Arabic vocabulary
ذَلِكَthat
How to say “that” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
قال ما جئت إلا لذلك
He said: I have come only for that.
لِذَلِكَ — for that. li- = 'for'; dhalika = 'that' — together 'for that'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →وَإِن هُوَ قمر صَاحبه فعل بِهِ مثل ذَلِك
And if he won against his companion, he would do the same to him.
ذَلِكَ — that. 'dhalika' = 'that'; the 'of' word, so 'the like of that' — i.e. 'the same'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →قَالَ لَك ذَلِك
He said, 'You have that.'
ذَلِكَ — that. 'dhalika' = 'that'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →فَقَالَ لَهُ الثَّانِيَة مثل ذَلِك فاعرض عَنهُ
So he said to him a second time the same thing, but he turned away from him.
ذَلِكَ — thing. 'dhalika' = 'that'; the 'of' word — 'the like of that'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →ثمَّ قَالَ لَهُ الثَّالِثَة مثل ذَلِك فاعرض عَنهُ
Then he said to him a third time the same thing, but he turned away from him.
ذَلِكَ — that thing. 'dhalika' = 'that'; the 'of' word — 'the like of that'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →فَإِذا قَالَ لَك ذَلِك فَقل لَهُ احْبِسْ عني الْمَدّ حَتَّى اشرب مَا بَين الضفتين
Then if he says that to you, say to him: 'Hold back the tide from me until I drink what is between the riverbanks.'
ذَلِكَ — that. 'dhalika' = 'that'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →بِحَيْثُ يُعْطِيهِ ذَلِك كَمَا توكله على الله تَعَالَى وتفويضه إِلَيْهِ وَالصَّبْر لحكمه وَالرِّضَا بِقَضَائِهِ
Such that it gives him reliance on Allah the Exalted, entrusting matters to Him, patience with His ruling, and contentment with His decree.
ذَلِكَ — that. A pointing word 'that', the subject of 'grants', placed after the verb; nominative.
From: Worship God Alone →مالم يُخرجهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى إِسْقَاط الْأَمر وَالنَّهْي وَالثَّوَاب وَالْعِقَاب والوعد والوعيد
As long as it does not lead him to dismiss command and prohibition, reward and punishment, promise and warning.
ذَلِكَ — that. A pointing word, 'that', reaching back to the attitude described earlier rather than to any noun beside it. Tracking what a demonstrative points to is part of following the argument; here it names the subject doing the driving.
From: Worship God Alone →كَمَا يَقع فِي بعض ذَلِك طَائِفَة من المتصوفة
As happens with some groups of Sufis.
ذَلِكَ — that. The pointing word 'that' reaching back to the error described before; it is what 'some of' is partitioning — 'some of that happens'.
From: Worship God Alone →التَّوْحِيد كل خاطر يُشِير إِلَى الله فَهُوَ يعم ذَلِك
Monotheism is every thought that points to Allah, encompassing all of that.
ذَلِكَ — all of that. 'that', the object of 'covers', pointing back to the whole range just described — 'takes in all of that'.
From: Worship God Alone →لذلك جاء الذكرُ المشروعُ بصيغٍ تحملُ المعنى
Therefore, the prescribed remembrance comes in forms that carry meaning:
لِذَلِكَ — for that. 'for that reason' — 'li' of cause plus 'that', drawing a conclusion from what came before. It functions as 'therefore', linking result to reason.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →وأمثال ذَلِك
And the likes of that.
ذَلِكَ — that. 'that', genitive owner closing 'the likes of' — pointing back to the examples just given. 'And the likes of that' = and so on.
From: The Declaration of Faith →وَقَول الملبي لبيْك اللَّهُمَّ لبيْك وأمثال ذَلِك
And the statement of the one performing the Talbiyah: (Here I am, O Allah, here I am) and similar phrases.
ذَلِكَ — that. 'that', genitive owner closing 'the likes of' — pointing back to the formulas given. 'And the likes of that' means and so on.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف
And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.
ذَلِكَ — that. 'that', genitive after 'min', pointing back to the saved believer. 'The contrary of that' is the opposite scenario.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →لذلك قد يسبق همسُ استغفرُ الله ضجيجَ خُطبةٍ تُطلب بها السمعة
Therefore, the whisper 'I seek God's forgiveness' may outweigh the noise of a sermon given for reputation.
لِذَلِكَ — for that. 'for that reason' — 'li' plus 'that'; 'therefore'.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →وذلك من فِعْل غالط أو مغالط للمجادلة،
This is the work of someone mistaken or deliberately misleading in debate.
وَذَلِكَ — and that. 'and that [is]' — 'wa' plus 'dhalika', fronted subject, a demonstrative.
From: Misguided Methodology →فذلك لأن أصحاب مالك يسمون هذه سنناً،
This is because Malik's followers call these sunnas.
فَذَلِكَ — so that is. 'so that [is]' — 'fa' plus 'dhalika', fronted subject, a demonstrative.
From: Required Remembrance →فمذهب مالك من ترك من ذلك ثلاثاً عمداً أعاد الصلاة،
According to Malik's school of thought, whoever intentionally omits three of these must repeat the prayer,
ذَلِكَ — these. 'that, these' — genitive after 'min'; pointing to the listed items.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →فذلك لأن أصحاب مالك يسمون هذه سنناً،
This is because the followers of Malik refer to these as recommended practices,
فَذَلِكَ — so that. 'so that [is]' — 'fa' plus 'dhalika', fronted subject, a demonstrative.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →وهذه من ذلك،
And this is among those,
ذَلِكَ — those. 'those', genitive after 'min' — 'this [is] one of those [obligatory-sunna cases]'.
From: Praise and Petition in Prayer →ومن تصدق يبتغي بذلك وجه الله كان صالحا،
And whoever gives charity seeking thereby the pleasure of God is righteous.
بِذَٰلِكَ — thereby. 'Bi-' (by) fused to 'that' — 'by that [giving]', the means through which he seeks. One word ties the seeking to the act just named.
From: Deeds for God Alone →وجماع ذَلِك أَنه سُبْحَانَهُ يتعرف إِلَى العَبْد بِصِفَات إلهيته تارة وبصفات ربوبيته تَارَة
And in summary, He, the Exalted, reveals Himself to the servant with divine attributes at one time and with lordship attributes at another…
ذَلِكَ — that. The far-pointing demonstrative 'that', the owner completing 'the sum of that', genitive. It points back to all the foregoing.
From: Reflecting on God's Names →والقرابة وَالْحجّة على ذَلِك قَوِيَّة
And the kinship and the evidence for that are strong.
ذَلِكَ — that. The 'far' demonstrative, 'that (yonder)', pointing back to the matter already raised. Arabic distinguishes near 'this' from far 'that', and the far form here lends a certain weight to what is referenced.
From: The Prophet's Refuge in the Cave →وَذَلِكَ شَيْء لَا تَعب عَلَيْك فِيهِ وَلَا نصب وَلَا معاناة
And this is something that does not burden you with effort, nor toil, nor hardship.
وَذَلِكَ — And this. The far demonstrative 'that' opens a new verbless sentence as its topic, reaching back to the remedy just described. Arabic often uses the 'far' pointer for an idea already established in the discourse.
From: Repentance and Resolve →
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