Arabic vocabulary
How to say “people” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
قِيلَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ أَعْلَمُ أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ
It was said to the Messenger of God, "Are the people of Paradise more knowledgeable than the people of the Fire?"
أَهْلِ — the people of. Another 'people of' construct head, parallel to the earlier one, governing the noun that follows in an 'of' chain. It wears the after-preposition ending set by the 'than' before it and drops its own 'the' to borrow definiteness from its owner. It heads the second group in the comparison.
From: Trust and Piety →وَفِي كِتَابِ التَّوْرَاةِ الَّتِي بِأَيْدِ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ
And in the Torah that is in the hands of the People of the Book.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun 'people of' that heads an 'of' pairing with 'the Book' next, giving 'the People of the Book'. It stands in the genitive as the owner inside the larger 'in the hands of...' phrase, and draws its definiteness from the noun completing it.
From: Adam, Eve, and the Forbidden Tree →فَقَالَ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ أَوْ مَكَّةٍ
Then he said to a man from Medina or Mecca.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun, 'people of', that heads an 'of' pairing with the place-name after it, joined directly with no word for 'of'. Governed by the 'from' before it, it sits in the 'of'-style ending. It draws its definiteness from the place-name it owns.
From: A Night with the Prophet →أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لَوْلَا أَنَّكَ مَعَ أَبِي صَفْوَانِ مَا رَجَعْتَ إِلَى أَهْلِكَ سَالِمًا
By God, had you not been with Abu Sufyan, you would not have returned safely to your family.
أَهْلِكَ — your family. A noun with attached -ka 'your' on its end, fusing owner and owned in one word — 'your family'. It is the goal of the return, governed by the 'to' before it.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →عَلَى أَبِي الْحَكَمِ سَيِّدِ أَهْلِ الْوَادِيِ
By Abu al-Hakam, the chief of the people of the valley.
أَهْلِ — people of. The first noun of a further 'of' pairing — 'people of' — itself in the 'of' (genitive) shape inside the larger chain. As head it gives up its own 'the' and draws definiteness from the word after it.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ أُمَيَّةُ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ قَالَ يَا أُمُّ صَفْوَانِ،
So when Umayya returned to his household, he said, 'O Umm Safwan,'
أَهْلِهِ — his household. A noun with attached -hi 'his' fusing owner and owned — 'his family/household'. Governed by the 'to' before it, it names where he returned.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →وَأَنْتَ سَيِّدُ أَهْلِ الْوَادِيِ تَخَلَّفُوا مَعَكَ،
And you are the leader of the people of the valley; they lagged behind with you.
أَهْلِ — people of. The first noun of an 'of' pairing — 'people of' — in the 'of' (genitive) shape inside the chain. As head it gives up its own 'the' and draws definiteness from the word after it.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →قَالَ الْحَقُّ إِلَى أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ فَادْعُهُمْ لِي
The Truth said to the People of the Suffah, "Call them to me."
أَهْلِ — people of. The noun 'people of', first half of a possessive pairing with 'the Suffah', so it drops its own 'the' and takes definiteness from the owner that follows. The two words mean 'the People of the Suffah', built by side-by-side placement. It sits in the post-preposition form because 'to' governs the whole phrase.
From: Generosity to the Poor →وَمَا هَذَا الْلَّبَنُ فِي أَهْلِ الْصُّفَّةِ
And what is this milk to the people of the Suffa?
أَهْلِ — people of. The noun 'people of', first half of a possessive pairing with 'the Suffa', so it drops its own 'the' and takes definiteness from the owner that follows. The two words mean 'the people of the Suffa', built side by side. It sits in the post-preposition form after 'in'.
From: Generosity to the Poor →فَإِنَّهُ أَوَّلُ رَسُولِ بَعَثَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ
So indeed he was the first messenger sent by Allah to the people of the earth.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun in the 'of' form, held there by the preceding 'to', and itself the head of a possessive pairing reaching forward to the next noun, 'people of...'. So it is doubly bound: governed by the preposition and leaning on the following word to complete 'the people of the earth'.
From: Intercession on Judgment Day →فَسَأَلَ عَنْ أَعْلَمِ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ،
So he asked about the most learned of the people of the earth.
أَهْلِ — people of. This noun means 'people of' and is itself the head of a further possessive pairing with the next word, while also being the owner that completes the superlative phrase before it. So it sits in the middle of a stacked 'most-learned of the people of the earth' chain, linking both ends.
From: The Joy of Repentance →ثُمَّ سَأَلَ عَنْ أَعْلَمِ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ،
Then he asked about the most learned person on earth.
