أَلَيْسَis not

Example sentences

• قَالَ أَلَيْسَ كَانَ يَقُولُهَا فِي حَيَاتِهِ ؟

  He said, "Didn't he use to say it in his lifetime?"

  أَلْيْسَ — is not. A question-word built from a questioning a- fused with the negated 'to be', producing 'is it not...?'. Its job is to launch a rhetorical question that expects a 'yes', nudging the listener toward agreement rather than truly asking. So the negation here is doing persuasive, not denying, work.

  From: A Mother's Forgiveness →

• قَالَ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ حَمَلْتُهَا عَلَى ظَهْرِي، وَحَبَسْتُ نَفْيًا عَلَيْهَا؟

  Did I not already carry her on my back and spare her from exile?

  أَلَيْسَ — is it not. This stacks the question-marker with a negation, forming a rhetorical 'is it not the case that...?' that expects agreement rather than information. It does not genuinely ask; it presses the listener to concede the obvious. So it sets up the man's self-defense as something he assumes is already granted.

  From: Honoring Parents →