اى

اـِىْ اى أي اـي اي آي is a particle denoting a reply, meaning نَعَمْ [ Yes, or yea ]; importing acknowledgment of the truth of an enunciation; and the making a thing known, to him who asks information; and a promise, to him who seeks or demands; therefore it occurs after such sayings as “Zeyd stood” and “Did Zeyd stand.?” and “Beat thou Zeyd,” and the like; as does نَعَمْ: Ibn-El-Hájib asserts that it occurs only after an interrogation; as in the saying [in the Kur x. 54], وَيَسْتَنْبِؤُنَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلٌ اـِ ىْ وَرَبِىّ [ And they will ask thee to inform them, saying, Is it true? Say, Yea, by my Lord! ]: but accord. to all, it does not occur otherwise than before an oath: and when one says, اـِ ىْ وَا@للّٰهِ [ Yea, by God! ], and then drops the و the ى may be quiescent, and with fet-h, and elided; [so that you say, اـِ ىْ ا@للّٰهِ, and اـِ ىَ ا@للّٰهِ, and اـِ ا@للّٰهِ;] in the first of which cases, two quiescent letters occur together, irregularly. (Mughnee.) Lth says, اـِ ىْ is an oath, as in اـ ِىْ وَرَبِّى meaning, says Zj, نَعَمْ وَرَبِّى: IAar is also related to have said the like; and this is the correct explanation. (T.) [J says,] It is a word preceding an oath, meaning بَلَى [q. v.]; as in اـِ ىْ وَرَبِّى and اـِ ىْ وَا@للّٰه. (S.) [ISd and F say,] It is syn. with نَعَمْ, and is conjoined with an oath: and one says also هِىْ. (M, K.)