Lesson 148: Wishes, Prayers and Curses

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Listen to any Arabic conversation and you will hear a blessing every few sentences: اَللّٰهُ يُبَارِكُ فِيكَ in the imperfect, but in writing and in formal speech much more often in the perfect, بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ فِيكَ. Arabic, like some other Semitic languages, uses the perfect to present a wished-for event as if it had already happened, a way of saying may it be as certain as a thing done. The grammar is the ordinary perfect; only the context tells you it is a wish. In a tale the formulas fall thick and fast, and this instalment of the merchant and the jinni has seven of them.

Rule 1: 1. The optative perfect: blessings

A perfect verb, usually with اللّٰهُ as subject, expresses a wish or prayer: رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ may God have mercy on him (said of the dead), بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ فِيكَ God bless you (a thank-you), حَفِظَكَ اللّٰهُ may God keep you, أَطَالَ اللّٰهُ عُمْرَكَ may God lengthen your life, جَزَاكَ اللّٰهُ خَيْرًا may God reward you with good, غَفَرَ اللّٰهُ لَهُ may God forgive him, سَلَّمَكَ اللّٰهُ may God keep you safe. The kāna-sister دَامَ gives دُمْتَ سَالِمًا may you remain safe and sound (a closing in letters), and دَامَ عِزُّكَ may your glory last. Note the order: verb, object suffix, then اللّٰهُ.

تُوُفِّيَ جَدِّي، رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ، قَبْلَ عَامَيْنِ.
tuwuffiya jaddī, raḥimahu llāhu, qabla ʿāmayni
My grandfather, may God have mercy on him, died two years ago.
The standard formula after naming the dead.
— شُكْرًا عَلَى مُسَاعَدَتِكَ. — بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ فِيكَ.
shukran ʿalā musāʿadatika. — bāraka llāhu fīka
— Thank you for your help. — God bless you.
بَارَكَ فِي: Form III with فِي.
حَفِظَكِ اللّٰهُ يَا أُمِّي وَأَطَالَ عُمْرَكِ.
ḥafiẓaki llāhu yā ummī wa-aṭāla ʿumraki
May God keep you, mother, and lengthen your life.
Two optatives joined by وَ; feminine suffix ـكِ.
جَزَاكُمُ اللّٰهُ خَيْرًا عَلَى ضِيَافَتِكُمْ.
jazākumu llāhu khayran ʿalā ḍiyāfatikum
May God reward you well for your hospitality.
جَزَى: defective verb, second object خَيْرًا.
وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ، وَدُمْتَ سَالِمًا.
wa-s-salāmu ʿalayka, wa-dumta sāliman
Peace be upon you, and may you remain well.
دَامَ with an accusative predicate, as in lesson 136.

Rule 2: 2. Negative wishes and curses

A negative wish uses لَا + perfect, never مَا (which would make an ordinary past negative): لَا أَصَابَكَ سُوءٌ may no harm befall you, لَا قَدَّرَ اللّٰهُ God forbid (literally may God not decree it), لَا سَامَحَهُ اللّٰهُ may God not forgive him. Curses use the same perfect: لَعَنَهُ اللّٰهُ God curse him, قَبَّحَهُ اللّٰهُ God disgrace him, and the Quranic قَاتَلَهُمُ اللّٰهُ may God fight them, which in later speech may even express astonished admiration. Curses are rare in polite speech and the Prophet forbade cursing people; you should recognise them, not use them.

لَا أَصَابَكَ اللّٰهُ بِسُوءٍ.
lā aṣābaka llāhu bi-sūʾin
May God never afflict you with harm.
لَا + perfect = negative wish.
لَوْ مَرِضَ، لَا قَدَّرَ اللّٰهُ، فَمَنْ يُسَاعِدُهُ؟
law mariḍa, lā qaddara llāhu, fa-man yusāʿiduhu
If he fell ill, God forbid, who would help him?
A parenthetic negative wish.
مَا سَامَحَهُ أَبُوهُ.
mā sāmaḥahu abūhu
His father did not forgive him.
مَا + perfect: a plain past fact, not a wish.
لَعَنَ اللّٰهُ الظُّلْمَ وَأَهْلَهُ.
laʿana llāhu ẓ-ẓulma wa-ahlahu
God curse injustice and those who practise it.
A curse aimed at a thing, not a person.

Wish or fact?

لَا رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ.

lā raḥimahu llāhu

May God not have mercy on him.

لَا + perfect: a (negative) wish.

مَا رَحِمَهُ أَحَدٌ.

mā raḥimahu aḥadun

No one had mercy on him.

مَا + perfect: a statement about the past.

Rule 3: 3. Formulas after the name of God

After the name of God come perfects that are declarative, not optative, because God does not need to be wished greatness: اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى God, who is exalted (تَعَالَى is Form VI of ع-ل-و, to be high above), اللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى God, blessed and exalted is He, اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ God, mighty and majestic is He, and the nominal سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى glory be to Him, exalted is He, abbreviated in print as (سبحانه). They are inserted after اللّٰه as a relative clause without الَّذِي: قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى God, the Exalted, said.

قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى فِي كِتَابِهِ الْكَرِيمِ …
qāla llāhu taʿālā fī kitābihi l-karīmi
God the Exalted said in His noble Book …
The usual introduction to a Quranic quotation.
نَشْكُرُ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ.
nashkuru llāha ʿazza wa-jalla ʿalā niʿamihi
We thank God, mighty and majestic, for His blessings.
The formula does not change with the case of اللّٰه.
خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ.
khalaqa llāhu tabāraka wa-taʿālā s-samāwāti wa-l-arḍa
God, blessed and exalted is He, created the heavens and the earth.
The formula stands between subject and object.

Rule 4: 4. Formulas after prophets and Companions

After the name of the Prophet Muḥammad one says or writes صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ God bless him and grant him peace, an optative perfect, printed as the ligature ﷺ. After other prophets and angels: عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ peace be upon him, a nominal sentence (for two: عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ). After a Companion: رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ may God be pleased with him, with the pronoun adjusted: عَنْهَا for a woman, عَنْهُمَا for two (often a father and son, as اِبْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا), عَنْهُمْ for a group. After later scholars and the righteous dead: رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ. For ʿAlī many add كَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ وَجْهَهُ may God honour his face.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ …
qāla rasūlu llāhi ṣalla llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama
The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said …
The introduction to every hadith.
بَنَى إِبْرَاهِيمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ الْكَعْبَةَ مَعَ ابْنِهِ.
banā ibrāhīmu ʿalayhi s-salāmu l-kaʿbata maʿa bnihi
Abraham, peace be upon him, built the Kaaba with his son.
Nominal formula for other prophets.
رَوَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا هٰذَا الْحَدِيثَ.
rawat ʿāʾishatu raḍiya llāhu ʿanhā hādha l-ḥadītha
ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, related this hadith.
عَنْهَا for a woman Companion.
كَانَ الصَّحَابَةُ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ يُحِبُّونَ الضَّيْفَ.
kāna ṣ-ṣaḥābatu raḍiya llāhu ʿanhum yuḥibbūna ḍ-ḍayfa
The Companions, may God be pleased with them, loved guests.
Plural عَنْهُمْ.
أَلَّفَ الْإِمَامُ النَّوَوِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ كُتُبًا كَثِيرَةً.
allafa l-imāmu n-nawawiyyu raḥimahu llāhu kutuban kathīratan
Imam al-Nawawī, God have mercy on him, wrote many books.
رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ for later scholars.

Who receives which formula

Optative perfects except where noted.
After the name of	Formula	Meaning
God	تَعَالَى / عَزَّ وَجَلَّ / تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى	exalted / mighty and majestic is He (declarative)
the Prophet Muḥammad	صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ	God bless him and grant him peace
another prophet or an angel	عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ	peace be upon him
a male Companion	رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ	may God be pleased with him
a female Companion	رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا	may God be pleased with her
two Companions	رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا	may God be pleased with them both
the Companions	رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ	may God be pleased with them
a deceased Muslim, a scholar	رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ / رَحِمَهَا اللّٰهُ	may God have mercy on him / her
a living person (to him)	حَفِظَكَ اللّٰهُ	may God keep you

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

رَحِمَ، يَرْحَمُ

raḥima, yarḥamu

to have mercy on

بَارَكَ فِي، يُبَارِكُ

bāraka fī, yubāriku

to bless

حَفِظَ، يَحْفَظُ

ḥafiẓa, yaḥfaẓu

to guard, keep; to memorise

أَطَالَ، يُطِيلُ

aṭāla, yuṭīlu

to lengthen, prolong

عُمْرٌ

ʿumrun

life, lifetime; age

غَفَرَ لِـ، يَغْفِرُ

ghafara li-, yaghfiru

to forgive

سَامَحَ، يُسَامِحُ

sāmaḥa, yusāmiḥu

to pardon, forgive

لَعَنَ، يَلْعَنُ

laʿana, yalʿanu

to curse

تَعَالَى

taʿālā

exalted is He (after God's name)

عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

ʿazza wa-jalla

mighty and majestic is He

صَلَّى عَلَى، يُصَلِّي

ṣallā ʿalā, yuṣallī

to bless (of God); to pray for

رَضِيَ عَنْ، يَرْضَى

raḍiya ʿan, yarḍā

to be pleased with

شَرْطٌ

sharṭun

condition

مَكْرٌ

makrun

cunning, guile

عَانَقَ، يُعَانِقُ

ʿānaqa, yuʿāniqu

to embrace

صُورَةٌ

ṣūratun

form, shape; picture

Step 2 of 5: Read

The tale of the merchant and the jinni (3)

حِكَايَةُ التَّاجِرِ وَالْجِنِّيِّ (٣)

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Did the herdsman's daughter want the old man's wealth?
2.How did she free the son from the spell?
3.What did she turn the old man's cousin into?
4.Where did the son go after his wife died?
5.What did the jinni grant the first old man?

In the Quran

تَبَّتْ يَدَآ أَبِى لَهَبٍۢ
Surah Al-Masad · 111:1
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ 'perish the hands of Abū Lahab': an optative perfect used as a curse.
- تَبَّتْtabbatPerish
- يَدَآyadā(the) hands
- أَبِىabī(of) Abu
- لَهَبٍۢlahabinLahab
Read in context
قُتِلَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ
Surah 'Abasa · 80:17
قُتِلَ الْإِنْسَانُ 'may man perish!' (literally 'man was killed'): a passive perfect of imprecation, followed by the exclamation مَا أَكْفَرَهُ.
- قُتِلَqutilaIs destroyed
- ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُl-insānu[the] man
Read in context
تَبَـٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِى
Surah Al-Mulk · 67:1
تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي 'blessed is He who …': a declarative perfect of praise, the same verb as in the formula تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى.
- تَبَـٰرَكَtabārakaBlessed is
- ٱلَّذِىalladhīHe
Read in context
جَزَآؤُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّـٰتُ عَدْنٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا ۖ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِىَ رَبَّهُۥ
Surah Al-Bayyinah · 98:8
رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ 'God is pleased with them and they with Him': the Quranic source of the formula said after the Companions.
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 70/0 correct

Match

Match each formula with the person after whose name it is said

Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

مَاتَ أَبُو خَالِدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللّٰهُ أَمْسِ.

2.

بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ فِيكُمْ وَفِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ.

3.

لَا أَرَاكَ اللّٰهُ مَكْرُوهًا.

4.

رَوَى أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ …

5.

قَالَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لِقَوْمِهِ …

6.

نَعْبُدُ اللّٰهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَحْدَهُ.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

May God keep you (m.).

2.

May God lengthen your life.

3.

May God reward you (pl.) with good.

4.

May God have mercy on her.

5.

ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, was just.

6.

God the Exalted said …

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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