عَافَىprotect

Example sentences

• فسأل عنه الشعبي، فقال ادخل المسجد، عافاك الله،

  He asked about him to Al-Sha'bi, who said: Enter the mosque, may God protect you,

  عَافَاكَ — may He protect you. This past-tense verb is used as a wish-prayer, 'may He keep you well', with an attached 'you' as its object addressed to one person. Arabic phrases such a blessing with a plain past-form verb that reads as an invocation, and names its subject right after.

  From: The Grandson's Noble Grief →

• قلت يا رسول الله لأن أعافى فأشكر أحب إلي من أن أبتلى فأصبر،

  I said, O Messenger of God, being well and grateful is more beloved to me than being tested and patient.

  أُعَافَى — be well. This verb is in the passive: the person undergoes being made well rather than doing anything, something external restores their health. Arabic marks this not with a helper word like English 'be' but by changing the internal vowels, and the verb also sits in the subjunctive because of the purpose-particle before it.

  From: Health as a Blessing →

• قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من أصبح معافى في بدنه، آمنا في سربه عنده قوت يومه، فكأنما حيزت له الدنيا

  The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: Whoever wakes up healthy in his body, secure in his dwelling, having his day's provision, it is as if the world was gathered for him.

  مُعَافًى — healthy. This is a passive participle describing the person as 'kept healthy', someone upon whom soundness has been bestowed rather than one who acts. It works as a descriptive complement of the waking, with the indefinite ending leaving it general.

  From: Health as a Blessing →