ءمالا

Root entry · 16 derived lemmas

This root entry primarily discusses the particle 'إمالا' (imāla) and its origins, meaning 'if not' or 'otherwise'. It also delves into the conditional particle 'لو' (law) and its related forms like 'لولا' (lawla), exploring their grammatical functions and nuances in classical Arabic.

Derived headwords

إِمَالَاparticle

1.
if not, otherwiseclassical
A particle used to introduce a conditional clause, meaning 'if not' or 'otherwise'. It is often formed from 'إن' and 'لا' with an inserted 'ما'.
2.
unlessclassical
Can also function as 'unless', introducing a condition that, if not met, leads to a consequence.

إمالا فلا تبايعوا حتى يبدو صلاح الثمر — Do not sell, unless the fruit has ripened.

أتبيعونه؟ قالوا: لا بل هو لك، فقال: إمالا فأحسنوا إليه حتى يأتي أجله — Do you sell it? They said: No, but it is yours. He said: If not, then treat it well until its time comes.

أَمَالَverb

1.
to incline, to slantclassical
To cause something to lean or slant. In the context of pronunciation, it refers to the slight tilting of a vowel sound, particularly 'a' towards 'i'.

والعوام يشبعون إمالتها فتصير ألفها ياء، وهو خطأ — And the common people prolong its inclination, so its alif becomes a ya', which is an error.

لَاparticle

1.
no, notboth
The primary negative particle in Arabic, used to negate verbs, nouns, and sentences.
2.
unlessclassical
When combined with other particles, it can contribute to the meaning of 'unless'.

خذ هذا إمالا، والمعنى إن لم تأخذ ذلك فخذ هذا — Take this, otherwise take that.

لَوْparticle

1.
if (hypothetical)both
A conditional particle used for hypothetical situations, indicating that the consequence is prevented by the non-occurrence of the condition.
2.
would thatclassical
Can express a wish or desire for something that is unlikely or impossible.

لو جئتني لأكرمتك — If you had come to me, I would have honored you.

لو كان كذا لقلت ولفعلت — If it had been so, I would have said and done.

لَوْلَاparticle

1.
if not for, were it not forboth
A particle formed from 'لو' and 'لا', used to indicate that something would have happened if not for the existence or presence of something else.
2.
why not, why didn'tclassical
Can be used to express a mild reproach or to urge someone to do something, similar to 'هلا'.

لولاك ما قمت — If it were not for you, I would not have stood up.

لولا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب — Why did you not postpone me until a near term?

لَوْمَاparticle

1.
why not, why didn'tclassical
Similar to 'لولا', it can be used for urging or mild reproach, often when followed by a verb.

لو ما تأتينا بالملائكة — Why don't you bring us the angels?

لَاوَىverb

1.
to contradict, to opposeclassical
To go against someone or something, to oppose them.
2.
to say 'no'classical
To utter the word 'no' or to refuse.

لاوى فلان فلانا إذا خالفه — So-and-so opposed so-and-so if he contradicted him.

قال: لاويت أي قلت لا — He said: I said 'la' (no).

لَوِيَverb

1.
to twist, to bendclassical
To turn or bend something, often implying force or contortion.

فطلقها فلست لها بكفء، ... وإلا يعل مفرقك الحسام — So divorce her, for you are not her equal, ... otherwise your head will be struck by the sword.

لَأْيَلَverb

1.
to say 'no'classical
Derived from 'لا', meaning to say 'no' or to refuse.

سألتك حاجة فلأيلت لي أي قلت لي لا — I asked you for a need, and you said 'la' to me, meaning you said 'no' to me.

اللَّأْلَأَةnoun

1.
saying 'no'classical
The verbal noun (masdar) of 'لأيَل', meaning the act of saying 'no' or refusing.

لَوَّلَverb

1.
to say 'no'classical
Derived from 'لا', meaning to say 'no' or to refuse.

اللَّوْلَاةnoun

1.
saying 'no'classical
The verbal noun (masdar) of 'لَوَّلَ', meaning the act of saying 'no' or refusing.

