اِسْتَقَامُواthey had remained steadfast

Example sentences

• قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَأَنَّ لَوْ إِسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا

  God, the Exalted, said: If they had remained steadfast on the path, We would have given them abundant flowing water.

  إِسْتَقَامُوا — they had remained steadfast. A past-tense 'they' verb on a self-doing pattern, 'they kept straight / stood firm'; the long '-u' on the end is its built-in 'they' subject. It is the verb of the counterfactual condition, so it reads as 'had they remained steadfast'. The form's shape carries the sense of holding oneself upright.

  From: Preparing for Death and Repentance →