Commanding and Forbidding in Arabic
Commanding and Forbidding in Arabic
Commanding and Forbidding in Arabic
HOMEWORK
By the end of this lesson, I should be able to…
Command and forbid with any given ﻓﻌﻞ
Tell the difference between forbidding and negation
Recognize and translate a command and forbidding ﻓﻌﻞ
1. You can’t command/forbid in the past tense. This makes sense because a person
cannot be commanded to do something in the past, and similarly you cannot
forbid someone from doing something they have already done.
2. You can’t command yourself. Based on our definitions above, commanding and
forbidding are specifically directed at another, not the self. You can’t command
the first person.
3. You can’t command/forbid someone who’s not there. Someone who is not
present cannot be made to do something, nor can they be forbidden from doing
something. You can’t command the third person.
Forbidding is easier than commanding. The easiest way to forbid someone from
doing something is to just yell, “No!” Commanding usually requires more
instruction.
5.4.11: Forbidding
The formula for forbidding in Arabic is: ﻻ+lightest present tense 2nd person.
Let’s try some examples:
Don’t go! (you sing. Masc)
ْ
1) 2nd person present tense. َﺗﺬ َﻫﺐ
ُ
ْ ﺗﺬﻫْ
2) Make it lightest. ﺐ َ َ
3) Put ﻻin front: !ﺐ ْ ﻻ ﺗ ْﺬﻫ
َ َ
Additional examples:
English Command Normal Fi’l Lightest Fi’l Forbidding
ْ ْ ْ ﺗﺄﻛ
ْ
ْ ﻻ ﺗﺄﻛ
ْ
Don’t eat!(you f.) ﲔ
َ َﺗﺄﻛُ ِﻠ ُِ َ ُِ َ
َﺗﺘﻌ ّﻠ َ ُﻤ ْﻮن َﺗﺘﻌ ّﻠ َ ُﻤ ْﻮا ﻻ َﺗﺘﻌ ّﻠ َ ُﻤ ْﻮا
َ ََ ََ ََ
Don’t learn (all of you)
ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ
Don’t write (all you fem) ﱭ
َ ُ َﺗﻜﺘ ﱭ
َ ُ َﺗﻜﺘ ﱭ
َ ُ ﻻ َﺗﻜﺘ
Forbidding vs Observation
It is important to note the difference between forbidding and an
observation/comment. For example, a friend may turn to you and say, “I noticed
you don’t write books.” In this case, “you don’t write books” is an observation, not
forbidding. However, your friend may not have much confidence in your writing
skills, in which case your friend would forbid you from writing books by saying,
“Don’t write books!”
ً ْ
Statement/Observation: “ ﻻ َﺗﻜﺘُﺐ ﻛُﺘُﺒﺎYou don’t write books.”
ُ
ً ْ
Forbidding: ﺐ ﻛُﺘُﺒﺎ ْ ﻻ ﺗﻜﺘ
ُ َ “Don’t (you sing masc) write books!”
Notice that for the observation, the ﻓﻌﻞis not in its lightest form. However, for
forbidding it is. Which begs the question, how would one translate the following: ﻻ
ْ ْ ْ
ﱭ ﻛُﺘ ُ ًﺒﺎ ﺘ
َ ُ َﻜ?ﺗ Since the normal and lightest forms for ﻦ
َ ّ ُ َ أare the same, the
ﺘ ﻧ
translation would have to be based on context. It could either be an observation:
‘You (fem. Pl.) don’t write books’. Or it can be forbidding: ‘Don’t write books! (fem.
Pl.)
ْ
اﻟﺸﺠﺮ َة
َ ّ ِ ِ ٰ َ َ ( َو َﻻ َﺗ2:35) But do not come near this tree (both of you)
ه ﺬ ـ ﻫ ﺎﺑﺮ ﻘ
َ َ َ
ْ ْ ْ ْ
ﻚ ﺳ ِﺮ ًّﻳﺎ
ِ ﺘ ﺤ ﺗ ﻚ
ِ ﺑ ر ﻞ ﻌﺟ ﺪ ﻗ ﺰﺤ ﺗ ﻻَ ّ أ ﺎ ِ ﺤ ( ﻓﻨﺎداﻫﺎ ﻣﻦ ﺗ19:24) But he called her from below her, "Do
َ
َ َ َ ُّ َ َ َ َ ِ َ َ َ َ َ ِ َ َ ََ
not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream.
