عن from in Arabic
عن is how you say “from” in Arabic.
Root ع ن ن ʿ-n-n. preposition. ʿan.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of from in Arabic
- from — source, origin, or separation the preposition linking narrators in a hadith chain: 'so-and-so ʿan so-and-so'
Example sentence
اسْتَعِنْ عَلَى سَيْرِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِتَرْكِ مَنْ شَغَلَكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ ﷿
Seek assistance on your path to Allah by abandoning those who divert you from Allah.
عَنِ from
Preposition 'an' = 'away from'.
The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used
As a preposition ʿan marks motion or separation away from a source, echoing the root sense of turning aside from something. Lexicographers also use the term ʿanʿanah for the practice, among some hadith transmitters, of simply stringing narrators with 'so-and-so ʿan so-and-so' rather than stating explicitly that one heard from the other.
Words from the same root
- عَنَّ to appear, present itself, or occur
- عِنَان a horse's rein
- عُنَّة an enclosure for camels
- عِنِّين a man ruled maritally impotent
- عَنْعَنَة narrating a hadith without stating direct hearing
More example sentences
وَلَيْسَ بِشَاغِلٍ يَشْغَلُكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ كَنَفْسِكَ الَّتِي هِيَ بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ
And nothing can distract you from Allah like your own self between your sides.
عَنِ from
Preposition 'an' = 'away from'.
كَمَا أَنَّ الْغَضَبَ دَافِعٌ عَنْهُ مَا يُؤْذِي
Just as anger repels from him what harms.
عَنْهُ from him
'an' = 'from' + '-hu' = 'him'.
وفي الصلاة تقول سُبحانَ ربّي العظيم وسُبحانَ ربّي الأعلى؛ تنـزهه عن كل نقص،
And in prayer you say: 'Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great' and 'Glory be to my Lord, the Most High'; you declare His transcendence above all deficiency,
عَنْ above
'an' equals 'away from', governing genitive — it marks what God is held clear OF. The verb 'declare pure' pairs with 'an' for the thing removed.
إياك أن تشتغل بهذا الجدل الذي ظهر بعد انقراض الأكابر من العلماء يشير إلى جدل العميدي فإنه يبعد عن الفقه، ويضيع العمر، ويورث الوحشة والعداوة،
Beware of getting involved in this debate that emerged after the passing of the great scholars (referring to the debate of Al-Amidi), for it distances you from understanding the law, wastes your life, and breeds loneliness and enmity.
عن from
'an' equals 'from', governing genitive — 'away from jurisprudence'.
تالله مَا عدا عَلَيْك الْعدو إِلَّا بعد أَن تولى عَنْك الْوَلِيّ
By Allah, no enemy came upon you except after the Protector withdrew from you.
عَنْكَ from you
'An (away from) fused with '-ka' (you) — turned away 'from you'. The 'an marks the withdrawal's direction.
وَأخرج من بَين الْبيُوت لعلني أحدث عَنْك الْقلب بالسر خَالِيا
I leave the houses, hoping to speak of you with a heart empty of everything else.
عَنْكَ about you
'An (about / of) fused with '-ka' (you) — speak 'of you', the Beloved. The pairing 'speak + 'an' names the topic spoken of.
صادّ عَن سَبِيل الله بشبهاته وزخرف قَوْله ومفتون بدنياه ورئاسته
The one who obstructs the path of Allah with his doubts and embellished words, and who is deceived by his worldliness and leadership.
عَنْ from
Preposition 'away from', governing the genitive — 'from the path'. It marks what he bars people from.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ
Narrated by Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him:
عَن narrated by
In a chain of transmission, this preposition means 'on the authority of', linking one narrator to the next. It governs the following name in the after-preposition ending: 'from Abu Huraira'.
قال أبو صالح الراوي عن أبي هريرة، لما سئل عن كيفية ذكرهن، قال يقول سبحان الله، والحمد لله، والله أكبر، حتى يكون منهن كلهن ثلاثًا وثلاثين
Abu Salih, the narrator from Abu Hurairah, when asked about how to recite them, said: 'Say: Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, and Allahu Akbar until each is thirty-three.'
عَنْ from
This preposition means 'from' in the sense of transmission — 'narrating FROM Abu Hurayra'. In hadith chains this 'an links a reporter to his source. It governs the following name in the genitive.
قال أبو صالح الراوي عن أبي هريرة، لما سئل عن كيفية ذكرهن، قال يقول سبحان الله، والحمد لله، والله أكبر، حتى يكون منهن كلهن ثلاثًا وثلاثين
Abu Salih, the narrator from Abu Hurairah, when asked about how to recite them, said: 'Say: Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, and Allahu Akbar until each is thirty-three.'
عَنْ about
This preposition completes 'asked ABOUT' — the topic of the question. The verb of asking reaches its subject-matter through this word. It governs the genitive.
