أَوْ or in Arabic

هناك، في المسافة الخفية، تُعرَض عليك اختياراتك الأولى أن تستجيب لوطأة العادة، أو أن تؤثر ما يرفعك درجةً في البصيرة

There, in the hidden distance, your first choices are presented to you: to respond to the pressure of habit, or to prefer what elevates you a degree in insight.

أَوْ or

'aw' = 'or', offering an alternative.

From Small Daily Habits

راقب خاطرًا يمرّ كطيف، فإن وجدت فيه رياءً أو رغبةً عمياء، فاغسله بالاستغفار والعمل الهادئ

Observe a thought passing like a phantom; if you find hypocrisy or blind desire in it, cleanse it with repentance and calm action.

أَوْ or

'aw' = 'or'.

From Small Daily Habits

إذا داهمك خاطرٌ يجرّك إلى رياءٍ أو عُجب، اسأله بهدوء هل يزيدني قربًا أم يصنع لي تمثالًا من دخان

If a thought comes to you that leads you to vanity or conceit, ask it calmly: does it bring me closer, or does it create a statue of smoke?

أَوْ or

'aw' = 'or'.

From On Sincerity

فلعب يَوْمًا بالنرد على أَن من قمر صَاحبه شرب المَاء الَّذِي فِي النَّهر كُله أَو افتدي مِنْهُ

One day, he played dice on the condition that whoever lost to his companion would drink all the water in the river or ransom themselves from it.

أَوِ or

'aw' = 'or'.

From Luqman's Response to Injustice

قَالَ عَيْنَيْك أفقؤهما أَو جَمِيع مَا تملك

He said, 'Your eyes, gouge them out, or everything you own.'

أَوْ or

'aw' = 'or'.

From Luqman's Response to Injustice

فَقل لَهُ اشرب مَا بَين ضفتي النَّهر أَو الْمَدّ

Then say to him, 'Drink what is between the banks of the river or the tide.'

أَوِ or

'aw' = 'or'.

From Luqman's Response to Injustice

إِذا لم يكن فِيهِ تَشْبِيه الْخَالِق بالمخلوق أَو الْمَخْلُوق بالخالق

If there is no likening of the Creator to the creation or the creation to the Creator.

أَوْ or

'or', branching to the mirror-image case; it links the two parallel comparisons without altering their grammar.

From Worship God Alone

وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف

And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.

أَوِ or

'or' — offering an alternative image; it links two comparisons without changing case.

From Small Deeds, Great Reward

أو لتعديه حدود الله بسلوك السبل التي نهى عنها،

or by transgressing the limits of Allah by pursuing forbidden paths,

أَوْ or

'or', alternative.

From Judging by Revelation

أو لاتباع هواه بغير هدى من الله،

or by following his desires without guidance from Allah,

أَوْ or

'or', alternative.

From Judging by Revelation

وذلك من فِعْل غالط أو مغالط للمجادلة،

This is the work of someone mistaken or deliberately misleading in debate.

أَوْ or

'or', alternative.

From Misguided Methodology

أَو يسمع مِنْهُ مَا يكره

Or hears from him what He dislikes.

أَوْ Or

A conjunction 'or', offering an alternative to the previous clause; here it continues under the same 'that' and subjunctive. It adds a second thing he is ashamed of.

From Humility Before the Divine

أَو يخفي فِي سَرِيرَته مَا يمقته عَلَيْهِ

Or conceals in his heart what He would despise in him.

أَوْ Or

A conjunction 'or', a third alternative under the same 'that' and subjunctive. It adds what he hides within.

From Humility Before the Divine

ويكفي إيصالُ الترابِ إلى الوجهِ واليدينِ بأيِّ وسيلةٍ ممكنةٍ؛ باليدِ أو بخرقةٍ أو خشبةٍ

It is sufficient to apply the dust to the face and hands by any means possible, whether by hand, cloth, or wood.

أَوْ or

'or' — offering an alternative instrument. It strings together the options ('by the hand OR by a cloth OR a stick'), showing the method truly is free.

From The Practice of Earth Cleansing

ويكفي إيصالُ الترابِ إلى الوجهِ واليدينِ بأيِّ وسيلةٍ ممكنةٍ؛ باليدِ أو بخرقةٍ أو خشبةٍ

It is sufficient to apply the dust to the face and hands by any means possible, whether by hand, cloth, or wood.

أَوْ or

'or' once more, adding a third option. The repeated 'or' underlines that any of these will serve to convey the dust.

From The Practice of Earth Cleansing

يخرج الدجال في أمتى فيمكث أربعين لا أدري يوماً أو أربعين شهراً، أو أربعين عاماً،

The Dajjal will appear in my nation and will remain for forty—I do not know whether days or months or years.

أَوْ or

This is 'or', offering an alternative — the speaker is unsure, so 'days OR...'. It links the guessed units of time.

From The Return of Jesus

يخرج الدجال في أمتى فيمكث أربعين لا أدري يوماً أو أربعين شهراً، أو أربعين عاماً،

The Dajjal will appear in my nation and will remain for forty—I do not know whether days or months or years.

أَوْ or

Another 'or', adding the third alternative. It links to the last guessed unit of the forty.

From The Return of Jesus

فلا يبقى على وجه الأرض أحد في قلبه مثقال ذرة من خير أو إيمان إلا قبضته،

No one will remain on the face of the earth with an atom's weight of goodness or faith in their heart except that the wind will take their soul.

أَوْ or

This is 'or', offering an alternative — 'goodness OR faith'. Either, in the smallest measure, marks one out to be taken.

From The Return of Jesus

ثم يرسل الله أو قال ينزل الله مطرا كأنه الطل أو الظل،

Then Allah will send—or he said: Allah will send down—rain like dew or shade,

أَوْ or

This is 'or', here marking a narrator's hesitation between two wordings — 'will send, OR [he said] will send down'. It flags an alternative reported phrasing, not a real choice in the events.

From The Return of Jesus

ثم يرسل الله أو قال ينزل الله مطرا كأنه الطل أو الظل،

Then Allah will send—or he said: Allah will send down—rain like dew or shade,

أَوْ or

This is 'or', offering an alternative likeness — 'like dew OR shade'. It links the two comparisons for the gentle, reviving rain.

From The Return of Jesus

أو أرجعه إلى منزله الذي خرج منه بما نال من أجر،

or bringing him back to his home from which he departed with what he has gained of reward,

أَوْ or

This particle 'or' offers an alternative to the previous outcome, 'or...'. Its job is to set the two possible rewards side by side; it links coordinate options without ranking them.

From Paradise for Those Who Strive

أو غنيمة،

or spoils of war.

أَوْ or

This particle 'or' offers a final alternative reward, 'or spoils'. It links one more coordinate option onto the list of possible outcomes.

From Paradise for Those Who Strive

فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره

For when a servant falls into hardship, he either repels it with his own strength or the strength of someone who helps him.

أَوْ or

A connector 'or', opening the second branch of the 'either...or', offering the alternative means. It simply sets the two options side by side.

From Preparing for Judgment Day

وهو الناصر فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره وكلاهما معدوم في حقه

He is the helper, for when the servant falls into distress, he may either repel it with his own strength or with the strength of someone who helps him; both of these are absent in his case.

أَوْ or

This is the choice conjunction 'or', linking the second alternative to the first. It governs nothing grammatically but structures the sentence, presenting an equally weighted option after the 'either' set up earlier.

From Oaths That Seal the Truth