Arabic vocabulary
أَحَدٌone
How to say “one” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
ردّه إلى طين التواضع، واغسله بعملٍ لا يراه أحد
Return it to the clay of humility, and wash it with a deed seen by no one.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. 'ahad' = 'anyone, one (person)'. Subject — so 'no one sees it'.
From: On Sincerity →وإن أحد من المشركين استجارك فأجره حتى يسمع كلام الله
And if one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so he may hear the word of Allah.
أَحَدٌ — one. 'any one,' indefinite, the subject of the condition. In an 'if' clause it means 'should anyone at all' — the doer of 'seeks protection,' though the verb comes after it here.
From: Teaching the Quran to Non-Muslims →الثالث أنه لم يأت لهذا المعنى في القرآن نظير في موضع واحد ولا أنكره أحد حتى يقيم سبحانه الدليل عليه
The third is that there is no counterpart to this meaning in any part of the Quran, nor has anyone denied it to necessitate that God establishes evidence for it.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. This noun 'anyone/one' is the delayed subject of 'denied it', indefinite, here under negation meaning 'no one'. It comes after its verb, the normal verb-then-subject order, completing 'nor did anyone deny it'.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →فقرأ في صلاة الصبح قل هو الله أحد حتى بلغ ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فقال اللهم إن كان في الأرض أحد فاجعله كفوا لي
He recited in the morning prayer 'Say, He is Allah, the One,' until he reached 'and there is none equal to Him,' then said: O Allah, if there is anyone on earth, make him my equal.
أَحَدٌ — One. The final piece of the verbless statement, 'One', with the -un ending of an indefinite predicate. The three words stack into 'He is God, One' with no verb to join them.
From: Bedouin Manners →فقرأ في صلاة الصبح قل هو الله أحد حتى بلغ ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فقال اللهم إن كان في الأرض أحد فاجعله كفوا لي
He recited in the morning prayer 'Say, He is Allah, the One,' until he reached 'and there is none equal to Him,' then said: O Allah, if there is anyone on earth, make him my equal.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. The delayed subject of 'was not', so it carries the -un ending; with no al' it is indefinite, 'anyone'. The full clause reads 'no one was an equal for Him'.
From: Bedouin Manners →فقرأ في صلاة الصبح قل هو الله أحد حتى بلغ ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فقال اللهم إن كان في الأرض أحد فاجعله كفوا لي
He recited in the morning prayer 'Say, He is Allah, the One,' until he reached 'and there is none equal to Him,' then said: O Allah, if there is anyone on earth, make him my equal.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. The subject of the conditional 'if there is', so it takes the -un ending, and with no al' it is indefinite, 'anyone'.
From: Bedouin Manners →قال لأني سمعت الله يقول ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فأردت أن أكون أنا ذلك الكفؤ إذا كان موجودًا
He said: Because I heard Allah say, '[Nor is there to Him any equivalent],' so I wanted to be that equivalent if it existed.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. The delayed subject of 'was not', taking the -un ending; with no al' it is indefinite, 'anyone'.
From: Bedouin Manners →وَخَلَا الطَّرِيقُ لَا يَمُرُّ فِيهِ أَحَدٌ،
And the road lay deserted; no one passed along it.
أَحَدٌ — one. An indefinite noun, 'anyone', whose trailing '-un' sound marks it as indefinite and as the subject of 'passes'. Paired with the earlier negation it yields the overall 'no one'. The indefinite tail does the work English handles with 'a/anyone'.
From: A Night with the Prophet →فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَمْشِيَ مَعَهُ أَحَدٌ ـ قَالَ ـ
So I thought that he disliked anyone walking with him, he said.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. An indefinite noun, 'anyone/a single person', marked with a final 'n'-type ending. It is the doer of the subjunctive walking verb, named after its verb in Arabic order, and its indefinite shape gives the open 'anyone at all' reading.
From: Paradise for the Sincere →مَا سَمِعْتُ أَحَدًا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْكَ شَيْئًا
I did not hear anyone reply to you.
أَحَدًا — anyone. An indefinite noun, 'anyone/a single person', marked with a final 'n'-type ending and sitting in the set object form as what was not heard. In this negative frame it gives the sweeping 'not a soul'.
From: Paradise for the Sincere →وَلِهَذَا يُقَابِلُ أَحَدُهُمَا بِالْآخَرِ
And for this reason, one of them corresponds with the other.
