ابْنِهِhis son

Example sentences

• وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ اِعْقِلْ عَنْ اللَّهِ

  And Luqman said to his son, "O my son, be mindful of God."

  لِابْنِهِ — to his son. The prefix li- marks the recipient, 'to', the one addressed, and forces the noun after it into the (genitive); attached at the end is '-his', so one word says 'to his son'. The '-his' points back to the speaker. It names who the advice is given to.

  From: On Reason and Temptation →

• وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ

  And Luqman said to his son, "O my son."

  لِابْنِهِ — to his son. Three elements in one word: the 'li-' prefix meaning 'to/towards' that marks the recipient of the speech, the noun for 'son', and a '-hi' (his) glued to the end as possessor. The 'li-' forces the noun into the genitive. So it bundles the addressee, the relationship, and the owner into a single piece: 'to his son'.

  From: On Reason and Temptation →