ٰ آذ ْوا ﻣﻮ ( ﻳﺎ أ ﺎ ا ّ َ ﻳﻦ آﻣﻨﻮا ﻻ ﺗﻜﻮﻧﻮا ﻛﺎ ّ َ ﻳﻦ33:69) O you who have believed, do not be like
َ ُ َ َ ِ َ ُ ُ َ َ ُ َ َ ِ َ ُّ َ َ
those who abused Musa
ًا
ْ
ﻋ يﺮ ْ ﻦأ
ﻣ ْ ( ﻗﺎل ﻻ ﺗﺆاﺧ ْﺬ ﺑﻤﺎ ﺴﻴﺖ وﻻ ﺗ ْﺮﻫ ْﻘﻨﻲ ﻣ18:73) [Musa] said, "Do not blame me for
ُ ِ َ ِ ِ ِ ُ َ َ ُ َِ َ ِ ِ ِ َُ ََ َ
what I forgot and do not cover me in my matter with difficulty."
ْ ٌ ْ
ﻜﻦ ّ َﻻ َﺗﻌ َﻠ ُﻤﻮن
ِ ُ ّ ٍﻞ ِﺿﻌﻒ وﻟَ ٰـ ِﺎل ﻟ
َ ( َﻗ7:38) He will say, ‘For each is double but you do not know’
َ َ
5.4.12: Commanding
The steps for commanding in Arabic are outlined below.
1) Start with the lightest 2nd person.
2) Remove the first ت.
3) If the word can be read, leave it alone.
4) If the word can’t be read, add a helper alif.
5) Harakaat for the helper alif:
a. If the second to last letter in the ﻫﮬﮪھﻮpresent tense has a ◌ُ then the
helper alif gets a ◌. ُ
b. Otherwise the helper alif gets a ◌ ِ
The أ َ ْﺳ َﻠﻢfamily is weird. It gets a َ أ
َ
c.
Examples:
1) Go! (you masc).
ْ
Start with normal 2nd person present tense: ﻫﺐ ﺗﺬ
ُ َ َ
ْ ْ ﺗ ْﺬﻫ ْ ْذﻫAdd helper ﺐ ْ
ْ اذﻫ ْ ِا ْذﻫ
َﺗﺬ َﻫﺐ ﺐ ﺐ ﺐ
Make Remove Determine
ُ lightest َ َ first ﺕت َ alif َ harakah for alif َ
The أﻣﺮis in ﺟﺰمstatus and the ﺟﻮاب اﻷﻣﺮis in ﺟﺰمstatus as well to indicate its
relationship to the command.
For example: Submit! Allah will have mercy on you. ﻚ اﷲ ْ أ ْﺳﻠ ْﻢ ﻳ ْﺮ
ُ َ َ َ ِ َ
Example from the Quran (71:10-12)
ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ
ال ً ُ ﻢ ِﻣﺪر
ٍ ﴾ َوﻳُﻤ ِﺪدﻛُﻢ ِﺑﺄَﻣ َﻮ١١﴿ ارا اﻟﺴﻤﺎء ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ﻞ ﺳ ْ ﻱي
ر ١٠ ا ً
ﺎر ﻔ ﻏ ﺎن ﻛ ﻪﻧ إ ﻢ ْ ﺑ
َ ّ َ ُ ِ َ ُ ﻓ َ ُﻘ
ر وا ﺮﻔ ﻐ ﺘ اﺳ ﺖﻠ
َ ّ َ َ َ َّ ِ ِ َّ َ َ َ ُ َّ ِ ُ
ُ ﴾ ﴿
ً ْ َ ُ ْﻢ أ
﴾١٢﴿ ﺎرا
ْ
َ ّﺎت وﻳﺠ َﻌﻞ ﻟ ٍ َ ّ ُ ْﻢ ﺟﻨ َ ّ
ْ
وﺑﻨِﲔَ وﻳﺠﻌﻞ ﻟ
َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ
And I said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. (10) He will
send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers(11) And give you increase in wealth
and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.(12)
In the above ayaat Nuh(as) explains his da’wah to his people. He commanded
them to ask Allah’s forgiveness, and as a result Allah(swt) would send them rain,
increase them and provide for them.
