Arabic vocabulary
يَقُولُsay
How to say “say” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb that pictures the action as ongoing — 'saying,' caught in the act. After 'I heard,' it serves as the second object: what the Prophet was heard doing. Its full -u ending shows it stands free, not clipped by any particle.
From: The Vastness of God's Mercy →فأدبر الرجل وهو يقول والله لا أزيد على هذا ولا أنقص منه،
The man departed saying: 'By Allah, I will not add to or decrease from this.'
يَقُولُ — he says. A present verb 'says / saying', subject 'he' inside, completing the 'while he was saying' circumstance. The present tense paints the speaking as ongoing as he walked off.
From: Prayer, Fasting, Charity →فيسألهم ربهم وهو أعلم ما يقول عبادي؟
Their Lord asks them – and He knows best: What do My servants say?
يَقُولُ — he says. A present verb 'say' — and notice it is SINGULAR even though its subject, 'My servants', is plural. When the verb comes BEFORE its subject in Arabic, it stays singular; the plural is shown only on the subject. So 'what does-[they] My-servants say'.
From: Where Angels Gather →فيقول ألا تستجيبون؟
He will say, "Will you not respond?"
فَيَقُولُ — He will say. This is 'so' plus a present verb 'says' (future), subject 'he' inside — 'so he will say'. The 'fa-' steps the scene on.
From: The Return of Jesus →قال يقول عمير بن الحمام الأنصاري رضي الله عنه يا رسول الله جنة عرضها السماوات والأرض؟
Umayr bin Al-Humam Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'O Messenger of Allah, a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth?'
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb, 'he says', with 'he' built in, used here in the narrator's framing 'he says/relates'. The present form gives a live, reporting feel even within a past account, a common storytelling shift.
From: A Handful of Dates and Paradise →قال لأني سمعت الله يقول ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فأردت أن أكون أنا ذلك الكفؤ إذا كان موجودًا
He said: Because I heard Allah say, '[Nor is there to Him any equivalent],' so I wanted to be that equivalent if it existed.
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'says' with 'He' built in, here describing God's ongoing speech; it sits as a state alongside the object 'heard God saying'.
From: Bedouin Manners →قَالَ الرِّيَاءُ، يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ يُجَازِي الْعِبَادَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ اذْهَبُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تُرَاءُونَهُمْ بِأَعْمَالِكُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَانْظُرُوا هَلْ تَجِدُونَ عِنْدَهُمْ جَزَاءً
He said: 'It is showing off. Allah will say on the Day He recompenses people for their deeds: Go to those for whom you showed off in the world and see if you find any reward with them.'
يَقُولُ — will say. A present-tense verb with its 'he' subject inside, used here for a future event, 'will say'. Arabic often lets the plain present carry a future sense from context, here the Day of Judgment.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →وَقَالَ يَقُولُ اللهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا أَشْرَكَ مَعِي فِيهِ غَيْرِي فَهُوَ لِلَّذِي أَشْرَكَ وَأَنَا مِنْهُ بَرِيءٌ
And he said: 'Allah says: Whoever does a deed in which he associates someone else with Me, it is for the one he associated, and I am free from it.'
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb with its 'he' subject inside, 'He says', framing an ongoing divine statement and introducing the words attributed to Allah.
From: The Hidden Idolatry →فالعربي يقول من معاشرتهن ويلي
So the Arab says from associating with them, 'Woe to me',
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb of speaking whose 'he' subject is folded into its form, needing no separate pronoun. Set against a past-tense narrative, the present here paints the saying as a habitual or vivid ongoing reaction, and it introduces the quoted words that follow.
From: Preferring the Hereafter →وقال المزني سمعت الشافعي رضي الله تعالى عنه يقول
And al‑Muzannī said, 'I heard al‑Shāfiʿī, may Allah be pleased with him, say:'
يَقُولُ — he says. Present-tense verb, 'he says', used after 'I heard' to report ongoing speech. Arabic pairs 'I heard X saying' using this present form even for past speech; its 'he' is built in and it leads into the quote.
From: The Pilgrim's Conduct →سَمِعْتُ الشَّافِعِيَّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ يَقُولُ
I heard al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, say.