لَوَّلَيْتَverb

1.
to say 'no'classical
A form derived from 'لولا', meaning to say 'no' or to refuse.

سألتك حاجة فلوليت لي أي قلت لولا كذا — I asked you for a need, and you said 'lula' to me, meaning you said 'if not for such and such'.

لَوِيْتَverb

1.
to twist, to bendclassical
Past tense form of 'لوي', meaning twisted or bent.

لويت لاء حسنة — You twisted a good 'la'.

مَاparticle

1.
whatboth
Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'.
2.
that whichboth
Relative pronoun meaning 'that which' or 'what'.
3.
intensifierclassical
Sometimes functions as an intensifier or as a filler particle, particularly in constructions like 'إمالا'.

إنما يجزى الفتى ليس الجمل — The man is only recompensed, not the camel.

لِئَلَّاparticle

1.
so that not, in order not toboth
A compound particle formed from 'لِـ' (li-) and 'أَلَّا' (allā), used to express purpose with negation.

لئلا يعلم أهل الكتاب — So that the People of the Book may not know.

Parallel reading

في حديث بيع الثمر: إمالا فلا تبايعوا حتى يبدو صلاح الثمر

In the hadith about selling fruit: Do not sell, unless the fruit has ripened.

هذه كلمة ترد في المحاورات كثيرا، وقد جاءت في غير موضع من الحديث، وأصلها إن وما ولا، فأدغمت النون في الميم وما زائدة في اللفظ لا حكم لها.

This is a word that frequently appears in conversations and has come up in more than one place in the hadith. Its origin is 'inna', 'mā', and 'lā', so the 'nūn' was assimilated into the 'mīm', and 'mā' is an extra word in pronunciation with no grammatical function.

قولهم إمالا فافعل كذا بالإمالة، قال: أصله إن لا وما صلة، قال: ومعناه إلا يكن ذلك الأمر فافعل كذا

Their saying 'imāla fa-f'al kadhā' (do such-and-such) with imāla, he said: its origin is 'inna lā' and 'mā' is a filler. He said: and its meaning is 'if that matter is not so, then do such-and-such'.

والعوام يشبعون إمالتها فتصير ألفها ياء، وهو خطأ

And the common people prolong its inclination, so its alif becomes a ya', which is an error.

قولهم إمالا فافعل كذا إنما هي على معنى إن لا تفعل ذلك فافعل ذا

Their saying 'imāla fa-f'al kadhā' is only in the meaning of 'if you do not do that, then do this'.

وتقول العرب: زيدا وإلا فلا

And the Arabs say: Zayd, and if not, then not.

فطلقها فلست لها بكفء، ... وإلا يعل مفرقك الحسام

So divorce her, for you are not her equal, ... otherwise your head will be struck by the sword.

فإذا فتية من الأنصار قالوا استقينا عليه عشرين سنة وبه سخيمة فأردنا أن ننحره فانفلت منا، فقال: أتبيعونه؟ قالوا: لا بل هو لك، فقال: إمالا فأحسنوا إليه حتى يأتي أجله

And there were youths from the Ansar. They said: We have drawn water with it for twenty years, and it has a defect, so we wanted to slaughter it, and it escaped from us. He said: Will you sell it? They said: No, but it is yours. He said: If not, then treat it well until its time comes.

أراد إلا تبيعوه فأحسنوا إليه، وما صلة

He meant: 'unless you sell it', so treat it well, and 'mā' is a filler.

العامة ربما قالوا في موضع افعل ذلك إمالا افعل ذلك

The common people sometimes say in the place of 'do that', 'imāla do that'.

وهو فارسي مردود، والعامة تقول أيضا: أما لي فيضمون الألف وهو خطأ أيضا

And it is a rejected Persianism. And the common people also say: 'ammā lī', pronouncing the alif with damma, which is also an error.

والصواب إمالا غير ممال لأن الأدوات لا تمال.

And the correct pronunciation is 'imāla' without imāla, because particles are not subject to imāla.

ويقال: خذ هذا إمالا، والمعنى إن لم تأخذ ذلك فخذ هذا، وهو مثل المثل

And it is said: Take this, otherwise take that. The meaning is: if you do not take that, then take this, and it is like a proverb.

إنما يجزى الفتى ليس الجمل

The man is only recompensed, not the camel.

فقال: لا عليكم أن لا تفعلوا فإنما هو القدر

So he said: There is no blame on you if you do not do it, for it is only destiny.

معناه ليس عليكم أن لا تفعلوا يعني العزل، كأنه أراد ليس عليكم الإمساك عنه من جهة التحريم، وإنما هو القدر إن قدر الله أن يكون ولد كان.

Its meaning is: it is not incumbent upon you not to do it, meaning withdrawal. As if he meant: it is not obligatory upon you to refrain from it in terms of prohibition, it is only destiny; if Allah decreed that a child should be, there would be one.

لاوى فلان فلانا إذا خالفه.

So-and-so opposed so-and-so if he contradicted him.

وقال الفراء: لاويت أي قلت لا، وابن الأعرابي: يقال لوليت بهذا المعنى.

And Al-Farra' said: 'I said lā' means I said 'no'. And Ibn Al-A'rabi said: 'I said lawlayta' with this meaning.

وقدما أهلكت لو كثيرا، ... وقبل اليوم عالجها قدار

And long ago, 'law' destroyed much, ... and before today, Qaddar treated it.

لو حرف يدل على امتناع الشيء لامتناع غيره، فإن سميت به الكلمة شددت؛ قال:

Law is a particle that indicates the impossibility of one thing due to the impossibility of another. If you name a word with it, you double it; he said:

حرف أمنية كقولك لو قدم زيد، لو أن لنا كرة، فهذا قد يكتفى به عن الجواب

A particle of wishing, like your saying 'if Zayd had come', 'if only we had another chance', this may suffice without an answer.

وقد تكون لو موقوفة بين نفي وأمنية إذا وصلت بلا؛

And 'law' can be suspended between negation and wishing if connected with 'lā'.

لو توجب الشيء من أجل وقوع غيره، ولولا تمنع الشيء من أجل وقوع غيره.

Law necessitates a thing because of the occurrence of another, and lawla prevents a thing because of the occurrence of another.

تكون لو ساكنة الواو إذا جعلتها أداة، فإذا أخرجتها إلى الأسماء شددت واوها وأعربتها؛

Law is with a silent 'waw' if you make it a particle. If you turn it into a noun, you double its 'waw' and inflect it.

علقت لوا تكرره، ... إن لوا ذاك أعيانا

I hung up a 'lawā' to repeat it, ... indeed that 'lawā' made things clear.

لولا إذا كانت مع الأسماء فهي شرط، وإذا كانت مع الأفعال فهي بمعنى هلا، لوم على ما مضى وتحضيض لما يأتي

Lawla, when it is with nouns, it is a condition. When it is with verbs, it means 'halā' (why not), a reproach for what has passed and an urging for what is to come.

لو يمتنع بها الشيء لامتناع غيره، تقول: لو جاءني زيد لجئته، المعنى بأن مجيئي امتنع لامتناع مجيء زيد.

A thing is prevented by it due to the prevention of another. You say: 'If Zayd had come to me, I would have come to him.' The meaning is that my coming was prevented due to Zayd's not coming.

قال: وابن الأعرابي قال لوليت، قال أبو منصور: وهو أقيس.

He said: And Ibn Al-A'rabi said 'lawlayta', Abu Mansur said: and it is more analogous.

فلولا كان من القرون من قبلكم أولوا بقية ينهون؛ يقول لم يكن منكم أحد كذلك إلا قليلا فإن هؤلاء كانوا ينهون فنجوا، وهو استثناء على الانقطاع مما قبله كما قال عز وجل: إلا قوم يونس؛ ولو كان رفعا كان صوابا.

Why were there not among the generations before you people of residual wisdom who forbade [evil]? They should have existed, except for a few of them. For these were the ones who forbade [evil] and were saved. And it is an exception of disconnection from what preceded it, as Allah Almighty said: 'Except a few of the people of Jonah'. And if it were in the nominative case, it would be correct.

لولا ولوما إذا وليت الأسماء كانت جزاء وأجيبت، وإذا وليت الأفعال كانت استفهاما.

Lawla and lawmā, when they are followed by nouns, they are a condition and answered. When they are followed by verbs, they are interrogative.

ولولاك ولولاي بمعنى لولا أنت ولولا أنا استعملت؛

And 'lawlāk' and 'lawlāy' meaning 'if not for you' and 'if not for me' are used.

أيُّ مطمع فينا من أراق دماءنا، ... ولولاه لم يعرض لأحسابنا حسن

Who would dare to shed our blood? ... And if it were not for him, our honor would not have been threatened.

الاستفهام مثل قوله: لو ما تأتينا بالملائكة، وقوله: لولا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب؛ المعنى هلا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب

The interrogation is like his saying: 'Why don't you bring us the angels?', and his saying: 'If only you had postponed me until a near term'; the meaning is 'Why didn't you postpone me until a near term?'

لولا أنتم لكنا مؤمنين

If it were not for you, we would have been believers.

ومنزلتي لولاي طحت كما هوى، ... بأجرامه من قلة النيق، منهوي

And my position, if it were not for me, would have fallen as it fell, ... with its mass from the peak of the mountain, falling.

وهي تري لولا ترى التحريما

And it shows, if only it did not see the prohibition.

وراميا مبتركا مزكوما ... في القبر لولا يفهم التفهيما

And a wrestler, bruised and sniffling ... in the grave, if only he understood comprehension.

لو حرف تمن وهو لامتناع الثاني من أجل امتناع الأول، تقول لو جئتني لأكرمتك، وهو خلاف إن التي للجزاء لأنها توقع الثاني من أجل وقوع الأول

Law is a particle of wishing, and it is for the prevention of the second due to the prevention of the first. You say: 'If you had come to me, I would have honored you.' This is contrary to 'inna' which is for consequence, because it causes the second to occur due to the occurrence of the first.

وأما لولا فمركبة من معنى إن ولو، وذلك أن لولا تمنع الثاني من أجل وجود الأول؛

As for 'lawla', it is composed of the meaning of 'inna' and 'law', and that is because 'lawla' prevents the second due to the existence of the first.

تقول لولا زيد لهلكنا أي امتنع وقوع الهلاك من أجل وجود زيد هناك؛

You say: 'If it were not for Zayd, we would have perished.' Meaning, the perishing was prevented due to Zayd's presence there.

تعدون عقر النيب أفضل مجدكم ... بني ضوطرى، لولا الكمي المقنعا

You consider the slaughtering of she-camels the best of your glory, ... O sons of Dawtara, if only the veiled warrior were present.

فإن اللو من الشيطان ؛ يريد قول المتندم على الفائت: لو كان كذا لقلت ولفعلت، وكذلك قول المتمني لأن ذلك من الاعتراض على الأقدار

For 'al-law' is from Satan; meaning the statement of one who regrets what has passed: 'If it had been so, I would have said and done.' And likewise the statement of one who wishes, because that is objecting to fate.

وهي تري روضا لولا أنها ترى من يحرمها ذلك؛

And it shows a meadow, if only it did not see who prohibits it from that.

وهو في القبر لولا يفهم، يقول: هو كالمقبور إلا أنه يفهم كأنه قال لولا أنه يفهم التفهيم

He is in the grave, if only he understood. He says: He is like one buried, except that he understands, as if he said: 'if only he understood comprehension'.

وإنما أمَالَهَا لَمَّا كَانَتْ جَوَابًا قَائِمَةً بِنَفْسِهَا وَقَوِيَتْ بِذَلِكَ فَلَحِقَتْ بِاللَّوْةِ بِالْأَسْمَاءِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ فَأُمِيلَتْ كَمَا أُمِيلَا

And it was inclined because it was a self-sufficient answer and was strengthened by that, so it joined 'al-lawāh' with nouns and verbs, and was inclined as they were inclined.

