بِأَبِيby my father

Example sentences

• فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَوَ تَرْجُوهُ بِأَبِي أَنْتَ

  Abu Bakr said, "Do you hope for him? By my father, you!"

  بِأَبِي — by my father. A preposition 'by' carrying 'my' (the speaker) as a fused suffix; it heads the elliptical oath 'by my father (may he be ransom for you)'. The attached possessor takes the genitive after the preposition, and the phrase functions as a warm exclamation of devotion.

  From: The Secret Migration →

• قَالَ إِنَّمَا هُمْ أَهْلُكَ بِأَبِي أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

  He said, "They are indeed your people, by my father, O Messenger of God."

  بِأَبِي — by my father. A preposition 'by' carrying 'my' (the speaker's) father as a fused possessor; it heads the clipped oath 'by my father (be you ransomed)'. The attached possessor takes the genitive after the preposition, a warm interjection of devotion mid-sentence.

  From: The Secret Migration →