النَّاسِthe people

Example sentences

• زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ

  People were made to find attractive the love of desires: women and sons, and the piled-up heaps of gold and silver.

  لِلنَّاسِ — for the people. The preposition li- ('for/to') fused onto a noun carrying al- ('the'), so one word means 'for the people'. The li- assigns the genitive and marks the experiencers — those in whom the attraction is planted. It names whose hearts the love was made to seem fair to.

  From: This World Is Short →

• فَقُلْتُ أَمَا تَسْتَحِيُ مِنَ النَّاسِ

  So I said, "Aren't you ashamed of the people?"

  النَّاسِ — the people. A plural noun made definite by 'al-' and held in the genitive by the preposition before it. It names those before whom shame is urged. The article frames it as people in general, the public eye.

  From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →

• لَوْ كَانُوا مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا تَلاَعَبْتُ بِهِمْ

  If they had been from the people, I would not have toyed with them.

  النَّاس — the people. Definite by 'al-' and held in the genitive by the preposition before it. It names the category 'real people' the figure says these are not part of. The article frames it as people proper, the worthy sort.

  From: Seeking Refuge from the Devil →

• نَادَوْا أَيْنَ قُرَيْشُ أَيْنَ رُؤُوسُ النَّاسِ

  They shouted, "Where are the Quraysh? Where are the leaders of the people?"

  النَّاس — of the people. This definite noun is the owner half of the pair begun by 'heads', in the genitive 'of' slot, giving 'heads of the people'. Its 'the' marks the chain as definite. Its place right behind the head noun forms the 'of' link with no separate word.

  From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →