بِأَبِيهِtoward his father

Example sentences

• لَمْ أَرَ أَبَرَّ مِنْ الْفَضْلِ بْنِ يَحْيَى الْبَرْمَكِيِّ بِأَبِيهِ،

  I have never seen anyone more dutiful to his father than al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki.

  بِأَبِيهِ — with his father. The bi- here marks the object of dutifulness, the 'toward / to' that says whom the kindness is shown. Fused to it is the 'his' pronoun, so the word means 'to his father', the 'father' noun carrying the suffix as its owner. It tells you the direction of the dutifulness the sentence is praising.

  From: A Son Protecting His Father →

• بَلَغَ مِنْ بِرِّهِ بِأَبِيهِ أَنَّ يَحْيَى كَانَ لاَ يَتَوَضَّأُ إِلَّا بِالْمَاءِ الْحَارِّ،

  His dutifulness toward his father reached such a degree that Yahya would not perform ritual ablution except with hot water.

  بأبيه — with his father. The bi- here means 'toward / to', naming the recipient of the dutifulness, with the 'his' pronoun fused on so the word reads 'to his father'. The 'father' noun wears the suffix as its owner and sits in the genitive the preposition requires. It points the devotion just named at its target.

  From: A Son Protecting His Father →