Arabic vocabulary
مَعَاذ is how you say “forbid” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
فَلَمَّا سَمِعَ ذَلِكَ قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ لَا نَقُولُ إِنَّهُ مَلِكٌ ظَالِمٌ، بَلْ نَبِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ مَنْ اتَّبَعَهُ فَهُوَ مِنَ السُّعَدَاءِ، وَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ اتَّبَعَ مُوسَى فَهُوَ كَمَنْ اتَّبَعَ مُحَمَّدًا
When he heard this, he said: 'God forbid! We do not say he is a tyrant king, but a noble prophet. Whoever follows him is among the blessed, and likewise, whoever follows Moses is like one who follows Muhammad.'
مَعَاذَ — God forbid. This noun stands in the accusative as part of a set protective formula and opens a possessive pairing with the divine name: refuge of God, meaning 'God forbid'. Arabic uses this fixed accusative phrase to recoil from a suggestion.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →OpenArabic teaches words like مَعَاذ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
Get the app