Arabic vocabulary
سَأَلَask
How to say “ask” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
إذا داهمك خاطرٌ يجرّك إلى رياءٍ أو عُجب، اسأله بهدوء هل يزيدني قربًا أم يصنع لي تمثالًا من دخان
If a thought comes to you that leads you to vanity or conceit, ask it calmly: does it bring me closer, or does it create a statue of smoke?
اِسْأَلْهُ — ask! it. Command 'is'al' = 'ask!'; '-hu' = 'it', so 'ask it'.
From: On Sincerity →قَالَ فسلني الْفِدَاء
He said, 'Ask me for the ransom.'
فَسَلْنِي — ask me. 'fa-' = 'so, then'; command 'sal' = 'ask!'; '-ni' = 'me', so 'so ask me'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →اجعل للصبحِ والمساءِ وِردًا من الأذكارِ المأثورة، واقرأه بمهلٍ وفهم، ثم اسأل نفسَك ماذا تغيّر؟
Make for the morning and evening a habitual recitation from established remembrances, read it with care and understanding, then ask yourself: what has changed?
اسْأَلْ — ask. A command, 'ask!', bare imperative. It governs an object — whom to ask, next.
From: Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart →فإذا قال ﴿إياك نعبد، وإياك نستعين﴾ قال هذه الآية، بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، ولعبدي ما سأل،
When he says: "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help," He says: "This verse is between Me and My servant in halves, and for My servant is what he asked,"
سَأَلَ — he asked. Past 'he asked', subject 'he' (the servant) inside — closing 'what he asked for'.
From: The Opening Chapter →قال هؤلاء لعبدي، ولعبدي ما سأل
He says: 'These are for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked.'
سَأَلَ — he asked. Past 'he asked', subject 'he' inside.
From: The Opening Chapter →فإذا قال ﴿إياك نعبد، وإياك نستعين﴾ قال هذه الآية، بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، ولعبدي ما سأل،
So when he says: 'You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,' He says: 'This verse is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is what he asked for.'
سَأَلَ — he asked for. Past 'he asked', subject 'he' (the servant) inside — closing 'what he asked for'.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →قال هؤلاء لعبدي، ولعبدي ما سأل١١
He says: 'These are for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked for.'
سَأَلَ — he asked. Past 'he asked', subject 'he' inside.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →فلا يكتفي بصحَّةِ الإجراء، بل يسأل هل يُحصِّلُ المقصد؟
it is not enough to verify the correctness of the procedure; rather, one asks: does it achieve the objective?
يَسْأَلُ — he asks. 'he asks,' introducing the deeper question he poses instead. The question itself — does it reach the objective? — follows, opened by the question-marker next.
From: Five Objectives of Islamic Law →فسأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض،
He asked about the most knowledgeable person on Earth.
فَسَأَلَ — So he asked. This is 'so' plus a past verb 'asked', subject 'he' inside. It pairs with the preposition next, since 'ask ABOUT' takes its topic through that little word. The doer is sealed in the verb.
From: Righteous Company →ثم سأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض،
Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on Earth.
سَأَلَ — he asked. A past verb 'asked', subject 'he' inside, repeating his earlier inquiry. It pairs with the preposition next ('ask about'). The doer is sealed in the verb.
From: Righteous Company →فيسألهم ربهم وهو أعلم ما يقول عبادي؟
Their Lord asks them – and He knows best: What do My servants say?
فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ — asks them. This is 'so' plus a present verb 'asks' with '-hum' = 'them' — 'so He asks them', God questioning the angels. Verb, subject (He), and object ride in one word. Its subject is named next for clarity.
From: Where Angels Gather →فيقول فماذا يسألون؟
He says: What do they ask for?
يَسْأَلُونَ — they ask for. A present verb 'ask / request', sound masculine plural ('-una' = 'they') — 'what do they ask for?'. The subject 'they' is in the verb.
From: Where Angels Gather →فليستعن العبد بربه، وليسأله التوفيق، وليصبر على تكاليف الشرع، فإن العاقبة له
Let the servant seek assistance from his Lord, ask Him for guidance, and be patient with the duties of the law, for the outcome is in his favor.
وَلِيَسْأَلْهُ — and ask Him. The connector 'and' fused to a third-person command, 'and let him ask Him', with the object 'Him' attached. The command-marker shortens the verb's ending, and the attached pronoun is God; the verb then takes a further object next.
