Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

إِذَا denotes a thing's happening suddenly, or unexpectedly; (Mughnee, Ḳ;) or one's experiencing the occurrence of a thing when he is in a particular state; (Ṣ;) like إِذٌ: (Ṣ voce إِذٌ:) it pertains only to nominal phrases; does not require tobe followed by a reply, or the complement of a condition; does not occur at the commencement of a sentence; and signifies the present time, (Mughnee, Ḳ,) not the future; (Mughnee;) as in خَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا الأَسَدُ بالبَابِ [I went forth, and lo, or behold, or there, or then, at that present time, (accord. to different authorities, as will be seen below,) the lion was at the door]; and (in the saying in the Ḳur [xx. 21], TA,) فَإِذَا هِىَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى [And lo, or behold,, &c., it was a serpent running]; (Mughnee, Ḳ;) and in the saying, خَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا زَيْدٌ قَائِمٌ, which means I went forth, and Zeyd presented himself to me suddenly, or unexpectedly, at the time, by standing. (Ṣ, TA.) Accord. to Akh, it is a particle, (Mughnee, Ḳ,) and his opinion is rendered preferable by their saying, خَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا إِنَّ زِيْداً بِالبَابِ [I went forth, and lo, or behold, verily Zeyd was at the door]; for [اذا cannot here be a noun governed in the accus. case, as] what follows إِنَّ, which is with kesr, does not govern what precedes it: (Mughnee:) accord. to Mbr, it is an adverbial noun of place: accord. to Zj, an adverbial noun of time. (Mughnee, Ḳ.) Ibn-Málik adopts the first of these opinions; Ibn-ʼOsfoor, the second; (Mughnee;) and so El-Fenjedeehee; (TA;) and Z, the third; and he asserts that its governing word is a verb understood, derived from المُفَاجَأَةُ; [agreeably with the explanation cited above from the Ṣ;] but others hold that the word which governs it in the accus. case is the enunciative, which is either expressed, as in خَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا زَيْدٌ جَالِسٌ [I went forth, and there, in that place, or then, at that time, Zeyd was sitting], or meant to be understood, as in فَإِذَا الأَسَدُ, i. e. حَاضِرٌ [And there, or then, the lion was present]; or if it be supposed to be [itself] the enunciative, its governing word is مُسْتَقِرُّ or اِسْتَقَرَّ [understood]: and in the last of the phrases here mentioned, it may be an enunciative accord. to the opinion of Mbr, the meaning being فَبِٱلْحَاضِرَةِ الأَسَدُ [And among the things present was the lion]; but not accord. to the opinion of Zj, because a noun signifying time cannot be the enunciative of one signifying a corporeal thing; nor accord to the opinion of Akh, because a particle cannot be used to denote the enunciative of such a thing; or, as signifying time, it may be the enunciative of such a thing if we suppose a prefixed noun to be suppressed, the meaning of فَإِذَا الأَسَدُ being فَإِذاَ حُضُورُ الأَسَدِ [And then was the presence of the lion]. (Mughnee.) You may say either خَرَجْتُ فَإِذَا زَيْدٌ جَالِسٌ or جَالِساً [I went forth, and lo, or behold,, &c., Zeyd was sitting or Zeyd was there sitting], with the nom. as an enunciative and with the accus. as a denotative of state. (Mughnee.) The Arabs said, قَدْ كُنْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنَّ العَقْرَبَ أَشَدُّ لَسْعَةً مِنَ الزُّنْبُورِ فَإِذاَ هُوَ هِى [I used to think that the scorpion was more vehement in stinging than the hornet, and lo, he is (as vehement as) she], and also, فَإِذاَ هُوَ إِيَّاهَا, which Sb disallowed, in contending with Ks, who allowed it, and appealed for confirmation thereof to certain Arabs, whose judgment was pronounced in his favour; but it is said that they were bribed to give this judgment, or that they knew the place which Ks held in the estimation of Er-Rasheed; and if the latter expression be of established authority, it is irregular and unchaste. (Mughnee.)

It also denotes the complement of a condition, like فَ, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) with which it is in this case syn., (Mṣb,) as in the words of the Ḳur [xxx. 35], وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ إِذَا هُمُ يَقْنَطُون [And if an evil befall them for that which their hands have sent before, (i. e. for sins which they have committed,) then they despair]. (Ṣ, Mṣb.)

It is also an adverbial noun denoting future time, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Mughnee, Ḳ,*) and implying the meaning of a condition, (Mṣb, Mughnee,) and this is generally the case when it is not used in the manner first explained above. (Mughnee.) In this case it is not used otherwise than as prefixed to a proposition, (Ṣ, Mughnee,) which is always verbal, as in the words of the Ḳur [xxx. 24], ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمَ دَعْوَةً مِنَ الأَرْضِ إذَا أَنْتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ [Then, when He shall call you, or when He calleth you, (for, as in Arabic, so in English, a verb which is properly present is often tropically future,) with a single call from out the earth, lo, or behold, or then, ye shall come forth], in which occur both the usages of اذا here mentioned; (Mughnee;) and in the phrase, إِذَا جِئْتَ أَكْرَمْتُكَ [When thou shalt come, I will treat thee with honour]; (Mṣb;) and in the phrase, أَجِيْؤُكَ إِذَا ٱحْمَرَّالبُسْرُ [I will come to thee when the fullgrown unripe dates shall become red], and إِذَا قَدِمَ فُلَانٌ [when such a one shall arrive], which shows it to be a noun because this is equivalent to يَوْمَ يَقْدَمُ فُلَانٌ [on the day when such a one shall arrive]: (Ṣ:) or in the phrase قُمْ إِذَا ٱحْمَرَّ البُسْرُ [and in many other cases] it denotes time divested of any accessory idea, the meaning being [Arise thou] at the time of the full-grown unripe dates' becoming red: and so in the saying of EshSháfi'ee, If a man were to say, أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ إِذَا لَمْ أُطَلِّقْكِ, or مَتَى لم اطلّقك, [Thou art divorced when I do not divorce thee,] and then be silent for a time sufficient for the divorce to be pronounced therein, she would be divorced; but should he make it dependent upon a thing in the future, the divorce would be delayed to that time, as if he said, اذا احمرّ البسر [using it in the sense first assigned to this phrase above]. (Mṣb.) The verb after it is in most cases a pret.: in other cases, an aor.: both occur in the saying of Aboo-Dhu-eyb,

* وَالنَّفْسُ رَاغِبَةٌ إِذَا رَغَّبْتَهَا *

* وَإِذَا تُرَدُّ إِلَى قَلِيلٍ تَقْنَعُ *

[And the soul is desirous when thou makest it desirous; and when thou reducest it, or restrictest it, to little, it is content]. (Mughnee.) When it is immediately followed by a noun, as in [the phrase in the Ḳur lxxxiv. 1,] إذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ ٱنْشَقَّتْ, the noun is an agent with a verb suppressed, explained by what follows it; contr. to the opinion of Akh; (Mughnee;) the complete phrase being إِذَا ٱنْشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ ٱنْشَقَّتْ [When the heaven shall be cleft, (when) it shall be cleft]; and in like manner, إِنْ, as in the saying, in the Ḳur [ix. 6], وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ المُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ. (I'Akp. 123.) And in the saying of the poet,

* إِذَا بَاهِلِىٌّ تَحْتَهُ حَنْظَلِيَّةٌ *

* لَهُ وَلَدٌ مِنْهَا فَذَاكَ المُدَرَّعُ *

كَانَ is meant to be understood after اذا [so that the meaning is, When a Báhilee (a man of the tribe of Báhileh) has, or shall have, as his wife a Handhaleeyeh (a woman of the tribe of Handhaleh, who were renowned for generosity), he having offspring from her, that (offspring) is, or will be, the mail-clad]. (Mughnee.)

Sometimes it denotes past time, (Mughnee, Ḳ,) like as إِذْ sometimes denotes future time, (Mughnee,) as in [the saying in the Ḳur lxii. 11,] وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْواً ٱنْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا [And when they saw merchandise or sport, they dispersed themselves to it]. (Mughnee, Ḳ.) [Thus] it occurs in the place of إِذْ, like as إِذْ occurs in the place of إِذَا. (TA.)

And sometimes it denotes the present time; and this is after an oath, as in [the phrase in the Ḳur xcii. 1,] وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى [By the night when it covereth with its darkness]. (Mughnee, Ḳ.)

It also occurs in the sense of the conditional إِنْ, as in the saying, أُكْرِمُكَ إِذَا أَكْرَمْتَنِى, meaning إِنْ أَكْرَمْتَنِى [I will treat thee with honour if thou treat me with honour]: (T:) [for] what is possible is made dependent upon it as well as what is known to be certain, as in the phrases, إِذَا جَآءَ زَيْدٌ [If Zeyd come] and إِذَا جَآءَ رَأْسُ الشَّهْرِ [When the beginning of the month shall come]; or, accord. to Th, there is a difference between إِذَا and إِنْ; (Mṣb;) the latter being held by him to denote what is possible, and the former to denote what is ascertained; so that one says, إِنْ جَآءَ زَيْدٌ and إذَا جَآءَ رَأْسُ الشَّهرِ. (Mṣb in art. ان.)

