Arabic vocabulary
لَمْdoes not
How to say “does not” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
وَإِن لم يؤاخذه بهَا رأى فَضله
And if He does not take him to account for it, he sees His grace.
لَمْ — did not. lam = 'did not'; it negates the next verb and shortens it (jussive), giving a past meaning.
From: Returning to God →وهذا أمر لم يحضره إلا أنا وصفوان فوالله لأعلم ما أتاك به إلا الله،
And this is a matter witnessed only by me and Safwan, and by Allah, I know that it was none but Allah who brought it to you,
لَمْ — did not. lam = 'did not'; it negates the next verb and shortens it (jussive), giving a past meaning.
From: Early Converts to Islam →وَلِهَذَا تَرَى مُدْمِنَ الْخَمْرِ وَالْجِمَاعِ لَا يَلْتَذُّ بِذَلِكَ عُشْرَ الْتِذَاذِ مَنْ لَمْ يُدْمِنْ
This is why you see that the addict to wine and intimacy does not enjoy it even a tenth as much as one who is not addicted.
لَمْ — did not. A particle that flips the present-tense verb after it into a negated PAST — 'did not'. It negates the past while sitting on a present-tense form, and it clips that verb's ending short.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →مالم يُخرجهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى إِسْقَاط الْأَمر وَالنَّهْي وَالثَّوَاب وَالْعِقَاب والوعد والوعيد
As long as it does not lead him to dismiss command and prohibition, reward and punishment, promise and warning.
لَمْ — did not. 'lam' negates the past, but notice it sits in front of a present-tense verb shape, not a past one. Arabic flips that present form back into past meaning and clips its ending short (the jussive) — so one small word does the work English splits across 'did' plus 'not'.
From: Worship God Alone →إِذا لم يكن فِيهِ تَشْبِيه الْخَالِق بالمخلوق أَو الْمَخْلُوق بالخالق
If there is no likening of the Creator to the creation or the creation to the Creator.
لَمْ — did not. 'lam' negates and pushes the next present-form verb into the past while clipping its ending (jussive) — Arabic's compact 'did not, there was no'.
From: Worship God Alone →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.
لَمْ — has not. 'lam' — negates and pushes the next present-form verb into the past, clipping its ending (jussive).
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →إذا ناظرتَهم لم تَلْق منهم سوى حَرْفَيْنِ لِمْ لِمْ لا نُسَلِّمْ
When you debate them, you find nothing from them but the two words, 'why, why, we do not concede.'
لَمْ — did not. 'lam' — it negates and forces the next present-form verb into the past, clipping its ending (jussive).
From: Avoiding Scholarly Disputation →ويؤخره، ولم يأمر به
and he delayed it, and did not command it.
وَلَمْ — and did not. 'and did not' — 'wa' plus 'lam', negating and forcing the past plus jussive.
From: The Opening Chapter →وأما الدعاء فلم يجب منه دعاء مفرد أصلاً،
As for supplication, no specific supplication is obligatory at all.
فَلَمْ — so no. 'then [it is] not' — 'fa' answering 'amma' plus 'lam', negating and forcing the past plus jussive.
From: Required Remembrance →وأما الدعاء فلم يجب منه دعاء مفرد أصلاً،
As for supplication, no specific supplication is obligatory at all,
فَلَمْ — so no. 'then [it is] not' — 'fa' answering 'amma' plus 'lam', negating and forcing the past plus jussive.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →فإن تكلم لم يتكلم بما يجرح صومه،
If he speaks, he does not speak with what harms his fast,
لَمْ — did not. The negating word that flips a present verb to negated past and into the jussive — 'did not'. It opens the answer-clause.
From: The Meaning of Fasting →وإن فعل لم يفعل ما يفسد صومه،
and if he acts, he does not act with what invalidates his fast,
لَمْ — did not. The negator turning the next present verb to negated past plus jussive. It opens the answer-clause.
From: The Meaning of Fasting →وأنْبت الله شَجَرَة لم تكن قبل
And Allah caused a tree to grow that had not been there before.
لَمْ — did not. The negating word turning the next present verb into a negated past — 'had not'. It opens 'had not been there before'.
From: The Night of the Migration →إِذا لم يعد صبا بلقيا حَبِيبه
If it does not return to being youthful upon meeting its beloved.
لَمْ — did not. The negating word turning the next present verb into a negated past + jussive — 'did not'. It opens 'does not return'.
From: The Path to God's Love →أَتَرَى لم يسمع الروافض الكفّار
Do you think the disbelieving rejectors haven't heard?
لَمْ — did not. The negating word turning the next present verb into a negated past + jussive — 'did not'. It opens 'did not hear'.
From: Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam →وَإِن سَقَطت على شَيْء لم تكسره وَلم تخدشه
And if it lands on something, it does not break it or scratch it.
لَمْ — did not. This negator forces the following present-shaped verb into the clipped jussive and flips its time to the past: together they mean 'did not'. Arabic expresses 'it did not break' with 'lam' plus a present form rather than a past one.
From: Contentment with What God Wills →وَإِن سَقَطت على شَيْء لم تكسره وَلم تخدشه
And if it lands on something, it does not break it or scratch it.
وَلَمْ — and did not. 'And did not', the same past-making negator joined on, again pushing its verb into the clipped jussive. It extends the gentleness to a second act it refrains from.
From: Contentment with What God Wills →وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْأُمَّةَ لَوْ اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوك بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَنْفَعُوك إلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَك،
Know that if the nation gathered to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah has decreed for you.
لَمْ — not. This negator pushes its verb into the clipped jussive and flips the time to the past. It heads the answer of the counterfactual 'if': 'they would not benefit you...'.
From: Patience and Trust in God →وَإِنْ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَضُرُّوك بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَضُرُّوك إلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْك؛
And if they gathered to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah has decreed against you.
لَمْ — not. The past-making negator, pushing its verb into the jussive and heading the answer: 'they would not harm you...'.
From: Patience and Trust in God →وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَك لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَك،
And know that what missed you was never going to reach you.
لَمْ — was not. This negator pushes its verb into the jussive and gives a past sense: 'was not...'. It heads the verdict that the near-miss was never destined to strike.
From: Patience and Trust in God →وَمَا أَصَابَك لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَك،
And what reached you was never going to miss you.
لَمْ — was not. The past-making negator, pushing its verb into the jussive: 'was not...'. It heads the matching verdict about what did strike.
From: Patience and Trust in God →إن كان لا يرجى إسلامه لم يجز تعليمه
If his conversion to Islam is not anticipated, it is not permissible to teach him.
لَمْ — not. This 'not' turns the present verb after it into a negated past and clips its ending. So 'is allowed' becomes 'was not allowed' — the result of the condition: teaching him is impermissible.
From: Teaching the Quran to Non-Muslims →وإذا وقعَت نجاسةٌ بعد التيمم لم يَبطل على المذهب،
If impurity occurs after tayammum, it does not invalidate it according to the school of thought.
لَمْ — does not. This 'not' turns the present verb after it into a negated past and clips its ending: 'it did not [become void].' It delivers the verdict — the tayammum is NOT undone by the later impurity.
From: The Practice of Earth Cleansing →ومن نسي صلاةً من الخمسِ ولم يدرِ عينَها، لزِمَه الإتيانُ بجميعِ الخمسِ،
If someone forgets one of the five prayers and does not know which, they must perform all five.
وَلَمْ — and does not. 'and not' — this 'lam' turns the present verb after it into a negated past and clips its ending: 'and he did not know.' It adds the complication: he cannot identify which prayer.
From: Purification Without Water →
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