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لَيْسَ not in Arabic

لَيْسَ is how you say “not” in Arabic.

Root ل ي س l-y-s. verb (defective; used as a negator). laysa.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of not in Arabic

  1. is not, are not negates a nominal predicate, usually in the present; governs like كان, subject nominative and predicate accusative
  2. except, other than used as an exceptive particle in place of إلّا
  3. not at all, there is no used like the absolute negator لا التبرئة

Example sentence

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

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

لَيْسَ is a defective verb: it only exists in the past-tense form, with no imperative, participle, or verbal noun of its own. Like كان, it puts its subject in the nominative and its predicate in the accusative, and the predicate may optionally take the preposition بِ for emphasis.

Words from the same root

More example sentences

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

Common questions

How do you say "not" in Arabic?
لَيْسَ (laysa) — a defective verb that negates a nominal sentence, e.g. 'Zeyd is not standing.'
What does أَلَيْسَ mean?
It is the interrogative form of لَيْسَ, meaning 'is it not...?', often used to make a rhetorical negation.

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).