أَحَدُهُمَا — one of them. A quantifier ('one') with a DUAL 'them-two' attached, picking one of exactly two. The dual suffix shows the reference is to a pair, so 'one of the two' is built into the word.
From: Patience and the Human Self →وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الصَّحَابَةِ إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ يَنْحِي شَيْطَانَهُ كَمَا يَنْحِي أَحَدُكُمْ بَعِيرَهُ فِي السَّفَرِ
And some of the Companions said that the believer drives away his devil as one of you drives off his camel on a journey.
أَحَدُكُمْ — one of you. A noun carrying the owner ending '-kum' (you, plural) and meaning 'one of you', the subject of the simile's verb. The plural suffix addresses the listeners as a group.
From: Staying Firm in Faith →فَإِنَّهُمْ قَدْ يَشْهَدُونَ مَا يُقَدَّرُ عَلَى أَحَدِهِمْ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِيِ وَالذُّنُوبِ
So they may witness the sins and wrongdoings that are decreed upon any one of them.
أَحَدِهِمْ — one of them. This noun 'one' carries a tail -hum, 'them', forming 'one of them', and sits in the genitive under the 'upon' before it. The suffix points back to the people earlier, so the phrase names any single member of that group as the one decreed upon.
From: Patience Under Decree →أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلَّا وَهُوَ أَحْمَقُ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ،
There is no one among people who is not foolish about what lies between him and God, the Exalted and Majestic.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. This noun is the subject of the negating 'there is not', kept indefinite ('anyone') and singular to mean 'not a single one'. Working with the negation, it forms the universal 'no one'. It is what the exception clause will later carve into.
From: On Foolishness and Wisdom →مَا أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلَّا وَهُوَ أَحْمَقُ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ،
There is no one among people who is not foolish regarding what lies between him and his Lord, the Exalted and Majestic.
أَحَدٌ — one. This noun is the subject of the negation, kept indefinite and singular to mean 'not a single one'. With the preceding negation it forms 'no one'. It is the universal that the exception will narrow.
From: On Foolishness and Wisdom →لَمْ يَجْسُرْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ أَنْ يَتَغَيَّرَ عَلَيْهِ
None of them dared to turn against him.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. An indefinite noun, 'someone'; paired with the earlier negation it flips to 'no one'. As the subject of the daring it takes the plain naming ending, the party the denial is about.
From: Sheba's Garden and Destruction →فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ قَامَ الشَّيْخُ
When none of them changed, the sheikh stood up.
أَحَدٌ — one. An indefinite noun, 'one'; under the negation it reads as 'not one'. As the subject of the non-change it takes the plain naming ending, the party the denial is about.
From: Sheba's Garden and Destruction →أَدْخَلَهُ اللَّهُ الْجَنَّةَ فَمَا قَامَ مِنَّا أَحَدٌ
Allah admitted him to Paradise, and none of us stood up.
أَحَدٌ — one. This indefinite noun, 'anyone', is the real doer of 'stood', placed after the verb. Because the clause is under negation, an indefinite 'anyone' flips to mean 'no one at all'. This pairing of a negator with a bare indefinite is Arabic's standard way of saying 'not a single one'.
From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →فَوَاللَّهِ مَا قَامَ مِنَّا أَحَدٌ
By God, none of us stood up.
أَحَدٌ — one. This indefinite noun, 'anyone', is the real doer of 'stood', sitting after the verb. Because the clause is negated, the bare indefinite hardens into 'no one'. Negator plus indefinite noun is Arabic's regular machinery for 'not a single person'.
From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →فَوَاللَّهِ مَا قَامَ أَحَدٌ مِنَّا
By God, not one of us stood up.
أَحَدٌ — one person. This indefinite noun is the doer of 'stood', placed after the verb and marked by the subject ending. Because the clause is negated, the bare indefinite reads as 'no one'. Negator plus indefinite is the standard 'not one person' pattern.
From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →شَدِيدُ سَوَادِ الشَّعْرِ، لَا يُرَى عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ السَّفَرِ، وَلَا يَعْرِفُهُ مِنَّا أَحَدٌ
His hair is intensely black; he shows no sign of travel, and none of us recognizes him.
أَحَدٌ — anyone. An indefinite noun, 'anyone', that is the subject of 'knows'; standing after the negation, it flips to mean 'no one'. Arabic gets 'no one' by negating 'anyone' rather than using a single negative word.
From: When Gabriel Came to Teach →
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