شَيْطَانٌSatan

Example sentences

• فذلك بيت الشيطان،

  that is the house of Satan,

  الشَّيْطَانِ — the Satan. The owner completing 'house of Satan', genitive, definite. The pairing brands that heart as Satan's dwelling.

  From: Repelling the Devil →

• فأيُّ شيطان يجترئ على هذا القلب؟،

  So what Satan could dare to approach this heart?!

  شَيْطَانٍ — Satan. The owner completing 'which devil', genitive (the tanwin) — 'what [of] devil'. Indefinite, asking after any devil at all.

  From: Repelling the Devil →

• ولكن تصده عن الحق شهوات النفس، ووساوس الشيطان، ومجالسة الأشرار، وطول الأمل، وحب الدنيا

  But desires of the self, whispers of Satan, keeping company with the wicked, long hopes, and love of the world divert it from the truth.

  الشَّيْطَانِ — Satan. The completing half of 'whispers of Satan', so it carries the possessive case and the 'the' that defines the phrase. Set beside the first noun with no word for 'of', it names whose whispers are meant.

  From: A Sound Heart Knows →

• وَلَا يَقْرَبَنَّكَ شَيْطَانٌ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ

  And no devil will come near you until morning.

  شَيْطَانٌ — a devil. An indefinite noun standing as the subject of 'will come near', the thing kept away. With no 'the' it is generic, 'any devil at all', which under the negation strengthens the sweep of the promise to none whatsoever.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• وَقَالَ لِي لَنْ يَزَالَ عَلَيْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَافِظٌ وَلَا يَقْرَبَكَ شَيْطَانٌ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ،

  He said to me, "A guardian from God will not cease to be upon you, and no devil will come near you until morning."

  شَيْطَانٌ — devil. An indefinite noun naming any devil, the delayed subject of 'comes near'; without 'the' it means 'no devil at all' under the preceding negation rather than one specific being. Arabic sets this subject after its verb, as it regularly does.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• قَالَ لَا قَالَ ذَاكَ شَيْطَانٌ

  He said, 'No.' He said, 'That one is a devil.'

  شَيْطَانٌ — a devil. An indefinite noun completing the identification 'that one is a devil'; without 'the' it classifies the referent rather than pointing to a known being. It serves as the statement made about the pointing word before it.

  From: The Verse of the Throne →

• فَعَرَضَ لَهُ فِي طَرِيقِهِ شَيْطَانٌ مِنْ شَيَاطِينِ الْإِنْسِ،

  A devil from among the devils of humankind appeared to him on his way.

  شَيْطَانٌ — a devil. An indefinite noun 'a devil', and being indefinite it is the delayed subject of the earlier verb 'appeared', introducing a new character. Arabic holds the subject back and marks its newness by leaving off al-. An 'of' phrase follows to say what sort of devil.

  From: Choosing Good Companions →

• فَيَسْتَسْلِمُ الْبَائِسُ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَجُنْدِهِ

  So the wretched man surrenders to Satan and his troops.

  لِلشَّيْطَانِ — to Satan. The li- prefix is the 'to' preposition marking the one surrendered to, and it forces the genitive on the divine adversary's name. So beyond a stray 'to', it assigns Satan the role of the party the wretched man yields himself up to.

  From: Three States of the Heart →

• وَقَدْ يَعْبُدُ الشَّيْطَانَ وَالْأَصْنَامَ

  And he may worship Satan and the idols.

  الشَّيْطَانَ — Satan. A definite proper name in the object accusative, the first thing wrongly worshipped: Satan. The case marks it as the verb's object.

  From: What Worship Really Means →