The command is اﺳﺘﻐﻔﺮواand the consequences/answers to the command are
ْ ْ ْ ْ
ﻱي ْر ِﺳﻞ
ُ , ﻳﻤ ِﺪدand ﻳﺠﻌﻞ, as indicated by the ﺟﺰمstate.
ُ َ َ
ْ أ ْرﺳ ْ ﻣﻌﻨﺎ ﻏ ًﺪا ﻳ ْﺮﺗ ْﻊ وﻳ ْﻠﻌﺐSend him with us tomorrow that he may eat well and play (12:12)
َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ََُ ِ َ
5.6: Simple Fi’l Negation
ْ ﻣﺎ ﻻ ﻟ ْﻢ ﻟ
There are four harf that can be used to negate a fil: ﻦ َ َ
ﻣﺎ:
- ﻣﺎ ﻧﺎﻓﻴﺔ
- Can be used with both past and present tense.
- Does not affect the ِﻓﻌﻞ.
- Includes both negation and refutation.
- Strongest form of negation
ﻻ:
- ﻻ ﻧﺎﻓﻴﺔ
- Used with present tense only
- Does not affect the ﻓِﻌﻞ.
- Does not include meaning of refutation.
ﻟَ ْﻢ:
ْ ﻟ:
ﻦ َ
- ﺣﺮف ﻧﺎﺻﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﻀﺎرع
- Used with present tense only
- Makes the ﻓِﻌﻞlight
- Pushes the meaning of the present tense into the future tense.
- Does not include meaning of refutation.
Examples:
ﻣﺎ د ّ َرﺳﻮا They do not ﻮن ﻣﺎ ﻳﺪرﺳ
ُ َ َ ُ ِّ َ ُ ْ ﻟ
ﻦ ﻳ َﺪ ِّرﺳﻮا
They did not They will not
ُ ُ َ
ﻟَ ْﻢ ﻳ َﺪ ِّرﺳﻮا ﻻ ﻳ َﺪ ِّرﺳﻮن
teach. teach. teach
ُ ُ َ ُ ُ
َ ﻈَﺎﻟِ ِﻤ
ﲔ ّ ﺐ اﻟ
ُ ّ اﷲ ُ َﻻ ﻳ ُ ِﺤ
َ ّ َوAnd Allah does not like the wrong-doers. (3:140)
ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ
ﲔ
َ ِ ﻨ ﻣ
ِ ﺆ ُ ﻢ ِّﻣﻦ اﻟ ُﻤ ُ ْﻢ و َﻧﻤﻨَﻌ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮا أَﻟَ ْﻢ َ ْﺴﺘﺤ ِﻮذ ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴDid we not gain the advantage over you,
َ َ َ َ
and did we not protect you from the believers? (4:141)
ﺴﻨَﺎ اﻟﻨَّﺎر
َ ّ َﻗﺎﻟُﻮا ﻟَﻦ َﺗ َﻤThey said, “The fire will not touch us…” (3:24)
ُ
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. True or False: When forbidding you only use the present tense in third
person
2. True or False: The command for the أﺳﻠﻢfamily always has a fatha َ
ْ
4. Convert to forbidding: _________________________ َﺗﻘﺘﻠ ُ ْﻮن
َ ُ
ْ
ْ ______________________
5. Convert to commanding: ﺴﺠ ِﺪﻳﻦ
َ َ ُ
IN-SESSION
DISCUSSION POINTS
1. True or False: For commanding and forbidding use the 3rd person lightest
present tense
ْ
3. Translate to English: ______________________________ ﻻ ﻳﺪرﺳ ْﻮن
َ ُ ُ َ
ْ
4. Translate to English: _______________________________ ﻣﺎ َﻧﻜﺘﺐ
ُ ُ
5. Translate to Arabic: Ask for forgiveness (all of you)! ___________________
IN-SESSION ACTIVITIES
Convert the following to forbidding and translate your answer.
