نَفْسٌ soul in Arabic

وَالْعَمَلَ سَائِقٌ وَالنَّفْسَ حَرُونٌ

And action is a driver, and the soul is stubborn.

وَالنَّفْسُ and the soul

'wa-' = 'and'; 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul, self', so 'and the soul'.

From Faith as Light

إِنَّ النَّفْسَ إِذَا أُطْمِعَتْ طَمِعَتْ

Indeed, when the soul is given hope of something, it becomes greedy.

النَّفْسَ the soul

'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'. The '-a' ending is the object form after 'inna'.

From Faith as Light

فَاحْذَرْ نَفْسَكَ

Beware of your soul.

نَفْسَكَ your soul

'nafs' = 'soul, self'; '-ka' = 'your' (to one man), so 'your soul'. Object of the command.

From Faith as Light

وَإِنَّ الْحَكِيمَ يُذِّلُّ نَفْسَهُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ حَتَّى تَعْتَرِفَ بِالْحَقِّ

And indeed, the wise humbles his soul with difficulties until it acknowledges the truth.

نَفْسَهُ his soul

'nafs' = 'soul'; '-hu' = 'his', so 'his soul'.

From Faith as Light

وَإِنَّ الأَحْمَقَ يُخَيِّرُ نَفْسَهُ فِي الأَخْلاقِ فَمَا أَحَبَّتْ مِنْهَا أَحَبَّ وَمَا كَرِهَتْ مِنْهَا كَرِهَ

And indeed, the foolish lets his soul choose in matters of conduct, so what it likes, he likes, and what it dislikes, he dislikes.

نَفْسَهُ his soul

'nafs' = 'soul'; '-hu' = 'his', so 'his soul'.

From Faith as Light

ينبع الطريق إلى تهذيب النفس من ملاحظة اللحظة الصغيرة التي تمر بين شهيق وزفير

The path to refining the soul springs from noticing the small moment that passes between inhalation and exhalation.

النَّفْسِ the soul

'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'; the 'of' word, so 'of the soul'.

From Small Daily Habits

فالنفس كالدابة، إن أحسنت عِلفها ومَشْيها وصلت بك إلى المرعى، وإن أطلقت لها العِنان أوردتك مورد الهلكة

For the soul is like a beast; if you nurture and guide it well, it will lead you to pasture, but if you give it free rein, it will bring you to destruction.

فَالنَّفْسُ so the soul

'fa-' = 'for, so'; 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul', so 'so the soul'.

From Small Daily Habits

النفس تُروَّض بالصدق مع اللحظة لا بالشعارات

The soul is tamed through honesty with the moment, not through slogans.

النَّفْسُ the soul

'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul, self'. Subject of the sentence.

From On Sincerity

هذه الزيادات الصغيرة هي السلّم الخفي الذي يصعد بك حين لا يراك أحد، حتى تصير النفس مطمئنة، والعمل سهلًا، والطريق مضيئًا من الداخل

These small increments are the hidden ladder that lifts you when no one sees, until the soul becomes content, the work easy, and the path illuminated from within.

النَّفْسُ the soul

'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'. Subject, 'the soul'.

From On Sincerity

فهو الظالم لنفسه، وهو من أهل الوعيد؛

he is wronging himself, and he is among those warned;

لِنَفْسِهِ for his self

'against himself' — 'li' plus 'nafs' plus 'his'; the participle 'wronging' governs 'li' for the wronged party — and the one he wrongs is his own soul.

From Judging by Revelation

تُبنى الأحكامُ على حفظِ خمسةٍ تُعَدُّ أُسَّ النظام الدِّينِ، والنَّفسِ، والعقلِ، والنَّسلِ، والمالِ

Judgments are based on the preservation of five essential values: religion, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth.

والنَّفْسِ and the life

'and life / the soul,' the second essential, joined by 'and' in the -i form. The run of five protected values continues — life after religion.

From Five Objectives of Islamic Law

والحق منه فكامن في النفوس الزكية بعبارات غريبة،

The truth of it lies hidden in pure souls with strange expressions.

النُّفُوسِ souls

A broken plural, 'the souls / selves,' in the -i form after 'in.' Qualified by 'pure' next: it is in PURE souls that logic's truths already lie — making the formal study redundant.

From Revelation Over Philosophy

كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفساً،

There was among those before you a man who killed ninety-nine people.