From: Facing God's Tests →ثم قال اللهم إني أسألك كما سألك إبراهيم وإسماعيل، فاجعل أفئدة من الناس تهوي إليهم
Then he said: O Allah, I ask you as Ibrahim and Ismail asked you, so direct the hearts of the people towards them.
أَسْأَلُكَ — I ask you. A present-tense verb 'I ask' with 'I' built in and the attached -ka 'you' as its object, addressing God; the verb mounts both subject and object as affixes.
From: Bedouin Manners →ثم قال اللهم إني أسألك كما سألك إبراهيم وإسماعيل، فاجعل أفئدة من الناس تهوي إليهم
Then he said: O Allah, I ask you as Ibrahim and Ismail asked you, so direct the hearts of the people towards them.
سَأَلَكَ — asked you. A past verb 'asked' with the attached -ka 'you' as its object; its built-in 'he' subject is filled out by the two named prophets that follow as its joint doers.
From: Bedouin Manners →فلما نزل سألوه من أين جئت بهذا؟
When he came down, they asked him: Where did you get this?
سَأَلُوهُ — they asked him. This is a past-tense plural verb 'they asked' with the attached 'him' as its object. The plural-they doer is folded into the verb and the object pronoun is stuck on the end, so one word carries 'they asked him'. It is the main clause that the 'when' set up.
From: Justice in the Field →وسألتَني أن أختصره لك وأنتقي محاسنه،
You asked me to abridge it for you and to select its beauties.
وَسَأَلْتَنِي — and you asked me. The connector 'and' joined to a past-tense verb carrying both 'you' as subject and 'me' as object on the end, so one word holds 'and you asked me'. The two attached pronouns are how Arabic fits a full who-did-what-to-whom into a single verb.
From: Gaps in a Collection of Pious Lives →فإن سألت عن الناجين فهم الخائفون الحذر،
So if you ask about the survivors, they are the fearful and cautious ones,
سَأَلْتَ — you asked. A past-tense verb with a fused 'you' subject, here functioning as the condition's verb after 'if'. Although past in form, inside such a conditional it reads as a general 'should you ask', stating the supposed action whose answer follows.
From: Rain and God's Decree →وإن سألت عن الهالكين فقوم رضوا بالمياه الكدر،
And if you ask about the doomed, they are people who were content with murky waters,
سَأَلْتَ — you asked. A past-tense verb with a fused 'you' subject serving as the condition's verb after 'if'. Past in form, it reads inside the conditional as a general 'should you ask', stating the supposed action whose answer follows.
From: Rain and God's Decree →فَسَأَلْنَهَا فَقَالَتْ مَا قَالَ لِيَّ شَيْئًا،
So we asked her, and she said, 'He did not say anything to me.'
فَسَأَلْنَهَا — so we asked her. Two forces in one word: the fa- chains the clause with a light 'so', and the past verb carries both its 'we' subject and a 'her' object on its tail. So one word holds the link, the asking, the askers, and the woman asked.
From: Wives of the Prophet →فَسَأَلْنَاهَا فَقَالَتْ مَا قَالَ لِي شَيْئًا،
So we asked her, and she said he had not said anything to me.
فَسَأَلْنَاهَا — so we asked her. Two forces in one word: the fa- chains the clause with a light 'so', and the past verb carries both its 'we' subject and a 'her' object on its tail. So one word holds the link, the asking, the askers, and the woman asked.
From: Wives of the Prophet →فَسَأَلَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالُوا خَرَجَ وَوَجَّهَ هَا هُنَا،
Then he asked about the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and they said, "He went out and headed this way."
فَسَأَلَ — then he asked. The fa- ('then') advances the action; the verb is a past 'he asked' with its doer built in. It sets the next narrative step.
From: Three Companions Promised Paradise →فَمَرَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ آيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ،
Then Abu Bakr passed by, and I asked him about a verse from the Book of Allah.
فَسَأَلْتُهُ — so I asked him. This starts with the connector 'so/then', then is a past verb that packs in both the 'I' subject and the 'him' object, so one word equals 'so I asked him'. The 'fa-' ties the asking to Abu Bakr's passing as the next move. Arabic routinely loads subject and object pronouns onto a single verb like this.
From: Generosity to the Poor →مَا سَأَلْتُهُ إِلَّا لِيَشْبِعَنِي،
I asked him only so that he would satisfy me.
سَأَلْتُهُ — I asked him. A past verb carrying both 'I' (subject) and 'him' (object) in one word. It sits inside the 'nothing-but' frame, so the asking is the single thing being affirmed. Arabic's habit of stacking subject and object onto the verb is why one word covers 'I asked him'.
From: Generosity to the Poor →
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