سَبَب cause in Arabic
سَبَب is how you say “cause” in Arabic.
Root س ب ب s-b-b. noun. sabab.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of cause in Arabic
- a means, or cause, by which something is attained or accomplished the standard sense, matching the given gloss 'cause'; grounded in the related verb سَبَّبَ, 'to make or appoint a means/cause'
- a means of access to a thing used with بِ + إِلَى, i.e. to make use of something as a way of reaching or obtaining another thing
Example sentence
لا تجزع من كأس زلل كانت سبب كيسك،
Do not despair from a cup of slip that was the cause of your prudence.
سَبَبَ the cause
sabab means 'cause, reason'; object form here, heading an 'of…' phrase with the next word ('the cause of…').
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
The 'cause' sense is drawn out explicitly through the verb سَبَّبَ, as in سَبَّبَ ٱللّٰهُ لَكَ سَبَبَ خَيْرٍ, 'may God appoint for you a means of good.' Later usage extended the reflexive تَسَبَّبَ to mean 'to trade,' since trading is a way of using means to earn a livelihood.
Words from the same root
- سَبَّ to cut, or to sever; also, to revile or vilify
- سَبَّبَ to make, appoint, or provide a means or cause of something
- تَسَبَّبَ to come about as a means or cause; to use something as a means
- سَابَّ to revile one another (with someone)
- اِسْتَسَبَّ to invite or attract reviling onto someone
- سِبٌّ one who reviles and is reviled in return; a mutual reviler
More example sentences
وَإِنْ كَانَتْ سَبَبًا لِلأَلَمِ وَالأَذَى فِي الْعَاجِلِ وَمَنْعِ لَذَّاتٍ فِي الآجِلِ
Even if it causes pain and harm immediately and deprives pleasure in the future.
سَبَبًا cause
The predicate of 'was', so it takes the accusative ending — Arabic puts the 'X' in 'it was X' into the object form. Indefinite, so 'a cause'.
فرب لذة عاجلة تكون سببًا لعذاب آجل،
For, a momentary pleasure might cause future torment,
سَبَبًا cause
This is the predicate of 'becomes', naming what the pleasure turns into, so the linking verb puts it in the object case. With no 'the' it stays indefinite, 'a cause'.
فإذا عطلها مدعيًا للتوكل كان جهلًا بالتوكل وردًّا لحكمة الواضع لأن التوكل إنما هو اعتماد القلب على الله سبحانه وليس من ضرورته قطع الأسباب،
So if someone neglects them claiming reliance on God, it is ignorance of true trust and a rejection of the Creator's wisdom, because reliance is the heart's dependence on Allah, Exalted is He, and does not require abandoning means.
الأَسْبَابِ of the means
This owner noun closes the 'cutting off of the means' pairing, so it takes the governed ending. The 'the' makes the means definite, and the pairing names the act trust does not demand.
Common questions
- How do you say "cause" in Arabic?
- سَبَب (sabab) — literally 'a means, or cause, by which something is attained or accomplished.'
- What root is سَبَب from, and what else shares it?
- It comes from the root س ب ب (s-b-b), shared with سَبَّبَ ('to bring about a means or cause') and, in a separate branch of the same root, سَبَّ ('to revile').
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).