اسْتَطَاعcan/able

Example sentences

• ومن بايع إماماً فأعطاه صفقة يده، وثمرة قلبه، فليطعه إن استطاع،

  And whoever gives allegiance to an Imam, giving him a handshake and sincerity of his heart, let him obey him if he is able,

  اسْتَطَاعَ — he is able. A past-tense verb, 'he was able', with 'he' built in, serving as the condition introduced by 'if'. In this conditional frame the past shape reads generally, 'if he is able'; the capability sense is carried by the verb's root pattern.

  From: A Prophet Warns His People →

• ونظيره قوله سبحان ﴿لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلا هُمْ مِنَّا يُصْحَبُونَ﴾

  And similarly, His words: "They cannot help themselves, nor are they helped by Us."

  يَسْتَطِيعُونَ — they help. A present-tense verb 'they are able', carrying its plural 'they' subject in the ending -una, negated by the 'not' before it. The plural ending shows the doers are a group; together it reads 'they cannot'.

  From: Preparing for Judgment Day →