نَّاسpeople

Example sentences

• وَلَا مَنْفَعَةَ لَهُ فِي كِيسِهِ سِوَى مَقَالَةِ النَّاسِ لَهُ

  and there is no benefit for him in his bag except the people’s remark:

  النَّاسِ — of the people. The owner-noun completing the chain, 'of the people', set straight after with no word for 'of'. It names whose remark it is and is itself in the (genitive) possessor form.

  From: Empty Fasting, Empty Prayer →

• فَكَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ لِلرِّيَاءِ وَالسُّمْعَةِ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ سِوَى مَقَالَةِ النَّاسِ،

  Similarly, the one who works for showing off and seeking praise has nothing from his action but the people’s remarks,

  النَّاسِ — of the people. The owner-noun closing the chain, 'of the people', placed directly after with no word for 'of'. It names whose remark it is and is itself in the (genitive) possessor form.

  From: Empty Fasting, Empty Prayer →

• يَصْبَحُ النَّاسُ صَوَّامًا،

  The people wake up fasting.

  النَّاسُ — the people. A definite plural noun, marked by al-, standing as the subject of the 'become' verb. It carries the plain subject ending. Although the verb came first, this noun is the doer; Arabic routinely puts the verb ahead of its subject, so reading order and grammatical role do not line up the way English expects.

  From: A Night of Reckoning →

• أَمَّا أَوَّلُ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ فَنَارٌ تَحْشُرُ النَّاسَ

  As for the first of the signs of the Hour, it is a fire that will gather the people.

  النَّاسَ — the people. A definite plural 'the people' in the object ending, marking what the fire drives together. The ending flags it as the thing acted upon, and the 'the' frames it as humankind at large.

  From: What Was Created First →

• كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ غَلَطُوا فِي فَهْمِ الْقَضَاءِ وَالْقَدَرِ

  Many people have erred in their understanding of the divine decree and predestination.

  النَّاسِ — the people. The al- makes this 'the people' as a defined whole, and governed by the partitive 'of' before it, it sits in the genitive. It names the group from which the 'many' are drawn, completing 'many of the people'.

  From: Patience Under Decree →

• رَأَيْتُ إِبْلِيسَ فِي الْمَنَامِ عُرْيَانًا يَتَلَاعَبُ بِالنَّاسِ

  I saw Iblis in a dream, naked and toying with the people.

  بِالنَّاسِ — with the people. The instrument/contact preposition 'bi-', here marking what the playing is done with, fused to a definite noun marked by 'al-', 'with the people'. The 'bi-' forces that noun into the genitive. So one piece carries the relationship and its object: the people he toys with.

  From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →

• بَدَأَتْ مَجَالِسُ ابْنِ الْجَوْزِيِّ تَسْتَقْطِبُ النَّاسَ،

  Ibn al-Jawzi's gatherings began to attract people.

  النَّاسَ — the people. A definite plural noun made the object of 'attract', which is why it takes the object-style ending. The al- prefix marks it as 'the people' in general. Its case is the visible sign that it is what the gatherings drew in, not the one doing the drawing.

  From: Public Preaching →