Arabic vocabulary
How to say “that” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
وَإِنَّمَا يُذَمُّ الْمُفْرَطُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ
Rather, only the excess of it is condemned.
ذَلِكَ — it. 'dhalika' = 'that'; genitive after 'min'.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →فَإِنْ وُجِدَ ذَلِكَ انْغَمَرَ ذِكْرُ الْهَوَى فِي حَقِّ هَذَا الشَّخْصِ وَصَارَ مُسْتَعْمَلا لِلْمَصَالِحِ
If such a person is found, the mention of desire fades in his case, and it becomes directed toward what is beneficial.
ذَلِكَ — that. 'dhalika' = 'that'; subject of the passive verb.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →ووسمت كتابي ب ذمّ الْهَوَى لِذَلِكَ الْمَعْنَى
And I titled my book 'The Condemnation of Desires' for this reason.
لِذَلِكَ — for this reason. A pointing word ('that') fused with a li- that shifts the sense to 'because of'. Arabic regularly welds such a preposition onto a demonstrative as one written unit, packaging a whole cause into a single word.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وأمثال ذَلِك مِمَّا اسْتعْمل فِيهِ لفظ الْكَلِمَة من الْكتاب وَالسّنة بل وَسَائِر كَلَام الْعَرَب فَإِنَّمَا يُرَاد بِهِ الْجُمْلَة التَّامَّة
And the likes of that from the usage of the term (the word) in the Book and the Sunnah, as well as the rest of Arab speech, for it indeed means the complete sentence.
ذَٰلِكَ — that. 'that', genitive owner closing 'the likes of' — pointing back to the quoted examples.
From: The Declaration of Faith →فقال ثم صار المتأخرون بعد ذلك قد يتناظرون في أنواع التأويل والقياس بما يؤثر في ظن بعض الناس،
and he said: "Then later generations debated forms of interpretation and analogy that influence the thinking of some,
ذَلِكَ — that. 'that', genitive owner — 'after that'.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →فذلك بيت الشيطان،
that is the house of Satan,
فَذَلِكَ — so that is. 'Fa-' (so) plus the far-pointing demonstrative 'that', subject of a naming sentence — 'so that is…'. It draws the conclusion, pointing back to the empty heart.
From: Repelling the Devil →وَمن خلقت فِيهِ قُوَّة الْحبّ لله والإنابة إِلَيْهِ والعكوف بِالْقَلْبِ عَلَيْهِ والشوق إِلَيْهِ والأنس بِهِ فلذته ونعيمه اسْتِعْمَال هَذِه الْقُوَّة فِي ذَلِك
And for those created with the power of love for Allah, and returning to Him, and devotion to Him with the heart, and longing for Him, and intimacy with Him, their pleasure and bliss is in using this strength for those purposes.
ذَلِكَ — those purposes. A far-pointing demonstrative 'that', genitive after 'in' — 'in that', i.e. those aims (love, return, longing). His true bliss is in directing his love-faculty to God.
From: Directing Desire Toward God →ولا يلزم من ذلك أن يكون هو فاعل الدفق
And it is not required that he be the performer of the pouring.
ذَلِكَ — that. A pointing word 'that', in the genitive after 'from', referring back to the previous claim. Demonstratives can stand alone as nouns like this, here meaning 'that point'.
From: Creating Life from Nothing →فإنها اللائقة بهم فشبه ذلك برضاها بهم كما رضوا بها
For it is fitting for them, so it was likened to their contentment with it, just as they were pleased with it.
ذَلِكَ — to that. A pointing word 'that', in the object-style ending as the object of 'was likened': it names the thing being compared. Demonstratives stand alone as nouns; here it refers to the described situation.
From: Creating Life from Nothing →وإذا كانوا يقولون الوقت الحاضر والساعة الراهنة وإن لم يفعلا ذلك فكيف يمتنع أن يقولوا ماء دافق وعيشة راضية
And if they say 'the present time' and 'the current hour' without those phrases acting, how could they refrain from saying 'gushing water' and 'contented life'?
ذَلِكَ — those. A pointing word 'that', in the object-style ending as the object of 'act': 'do that'. It refers back to the acting in question; demonstratives stand alone as nouns this way.
From: Creating Life from Nothing →بَلْ لَوْ فَكَّرْتُمْ فِيمَا تُبْصِرُونَ وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ لَدَلَّكُمْ ذَلِكَ عَلَى أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ حَقٌّ
But if you considered what you see and what you do not see, that would guide you to the Quran's truth.
ذَلِكَ — that. A demonstrative 'that', the subject of 'would guide you', pointing back to the reflection just described. It gathers the whole prior consideration into one pointing-word.
From: Proofs of Scripture →وَمَا يُشَاهِدُهُ مِنْ أَحْوَالِهِ ظَاهِرًا وَبَاطِنًا فِي ذَلِكَ أَبْيَنُ دَلَالَةٍ عَلَى وَحْدَانِيَّةِ الرَّبِّ وَثُبُوتِ صِفَاتِهِ
And what they witness in their states, both outward and inward, is the clearest indication of the oneness of the Lord and the affirmation of His attributes.
ذَلِكَ — that. A demonstrative 'that', held in the genitive by the preceding 'in', pointing back to the witnessed states. It gathers them into one pointing-word as the locus of the proof.
From: Proofs of Scripture →وَصِدْقِ مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ رَسُولُهُ وَمَا لَمْ يُبَاشِرْ قَلْبُهُ ذَلِكَ حَقِيقَةً لَمْ تُخَالِطْ بَشَاشَةُ الْإِيمَانِ قَلْبَهُ
And the truth of what His Messenger has conveyed — whoever's heart has not experienced that reality, the sweetness of faith has not entered his heart.
ذَلِكَ — that. A demonstrative 'that', the object of the verb, pointing back to the reported truth the heart did not engage. It gathers that truth into one pointing-word.
From: Proofs of Scripture →وَلَنَاقَضَ ذَلِكَ إِضَافَتَهُ إِلَى رَسُولِهِ الْمَلَكِيِّ فِي سُورَةِ التَّكْوِيرِ
And that would contradict its attribution to His angelic messenger in Surah At-Takwir.
ذَلِكَ — that. This is the demonstrative 'that', pointing back to a whole idea already stated rather than to a physical object. It stands as the subject of 'would contradict'. Arabic demonstratives like this can carry an entire previous clause as their referent, so reading it means recovering what 'that' summarizes.
From: Proofs of Scripture →فَإِذَا بَلَّغَ الرَّسُولُ ذَلِكَ صَحَّ أَنْ يُقَالَ قَالَ الرَّسُولُ كَذَا، وَهَذَا قَوْلُ الرَّسُولِ،
Therefore, when the Messenger conveyed this, it is correct to say: 'The Messenger said such', and this is the Messenger's word,
ذَلِكَ — this. A 'that' pointing word standing in for the message just discussed. It is the 'far' demonstrative, used for something already mentioned or conceptually distant, and it functions as the object of the verb, 'conveyed that'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَلَا يَجِيءُ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ تَكَلَّمَ لَهُمْ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا،
And it is not fitting in any of that to say: 'He spoke to them with such and such',
ذَلِكَ — that. The 'far' demonstrative 'that', standing in the form required after the preceding preposition. It refers back to the whole prior discussion as a single block, so 'of that' means 'of any of those cases'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →فاقتدهِد في كسر شَهَواتها، وحملها على ما يرضي ربك، واصبر على ذلك، فإن العاقبة حميدة
So strive to break its desires, compel it to what pleases your Lord, and be patient with that, for the outcome is praiseworthy.
ذَلِكَ — that. A demonstrative meaning 'that', the object of 'on', pointing back to the whole effort just described. Demonstratives count as definite and here stand in the possessive slot as the thing to bear patiently.
From: Struggling Against the Self →من ذَلِك الْوَجْه كَمَا استفاض فِي الصِّحَاح وَغَيرهَا
In this regard, as has been widely narrated in the Sahih collections and others.
ذَلِكَ — that. This is a pointing word 'that', referring back to something already mentioned, and it works as the owner inside the phrase 'that aspect'. It links to the noun next, fixing which angle is meant.
From: Sincerity and Hypocrisy →وأمثال ذَلِك كَثِيرَة وَذَلِكَ أَنه لَا يجلب مَنْفَعَة وَلَا يدْفع مضرَّة وَلَا فَائِدَة فِيهِ ومالا فَائِدَة فِيهِ لَا يَأْمر الله بِهِ
And there are many similar examples. That is because it neither brings benefit nor prevents harm, and there is no use in it; and what has no use in it, Allah does not command.
ذَلِكَ — such as that. Owner-noun, a demonstrative 'that', completing 'examples of that' by following 'examples'. It refers back to the cases discussed; the pairing supplies the 'of'.
From: Patience in Hard Times →وأمثال ذَلِك كَثِيرَة وَذَلِكَ أَنه لَا يجلب مَنْفَعَة وَلَا يدْفع مضرَّة وَلَا فَائِدَة فِيهِ ومالا فَائِدَة فِيهِ لَا يَأْمر الله بِهِ
And there are many similar examples. That is because it neither brings benefit nor prevents harm, and there is no use in it; and what has no use in it, Allah does not command.
وَذَلِكَ — and that. A connector plus a demonstrative 'that', 'and that', opening the explanation. It points forward to the reasoning about to be given.
From: Patience in Hard Times →فَانْتَهُوا عَنْ ذَلِكَ
So desist from that.
ذُلِّكِ — that. A far-pointing demonstrative 'that', governed by 'from' into the 'of'-style (genitive) ending, referring back to the over-preoccupation just named. It points to the very thing they are ordered to give up.
From: Sincerity in Prophetic Knowledge →OpenArabic teaches words like ذلك through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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