Arabic vocabulary

إِلَّexcept in Arabic

إِلَّ is how you say “except” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.

Example sentences

رُبَّ صَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صَوْمِهِ إِلَّا الْجُوعُ وَالْعَطَشُ، وَرُبَّ قَائِمٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلَّا السَّهَرُ
'Perhaps a fasting person gains nothing from his fast except hunger and thirst, and perhaps one who prays gains nothing from his prayer except sleeplessness.'
إِلَّا — except. An exception particle, 'except / save', that carves out the one thing left after the blanket denial. It links the 'nothing' to the sole remainder, hunger and thirst.
From: Empty Fasting, Empty Prayer →

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