أَبَاAbu

Example sentences

• فَقَالَ رَسُول الله يَا أَبَا بكر مَا ظَنك بِاثْنَيْنِ الله ثالثهما

  The Messenger of Allah said, 'O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two with whom Allah is the third?'

  أَبَا — Abu. The one called, 'father (of)', in the accusative because it heads an 'of' pairing — 'O father of Bakr'. A called-on word governing a following noun takes the accusative; this special noun shows it as a long '-a'.

  From: The Night of the Migration →

• إن كان عطاء بن يسار ليحدثنا أنا وأبا حازم حتى يبكينا ثم يحدثنا حتى يضحكنا،

  Indeed, Ata ibn Yasar would narrate to us, to Abu Hazim and me, until he made us cry, then he would narrate until he made us laugh,

  وَأَبَا — and Abu. The 'wa-' joins this name to the previous pronoun, continuing the list of who 'us' refers to. The name takes the accusative ending because it stands in apposition to the attached object 'us', which is itself accusative; it shares that object's case. Note this is the special form of 'Abu' used when it is not the subject.

  From: Stories That Soften the Heart →

• فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ مَا فَعَلَ أَسِيرُكَ الْبَارِحَةَ

  The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Abu Hurayrah, what did your captive do last night?"

  أَبَا — Abu. Part of the by-name 'father of...', here in its special vocative ending because it is being called out. It heads a possessive pairing with the name after it to form the kunya; the address ending is what marks it as the one spoken to.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• فَقَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، مَا فَعَلَ أَسِيرُكَ

  The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to me, O Abu Huraira, what has your captive done?

  أَبَا — Abu. Part of the by-name 'father of...', in its special vocative ending because it is being called out. It heads a possessive pairing with the name after it to form the kunya; the address ending marks it as the one spoken to.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبِيُ يَا أَبَا بَكْرِ

  So my father said to him, "O Abu Bakr."

  أَبَا — father. The 'father-of' element opening an address-title, here the first half of 'Abu Bakr' as it is called out. Because it is being addressed it takes the special long-vowel address ending rather than its plain form. It pairs with the following name as one 'of'-style appellation.

  From: A Night with the Prophet →

• فَلَاقَاهُمَا أَبُو جَهْلٍ فَقَالَ يَا أَبَا صَفْوَانَ،

  So Abu Jahl met them and said, "O Abu Safwan,"

  أَبَا — Abu. The 'father of' name-word as the one being addressed; after the call-particle it takes the object-style (accusative) 'Aba' form that vocative address gives it. It heads an 'of' pairing with the name next.

  From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →

• فَقَالَتْ لَهُ يَا أَبَا صَفْوَانَ وَقَدْ نَسِيتَ مَا قَالَ لَكَ أَخُوكَ الْيَثْرِبِيُّ

  She said to him, "O Abu Safwan, have you indeed forgotten what your brother the Yathribi told you?"

  أَبَا — Abu. A 'father of' name-word in address (vocative) mode after the call-particle; called this way it takes the object-style 'Aba' form. It heads an 'of' pairing with the name next.

  From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →

• اِحْبِسْ أَبَا سُفْيَانَ عِنْدَ حَطْمِ الْخَيْلِ

  Detain Abu Sufyan at Hatm al-Khayl.

  أَبَا — Abu. Literally 'father of', the lead half of the kunya, here in its object shape because it is the thing being commanded to detain. The special object ending on this kunya marks it as the target of the order before it.

  From: Conquest of Mecca Account →

• فَقَالَ سَعْدُ بْنُ عُبَادَةَ يَا أَبَا سُفْيَانَ

  Then Sa'd ibn 'Ubada said, "O Abu Sufyan."

  أَبِي — Abu. Literally 'father of', the lead half of the kunya, here in the address shape because it follows the call-particle 'O'. When 'O' is followed by a kunya like this, the leading noun takes a special ending; it marks Abu Sufyan as the one spoken to.

  From: Conquest of Mecca Account →

• قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الْعَبَّاسَ يَقُولُ لِلزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ الْعَوَّامِ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ،

  He said, "I heard al‑Abbas say to al‑Zubayr ibn al‑Awwam, O Abu Abd Allah,"

  أَبَا — Abu. Literally 'father of', the lead half of the kunya, here in the address shape after the call-particle 'O'. When 'O' is followed by a kunya like this, its leading noun takes a special ending; it opens the by-name of the man addressed.

