Arabic vocabulary
How to say “contrary” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف
And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.
الضِّدِّ — the contrary. Genitive after 'ala' — 'the opposite, contrary'. 'On the opposite [side]' sets up the reverse case.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →وهذا ضد ما وصف به أصحاب اليمين بقوله ﴿الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ﴾
This contrasts with the description of the companions of the right hand, about whom it is said, 'They establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them.'
ضِدُّ — contrasts. This noun names an opposite and opens a possessive pairing with the next word: the opposite of what. It is the predicate identifying this as the reverse of the right-hand companions' description, and it governs the following relative.
From: Prayer and Charity →بَلْ أَمْرُهُمْ كَانَ بِالضِّدِّ مِنْ أَمْرِ الرَّسُولِ، كَفِرْعَوْنَ وَنَمْرُودَ وَأَضْرَابِهِمَا
Rather, their matter was the opposite of that of the Messenger’s, like Pharaoh, Nimrod, and their like.
بِالضِّدِّ — the opposite. This noun carries 'the' and has the preposition 'with/by' fused to its front, 'in the opposite', serving as the predicate of 'was'. The preposition here helps form the predicate, the sense being 'their affair was the very reverse'.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →وَلَا يَنْتَقِصُ هَذَا بِمَنْ ادَّعَى النُّبُوَّةَ مِنَ الْكَذَّابِينَ، فَإِنَّ حَالَهُمْ كَانَتْ ضِدَّ حَالِ الرَّسُولِ مِنْ كُلِّ وَجْهٍ
Nor is this negated by those who falsely claimed prophethood, for their condition was the exact opposite of the Messenger's in every way.
ضِدَّ — the opposite of. This noun names an opposite and opens a possessive pairing with the next word: the opposite of the condition. It is the predicate of 'was', in the accusative, naming their state as the reverse of the Messenger's, and heads the 'of' chain.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →فَبِضِدِّهَا تَتَبَيَّنُ الْأَشْيَاءُ، وَالضِّدُّ يُظْهِرُ حُسْنَهُ الضِّدُّ، فَمَعْرِفَةُ أَدِلَّةِ الْبَاطِلِ وَشُبَهِهِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ أَدِلَّةِ الْحَقِّ وَبَرَاهِينِهِ
For by their opposites things become clear, and the opposite shows the beauty of its opposite; so knowing the evidence of falsehood and its doubts is itself a type of evidence for truth and its proofs.
فَبِضِدِّهَا — through its opposite. This fuses the reasoning connector fa- to the preposition 'with/by' and a feminine attached pronoun, 'so by it', the pronoun pointing to opposites. The preposition marks the means by which things become clear; the fa- draws the conclusion.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →فَبِضِدِّهَا تَتَبَيَّنُ الْأَشْيَاءُ، وَالضِّدُّ يُظْهِرُ حُسْنَهُ الضِّدُّ، فَمَعْرِفَةُ أَدِلَّةِ الْبَاطِلِ وَشُبَهِهِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ أَدِلَّةِ الْحَقِّ وَبَرَاهِينِهِ
For by their opposites things become clear, and the opposite shows the beauty of its opposite; so knowing the evidence of falsehood and its doubts is itself a type of evidence for truth and its proofs.
وَالضِّدُّ — and the opposite. The wa- opens a new clause, fused to a noun carrying 'the', 'and the opposite', which is the subject of the coming verb. The article makes it definite, naming opposites in general as the thing that does the revealing.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →فَبِضِدِّهَا تَتَبَيَّنُ الْأَشْيَاءُ، وَالضِّدُّ يُظْهِرُ حُسْنَهُ الضِّدُّ، فَمَعْرِفَةُ أَدِلَّةِ الْبَاطِلِ وَشُبَهِهِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ أَدِلَّةِ الْحَقِّ وَبَرَاهِينِهِ
For by their opposites things become clear, and the opposite shows the beauty of its opposite; so knowing the evidence of falsehood and its doubts is itself a type of evidence for truth and its proofs.
الضِّدُّ — its opposite. This noun carries 'the' and is the doer of the showing verb, arriving after the verb and its object in normal Arabic order: the opposite shows a thing's goodness. The article marks it as opposites in the general sense.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →OpenArabic teaches words like ضِدّ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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