Arabic vocabulary
لَيْسَnot
How to say “not” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
لَيْسَ الْعجب من مَمْلُوك يتذلل لله ويتعبّد لَهُ،
It is not surprising for a servant to humble himself before Allah and worship Him,
لَيْسَ — it is not. laysa = 'is not', negating the statement that follows.
From: Seeds and Streams of Deeds →الذِّكرُ في الإسلامِ ليسَ أصواتًا فارغة، بل معانٍ مكتملة تُنطَق في جُملٍ تامَّة تُغذّي العقلَ والقلب
Remembrance in Islam is not empty sounds, but complete meanings articulated in complete sentences that nourish the mind and heart.
لَيْسَ — is not. 'laysa' is the special verb that negates an 'X is Y' sentence — 'is not'. It is the one Arabic word for present-tense 'is not', and it throws its predicate into the accusative.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →فهي ليستْ لفظًا مُنفردًا، بل جملةٌ مُقدَّرة معناها أبدأ عملي باسمِ الله، فأربطُ الفعلَ بالرّب
it is not an isolated utterance, but an implicit sentence meaning: I begin my action in the name of Allah, thus linking the act to the Lord.
لَيْسَتْ — is not. 'is not' — the special 'is-not' verb 'laysa' with a feminine -t agreeing with 'it'. It negates the 'X is Y' and pushes its predicate into the accusative.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →أمّا الاقتصارُ على ذِكرِ الاسمِ المُفرَدِ مُجرّدًا من جملةٍ ومعنى فليسَ من هديِ الوحي،
As for merely mentioning the single name detached from a sentence and meaning, it is not part of divine guidance,
فَلَيْسَ — it is not. 'fa' finally answers the 'amma' topic, and 'laysa' delivers 'is not' — 'as for that..., it is NOT...'. This is the verdict the sentence was building toward.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →الذِّكرُ ليس ترديدًا عشوائيًا؛ هو هندسةُ نِيّةٍ تُحوِّلُ الوقتَ إلى عبادة
Remembrance is not random repetition; it is the engineering of intention that transforms time into worship.
لَيْسَ — is not. 'laysa' is the one-word verb for present-tense 'is not'; it negates the 'X is Y' frame and throws its predicate into the accusative.
From: Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart →وَقَسم سِيبَوَيْهٍ الْكَلَام إِلَى اسْم وَفعل وحرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم وَلَا فعل،
And Sibawayh divided speech into noun, verb, and a particle that conveys a meaning and is neither a noun nor a verb.
لَيْسَ — not. 'is not' — the 'is-not' verb opening 'neither a noun nor a verb'. Its predicate takes the emphatic 'bi' next.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →وكل من هَذِه الْأَقْسَام يُسمى حرفا لَكِن خَاصَّة الثَّالِث أَنه حرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم
And each of these categories is called a particle, but the distinguishing feature of the third is that it is a particle that conveys a meaning and is not a noun.
لَيْسَ — not. 'is not' — the 'is-not' verb opening the defining exclusion 'not a noun'. Predicate takes 'bi' next.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →ليس معيار الميزان الضوضاء ولا عدد المشاهدين، بل صدق النيّة وموافقة الهدى
The criterion for the scale is not noise nor the number of viewers, but sincerity of intention and adherence to guidance.
لَيْسَ — is not. 'is not' — the 'is-not' verb; subject 'the criterion' next, predicate thrown into the accusative.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →وليس كذلك
However, that is not the case.
وَلَيْسَ — and not. 'and it is not' — 'wa' plus 'laysa', the 'is-not' verb; the subject 'the matter' is understood.
From: Required Remembrance →وليس كذلك
But it is not so.
وَلَيْسَ — but it is not. 'but it is not' — 'wa' plus 'laysa', the 'is-not' verb; the subject 'the matter' is understood.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →ومُتْ كمدًا فليس لك اعتذارُ
Die of grief, for you have no excuse.
فَلَيْسَ — so have no. 'Fa-' (so) plus the special verb of present-tense negation 'is not / there is not'. It denies existence in the present and will raise its subject to the nominative.
From: How Satan Exploits Weakness →لَيْسَ لِعِبَادِهِ من دونه ولي وَلَا شَفِيع
His servants have no guardian or intercessor besides Him.
لَيْسَ — is not. The special verb of present-tense negation 'there is not', which will raise its delayed subject to the nominative. It opens 'His servants have no…'.