وهذا غير منكر في لغة أمة من الأمم فضلًا عن أوسع اللغات وأفصحها
And this is not denied in the language of any nation, let alone in the most expansive and eloquent of languages.
عَن in
A preposition 'about / regarding', here governed by the 'let alone' phrase, forcing the genitive on the superlative after it. It points to the stronger case: the most eloquent language.
ثم أخبر سبحانه عن حال الانسان في يوم القيامة أنه غير ممتنع من عذاب الله لا بقوة منه ولا بقوة من خارج
Then Allah, the Exalted, tells about the state of humankind on the Day of Judgment: they cannot escape Allah's punishment, neither by their own strength nor by any external force.
عَنْ about
This preposition means 'about/concerning' and governs the noun after it in the genitive. It marks the topic of the informing, steering the reader to what the report is about, and it opens an 'of' chain that follows.
أَيْ قَالَهُ مُبَلِّغًا، وَهَذَا قَوْلُهُ مُبَلَّغًا عَنْ مُرْسِلِهِ
meaning: he said it as a conveyer, and this is his word communicated from his Sender.
عَنْ from
A preposition meaning 'from/about', here marking the source. It forces the following noun into the form a preposition governs and sets up the relationship 'communicated from his Sender', pointing to where the message originates.
والتنطع في تجويدها بحيث يشغله ذلك عن تدبر معاني كتاب الله تعالى،
and such excessive articulation in its recitation distracts him from pondering the meanings of the Book of Allah, the Exalted,
عَنْ from
This preposition means 'away from', taking the genitive, marking what he is diverted from. With the preoccupying verb it sets up 'busies him away from', pointing to the neglected thing.
ويصرفه عن الخشوع في التلاوة لله
and it diverts him from humility in reciting for Allah.
عَنِ from
This preposition means 'away from', taking the genitive, marking what he is turned from. It pairs with the diverting verb to point to the lost quality.
وأما عملك فغير صالح، وأما تلاوتك فثقيلة عرية عن الخشية والحزن والخوف
As for your deeds, they are not righteous, and your recitation is heavy, devoid of fear, sorrow, and apprehension.
عَنِ of
This preposition means 'devoid of / away from', taking the genitive, marking what the recitation lacks. It links 'devoid' to the qualities it is empty of, governing the list that follows.
ألم تر إلى المريض كيف يمتنع عن الطعام اللذيذ خوفًا من زيادة المرض، ويشرب الدواء المرّ رجاء للشفاء؟
Have you not seen how a sick person refrains from delicious food fearing an increase in illness, and drinks bitter medicine hoping for a cure?
عَنِ from
A preposition 'from' marking what he holds back from, governing the noun after it: from the food. With this verb of abstaining, the thing avoided is attached through this preposition.
فكذلك العاقل يمتنع عن لذات المعاصي خوفًا من عذاب الآخرة، ويصبر على مرارة الطاعة رجاء لثواب الله تعالى
Similarly, the wise person refrains from the pleasures of sins fearing the torment of the Hereafter, and bears the bitterness of obedience hoping for the reward of Allah Almighty.
عَنْ from
A preposition 'from' marking what he holds back from, governing the noun phrase after it. The thing avoided is attached through this preposition.
ولا يتخلف عن مؤاكلة الناس، ولا يتأخر عن إجابة الداعي إلى الطعام،
Nor did he avoid dining with people, nor delay in responding to an invitation to food,
عَنْ from
This preposition marks what he did not hold back from and governs the following noun. It links the hanging-back to the thing avoided. The noun it governs also fronts an 'of' pairing.
ولا يتخلف عن مؤاكلة الناس، ولا يتأخر عن إجابة الداعي إلى الطعام،
Nor did he avoid dining with people, nor delay in responding to an invitation to food,
عَنْ in
This preposition marks what he did not lag in and governs the following noun. It ties the delaying to its object. The noun it governs also fronts an 'of' pairing.
مثل ما روي عن أبي حمزة الصوفي أنه وقع في بئر فجاء رجلان فَطمّاها،
Like the story narrated about Abu Hamza al-Sufi, who fell into a well, and then two men came and filled it up.
عن about
This preposition means transmission 'about/from' a source and governs the following name. It marks the person the narration concerns. That name then heads a courtesy-name pairing.
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وَعَنْ and from
The connector 'and' joined to a preposition 'from / on the authority of', the standard hadith opener crediting a report to its source. The preposition governs the name after it, tying the narration to the companion it came through.
وروي عن أنس رضي الله عنه،
It is narrated from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
عَن from
This preposition 'from' governs the genitive and marks the source the narration is traced to, the named companion. It sets up 'narrated from X'.
Common questions
- How do you say "from" in Arabic?
- عَنْ (ʿan).
- What is ʿanʿanah (عَنْعَنَة)?
- The practice, noted by the grammarians, of a hadith narrator saying 'so-and-so ʿan so-and-so' without stating explicitly that he heard directly from him.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).