تَسْأَلَهُask him

Example sentences

• وَتَأْتِي الْمَرْأَةُ لِتَسْأَلَهُ وَتَقُولُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ،

  And the woman comes to ask him and says, 'O Messenger of God,'

  لِتَسْأَلَهُ — to ask him. The prefix li- ('to') fused onto a present-tense verb, with -hu ('him') as its object. Here li- marks purpose and pushes the verb into its subjunctive shape, so it means 'in order to ask him'. So the prefix both gives the reason for coming and changes the verb's ending; the -hu names whom she asks.

  From: How the Companions Preserved Hadith →