When a verb in the first person sing. of the pret. is explained by another verb after it immediately preceded by إِذَا, [تَقُولُ is understood before the former verb, and therefore] the latter verb must be in the second pers. sing., as in لُجْتُهُ إِذَا أَدَرْتَهُ فِى فيِكَ [meaning Thou sayest (of a thing) لُجْتُهُ when, or if, thou hast turned it about in thy mouth]. (MF in art. لوج. See also أَىْ; last sentence but one.)

It is sometimes redundant, like as إِذْ is sometimes [accord. to some], as in the saying of ʼAbd-Menáf Ibn-Riba El-Hudhalee,

* حَتَّى إِذَا أَسْلَكُوهُم فِى قُتَائِدَةٍ *

* شَلَّا كَمَا تَطْرُدُ الجَمَّالَةُ الشُّرُدَا *

[Until they made them to pass along Kutáïdeh, (here meaning a certain mountain-road so named, Ṣ in art. قتد,) urging on, like as the owners, or attendants, of camels drive those that take fright and run away]; for it is the end of the poem: or he may have abstained from mentioning the enunciative because of its being known to the hearer. (Ṣ.) When إِذَا is preceded by حَتَّى, [as in this instance,] it is generally held that اذا is not governed by حتّى in the gen. case, but is still an adverbial noun, حتّى being an inceptive particle without government. (Mughnee.)

As to what it is that governs إِذَا in the accus. case, there are two opinions; that it is its conditional proposition; or a verb, or the like, in the complement thereof: (Mughnee, Ḳ:) the former is the opinion of the critical judges; so that it is in the predicament of مَتَى and حَيْثُمَا and أَيَّانَ. (Mughnee.)

Sometimes it is used so as not to denote a condition, as in the words of the Ḳur [xlii. 35], وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُم يَغفِرُونَ [And when, or whenever, they are angry, they forgive], in which it is an adverbial noun relating to the enunciative of the inchoative after it; for if it denoted a condition, and the nominal proposition were a complement, it would be connected by فَ: and the same is the case when it is used after an oath, as in an ex. given above. (Mughnee.)

See also what follows.

إِذًا, (Mṣb, TA, the latter as on the authority of Lth,) with tenween, (TA,) or إِذَن, (T, Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Mughnee, Ḳ, the first as on the authority of Lth,) written in the former manner, (TA,) or in the latter, (T,) when connected with a following proposition, (T, TA,) and in a case of pause written إِذًا↓, (T, Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Mughnee, Ḳ, TA,) and therefore the Basrees hold that in other cases it should be written إِذًا, (Mṣb,) though El-Má- zinee and Mbr hold that it should be in this case also with ن, while Fr holds that it should be written with ا; when it governs, and otherwise with ن, in order to distinguish between it and [the adverbial noun] إِذَا: (Mughnee:) a particle, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Mughnee, TA,) accord. to the general opinion; and accord. to this opinion, it is a simple word, not compounded of إِذْ and أَنْ; and as being simple, it is that which renders an aor. mansoob, not أَنْ suppressed and meant to be understood after it: some say that it is a noun: (Mughnee:) [but a knowledge of its meaning is necessary to the understanding of the reason given for asserting it to be a noun.] It denotes a response, or reply, corroborating a condition; (Lth, T, TA;) or compensation, or the complement of a condition; (Mṣb;) or a response, or reply, (Sb, Ṣ, Mughnee, Ḳ,) in every instance; (TA;) and compensation, or the complement of a condition, (Sb, Ṣ, M, Mughnee, Ḳ,) though not always: (Mughnee, TA:) and its virtual meaning is [Then; i. e., in that case; or] if the case, or affair, be as thou hast mentioned, (M, Ḳ, TA,) or as has happened: (M, TA:) [and hence,] accord. to those who say that it is a noun, the original form of the phrase إِذَنْ أُكْرِمَكَ [Then, or in that case, or if the case be so, I will treat thee with honour, said in reply to one who says “I will come to thee,”] is إِذَا جِئْتَنِى أُكرِمُكَ [When thou shalt come to me, I will treat thee with honour]; then the proposition [جئتنى] is thrown out, and tenween [or ن] is substituted for it, (Mughnee,) for which reason, and to distinguish between it and [the adverbial] ن, the Koofees hold that it should be written with إِذَا, (Mṣb,) and أَنْ [preceded by يَجِبُ عَلَىَّ or the like] is suppressed and meant to be understood [as that which renders the aor. mansoob; so that when one says إِذَنْ أُكْرِمَكَ, it is as though he said إِذَا جِئْتَنِى When thou shalt come to me, it will be incumbent, or obligatory, on me to treat thee with honour]. (Mughnee.) It renders an aor. following it mansoob on certain conditions: (Mughnee, TA:) to have this effect, the aor. must have a future signification, (T, Ṣ, Mughnee, TA,) not present: (TA:) يَجِبُ عَلَىَّ أَنْ أُكُرِمَكَ must commence the phrase in which the aor. occurs; (Mughnee, TA;) [or, in other words,] the aor. must not be syntactically dependent upon what precedes اذا: (TA:) and there must be nothing intervening between اذا and the aor., (T, Mughnee, TA,) unless it is a particle, (T,) or an oath, (T, Mughnee,) or the negative لَا: (Mughnee:) therefore, to a person who says, “To-night I will visit thee,” (Ṣ,) or who says, “I will come to thee,” (Mughnee,) you say, إِذَنْ أُكْرِمَكَ [Then, or in that case, &c., I will treat thee with honour]; (T, Ṣ, Mughnee;) and to one who says, “I will treat thee with honour,” you say, إِذًا أَجِيْئَكَ [Then, or if the case be so, I will come to thee]. (TA.) When the verb after اذن has the present signification, it does not govern: (Ṣ, Mughnee, TA:) therefore, to a person who says, “I love thee,” you say, إِذَنْ أَظُنُّكَ [Then, or if the case be so, I think thee veracious]; for this is a mere reply: (Mughnee:) and to one talking to thee, إِذًا أَظُنُّكَ كَاذبًا [Then I think thee to be lying]. (TA.) When it is put in a middle place, (Ṣ,) not commencing the phrase, (Mughnee,) the verb after it not being syntactically dependent upon what is before it, (Ṣ, TA,) it does not govern: (Ṣ, Mughnee, TA:) therefore, to one who says, “I will come to thee,” (Mughnee, TA,) you say, أَنَا إِذَنْ أُكْرِمُكَ [I, in that case, will treat thee with honour]: (Ṣ, Mughnee, TA:) for اذن among the words which govern verbs is likened to الظَّنُّ among those which govern nouns: (Ṣ:) and when it is put at the end, it does not govern; as when you say, أُكْرِمُكَ [I will treat thee with honour in that case]. (Ṣ.) The saying [of the poet, or rájiz],