  From: Conquest of Mecca Account →

• ثُمَّ لَحِقَ الْنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَبَا بَكْرٍ بِغَارٍ

  Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Abu Bakr took shelter in a cave.

  وَأَبُو — and Abu. This wa- IS the joining 'and', and it coordinates the second doer onto the subject, adding Abu Bakr alongside the Prophet as who took shelter. The word it rides is the lead half of his two-part name, 'father of ...', completed by the next word.

  From: The Secret Migration →

• قَالَ يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ تَعَالَ

  He said, "Come here, Abu Dharr."

  أَبَا — Abu. A by-name leader ('father of') in its direct-address shape, called out after the summoning particle. Its ending is the special vocative form Arabic uses for the one being addressed, and it heads the name to follow.

  From: Paradise for the Sincere →

• أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، كَانَ يَقُولُ آللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ

  Abu Hurayrah used to say, "Allah, there is no deity except Him."

  أَبَا — Abu. A by-name leader ('father of') held in the special object-style shape because the 'that' particle before it grips its noun. It heads the name and waits on the following piece to complete 'Abu Hurayrah'.

  From: Generosity to the Poor →

• قَالَ أَبَا هِرٍّ قُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

  Abu Hirr said, "At your service, O Messenger of God."

  أَبَا — Abu. First part of the 'father-of' name, here in the address form because the narrator is being called by name. It pairs with the following word as one title. The address-form vowel marks it as a noun spoken to.

  From: Generosity to the Poor →

• قَالَ يَا أَبَا هِرٍّ قُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

  He said, "O Aba Hirr." I replied, "I respond to you, O Messenger of God."

  أَبَا — Aba. The first part of the 'father-of' name in its address form because the narrator is being called. It pairs with the next word as one title. The address-form vowel marks it as a noun spoken to.

  From: Generosity to the Poor →

• فَقَالَ أَبَا هِرَةٍ قُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

  Then he said, "O Abu Hirah!" I said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allah."

  أَبِي — Abu. The first part of the 'father-of' name (a kunya), used here as a name of address; it pairs with the following word as one title. The 'father of' style is a respectful Arabic naming convention. It is the noun the Prophet calls out.

  From: Generosity to the Poor →

• فَانْطَلَقَ وَانْطَلَقْتُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ حَتَّى جِئْتُ أَبَا طَلْحَةَ،

  So he set off, and I moved among them until I reached Abu Talha.

  أَبَا — to Abu. The 'Abu (father of)' element as the object reached, front of an 'X of Y' name-pair leaning on 'Talhah'. Here it shows the object ('-aa') shape, marking him as the one the narrator came to.

  From: The Barley Loaf That Fed Eighty →

• فَقَالَ لِي يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ أَمَّا عَلِمْتَ أَنِّي لَا أَخَافُ مِنَ الْعَصَا وَلَا مِنَ الأَسْلِحَةِ

  So he said to me, "O Abu Sa'id, did you not know that I do not fear the stick or the weapons?"

  أَبَا — father of. A word for 'father of', the first element of an 'Abu so-and-so' name, here in its vocative shape because it is the one being addressed. It heads a pairing with the name that follows. Arabic puts the first part of such a name into a special form when calling out to the person.

  From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →

• وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّ أَبَا طَالِبٍ حَضَرَ الْعَقْدَ وَمَعَهُ بَنُو مُضَرٍ،

  Some scholars reported that Abu Talib attended the marriage contract accompanied by the Banu Mudar.

  أَبَا — Abu. The first part of a kunya ('father of'), here in the accusative because the particle 'that' grips it as the subject of the reported clause. It heads an 'of' pairing with the next word to form the name 'Abu Talib'.

  From: The Prophet's Marriage to Khadijah →

• حَتَّى لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ أَبَا سُفْيَانِ وَثَبَ عَلَى جَمَلٍ لَهُ مَعْقُولٌ

  I even saw Abu Sufyan leap onto his tied camel.

  أَبَا — Abu. This is the first half of a personal name, literally 'father of', so it leans on the following name to be complete, and it stands as the object of 'saw' with the object ending. Expect the next word to finish the name. Arabic builds such names as a possessive-style pair.

  From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →