Arabic vocabulary
عَلَيْهِم is how you say “upon them” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
إلَّا نَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ السَّكِينَةُ،
except that tranquility descends upon them,
عَلَيْهِمُ — upon them. 'Upon them', the preposition with the plural 'them' fused on, the gathered company. Its final vowel has opened for smooth liaison into the next word; the calm settles 'on them'.
From: Easing a Believer's Hardship →فقضى لهم حياة وقضى عليهم مماتا،
So He decreed life for them and decreed death for them,
عَلَيْهِمْ — upon them. The 'upon/against' prefix is a preposition forcing the genitive on its attached 'them', so it means 'upon them'. The switch from 'for them' to 'upon them' is pointed: life was decreed in their favor, death decreed against them, and the preposition carries that contrast.
From: Death and Decree →فيقال يا محمد أدخل من أمتك من لا حساب عليهم من الباب الأيمن من أبواب الجنة وهم شركاء الناس فيما سوى ذلك من الأبواب
It will be said: "O Muhammad, admit into Paradise from your community those who will not be held accountable, through the right-hand gate of the gates of Paradise, and they will share with the people in what is beyond that from the other gates."
عَلَيْهِمْ — upon them. A preposition fused with '-him' for 'upon them', the '-him' pointing back to that sub-group; it completes 'no reckoning upon them'. One word for two English words, tracking the just-named people.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →OpenArabic teaches words like عَلَيْهِم through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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