عَمَل actions in Arabic
عَمَل is how you say “actions” in Arabic.
Root ع م ل ʿ-m-l. noun (verbal noun / maṣdar). ʿamal.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of actions in Arabic
- work, labor, or service performed the basic sense of the verb ʿamila (عَمِلَ), 'he worked, wrought, laboured, or served'
- an action, deed, or thing done used broadly for doing, acting, or performing — e.g. acting according to a command, or striving toward an end
- making, manufacturing, or constructing something
Example sentence
فَأقر لَهُ بِالْجَهْلِ فِي علمه، والآفات فِي عمله، والعيوب فِي نَفسه، والتفريط فِي حَقه، وَالظُّلم فِي مُعَامَلَته
So he acknowledges his ignorance in his knowledge, the flaws in his actions, the defects in his self, his negligence in his duty, and the injustice in his dealings.
عَمَلِهِ his actions
amal means 'work, action'; the ending '-hi' adds 'his' — 'his action'.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
ʿamal is the verbal noun of ʿamila, 'to work/act/do,' and covers everything from manual labor and craftsmanship to any deed or action performed — including, in the excerpt, acting according to what is enjoined in scripture, so it carries both a practical and a moral-religious sense of 'deed.'
Words from the same root
- عَمِلَ to work, labour, serve, do, act, or perform (form I verb)
- عَمَّلَ to appoint someone as governor over a place; to pay someone wages for work (form II)
- عَامَلَ to deal or transact business with someone, as in buying and selling (form III)
- أَعْمَلَ to make someone work; to employ or use something, e.g. one's judgment, an implement, or the tongue (form IV)
- تَعَمَّلَ to toil, strive, or endure fatigue and difficulty in labor (form V)
- عَامِلٌ the working part of an implement, e.g. the blade-end of a spear used for thrusting
More example sentences
ومع كل فجرٍ جديد، اجعل نيتك أوّل عملك، وابتسم سرًّا حين تنتصر على نفسك في أمر صغير؛
With each new dawn, make your intention your first action, and smile secretly when you overcome yourself in a small matter.
عَمَلِكَ your action
'amal' = 'deed, action'; '-ka' = 'your', so 'the first of your action(s)'.
يَقُول كل توجه إِلَى الله وَحده بقول أَو عمل فَهُوَ تَوْحِيد
He says that every orientation to Allah alone, whether by word or action, is monotheism.
عَمَلٍ action
'a deed', genitive after 'bi-' carried across the 'or', indefinite. The second channel of orientation alongside speech.
فهي ليستْ لفظًا مُنفردًا، بل جملةٌ مُقدَّرة معناها أبدأ عملي باسمِ الله، فأربطُ الفعلَ بالرّب
it is not an isolated utterance, but an implicit sentence meaning: I begin my action in the name of Allah, thus linking the act to the Lord.
عَمَلِي my action
'my action' — 'amal' with 'my' attached, the object of 'I begin'. The suffix marks possession with no separate 'my'.
واستحضارًا للعملِ يَضبطُ الجوارح
and mindfulness of action that controls the limbs.
لِلْعَمَلِ for the action
'of, for the deed' — 'li' tying the mindfulness to its object, governing the definite genitive. It says what one keeps in view: the act itself.
ميزانُه واضح معنى مُحْكَم وجملةٌ تامّة تشُدُّ القلبَ والعملَ معًا
Its scale is clear: a firm meaning and a complete sentence that ties the heart and the actions together.
وَالعَمَلَ and the actions
'and the deed', second accusative object joined by 'wa'. Heart and deed fastened together is the whole point.
لذلك وُضِعَتِ التسميةُ في مواضعَ ثابتة على الطعام، وعند الدخول والخروج، وعلى السكين والقلم ولوحة المفاتيح؛ لتتعلّم أنّ العملَ يبدأ بالله وينتهي إليه
Thus, naming was placed in fixed locations: over food, when entering and exiting, over the knife, pen, and keyboard; to teach that every action begins with Allah and ends with Him.
العَمَلَ action
'the deed', accusative because 'anna' puts its subject in that case — 'that the deed...'. So the ending here is driven by 'anna', not a verb.
تُعرَض عليه الأعمال يوم القيامة لا كأرقام جافّة، بل كصورٍ ومعانٍ حية لها ثِقَلٌ وحضور
Actions are presented on it on the Day of Judgment not as dry numbers, but as living images and meanings with weight and presence.
الْأَعْمَالُ actions
'the deeds', the subject of the passive 'are displayed', nominative. al- makes it deeds in general; a broken plural treated as feminine, which is why the verb was feminine.
إن غلب نور عمله الصالح ثَقُلَت كفّته، فيُعرف مكانه في الجنّة بعمله كما يعرف أهل الجمعة منازلهم عند الانصراف
If the light of his righteous deeds prevails, his balance becomes heavy, and his place in paradise is known by his deeds, just as those who attend Friday prayers know their homes upon leaving.
عَمَلِهِ of his deeds
'his deed' — 'amal' with 'his' attached, genitive owner of 'the light'. The 'his' points to the believer.
إن غلب نور عمله الصالح ثَقُلَت كفّته، فيُعرف مكانه في الجنّة بعمله كما يعرف أهل الجمعة منازلهم عند الانصراف
If the light of his righteous deeds prevails, his balance becomes heavy, and his place in paradise is known by his deeds, just as those who attend Friday prayers know their homes upon leaving.
