Arabic vocabulary
How to say “scholar” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
رجل تعلم العلم وعلمه وقرأ القرآن وأقرأه ليقول الناس هو عالم وقارئ،
A man who learned knowledge, taught it, and recited the Quran, but did so for people's praise, saying: He is a scholar and a reciter,
عَالِمٌ — a scholar. The predicate of the quoted sentence, indefinite nominative, naming what people call him. The indefiniteness frames it as a label, 'a learned one'.
From: Deeds for God Alone →فدل على رجل عالم فقال إنه قتل مائة نفس فهل له من توبة؟
He was directed to a scholar and said, 'He has killed a hundred people; is there repentance for him?'
عَالِمٍ — a scholar. This adjective trails 'man' and agrees with it — genitive, indefinite — 'learned / a scholar'. Agreement in case binds it to its noun. So 'a learned man', the wiser counsellor.
From: Righteous Company →الْعَالِمُ إِذَا أَرَادَ بِعِلْمِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَىٰ هَابَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ
When a scholar seeks, by his knowledge, the Face of Allah Most High, everything fears him.
العَالِمُ — the scholar. A definite noun 'the scholar', the subject the whole conditional sentence is about, in the nominative shape. The 'al-' generalizes it to any scholar of this kind.
From: Wealth and Knowledge on Trial →عَالِمٌ عُرِفَ بِالْجِدَالِ فِي الْفِقْهِ، فَاقْتَنَعَ بِرِئَاسَتِهِ،
A scholar who was known for disputation in jurisprudence, so he became content with his leadership,
عالمٌ — a scholar. An indefinite noun standing as the subject of the description that follows, the first of the two figures being set up. Its bare, no-'the' form presents 'a scholar' as a fresh, unspecified type, whose character the next clauses fill in.
From: Guidance for the Seeker →فَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَالَمِ أَنْ يَتَوَفَّرَ عَلَى التَّصَانِيفِ إِنْ وَفَّقَ لِلْتَّصْنِيفِ الْمُفِيدِ
Therefore, it is incumbent upon the scholar to devote himself to written works if he is granted success in producing a useful work.
لِلْعَالَمِ — upon the scholar. This attaches the 'to/for' preposition to a definite noun, marking the scholar as the one on whom the duty falls. With the obligation verb before it, the preposition assigns the role of 'the one obliged', and it forces the noun into the after-preposition case.
From: A Life of Reading and Writing →وَرُبَّمَا قَالَ الْعَالِمُ الْمَحْضُ لِنَفْسِهِ
And perhaps the pure scholar said to his self:
الْعَالِمُ — the scholar. The al- marks this as definite, and it is the postponed subject of the saying verb, so it takes the doer-style nominative ending. It names who does the speaking, and the following adjective will pin a quality onto him.
From: Preparing for Death and Repentance →فيه من حكم أو خبر أو أثبت ما نفاه أو نفي ما أثبته وهو عالم بذلك أو يشك في شئ من ذلك
It contains a ruling or a report, or he affirmed what he had denied, or denied what he had affirmed; he is aware of that, or doubts something of it.
عَالِمٌ — aware. An active participle 'aware', the predicate of the 'while he is...' clause, in the nominative. Built from 'to know', it names the offender as one who knows what he is doing. It underlines that the act is done knowingly.
From: Honoring the Quran →OpenArabic teaches words like عَالِمٌ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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