كَانُواbe

Example sentences

• قال يقولون لو رأوك كانوا أشد لك عبادة، وأشد لك تمجيدًا، وأكثر لك تسبيحًا

  They say: If they saw You, they would be more devout in worship, more devoted in glorifying, and more frequent in praising.

  كَانُوا — they would be. This is 'to be' with '-u' = 'they', here the result-limb of the counterfactual — 'they WOULD be...'. Its predicate, an elative, comes next in the accusative, as 'be'-verbs require.

  From: Where Angels Gather →

• وَتَضَيَّقَ سَبِيلًا مَا زَالَ مُتَّسِعًا فَفَرَّقَ الأَكْثَرُونَ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيعًا

  And a path that had remained wide became narrow, so the majority divided their religion and became sects.

  وَكَانُوا — and were. A past-tense 'became/were' verb carrying 'they' in its ending, opened by the attached 'and'. This is a state verb that needs a following predicate to complete it, set up by the 'and' linking back.

  From: Finding the Prophet's Way →

• بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

  with the best of what they used to do

  كَانُوا — they used to be. The past-tense 'to be', here a habit-opener rather than a claim of existence. Paired with the present verb after it, it builds a 'they used to...' frame, placing repeated past action in time. Its job is to time-stamp the deeds as an ongoing past practice.

  From: Mothers and the Companions →

• وَكَانُوا أَحْرَصَ شَيْءٍ عَلَى الْخَيْرِ

  They were most eager for good.

  وَكَانُوا — and were. The wa- here is the chaining 'and' that opens the sentence by tying it to the surrounding account, glued to a past-tense verb whose ending already carries 'they'. The prefix links the clause; the plural verb-ending names the people without a separate pronoun.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• ـ وَكَانُوا خَمْسِينَ رَجُلًا ـ

  There were fifty men.

  وَكَانُوا — and they were. A connector 'and' prefixed to a 'was/were' verb whose '-u' ending makes the subject a plural 'they'. This kind of verb opens a description, with the words after it telling what they amounted to; English often leaves the linking 'and' untranslated here.

  From: A Companion at Battle →

• فَخَانَتْهُمْ أَحْرَصَ مَا كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا،

  So the very thing they had been most eager for betrayed them.

  كَانُوا — they were. The past-tense 'to be' verb with the -u 'they' ending, 'they were'. It sets up a past ongoing state, 'they used to be eager', over which the betrayal then strikes. Such 'to be' verbs frame the background situation against which the main event lands.

  From: Ignoring God's Guidance →

• وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمْ أَسْبَابُهَا أَحْوَجُ مَا كَانُوا إِلَيْهَا،

  And its ties were cut off from them at the very time they needed it most.

  كَانُوا — they were. The past-tense 'to be' verb with the -u 'they' ending, 'they were', setting the past ongoing state of needing against which the ties snapped. As a framing 'to be', it builds the background, 'they used to be in need', for the main blow.

  From: Ignoring God's Guidance →

• وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ

  And they were certain of Our signs.

  وَكَانُوا — and they were. wa- links this onto the prior verse, and the rest is the verb 'were' carrying a built-in 'they' plural. This 'was/were' verb sets up an ongoing state that the verb later in the sentence completes.

  From: Patience and God's Help →

• فَإِنَّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَانُوا يَقُرُّونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَالِقُهُمْ وَرَازِقُهُمْ وَهُمْ يَعْبُدُونَ غَيْرَهُ

  The polytheists acknowledged that God was their Creator and Provider, yet they worshipped others besides Him.

  كَانُوا — they were. A past-tense verb 'were' in the 'they' form, with the plural doer built in. It pairs with the following present verb to express a habitual past: 'they used to acknowledge'.

  From: What Worship Really Means →