghazali had already used the phrase in his own words (V1 p2 ¶1, V1 p4 ¶2); here it comes as a hadith.
• Dictionary form: وَارِث. Lane: "An heir: pl. وُرَّاث and وَرَثَة". The verb is وَرِثَ (corpus lemma, 13 times in the Quran).
• Pattern: فَعَلَة (faʿala), a broken plural of فَاعِل: وَارِث becomes وَرَثَة (see the sentence breakdown on V1 p5).
• Meaning here: The prophets left no money, only knowledge (the full hadith, V1 p5 note 2), so those who take up knowledge are their heirs. And since no rank is above prophethood, no honour is above inheriting it (V1 p5 ¶7b).

Ibn Faris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root ورث, vol 6, p 104

الواو والراء والثاء: كلمة واحدة، هي الورث

One word only: al-wirth, inheritance.

Urdu bridge

وارث (heir), ورثاء (heirs), وراثت and میراث (inheritance) are all Urdu. Careful with ورثہ: in Urdu it usually means a heritage, a legacy (a thing), while Arabic وَرَثَة are heirs (people). (to be confirmed)

Quran

35 words from this root (Quranic Arabic Corpus). Most common: وَرِثَ (inherited) ×13, أَوْرَثَ (made to inherit) ×12, وَارِث (heir) ×7.

ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌۢ بِٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ

Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah. That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty.

Surah Faatir (35), ayah 32 · Saheeh International

Why this ayah: «ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْكِتَٰبَ», "Then we caused to inherit the Book": the Book itself as an inheritance, the idea behind «العلماء ورثة الأنبياء».

In the Ihya

ورثة: 23 times in the Ihya.