Arabic vocabulary
How to say “duty” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
فَأقر لَهُ بِالْجَهْلِ فِي علمه، والآفات فِي عمله، والعيوب فِي نَفسه، والتفريط فِي حَقه، وَالظُّلم فِي مُعَامَلَته
So he acknowledges his ignorance in his knowledge, the flaws in his actions, the defects in his self, his negligence in his duty, and the injustice in his dealings.
حَقِّهِ — his duty. haqq means 'right, due'; the ending '-hi' adds 'his' — 'his due' (what is owed to Him).
From: Returning to God →السرّ أن الثِّقَال في الميزان من طبيعة الحقّ؛ فهو ثابتٌ مُحكَم، والباطل خفيفٌ مُتلاشي، وإن بدا ضخمًا في أعين الناس
The secret is that the weight in the balance stems from the nature of truth; it is firm and solid, while falsehood is light and vanishing, even if it appears large in people's eyes.
الْحَقِّ — truth. Genitive owner of 'nature' — 'truth, the real'. The weight comes from truth's own makeup.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →تُوضَع بطاقةٌ فيها كلمة التوحيد في كفّة، وتُقابِلها سجلاّتٌ من الذنوب في الكفّة الأخرى، فتغلب البطاقةُ بما فيها من حقٍّ خالص
A card with the word of monotheism is placed on one side, and records of sins on the other side; the card outweighs them with its pure truth.
حَقٍّ — truth. Genitive after 'min', indefinite — 'truth'; the substance that gives the card its weight.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →فالحقّ يمنح العمل كثافةً تثبّته،
For truth grants density to the work, making it firm,
فَالْحَقُّ — so the truth. 'so the truth' — 'fa' drawing the point plus 'al-haqq', fronted subject, nominative.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →الكافر لا يقوم له وزنٌ لأن أعماله لا ترتبط بأصل الحقّ؛
The disbeliever has no weight because his deeds are not connected to the source of truth;
الْحَقِّ — of truth. Genitive owner of 'root' — 'truth'; his deeds have no link to truth's foundation.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →﴿وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ﴾
The weighing on that Day will be true:
الْحَقُّ — is true. 'the truth, the true [measure]', nominative as the predicate — 'the weighing that Day [is] the truth'. A verbless 'X is Y' with no 'is'.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →فاجعل في كفّتك ما يثبت أمام الحقّ، لا ما يطير مع أول نفخة ريح
so place in your scale what stands firm before the truth, not what flies away with the first gust of wind.
الْحَقِّ — truth. Genitive owner of 'before' — 'truth'; what stands firm in truth's presence.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →ثم تعظيمه وتلاوته حق تلاوته وتحسينها والخشوع عندها
Then to honor it, recite it as it deserves to be recited, beautify its recitation, and be humble before it.
حَقَّ — with true. This word, in the -a form, works adverbially: 'reciting it the way it truly deserves.' It opens an 'of' pair with the next word, and together they mean giving it its rightful due of recitation.
From: Devotion to the Quran →يحرم المراء في القرآن والجدال فيه بغير حق
Argumentation in the Quran and disputing it without right is prohibited.
حَقٍّ — right. 'a right / just cause,' indefinite, owned by 'without' in the -i form. It pins down which disputing is forbidden — the baseless kind. Honest, grounded argument over meaning is not what is condemned.
From: Quran Interpretation and Debate →فاجتمعنا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال إنه لم يكن نبي قبلي إلا كان حقاً عليه أن يدل أمته على خير ما يعلمه لهم،
We gathered to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he said: "There was no prophet before me except that it was his duty to guide his nation to the best of what he knew for them,"
حَقًّا — his duty. This indefinite noun names the thing that 'was', a binding duty, and it takes the object-style ending that the verb 'to be' gives its complement. So it reads as 'it was a duty (upon him)', the noun completing the 'was' rather than acting as its subject.
From: A Prophet Warns His People →وكلاهما معدوم في حقه
And both are absent in his case.
حَقِّهِ — his case. A noun with -hi (his) attached, 'his case / what is due to him', in the genitive from the preposition before it. The attached -hi is the owner; the phrase fixes the absence to his particular situation.
From: Preparing for Judgment Day →وأقسم على كون القرآن حقًا وصدقًا فقال ﴿إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ﴾
And He swore that the Quran is true and real, saying, 'Indeed, it is a decisive word, and it is not light talk.'
حَقًّا — true. A noun 'truth' in the accusative used as a state-describing adverb of the Quran's being: that it is, as truth. Its indefinite accusative ending is what casts it into this 'in the state of' role.
From: Oaths of Provision →والقول الفصل هو الذي يفصل بين الحق والباطل فيميز هذا من هذا ويفصل بين الناس فيما اختلفوا فيه
The decisive word is what distinguishes between truth and falsehood, discerning this from that, and it differentiates between people in their disputes.
