إِمَّاeither

Example sentences

• فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره

  For when a servant falls into hardship, he either repels it with his own strength or the strength of someone who helps him.

  فَإِمَّا — he either. fa- (then) fused with an alternative-setting word, opening the first branch of an 'either...or'. This pairing lays out two options and is balanced by 'or' later; English uses 'either...or' the same way.

  From: Preparing for Judgment Day →

• 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.

  فَإِمَّا — so either. A particle 'so either' fused with a leading 'so', opening the first of two alternatives. It pairs with a later 'or' to lay out the only two ways out.

  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.

  فَإِمَّا — so either. This couples fa- with imma, the word that sets up an 'either... or' choice. Its job is to open the first of two alternatives, signaling to the reader that a paired option introduced by 'or' is coming. It structures the branching of possibilities.

  From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →

• وهو سبحانه إنما يستدل على أمر واقع ولا بد إما قد وقع ووجد أو سيقع

  And He, glorified be He, uses evidence only for an actual matter that must have either already occurred or will occur.

  إِمَّا — either. This particle introduces the first of two alternatives and is normally answered by a matching 'or' later. It sets up a fork in the road, telling the listener that two possibilities are coming, much like English 'either ... or'.

  From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →

• فإما أن تتجر فيها بطاعة فتربح، وإما أن تتجر فيها بمعصية فتخسر

  So either you trade in it with obedience and profit, or you trade in it with disobedience and lose.

  فَإِمَّا — so either. The fa- ties this to what came before as its upshot, and the particle it joins sets up the first of two alternatives, the 'either' half of an either/or. It signals a branching choice rather than naming anything.

  From: While You Still Can →

• فإما أن تتجر فيها بطاعة فتربح، وإما أن تتجر فيها بمعصية فتخسر

  So either you trade in it with obedience and profit, or you trade in it with disobedience and lose.

  وَإِمَّا — or. The wa- joins this to the first option, and the particle introduces the second branch, the 'or' half answering the earlier 'either'. Together they frame the two contrasting possibilities.

  From: While You Still Can →

• لِكَثْرَةِ دَوْرِ ذَلِكَ فَتَرَاهُ إِمَّا يَكْتُبُ الأَسْمَاءَ حَالَ السَّمَاعِ ،

  Because that happens so often, you will then see him either write the names at the moment of hearing.

  إِمَّا — either. A correlative particle 'either', the first half of an 'either...or' pairing that the later 'or' completes. It flags that a list of alternatives is coming, setting up the choices for what you see him doing.

  From: Humility Over Fame →

• إِمَّا كُنَّا ظَنَّاً أَنَّ أَوْلَادَكَ لَا يَتَغَيَّرُونَ

  Either we had thought that your children would not change.

  إِمَّا — Either. A particle that floats one side of an 'either... or' or marks a supposition. Here it opens a tentative concession, framing what follows as one possible account of their thinking.

  From: Sheba's Garden and Destruction →