كَأَنَّas if

Example sentences

• لا تُحاور كسلك كما لو كان قدرًا؛ عامله كعضلةٍ تُدرَّب

  Do not treat your laziness as if it were destiny; treat it as a muscle to be trained.

  كَأَنَّهُ — as if it were. 'ka-anna' = 'as if'; '-hu' = 'it', so 'as if it'.

  From: On Sincerity →

• قلت نكون عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يذكرنا بالجنة والنار كأنا رأي عين،

  I said: 'When we are with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he reminds us of Paradise and Hell as if we see them with our own eyes.'

  كَأَنَّا — as if we. This is the 'as if' particle with attached 'we' — 'as if we...'. Like its 'inna' family it grips its subject pronoun in the accusative. It opens a vivid comparison: their certainty is as though they could see.

  From: Devotion and Daily Life →

• قلت يا رسول الله نكون عندك تذكرنا بالنار والجنة كأنا رأي العين،

  I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you remind us of Hell and Paradise as if we see them with our own eyes.'

  كَأَنَّا — as if we. The 'as if' particle with attached 'we' — 'as if we...'. It grips its subject pronoun in the accusative, opening the vivid comparison of certainty to eyesight.

  From: Devotion and Daily Life →

• وإذا أدبر كأن النار فوق رأسه،

  And when he turned away, it was as if a fire were above his head.

  كَأَنَّ — as if. This is the 'as if' simile particle, and like its family it forces the object form on the noun that follows. It opens another vivid comparison for how he appeared.

  From: Grief of the Prophet's Grandson →

• كَأَنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنْ كَانَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ تَلَاقِيَهُمْ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ

  It is as if he is saying that if you had power over them to cast them into disobedience to God.

  كَأَنَّهُ — as if he. A likeness-particle ('as if') built on the emphatic 'that', with '-hu' ('he') fused on, so it means 'as if he'. It opens a comparison-clause and, by its 'that' core, takes the attached pronoun as its subject. It frames what follows as a paraphrase of Iblis's implied meaning.

  From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →

• فَكَأَنَّهُ قَالَ تَعَالَى يَا اِبْنَ آدَمَ أَنَا الأَوَّلُ

  It is as if the Exalted said, "O son of Adam, I am the First."

  فَكَأَنَّهُ — so as if he. A dense little word: fa- 'so', the comparison-word ka-anna 'as if', and a 'he' fused on the end as its subject. The ka-anna sets up a likeness, framing what follows as 'it is as though He said'. The attached 'he' is the one the imagined speech is put into the mouth of.

  From: The Four Inner Guards →

• كَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ أَخْبَارًا مِنْ مَضَى

  It is as if you had not heard news of those who have passed.

  كَأَنَّكَ — as if you. A comparison-particle meaning 'as if', with the suffix -ka ('you', male) attached to it, so it reads 'as if you'. It sets up an unreal likeness, framing the whole sentence as a hypothetical: you act as though something untrue were the case. The attached 'you' is its subject.

  From: Vigilance Against Worldly Deception →

• قَالَ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّك تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاك

  He said: 'It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.'

  كَأَنَّكَ — as if you. A comparison particle 'as if' braced with an attached '-you'. It sets up a vivid likeness, treating the worship as though one actually sees God, and the particle puts the attached pronoun in the accusative as its subject. So one word both opens the simile and supplies its 'you'.

  From: When Gabriel Came to Teach →