يَقُولُ — he says. After 'I heard', this present-tense verb sets up the speech that was heard, the way English says 'I heard him saying'. Its 'he' subject is inside the form, and the present shape paints the saying as ongoing at the moment of hearing.
From: Silence and Supplication →وَيَقُولُ يُوسُفُ بْنُ اَسْبَاطِ وَغَيْرُهُ
And Yusuf ibn Asbat and others say:
وَيَقُولُ — and he says. The wa- here is a topic-shifting 'and' that moves the passage on to a new authority being quoted. The verb is present-tense and shaped for a single 'he' subject, with that subject baked into the form, so it reads 'he says' even before the name appears. It introduces the saying that follows.
From: Truthfulness and Righteousness →يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ أَنَسًا بْنَ مَالِكِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَىٰ عَنْهُ
He says, "I heard Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', used to report ongoing narration. It frames the words that follow as the speaker's report.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ
He says, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', framing the report that follows. It introduces the speaker's narration.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ
He says, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', here used to report the Messenger's quoted words, opening the nested quotation. It frames what the Messenger himself said.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →يَقُولُ أُنْسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ
Anas ibn Malik says, "I heard the Messenger of God say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', framing the report that follows. It introduces the speaker's narration.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →يَقُولُ أُنْسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ
Anas ibn Malik says, "I heard the Messenger of God say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', repeated to re-anchor the report before the quoted speech. It re-frames the narration after the name-chain.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →يَقُولُ أُنْسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُولُ
Anas ibn Malik says, "I heard the Messenger of God say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'he says', opening the nested quotation of the Messenger's own words. It frames what the Messenger himself said.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →فَيَقُولُ يَا أُمَّهُ أَنَا أَعْلَمُ مَا يُرِيدُونَ،
Then he says, "O my mother, I know what they want,"
فَيَقُولُ — then he says. A leading fa- ('then') chains this reply onto what came before, followed by the present verb 'he says' with the 'he' carried inside. Here the fa- is doing turn-taking work in the dialogue, marking the next speaker's response in sequence. The connector and the verb sit together as one written word.
From: Mothers and the Companions →فَيَقُولُ أَطْيَبُ اللَّبَنَاتِ مَا بَاتَ فِي الضَّرْعِ،
So he says, 'The best portions of milk are that which stayed overnight in the udder.'
فَيَقُولُ — so he says. A connector fa- ('so') on the present verb 'he says', with the 'he' inside. The fa- threads this reply onto the prior line, marking the next turn in the exchange. The two pieces sit as one word and open his response.
From: Mothers and the Companions →عَنْ الْمَعْلِيِّ بْنِ أَوْبِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الْمَأْمُونَ يَقُولُ
From al-Mu'allī ibn Uwb, he said: I heard al-Ma'mun say
يَقُولُ — he says. This is a present-shape verb meaning 'is saying', describing what the heard person was in the act of doing. After a verb of perception Arabic uses this present form to paint the action as ongoing at the moment of hearing. It then opens the quoted speech that fills the rest of the passage.
From: A Son Protecting His Father →يَطُوفُ بِهَا حَوْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ
He walks around the house with her, saying
يَقُوْلُ — he says. This is a present-shape verb with its 'he' subject built in, set inside the 'while he...' clause to mean 'saying' as he circles. The present form keeps it concurrent with the circling. It opens the recited lines that follow.
From: Honoring Parents →فَالْعَرَبِيُّ يَقُولُ مِنْ مَعَاشَرَتِهِنَّ وَيْلِي
So the Arab says, "Woe to me from living among them."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'says' carrying a third-person masculine 'he', here used as a vivid present to report what the Arab habitually utters. Its built-in 'he' refers back to the subject named just before. The present tense keeps the saying lively and general rather than fixing it in the past.
From: This World Is Short →وَقَالَ سَالِمٌ سَمِعْتُ اِبْنَ عُمَرَ ـ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ـ يَقُولُ
And Salim said, "I heard Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, say."
يَقُولُ — he says. A present-tense verb 'says' carrying its 'he' subject inside the form. It sits as a circumstantial verb after 'I heard X', so it frames the hearing as catching the person in the act of speaking, opening the report of what was said.
From: A Night with the Companions →
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