حَضَرَ attend in Arabic
حَضَرَ is how you say “attend” in Arabic.
Root ح ض ر ḥ-ḍ-r. verb (form I). ḥaḍara.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of attend in Arabic
- to be present, to attend the direct opposite of غَابَ 'to be absent'; used for attending a gathering, a court, or a person
- to arrive, come used tropically of a time or event, e.g. the time of prayer arriving
- to dwell in settled, cultivated land opposite of living as a nomad in the desert
- to befall one, occur to the mind e.g. anxiety 'coming upon' someone, or a thought 'presenting itself'
Example sentence
وهذا أمر لم يحضره إلا أنا وصفوان فوالله لأعلم ما أتاك به إلا الله،
And this is a matter witnessed only by me and Safwan, and by Allah, I know that it was none but Allah who brought it to you,
يَحْضُرْهُ witnessed it
Present-form verb 'be present at, witness', shortened after 'lam' so it means past 'did not witness'; the ending '-hu' adds 'it'.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
حَضَرَ is the everyday word for physical presence and attendance, but it also stretches tropically: a time can 'arrive' (حَضَرَ), a worry or thought can 'come upon' someone, and a person can be 'visited' by death. Its inf. n. حَضَارَة, tied to the sense of dwelling in settled, cultivated land rather than the desert, is the source of the modern word for 'civilization'.
Words from the same root
- حَاضِرٌ present, in attendance
- حَضَارَةٌ settled or civilized life
- حَضَرِىٌّ a townsman, settled dweller
- أَحْضَرَ to bring, cause to be present
- مُحَاضَرَةٌ witnessing something, or answering readily
More example sentences
فَهِيَ تَتَنَاوَلُ مَا يَدْعُوهَا إِلَيْهِ الطَّبْعُ مِنَ الْغِذَاءِ إِذَا حَضَرَ
They consume what their nature calls them to when food is present.
حَضَرَ is present
Past-tense in form, but inside this 'when' clause it reads as a general 'whenever it is at hand'; the subject ('it', food) is built in.
فلما حضر قال للأعرابي ما شكواك؟
When he appeared, he asked the Bedouin: What is your complaint?
حَضَرَ he appeared
Past-tense 'he appeared, was present', the 'he' subject inside. It is the verb of the 'when' clause, the event whose completion sets the timing for the main clause that follows.
وكثرة الإلحاح على مولاك بكل دعاء مأثور تستحضره أو غير مأثور ،
And persistent supplication to your Lord with every remembered or unremembered prayer,
تَسْتَحْضِرُهُ you bring it to mind
This is a present-tense verb 'you bring to mind' with the attached -hu 'it' as its object, so one word means 'you recall it'. The 'you' is built into the verb, addressing a single male, and the -hu points back to the supplication; the clause describes that prayer.
لَمَّا حَضَرَ إِلَى وَاسِطِ جَمْعِ النَّاسِ،
When he arrived in Wasit for the gathering of the people,
حَضَرَ he arrived
A past verb 'arrived/attended', carrying its own 'he' subject inferred from context. It heads the 'when he arrived …' clause completed by the place-phrase that follows.
وَأَرْسَلَتْ إِلَى عَمِّهَا عَمْرُو بْنِ أَسَدٍ لِيُزَوِّجَهَا فَحَضَرَ،
She sent to her uncle Amr ibn Asad to have him marry her, and he came.
فَحَضَرَ and he came
The connector fa- ('then/so') fused to a past-tense verb ('came/was present'), third-person masculine with its 'he' subject built in. The fa- marks his coming as the result of being summoned, chaining the events.
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.
حَضَرَ he attended
A past-tense verb ('attended/was present'), third-person masculine singular with its 'he' subject built in. It is the predicate of the reported 'that'-clause, stating what Abu Talib did: he attended.
وآخر منهم إن حضر في ختمة أو تلا في محراب جعل ديدنه إحضار غرائب الوجوه والسكت،
Another of them, when present at a completion or when reciting in the prayer niche, made it his habit to produce strange facial expressions and to remain silent.
حَضَرَ was present
A past-tense verb 'was present/attended' with a built-in 'he' subject in its form, no separate pronoun. Standing right after 'if', it is the condition being supposed - 'if he was present'. Arabic uses the past shape after this conditional even though the sense is a general 'whenever he attends'.
Common questions
- How do you say "attend" in Arabic?
- حَضَرَ (ḥaḍara) — literally 'to be present'; used for attending a gathering, a lecture, or a court.
- What is the difference between حَضَرَ and حَاضَرَ?
- حَضَرَ (Form I) means to be present or to attend; حَاضَرَ (Form III) means to witness something with one's own eyes, or to contend and debate with someone in front of an authority.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).