أَهْلِ — people of. This noun means 'people of' and completes the superlative pairing while heading a further one with the next word, so it sits mid-chain in 'the most-learned of the people of the earth'. It keeps the 'of...' (genitive) ending the construction demands.
From: The Joy of Repentance →وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْ مَحَبَّتِهِ لِأَهْلِهِ وَفِي ذُلِّكَ أَعْظَمُ تَرْغِيبٍ لِلرَّاغِبِينَ
And He informed of His love for its people, and in that is the greatest encouragement for those who desire.
لِأَهْلِهِ — for its people. The li- prefix marks the recipients of the love ('for'), with an attached possessor on 'people'. The preposition governs the genitive, so it reads 'for its/His people'.
From: Patience and God's Help →قَالَ تَعَالَى عَنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ
God, the Exalted, said concerning the people of the Fire.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun ('people') leading the first half of an 'of' pairing ('people of the Fire'), in the genitive after the preposition. As the head it stays bare of 'the', handing definiteness to the owner that follows.
From: Patience and the Human Self →وَمَثَلُ هَذِهِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَا تَفْرِقُ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَأَهْلِ النَّارِ
And the example of this servitude does not distinguish between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun 'people of' heading an 'of' pairing with 'Paradise' next, and itself governed by 'between' so genitive. It is the first of the two groups.
From: What Worship Really Means →وَمَثَلُ هَذِهِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَا تَفْرِقُ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَأَهْلِ النَّارِ
And the example of this servitude does not distinguish between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
وَأَهْلِ — and the people of. The 'wa-' joins the second group to 'between', and 'people of' heads another 'of' pairing. It keeps the 'between' relation, pairing this group against the first.
From: What Worship Really Means →كَانَ مِنْ جِنْسِ إِبْلِيسِ وَأَهْلِ النَّارِ
He was of the same kind as Iblis and the people of the Fire.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun 'people of' that opens another possessive pair. As the owner-side it drops its own article and takes its definiteness from the noun after it, building toward 'people of the Fire'.
From: What Worship Really Means →وَاللَّهِ لَوْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ مَذْهَبِيِّ لَبَذَلْتُ رَوْحِيَ وَمَالِيَ فِي خِدْمَتِهِ
By God, if he had been of my school of thought, I would have devoted my life and my wealth to serving him.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun 'people (of)' that is the first half of an 'of' possessive pair, governed into the genitive by the preposition and waiting for its owner-word. 'People of …' is the idiom for adherents of a thing.
From: An Exiled Scholar's Trials →أَنْ يَرَى جَمِيعُ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُ
that all people of the world see good from him.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun meaning the 'folk/people of', built to link with the noun after it in a possessive pairing, 'the people of the world', so it sits in the genitive as the owned-by middle term of a chain. Arabic stacks such 'X of Y of Z' links by simple juxtaposition. It connects 'all' to 'the world'.
From: On Reason and Temptation →وَلَيْسَتْ قُوَّةُ الشَّيْطَانِ بِأَكْثَرِ قُوَّةٍ مِنْ مَغْفِرَةِ الرَّحْمَنِ فِي قُلُوبِ أَهْلِ الإِيمَانِ
Satan's power is not greater than the forgiveness of the Merciful in the hearts of the believers.
أَهْلِ — people of. A noun ('people of') in the middle of the chain 'hearts of the PEOPLE of faith': it owns 'hearts' and is in turn owned by 'faith'. So it sits in the genitive ending and links the two ends of the possessive chain.
From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →مَا أَحَدُ مِمَّنِ رَوَيْتُ عَنْهُ هُوَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ أَهْلِ زَمَانُنَا،
There is no one among those I narrated from who is better than all the people of our time.
أَهْلِ — people. This noun continues the chain begun by 'all', heading its own pairing with the next word, 'people of our time'. It sits in the genitive owned-by slot of the 'all of...' phrase while itself owning the noun that follows.
From: Permissible Laughter and Conduct →أَمْزَحُ فِيهِ مَزْحَ أَهْلِ الْفَضْلِ وَالْمُزْحُ أَحْيَانًا جَلَاءُ الْعَقْلِ
I joke in it as people of merit do, and jesting sometimes clears the mind.
أَهْلِ — people of. A word 'people of / folk of' heading an ownership pairing with the next noun, 'people of merit'. As the lead of that chain it drops its own 'the' and leans on the following noun, building an 'X of Y' unit.
From: Permissible Laughter and Conduct →OpenArabic teaches words like أَهْلِ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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