ْ
1. ﲔ
َ ﺗ ُ َﻌ ِّﻠ ِﻤ
ْ
2. ﺒﺎن
ِ َ َﺗ
ﻫ ﺬ
ْ
3. َ ْﺴﺄَﻟ َ ُﻤﺎ
2. ﻋ ِّﻠ ِﻤ ْﻲ
َ
ْ
3. ﻜ ّﻠَﻤﻦ َ َﺗ
َ
© 2014 Bayyinah Institute Page 151
Arabic with Husna – Nahw Textbook
ْ
4. ِاذ َﻫﺒﺎ
ْ
ِ اُﻛﺘ ُ ِﺒ ْﻲ
5. ﻛﺘﺎ ًﺑﺎ
ْ
6. ِ أَﻧ ِﺬ ْر
ْ
7. ﺳﺎﻋﺪ َﻧﻨﺎِ
ْ
8. ﻋ ِّﻠﻤﻨﺎ
َ
9. َﻧ ِ ّﺰﻟ ُ ْﻮﻫﺎ
ْ
10. أَﻧ ِﺬ ِر ْ ِ ﻤﺎ
Translate the following phrases then convert into commanding and forbidding. An example has been done for
you.
Word Translation Commanding Forbidding
1. َ ْﺴﺠ ِﺪ ْﻳﻦ
َ ُ
2. ﻻن ْ
ِ َﺗ ُﻘﻮ
ْ ْ
3. َﺗﻌﻤﻠﻦ
َ َ
ِّ ﺗ
ُ َُ
4.
5. ﺪ ْون ﺗﺠ
َ ُ ِ َ
ْ
6. ﺤﺎن
ِ ﻠ
ِ ﻔ ُﺗ
For the highlighted fi’ls indicate if they are past, present, commanding or forbidding. If they are present tense
indicate if they are normal, light or lightest. Indicate who the doer of the fil is. An example has been done for
ْ
)you. (18:30-32
ً ْ ْ ً ْ ْ
ﻄﻴﻊ ﻣ ِﻌﻲ ﺻﱪا ﴿﴾٦٧ ﻋ ِّﻠﻤﺖ رﺷﺪا ﴿ ﴾٦٦ﻗﺎل إﻧﻚ ﻟﻦ ﺴﺘ
َ َ ِ َّ َ َ َ َ ِ َ َ َ َ َ ُ ﻦ ِﻣ ّ َﻤﺎ ُﻚ َﻋ َ ٰ أَن ﺗ ُ َﻌ ِّﻠ َﻤ ِ ﺎل َ ُﻣُﻮ َ ٰ َﻫﻞ أ َ ّ َﺗ ِﺒ ُﻌ َ
َﻗ َ
ْ ْ ْ
ﺎلﻚ أَﻣ ًﺮا ﴿َ ﴾٦٩ﻗ َ
ْ
ﺎﺑ ًﺮا َو َﻻ أَﻋ ِﺼﻲ ﻟَ َ اﷲ ُ َﺻ ِﺎء ّ َ ﺪ ِ ِإن َﺷ ُ ﺎل ﺳﺘ ِﺠ َ ﻒ َﺗ ْﺼ ِﱪ ُﻋ َ ٰ ﻣﺎ ﻟَ ْﻢ ﺗ ُ ِﺤﻂ ِﺑ ِﻪ ﺧُﱪا ﴿َ ﴾٦٨ﻗ
