How do you say "restrain" in Arabic?

رَدَّ (radda) — its core sense is to send something back or turn it away, extended to restraining someone from a course of action.

What does the Qur'anic phrase 'lā maradda lahu' mean?

Literally "there is no averting it" — used of God's command or of the Day of Resurrection, which cannot be turned back.

Arabic vocabulary

ردrestrain in Arabic

رد is how you say “restrain” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.

Root ر د د (r-d-d)verb (form I)Pronounced radda

Meaning of restrain in Arabic

to return, send back, or bring back — e.g. sending a person back to his home, or restoring a deposit to its owner
to reject or refuse to accept — used for turning away a gift, a claim, or bad money
to reply or answer — as in returning a greeting or a response
to restrain, or gently turn someone back from a course

Often takes a preposition: رَدَّ إِلَى to return or restore something to someone (with a sense of honor), and رَدَّ عَلَى to reject, refute, or reply to someone. The Qur'anic phrase يَوْمٌ لَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ("a day there is no averting") uses this root for the Day of Resurrection, which cannot be turned back or escaped.

Words from the same root

رَدٌّthe act of returning or rejecting something
رَادٌّone who sends back or rejects
مَرَدٌّa return, an averting
رِدَّةٌa returning, a repeating
تَرْدَادٌa repeated returning, reiteration

Common questions

How do you say "restrain" in Arabic?: رَدَّ (radda) — its core sense is to send something back or turn it away, extended to restraining someone from a course of action.
What does the Qur'anic phrase 'lā maradda lahu' mean?: Literally "there is no averting it" — used of God's command or of the Day of Resurrection, which cannot be turned back.

Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).

Example sentences

وَالْعَبْدُ مُجْتَهِدٌ فِي رَدِّهَا
And the servant strives to restrain it.
رَدِّهَا — restrain it. 'radd' = 'pushing back, restraining'; '-ha' = 'it', so 'restraining it'.
From: Taming the Lower Self →
أنه لما كان بابُ المناظرة في الرد والقبول مُتَّسِعًا، وكل واحدٍ من المتناظرين في الاستدلال والجواب يرسل عِنانه في الاحتجاج، ومنه ما يكون صوابًا ومنه ما يكون خطأً،
that since the field of debate in rejection and acceptance was wide, and each debater in reasoning and answering would let loose his reins in argumentation, some of it being correct and some incorrect,
الرَّدِّ — rejection. Genitive after 'fi' — 'rebuttal, refuting'; the verbal noun.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →

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