حَكَىspeak

Example sentences

• هكذا تشهدُ لغةُ العرب؛ فلا يُحكى بالقولِ إلا كلامٌ تام

  Thus, the language of the Arabs testifies; only complete speech is spoken.

  يُحْكَى — is spoken. PASSIVE present — 'is related, spoken', not 'speaks'. The vowel pattern marks the passive, leaving the speaker unnamed; it pairs with the coming 'except' to mean 'only X gets spoken'.

  From: Words That Nourish the Heart →

• وَحَكَى غَيْرُ الْمَأْمُونِ أَنَّ السَّجَّانُ فَطِنَ لِإِرْتِفَاقِهِ بِالْمِصْبَاحِ فِي تَسْخِينِ الْمَاءِ،

  And another narrator, not al-Ma'mun, reported that the jailer noticed his staying close by the lamp in heating the water.

  وَحَكَى — and reported. The front wa- joins this to the running narrative, and the verb under it is a completed-action 'related / reported' with its subject built in. Like other speech verbs it sets up a report, here introducing an alternative narrator's version. It hands off to a 'that...' clause carrying what was reported.

  From: A Son Protecting His Father →