ً وﻛ ْ
ﻴ
َ َ َ
َ َ َ َ َ
ْ ْ ﻓﺈن اﺗﺒ ْﻌﺘﻨﻲ ﻓﻼ ْﺴﺄﻟْﻨﻲ ﻋﻦ ْ ء ﺣﺘﻰ أ ْ
اﻟﺴ ِﻔﻴﻨَ ِﺔ ﰲ ﺎﺒ ﻛ
ِ ر
َ َ َ َّ ِ َ َ َ ِ َّا ذ إ ﻰ ٰ ﺘ ﺣ ﺎﻘﻠ ﻄ
َ ﺎﻧ َ ﴿﴾٧٠ﻓ ا ﺮ ً ﻛ ذ
ِ ُ ﻪ ﻨ ﻣِ ﻚ ﻟ
َ َ َ ث ﺪ
ِ ﺣ َ ِ ِ َّ َ ِ َ َ َ َ ِ َ َ ٍ َ َّ ٰ ُ
َ
ْ ْ ْ ْ ﺧﺮﻗﻬﺎۖ ﻗﺎل أﺧﺮ ْﻗ ﺎ ﻟﺘ ْ ق أ ْﻫﻠﻬﺎ ﻟﻘ ْﺪ ﺟ ْﺌﺖ ﺷ ْﻴ ًﺌﺎ إ ْ
ً
ﻄﻴﻊ ﻣ ِﻌﻲ ﺻﱪا ﴿﴾٧٢ ِ ﻚ ﻟَﻦ َﺴﺘ ﻧ إ ﻞ ﻗَ أ ﻢ ﻟَ أ ﺎل ﻗ ﴿﴾٧١ ا ﺮً ﻣ
َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ ِ َّ َ ِ َ َ ََ َ َ َ َ َ ََ ُِ ِ َ َ ََ ََ ِ َ َ
ْ
.1وﻣﺎ َﺸ ُ ون
ُ َ َ َ
.2وﻣﺎ ﻗﺘﻠﻮه وﻣﺎ ﺻﻠﺒﻮه
َ َ ََ ُ َُ َ َ َ ُ ُ
ﻈَﺎﻟِ ِﻤ َ
ﲔ ﺐ اﻟ ّ اﷲ ُ َﻻ ﻳ ُ ِﺤ ّ ُ
َ .3و ّ َ
ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ
ﲔ
ﻦ اﻟ ُﻤ ِ ِ َ
ﻨ ﻣ ﺆ ﻢ ِﻣ ُ ْﻢ و َﻧﻤﻨَﻌ َ .4ﻗﺎﻟُﻮا أ َﻟَ ْﻢ َ ْﺴﺘﺤ ِﻮذ ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ
ُ ّ َ َ َ َ
ﺴﻨَﺎ اﻟﻨَّﺎر َ .5ﻗﺎﻟُﻮا ﻟَﻦ َﺗ َﻤ ّ َ
ُ
ْ ْ
اﷲ و َﻻ ُ ِ ﻛُﻮا ِﺑ ِﻪ َﺷ ْﻴ ًﺌﺎ َ ّ ﺪوا
ُ .6واﻋﺒ
َ َ َ ُ
© 2014 Bayyinah Institute Page 153
Arabic with Husna – Nahw Textbook
ْ
ﻨﺬ ْر ُ ْ َﻻ ﻳﺆ ِﻣﻨُﻮن ﻧﺬ ْر َ ْﻢ أ َ ْم ﻟَ ْﻢ ﺗ ﻛ َﻔﺮوا ﺳﻮاءٌ ﻋ َﻠ ْ ِ ْﻢ أَأ .7إن ا ّ َ ﻳﻦ
َ ُ ِ ُ ُ َ َ ِ َّ ِ َ َ ُ َ َ َ
ْ ْ
.8ﻓ َ ِﺈن ﻟّ َ ْﻢ َﺗﻔﻌﻠُﻮا وﻟَﻦ َﺗﻔﻌﻠُﻮا
َ َ َ