* لَا تَتْرُكَنِّى فِيهِمُ شَطِيرَا *

* إِنِّى إِذًا أَهْلِكَ أَوْ أَطِيرَا *

is explained by regarding it as an instance of the suppression of the enunciative of إِنّ, so that the meaning is, إِنِّى لاَ أَقْدِرُ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ, and then a new phrase commences [wherefore the verse means Do not thou leave me among them remote, or a stranger: verily I cannot endure that: in that case I should perish, or I should flee]. (Mughnee.) When it is immediately preceded by a conjunction such as وَ or فَ, the aor. may be either marfooa or mansoob. (Ṣ, Mughnee.) When a noun is introduced between it and the aor., the latter is marfooa, (T, Mughnee,) as in the saying, إِذَنْ أَخُوكَ يُكْرِمُكَ [Then, or in that case, thy brother will treat thee with honour], (T,) or إِذًا يَا عَبْدَ ٱللّٰهِ أُكُرِمُكَ [Then, or in that case, O ’Abd-Allah, I will treat thee with honour]; but Ibn-’Osfoor allows the intervention of an adverbial noun [without annulling the government]; and Ibn-Bábshádh, that of the vocative, and of a prayer; and Ks and Hishám, that of a word governed by the verb; but Ks in this case prefers nasb; and Hishám, refa. (Mughnee.) When you put an oath in the place of the noun, you make the aor. mansoob, as in the saying, إِذًا وَٱللّٰهِ تَنَامَ [Then, or if the case be so, by God, thou wilt sleep]: but if you prefix ل to the verb with the oath, you make the aor. marfooa, saying, إذَنْ وَٱللّٰهِ لَتَنْدَهُم [Then, or if the case be so, by God, assuredly thou wilt regret, or repent]. (T.) When you introduce a particle between it and the aor., you make the latter either marfooa or mansoob, saying, إِذَنْ لَا أُكْرِمُكَ and لَا أُكُرِمَكَ [Then, or in that case, I will not treat thee with honour]. (T.)

Sometimes the ا is rejected, and they say, ذَنْ لَا أَفُعَلُ [Then, (a word exactly agreeing with ذَنْ in sound as well as in meaning,) or in that case, I will not do such a thing]. (M, Ḳ,* TA.)

IJ relates, on the authority of Khálid, that إِذًا is used in the dial. of Hudheyl for إِذًا. (M.)

[إِذَنْ or إِذًا is mentioned and explained in the Ṣ and Ḳ and TA in art. اذن, and in the TA in باب الالف الليّنة also.]