لويت لاء حسنة، بالمد، ومويت ماء حسنة، بالمد، لمكان الفتحة من لا وما؛

You twisted 'lā' beautifully, with elongation, and 'mā' beautifully, with elongation, because of the fatḥah in 'lā' and 'mā'.

القَوْلُ فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ لَمَّا أَرَادُوا اشْتِقَاقَ فِعْلَتٍ مِنْ لَا وَمَا لَمْ يُمْكِنْ ذَلِكَ فِيهِمَا وَهُمَا عَلَى حَرْفَيْنِ، فَزَادُوا عَلَى الْأَلِفِ أَلِفًا أُخْرَى ثُمَّ هَمَزُوا الثَّانِيَةَ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ فَصَارَتْ لَاءَ وَمَاءَ، فَجَرَتْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مَجْرَى بَاءٍ وَحَاءٍ بَعْدَ الْمَدِّ

The statement regarding that is that when they wanted to derive a verb from 'lā' and 'mā', it was not possible for them as they are two letters. So they added another alif to the alif, then hamzated the second as previously mentioned, so it became 'lā'' and 'mā'', and after that, it followed the pattern of 'bā'' and 'ḥā'' after elongation.

وقد عرفت مائية الشيء، فالهمزة الآن إنما هي بدل من ألف لحقت ألف ما، وقضوا بأن ألف ما ولا مبدلة من واو

And you know the 'mā'iyyah' (whatness) of a thing. The hamzah now is only a substitute for an alif that followed the alif of 'mā', and they ruled that the alif of 'mā' and 'lā' is a substitute for a 'waw'.

وتكون زائدة كقوله تعالى: لئلا يعلم أهل الكتاب.

And it can be extra, as in Allah's saying: 'so that the People of the Book may not know'.

وقالوا: نا بل، يريدون لا بل، وهذا على البدل.

And they said: 'nā bal', meaning 'lā bal', and this is by substitution.

ولولا: كلمة مركبة من لو ولا، ومعناها امتناع الشيء لوجود غيره كقولك لولا زيد لفعلت،

And 'lawlā': a compound word from 'law' and 'lā', and its meaning is the prevention of a thing due to the existence of another, like your saying 'if not for Zayd, I would have done it'.

وسألتك حاجة فلوليت لي أي قلت لولا كذا؛ كأنه أراد لولوت فقلب الواو الأخيرة ياء للمجاورة

And I asked you for a need, and you said 'lawlayta' to me, meaning you said 'if not for such and such'; as if he meant 'lawlauta', so the last 'waw' was changed to a 'ya' due to proximity.

وإنما ذكرنا هاهنا لاييت ولوليت لأن هاتين الكل متي ن المغيرتين بالتركيب إنما مادتهما لا ولو، ولولا أن القياس شيء بريء من التهمة لقلت إنهما غير عربيتين؛

And we only mentioned 'lāyayta' and 'lawlayta' here because these two words, which are changed by composition, their root is only 'lā' and 'law'. And if analogy were not something free from suspicion, I would say they are not Arabic.

للولا حصين عيبه أن أسوءه، ... وأن بني سعد صديق ووالد

If not for Ḥuṣayn, his flaw would be that I would harm him, ... And the sons of Sa'd are friends and fathers.

وإن اللو من الشيطان ؛ يريد قول المتندم على الفائت: لو كان كذا لقلت ولفعلت، وكذلك قول المتمني لأن ذلك من الاعتراض على الأقدار

And 'al-law' is from Satan; meaning the statement of one who regrets what has passed: 'If it had been so, I would have said and done.' And likewise the statement of one who wishes, because that is objecting to fate.

والأصل فيه لو ساكنة الواو، وهي حرف من حروف المعاني يمتنع بها الشيء، لامتناع غيره، فإذا سمي بها زيد فيها واو أخرى، ثم أدغمت وشددت حملا على نظائرها من حروف المعاني

And its origin is 'law' with a silent 'waw', and it is a particle of meaning by which a thing is prevented due to the prevention of another. If it is named, another 'waw' is added to it, then it is assimilated and doubled, following the pattern of its counterparts among the particles of meaning.