Arabic vocabulary
ماwhat
How to say “what” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
أَرض الْفطْرَة رحبة قابلة لما يغرس فيها،
The soil of innate disposition is expansive and receptive to what is planted in it.
لِمَا — to what. li- = 'to, for'; ma = 'what' — together 'to what (is planted)'.
From: Knowledge, Reverence, Obedience →قد كنا يا رسول الله نكذبك بما تأتينا به من خبر السماء،
We used to deny you, O Messenger of Allah, concerning what you brought us from the news of the heavens,
بِمَا — concerning what. bi- = 'with, concerning'; ma = 'what' — together 'concerning what'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →اعْلَم أَنَّ الْهَوَى مَيْلُ الطَّبْعِ إِلَى مَا يُلائِمُهُ
Know that desire is the inclination of nature towards what suits it.
مَا — what. 'ma' = 'what, that which'.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →فَإِنَّهُ لَوْلا مَيْلُهُ إِلَى الْمَطْعَمِ مَا أَكَلَ
For if not for his inclination towards food, he would not eat.
مَا — not. 'ma' here = the 'not' that negates a past verb.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وَإِلَى الْمَشْرَبِ مَا شَرِبَ
And towards drink, he would not drink.
مَا — not. 'ma' = the 'not' negating a past verb.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وَإِلَى الْمَنْكَحِ مَا نَكَحَ
And towards marriage, he would not marry.
مَا — not. 'ma' = the 'not' negating a past verb.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وَكَذَلِكَ كُلُّ مَا يشتهيه فالهوى مستحلب لَهُ مَا يَفِيدُ
And similarly, everything he desires, the desire draws to him what benefits.
مَا — what. 'ma' = 'what, that which'; the 'of' word here.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وَكَذَلِكَ كُلُّ مَا يشتهيه فالهوى مستحلب لَهُ مَا يَفِيدُ
And similarly, everything he desires, the desire draws to him what benefits.
مَا — what. 'ma' = 'what, that which', the object.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →كَمَا أَنَّ الْغَضَبَ دَافِعٌ عَنْهُ مَا يُؤْذِي
Just as anger repels from him what harms.
مَا — what. 'ma' = 'what, that which', the object.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →وَهُوَ مَا يَزِيدُ عَلَى جَلْبِ الْمَصَالِحِ وَدَفْعِ الْمَضَارِّ
And that is what exceeds bringing benefits and repelling harms.
مَا — what. 'ma' = 'what, that which'.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →خُلاصةُ الطريق أصلان أن تُعبَدَ اللهُ وحده، وأن تُعبَدَه بما شَرَع
The essence of the path is two principles: that you worship Allah alone, and that you worship Him with what He has prescribed.
بِمَا — with what. 'with what' — 'bi' of means fused to the relative 'ma' (that which). It sets up 'by means of that which He prescribed', pointing forward to the next verb.
From: Turning Daily Words into Worship →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.
مِمَّا — from the usage of. 'from that which' — 'min' fused to the relative 'ma'. It means 'among the cases in which...', opening a relative clause.
From: The Declaration of Faith →أنه لما كان بابُ المناظرة في الرد والقبول مُتَّسِعًا، وكل واحدٍ من المتناظرين في الاستدلال والجواب يرسل عِنانه في الاحتجاج، ومنه ما يكون صوابًا ومنه ما يكون خطأً،
that since the field of debate in rejection and acceptance was wide, and each debater in reasoning and answering would let loose his reins in argumentation, some of it being correct and some incorrect,
مَا — is. 'what, that which' — the delayed subject: 'some of it [is] what is correct'.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →أنه لما كان بابُ المناظرة في الرد والقبول مُتَّسِعًا، وكل واحدٍ من المتناظرين في الاستدلال والجواب يرسل عِنانه في الاحتجاج، ومنه ما يكون صوابًا ومنه ما يكون خطأً،
that since the field of debate in rejection and acceptance was wide, and each debater in reasoning and answering would let loose his reins in argumentation, some of it being correct and some incorrect,
مَا — is. 'what, that which' — the second delayed subject.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →وقد وصف لنا شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية هذه المرحلة وصفًا يكشف لنا حقيقتها وخصائصها وميزاتها وما لها وما عليها،
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah described this phase with a description that reveals its nature, characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages,
وَمَا — and what. 'and what' — 'wa' plus relative 'ma'; 'and what is...'.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →وقد وصف لنا شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية هذه المرحلة وصفًا يكشف لنا حقيقتها وخصائصها وميزاتها وما لها وما عليها،
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah described this phase with a description that reveals its nature, characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages,
وَمَا — and what. 'and what' — a second relative.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →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,
بِمَا — with what. 'with what' — 'bi' plus relative 'ma'; 'by means of that which...'.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →وإن كان عند التحقيق يؤول إلى الإفلاس، لكنهم لم يكونوا يقبلون من المناظرة إلا ما يفيد ولو ظنًّا ضعيفًا للناظر
although upon closer examination it leads to nothing, they would only accept from debate what was beneficial, even if it gave only a weak impression to the observer.
مَا — what. 'what, that which' — the exception: 'except what is useful'.
From: Rules of Scholarly Debate →فعّال لما يُرِيد
He does what He wills.
لِّمَا — for what. 'Li-' (for / of) fused with the relative 'ma' — 'for whatever', the object the doer-form reaches toward. The 'li-' links the intensive doer to what He does.
From: God's Majesty →تالله مَا عدا عَلَيْك الْعدو إِلَّا بعد أَن تولى عَنْك الْوَلِيّ
By Allah, no enemy came upon you except after the Protector withdrew from you.
مَا — no. A negating particle 'not / never' before a past verb — denying that the enemy ever attacked. It opens 'no enemy came upon you except…'.
From: Guarding the Heart →فوَاللَّه مَا أكرمها من لم يهنها
By Allah, no one has honored it who has not humiliated it.
مَا — not. A negating 'not' before a past verb — denying that anyone honored it without first humbling it. It opens the paradoxical maxim.
From: Guarding the Heart →مَا تبلغ الْأَعْدَاء من جَاهِل من يبلغ الْجَاهِل من نَفسه
What enemies achieve against an ignorant person is not as much as what the ignorant person achieves against himself.
مَا — what. A relative-noun 'what [amount]', the topic — 'what the enemies achieve…'. It opens the first half of a comparison.
From: Love and Devotion to God →مَا تبلغ الْأَعْدَاء من جَاهِل من يبلغ الْجَاهِل من نَفسه
What enemies achieve against an ignorant person is not as much as what the ignorant person achieves against himself.
مَا — what. A second relative-noun 'what [amount]', opening the matching half — set against the first, 'is not like what…'. The comparison hinges on these paired 'what' clauses.
From: Love and Devotion to God →اعرف قدر مَا ضَاعَ مِنْك وابك بكاء من يدْرِي مِقْدَار الْفَائِت
Know the value of what you have lost and weep like one who knows the worth of what is gone.
مَا — what. A relative 'that which', the owner completing 'the worth of what…', opening a clause. It names the lost thing.
From: Night Prayer and Nearness to God →
Learn Arabic vocabulary in context
OpenArabic teaches words like ما through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
Get the app