فَكَأَنَّمَاso as if

Example sentences

• فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا

  Corruption in the earth, so as if he killed the people entirely, and whoever revived it, so as if he revived the people entirely.

  فَكَأَنَّمَا — so as if. This packs fa- 'then/so' with a particle meaning 'as if', combining into the result-marker of the condition - 'then [it is] as if'. The fa- answers 'whoever killed...' by tying on the consequence, while the 'as if' opens a simile equating the one killing to a mass-killer. So it launches the famous comparison that follows.

  From: The Gravity of Murder →