نَفْسٍsoul/self in Arabic

Example sentences

• فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ قَتَلَ مِائَةَ نَفْسٍ

  Then he said, 'He killed one hundred people.'

  نَفْسٍ — person. After a number like a hundred, Arabic counts the thing in the singular and in the 'of...' (genitive) shape, which is why this 'person' word appears as one singular noun. So its singular form is the grammar of counting, not a claim of a single victim; it specifies what the hundred counts.

  From: The Joy of Repentance →

• فَبَلَاءُ الْفَتَىِ مُوَافَقَةُ النَّفْسِ

  So the youth's trial is the soul's consent.

  النَّفْسِ — the soul. A definite noun carrying 'the', the owned half of 'the consent of the soul'. That owner role puts it in the 'of...' ending. It names the inner self whose agreement is the danger: the trial is the soul saying yes to its own craving.

  From: Vigilance Against Worldly Deception →

• الْكَبِيرَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ قَتْلُ النَّفْسِ

  The second major sin: Killing a soul.

  النَّفْسِ — the soul. A noun with al- 'the', definite, 'the soul/life', the owning half of 'the killing of the soul'. Only this final noun keeps its 'the', and its definiteness colours the whole pairing. As the possessor it takes the genitive ('of') ending.

  From: The Gravity of Murder →

• وَقَالَ تَعَالَى مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ

  And the Exalted said: From the sake of that, it was prescribed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul without a soul or

  نَفْسٍ — a soul. An indefinite noun 'a soul/life', in the genitive ('of') form because the preceding 'other-than' governs it. It completes 'without [the just cause of] a soul' - i.e. not as lawful retribution for a life taken. Its case is dictated by the governing compound before it.

  From: The Gravity of Murder →