From: God's Majesty →لَيْسَ العجيب من قَوْله يحبونه
It is not astonishing that it is said, 'They love Him.'
لَيْسَ — It is not. The present-negation verb 'is not', which raises its delayed subject to the nominative. It opens 'the wondrous thing is not…'.
From: The Path to God's Love →لَيْسَ الْعجب من فَقير مِسْكين يحب محسنا إِلَيْهِ
It is not astonishing from a poor, needy person to love one who is kind to him.
لَيْسَ — It is not. The present-negation verb 'is not', raising its delayed subject to the nominative. It opens 'the wonder is not…'.
From: The Path to God's Love →وأما من كان ليس من أهله لكونه غير جامع لأدواته فحرام عليه التفسير لكن له أن ينقل التفسير عن المعتمدين من أهله
As for those who are not its experts due to lack of tools, it is forbidden for them to interpret, but they can convey interpretation from trusted sources.
لَيْسَ — are not. The special 'is-not' verb, denying a whole state — 'he is not [of its people].' Arabic uses this verb where a particle will not do.
From: Quran Interpretation and Debate →أمّا الجمعُ بين فريضتين فليس بجائز
As for combining two obligatory prayers, it is not permissible.
فَلَيْسَ — so it is not. The 'fa-' answers the fronted topic, and the special verb 'is not' delivers the verdict: 'then it is not...'. This verb does the negating where a mere particle would not; it judges combining two obligatory prayers.
From: When Earth Replaces Water →الصمتُ ليس فراغًا؛
Silence is not emptiness;
لَيْسَ — is not. A special verb meaning simply 'is not.' Where most negation uses a particle, Arabic has this whole verb for denying a state. It throws its predicate into the -a form — seen in 'emptiness' next.
From: On Silence →ليس كلُّ لامعٍ نافِع، ولا كلُّ مفيدٍ صاخب
Not everything that glitters is beneficial, and not everything useful is noisy.
لَيْسَ — is not. A special verb meaning 'is not.' Here it opens a 'not all X is Y' statement and throws the eventual predicate into the -a form (seen in 'beneficial' next). It denies that everything shiny is good.
From: Guarding Your Attention →فهما أصول دين الإسلام، ليس إلا،
For they are the fundamentals of the religion of Islam, nothing else.
لَيْسَ — nothing. This is the special negating verb 'is not', and it pairs with the next word in a fixed restrictive idiom 'nothing but / and nothing else'. Unlike the particle-negators, this one behaves like a verb. Here it slams the door on any addition to the two foundations.
From: Scripture Over Speculation →ليس من علوم الإسلام،
Not from the sciences of Islam.
لَيْسَ — not. This is the negating verb 'is not', opening the verdict 'not from the sciences of Islam'. Unlike particle-negators it behaves like a verb. Its subject ('it', the foregoing) is understood from context; the predicate follows.
From: Intention in Islam →والنبي وليس معه أحد إذ رفع لي سواد عظيم فظننت أنهم أمتي،
and a prophet with nobody with him until a vast multitude was raised for me, and I thought it was my nation,
وَلَيْسَ — with nobody. This is 'and' plus the negating verb 'there is not' — opening 'and no one was with him'. Unlike the particle-negators it behaves like a verb. It sets up the circumstance of a prophet entirely alone. Its subject comes after the 'with him'.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →ثم يمكث الناس سبع سنين ليس بين اثنين عداوة،
Then people will remain for seven years without any enmity between two individuals.
لَيْسَ — without. This is the negating verb 'there is not', opening 'there is no enmity...'. Unlike particle-negators it behaves like a verb. Its subject (the enmity) comes after the 'between two' phrase.
From: The Return of Jesus →الذين ليسوا من المصلين ولا من مطعمي المسكين
Those who are not among those who pray, nor among those who feed the poor.
لَيْسُوا — are not. This is the special negating verb that denies being or belonging, carrying a built-in plural 'they' subject, 'they are not'. Unlike the simple negating particle, this is a full verb of negation; it sets up that the group does not belong to a category.
From: Prayer and Charity →وما كان من الله فليس بمخلوق
And what is from Allah is not created.
فَلَيْسَ — is not. A connective 'so/then' fused to the negating verb 'is not'. The 'so' ties this to the topic clause as its comment, and the negating verb denies the predicate that follows, 'is not created'.
From: God's Eternal Word →
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