بِعَمَلِهِ by his deeds
'by his deed' — 'bi' of means plus 'deed' plus 'his'. It says HOW his place is known: through what he did.
وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف
And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.
أَعْمَالُهُ his deeds
'his deeds' — 'a'mal' (broken plural of 'amal') with 'his' attached, fronted subject of a fresh verbless sentence, nominative. The 'his' points to that empty man.
فالحقّ يمنح العمل كثافةً تثبّته،
For truth grants density to the work, making it firm,
الْعَمَلَ to the work
'the deed', accusative as the first object — the recipient ('grants the deed...').
المعصيةُ تُثقب ثوبَ العمل كما تفعل العُثّةُ بالقطن؛
Sin pierces the garment of a deed like a moth does to cotton;
الْعَمَلِ of the work
Genitive owner of 'garment' — 'the deed'; sin eats holes in the fabric of one's work.
وأمّا المؤمن المختلطُ عملُه
As for the believer whose deeds are mixed:
عَمَلُهُ whose deeds
'his work', nominative — and here is the point: the participle 'mixed' raises this as ITS subject, so the phrase means 'the believer whose work is mixed'. An adjective governing a following noun.
عمل شاق إِنَّمَا هُوَ عمل قلب
It is not strenuous work; rather, it is the work of the heart.
عَمَلٌ work
An indefinite noun fronted as the topic, 'work'. Standing first and indefinite, it sets up a contrast the sentence will immediately overturn with 'rather, it is...'.
عمل شاق إِنَّمَا هُوَ عمل قلب
It is not strenuous work; rather, it is the work of the heart.
عَمَلُ the work of
This heads an 'of' pairing, 'the work of the heart', and serves as the predicate. Set bare before its partner, it drops any 'the' of its own and takes definiteness from 'the heart' that follows.
لَيْسَ هُوَ عملا بالجوارح يشق عَلَيْك معاناته
It is not an action of the limbs that causes you hardship in its endeavor.
عَمَلًا an action
The '-an' ending here is the signature of 'is not': laysa casts its predicate into the accusative, so 'work' shows '-an' instead of the subject ending. The case alone tells you this is what is being denied.
فَقَالَ إِنَّك إِن تضحك وَأَنت مقرّ بخطيئتك خير من أَن تبْكي وَأَنت مدل بعملك
He said, 'It is better for you to laugh while acknowledging your sins than to cry while boasting of your deeds.'
بِعَمَلِكَ in your deeds
With 'vaunting', this 'bi-' marks what one presumes upon, 'on the strength of your deeds', and 'your' is fused onto the noun. The genitive is forced by the preposition: pride leaning on one's own works.
وَإِن المدل لَا يصعد عمله فَوق رَأسه
Indeed, the boastful person's deeds do not rise above his head.
عَمَلُهُ his deeds
The delayed subject of 'rises', in the '-u' ending, with 'his' fused on. It is the deed of the vaunter, said to get no higher than his own head.
وَمَنْ أَبَطْأَ بِهِ عَمَلُهُ لَمْ يُسْرِعْ بِهِ نَسَبُهُ
And whoever is slowed by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage.
عَمَلُهُ his deeds
The -u ending shows this is the doer of 'slowed': a person's own deeds are what hold him back. The verb came first and only now names its subject, the normal sequence.
والتفكر في عجائبه والعمل بمحكمه والتسليم بمتشابهه
And contemplate its wonders, act on its clear commandments, and submit to its ambiguous ones.
وَالعَمَلِ and act
An action-noun, 'and the acting,' joined to the list. The next word, 'by,' will say what one acts upon; here the duty turns from thinking to doing.
إن الله لا ينظر إلى أجسادكم، ولا إلى صوركم، ولكن ينظر إلى قلوبكم وأعمالكم
Indeed, Allah does not look at your bodies, nor at your appearances, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.
وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ and your deeds
This is wa- (and) on 'deeds' with 'your (plural)' attached, completing the pair of things God regards. It keeps the same possessor and the same form as 'your hearts', the matching shape marking them as a linked pair.
وفي التعبير عن الأعمال بالسر لطيفة وهو أن الأعمال نتائج السرائر الباطنة
And there is a subtlety in expressing deeds in secrecy, as deeds are the results of hidden inner states.
الْأَعْمَالِ deeds
A plural noun made definite by al- (the), naming the deeds as a known category and governed in the genitive by the preposition before it. The al- marks deeds-in-general rather than specific ones.
وفي التعبير عن الأعمال بالسر لطيفة وهو أن الأعمال نتائج السرائر الباطنة
And there is a subtlety in expressing deeds in secrecy, as deeds are the results of hidden inner states.
الْأَعْمَالَ deeds
A plural definite noun in the object-style ending precisely because the 'that' before it requires its subject to take that ending. So although 'deeds' is the topic of the inner clause, its accusative-style ending is the grammatical signal that it sits under 'that'.
Common questions
- How do you say "actions" in Arabic?
- عَمَل (ʿamal) — literally 'work' or 'deed,' the verbal noun of ʿamila, 'to work, do, or act.'
- What does the verb عَمِلَ (ʿamila) mean?
- To work, labor, serve, do, act, or perform — and also to make, manufacture, or construct something.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).