الحَقِّ — truth. The first item after 'between', 'the truth', in the genitive ending that 'between' forces, with its own 'the'. It is linked to the next noun by 'and' as the pair being told apart.
From: Oaths of Provision →فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره وكلاهما معدوم في حقه
For when the servant falls into distress, he either repels it with his strength or with the strength of one who aids him, and both are absent in his case.
حَقِّهِ — in his case. A noun 'his case/right' with an attached 'his' ending pointing to the servant, held in the genitive by the preceding 'in'. The idiom 'in his case' means as far as he is concerned.
From: Signs of Resurrection →وأقسم على كون القرآن حقًا وصدقًا فقال ﴿إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ﴾
And He swore to the truth and authenticity of the Qur'an, saying: "Indeed, it is a decisive word, and it is not a jest."
حَقًّا — truth. A noun 'truth' in the accusative used as a state-describing adverb of the Quran's being: that it is, as truth. The indefinite accusative ending casts it into this 'in the state of' role.
From: Signs of Resurrection →والقول الفصل هو الذي يفصل بين الحق والباطل فيميز هذا من هذا
The decisive word is that which separates truth from falsehood, distinguishing one from the other.
الْحَقِّ — truth. The first item after 'between', 'the truth', in the genitive ending that 'between' forces, with its own 'the'. It links to the next noun by 'and' as the pair told apart.
From: Signs of Resurrection →وهو الناصر فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره وكلاهما معدوم في حقه
He is the helper, for when the servant falls into distress, he may either repel it with his own strength or with the strength of someone who helps him; both of these are absent in his case.
حَقِّهِ — in his case. This pairs the noun 'right/case' with an attached 'his', genitive after the preposition. The attached owner points back to the servant, so the phrase means 'as regards him'. Tracking that pronoun is what fixes whose case is meant.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →وأقسم على كون القرآن حقًا وصدقًا فقال ﴿إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ﴾
And He swore concerning the truth and authenticity of the Quran, saying: 'Indeed, it is a decisive word, and it is not a jest.'
حَقًّا — truth. This noun 'truth' is in the object-style ending because it is the predicate of the 'being' construction, telling what the Quran is: true. Arabic uses this object ending on the predicate of such 'being' words, marking the state asserted.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →والقول الفصل هو الذي يفصل بين الحق والباطل فيميز هذا من هذا
And the decisive word is that which distinguishes between truth and falsehood, differentiating this from that.
الْحَقِّ — truth. This noun 'the truth' is the first item governed by 'between', so it is genitive, and made definite by 'the'. It is one side of the pair the decisive word distinguishes.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →بَلْ كَيْفَ يَلِيقُ بِهِ أَنْ يُؤَيِّدَهُ وَيَنْصُرَهُ وَيُعْلِيَهُ وَيُظْهِرَهُ وَيُظْفِرَهُ بِأَهْلِ الْحَقِّ يَسْفِكُ دِمَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَبِيحُ أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ وَنِسَاءَهُمْ قَائِلًا
Rather, how can it befit Him to support, aid, exalt, manifest, and empower him over the people of truth while he sheds their blood, justifying their wealth, children, and women, claiming:
الْحَقِّ — truth. This is the owner noun 'the truth' closing 'people of truth', in the genitive of the possessive pair, made definite by 'the'. It identifies which people, the people belonging to truth, and lends definiteness to 'people'.
From: Proof of the True Messenger →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.
الْحَقِّ — truth. This noun carries 'the' and is owned by 'proofs' before it: the proofs of the truth. As the possessed half it takes the genitive ending; the two nouns sit directly together for 'of'.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →ونظير هذا قوله ﴿وَلَكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي﴾
And similar to this is His saying: 'But the word from Me is truth.'
حَقَّ — is truth. Past-tense 'it became due / proved true', subject built in, describing how the word from God is established as truth. The verb leads the quoted phrase.
From: God's Eternal Word →ونظيره قوله ﴿قُلْ نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ مِنْ رَبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ﴾
And similarly, His saying: 'Say: The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth.'
بِالْحَقِّ — in truth. A 'with/in' prefix plus 'the' on the noun 'truth', 'in truth'. The prefix sets up an adverbial sense, 'truthfully / with the truth', describing the manner of the revelation. The noun stands in the form the preposition governs.
From: God's Eternal Word →وأنه حق ثابت كما أن سائر الموجودات ما يرى منها ومالا يرى حق
And that it is a firm truth, just as all existing things, what is seen of them and what is not seen, are true.
حَقٌّ — a truth. An indefinite noun 'a truth', the predicate of the clause, 'that it is a truth'. Its subject-form ending marks it as the predicate; the indefinite form keeps it general before the adjective sharpens it.
From: Proof in All Creation →OpenArabic teaches words like حَقّ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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