وَالَّذِيBy the One who

Example sentences

• قَالَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَأَصْرُخَنَّ بِهَا بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ،

  He said, "By the One in whose hand my soul is, I will certainly call out with it between their shoulder-blades."

  وَالَّذِي — and the One who. This opens an oath. The wa- here is not the ordinary 'and' of a list; attached to a noun it swears 'by' that thing, and what follows ('the One who...') is the relative description being sworn by. So the wa- sets up a solemn vow, not a connection between two items.

  From: A Stranger Finds the Prophet →

• ثم قال والذي نفسي بيده إن ما بين المصراعين من مصاريع الجنة كما بين مكة وهجر، أو كما بين مكة وبصرى

  Then he said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, indeed, the distance between the two panels of the gates of Paradise is as between Mecca and Hajar, or as between Mecca and Busra."

  وَالَّذِي — By the One who. 'wa-' here is the special oath-'by', not plain 'and': it swears by what follows and forces that following phrase into the form an oath governs. Its job is to open a solemn vow, beyond any 'and' reading.

  From: The Prophet's Intercession →