نَفْسًا people

This is the counted noun after the number, and a fixed rule applies: after 11 through 99 the thing counted comes SINGULAR and in the accusative — so it is literally 'ninety-nine soul', not 'souls'. The singular accusative here is grammar, not a sign of just one.

From Righteous Company

فأتاه فقال إنه قتل تسعه وتسعين نفساً، فهل له من توبة؟

So he came to him and said, 'He has killed ninety-nine people, is there repentance for him?'

نَفْسًا people

The counted noun after 'ninety-nine', and by the fixed rule for 11-99 it comes SINGULAR and accusative — 'ninety-nine soul'. The singular accusative is grammatical here, not a claim that only one was meant.

From Righteous Company

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?'

نَفْسٍ people

This is the counted noun after 'a hundred', and the rule flips from the earlier numbers: after 'hundred' the thing counted comes SINGULAR and GENITIVE — 'a hundred of soul'. Contrast 'ninety-nine SOUL' (accusative) earlier: the case is set by which number governs.

From Righteous Company

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.

النَّفْسِ the self

The completing half of 'desires of the self', 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 desires divert the heart.

From A Sound Heart Knows

فالمؤمن مكلف بأن يقوم بحق الله، وحق نفسه، وحق الخلق

So, the believer is tasked with fulfilling the rights of Allah, his self, and the creation.

نَفْسِهِ his self

The owner closing 'the right of his self', a noun with the possessor attached as a suffix pointing back to the believer. As the owning member it takes the genitive ending, naming the duties one owes oneself.

From Facing God's Tests

وهذا التكليف يشق على النفوس، لأنها مجبولة على حب الراحة والاستسلام للشهوات

And this obligation is burdensome on the souls because they are inclined to love comfort and surrender to desires.

النُّفُوسِ the souls

The bearers named after 'on', 'the souls', a plural in the genitive because the preposition governs it. Its 'the' marks the definite human selves in general.

From Facing God's Tests

فإذا اكتفى بدون الشبع، حسن اغتذاء بدنه، وصلح حال نفسه وقلبه

If he is content with less than satiety, his body is well-nourished, and his soul and heart are in good condition.

وَقَلْبِهِ and his heart

The 'wa-' adds 'his heart' alongside 'his soul' as a second owner sharing the same 'state of', and the attached 'his' keeps pointing to the same person. As a coordinated item it stays in the genitive matching 'soul'.

From Eating in Moderation

ومن تملى من الطعام شيئا، غذا بدنه، وأشرت نفسه، وقسا قلبه

Whoever fills himself with food nourishes his body but makes his soul arrogant and hardens his heart.

وَقَسَا and it hardened

The 'wa-' adds the final effect, and the word is a past-tense verb 'became hard'; its subject 'his heart' follows. The verb ends in a long vowel typical of this root, with no visible suffix.

From Eating in Moderation

مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَمَا فِي وَجْهِي ثُمَّ قَالَ

"What is in my heart and on my face," he then said.

نَفْسِي my self

A noun for 'self/soul' with 'my' attached at the end, one word for 'my self', here standing for the heart or inner state. It is governed by the 'in' before it. The attached pronoun shows possession with no separate 'my'.

From Generosity to the Poor

فَإِنْ إِلْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِ أَطْمَعَهُ فِي نَفْسِهِ،

If he turned to it, it made him covet his self.

نَفْسِهِ his self

This noun 'self' carries -hi ('his') and is governed into the genitive by the preceding 'in', so it means 'in his own self'. The attached possessor reaches back to the man, tracking whose self is meant. One Arabic word gives 'his self'.

From Choosing Good Companions

فَلِمَاذَا أَخْرَجْتِنَا وَنَفْسَكِ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ؟

Then why did you bring us and your self out of Paradise?

وَنَفْسَكِ and your self

This joins the linking wa- to a noun, 'self', with a tail, 'your', making 'and your self'. As a second object of the bringing-out, it extends the charge to include the addressee himself, the suffix binding the possessor onto the noun.

From Patience Under Decree

وأيضاً فنوع الثناء أضافه الرب إلى نفسه، ونوع السؤال أضافه إلى عبده

Also, the type of praise was attributed by the Lord to Himself, and the type of request was attributed to His servant.

نَفْسِهِ Himself

This is a reflexive noun, 'self', with an attached '-His' on its end, and together they point back to God as the subject, meaning 'Himself'. Arabic builds the reflexive from this 'self' noun plus a matching possessive suffix, and the genitive shape here is governed by the preceding 'to'.

From Praise and Supplication in Prayer