بلىyes in Arabic

Example sentences

• قالوا بلى يا رسول الله، قال تسبحون، وتحمدون، وتكبرون، خلف كل صلاة ثلاثًا وثلاثين

  They said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'You should glorify Allah, praise Him, and declare His greatness after every prayer thirty-three times.'

  بَلَى — Yes. This is a special 'yes' — the one used to AFFIRM after a negative question. The Prophet's 'shall I NOT teach you?' carried a 'not', so a plain 'yes' would be ambiguous; this word specifically means 'yes, [do teach us]', overturning the negative. Arabic keeps it distinct from the ordinary 'yes'.

  From: Praises That Elevate the Poor →

• قال بلى

  He said, 'Yes, you did.'

  بلى — Yes. A special 'yes' used only to contradict a negative question. Where English just repeats 'yes', Arabic has a dedicated word for affirming after a 'didn't you?', meaning 'yes, I did'.

  From: Reflections on Literal Obedience →