Arabic vocabulary
مَسْأَلَةٌmatter in Arabic
مَسْأَلَةٌ is how you say “matter” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root س أ ل (s-ʾ-l)noun (verbal noun / maṣdar)Pronounced masʾalah
Meaning of matter in Arabic
- a question, issue, or matter — the common extended sense — a point put forward for inquiry, discussion, or judgment
- the act of asking, inquiring, or requesting — the original sense: مسألة is one of the verbal nouns of سَأَلَ 'to ask', alongside سُؤَالٌ
مسألة is the verbal noun of سَأَلَ ('to ask, inquire'); its familiar modern sense of 'a matter, issue, or question' (e.g. a point of law or a problem to be worked out) develops from this original meaning of the act of asking.
Words from the same root
- سَأَلَto ask, question, inquire of someone
- سُؤَالٌa question; the act of asking (verbal noun paired with مسألة)
- سَائِلٌone who asks; an asker or petitioner
- مَسْؤُولٌone who is asked
- تَسَآءَلُواthey asked, or begged, one another
- أَسْأَلَto fulfil someone's request or need
Common questions
- How do you say "matter" in Arabic?
- مَسْأَلَةٌ (masʾalah).
- What does مسألة literally mean?
- It is the verbal noun of سأل, 'to ask' — literally 'the asking, inquiring, or requesting' — which extended to mean a question, issue, or matter.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
ونكتة الْمَسْأَلَة أَنَّهُ لَا يرى ربه إِلَّا محسنا، وَلَا يرى نَفسه إِلَّا مسيئا
And the essence of the matter is that he sees his Lord as nothing but good, and himself as nothing but wrong.
الْمَسْأَلَةِ — of the matter. al- = 'the'; masala means 'the question, the matter' — the 'of…' word: 'of the matter'.
From: Returning to God →وقد نهى النبي ﷺ عن أغلوطات المسائل
And the Prophet ﷺ prohibited intricate questions.
المَسَائِلِ — of questions. Genitive owner of 'trick-questions' — 'the legal questions, issues'; broken plural of 'mas'ala'; deliberately knotty posers.
From: Misguided Methodology →وبينهم اختلاف شديد في
Related words
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