Sunday, 14 June 2015

Often used Arabic words used for questioning by shaykh Anwar shah rashidi

Huroof istifhaam - words used for question framing in arabic -  English translation of darsu saabi (lesson no. 7) by shaykh anwar rashidi (basic summary) 
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Easy explanation without delving into advanced technicalities . They are : 

Man, ma, maza,ayna, mata, kam, kayfa, limaza, hal, a' (e.g atu'minu....?) 

These are the huroof used to ask questions. Be it in ordering shawarma or on facebook these are basic very basic letters we need to use while asking or framing a question. 

They are : 

1) Man (not to be confused with mIn) - tusta`malu lis-suwali `anil `aaqili 

Meaning the word من is used when you are talking about or asking about or implying about someone or something that has an aql (intelligence) or has a soul .

E.g 1.1) : man khalaqas samaa wal ardh

Who created heavens and earth?



Here we are hinting and implying asking about  someone (creator) who is known to have existence or aql. 

E.g 1.2). : 

Man yunfiqu alayka? 

Who will spend on you? 

(Here man and yunfiqu together in normal reading will be read as mayyunfiqu) 

Again here when we ask someone whose going to spend on you we mean someone who has life aql or soul will. The third person in question or intended has aql.  A tree cannot spend on you. So this is why we used the question vowel of man instead of something else 

So.the answer would be my father or uncle will.spend one me. 

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2) Ma (what) - tustamalu lis suwali an ghayril- aaqil 

The question harf ma - is used  to ask a question in a sentence wherein that which we ask or the topic or subject of what we ask.or inquire about has to do with non living or non aql things.

E.g 2.1) 

Ma+za ( maza) 

Maza taktubu?

What are you writing? 

Writing here has to do with non aaqil non living thing..

Here we wont write "man" taktubu. Because man is used for one who has an aql. Here the book in which he writes has no aql. So we cant use man taktubu? We have to use the question harf that pertains to non aaqil being i.e ma 

So we say "Maza taktubu" 

Here ma means what. 

E.g 2.2)

Masmuka (ma + ismuka) 

What + your name 
What is your name 

You might wonder here the person is living whom we are asking and is aaqil so why we are using ma? Well we dont use these huroof based on the second party or person we are talking to. We can talk to 50.people but as long as that which is being discussed or asked or the topic of discussion is non aaqil e.g.tree ,.painting, watch. We cannot use man.

So here the person being asked is aaqil but his name itself is non aaqil. And we are asking about his name.not about him.per say so we use ma 

Masmuka or maismuka 

E.g 2.3)

Ma hadha ?

What is this?

This is a door (non living non aaqil being) 

We asked pointing towards a  door.. saying "ma hadha" what is this?

Since the topic or subject or verb in question is a non aaqil entity (door) we used ma. Had it been a child.or a horse it would have been different. 

E.g 2.4)

Ma hadha? 

Hadha masjidun (this is a masjid) 

E.g 2.5) 

Ma hadhihi (what is this ?) 

This is my car 

E.g 2.6)

Ma.hadha ?

This is my house (baytun) 

E.g 2.7)

Ma hadhihi?

This is my school (building)

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3) ayna (where) - tusta`milu lis suwali anil makaan

This harf of ayna is used in a sentence to ask.regarding any place or location. 

E.g 3.1) Ayna manzilukum 

Where is your place (of residence)? 

E.g 3.2)

Ayna qalamuka?

Where is your pen? 

Here where in english and ayn in arabic is the same i.e. both are used when by our question we intend to know the location of that which is being questioned about

Where do you live
We want to know the location of.the house 

Where do you eat 

Location of the restaurant

Where (ayna) do you go for gymming?

Location of the gym 

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4) mata (when) : tustamalu anis suwalis zamaan

This is used to know the time of something.

E.g 4.1) mata (when) yasoomu  muslimoon

When will the muslims start fasting? Or when do the muslims fast? 

Here when indicates that we want to know the time fasting starts. 

E.g 4.2) 

Mata naumika? 

When (what time) do you sleep?

Or

Mata tastayqidhu naumika?

When (what time) do you awake from your sleep? 

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5) kam (how much) - tust`amalu lis suali anil adad

Kam is used to ask questions related to numbers or quantity. E.g volume, etc

E.g 5.1) 

Kam sanatam umruka?  

How old are you? 

E.g 5.2) kam wahda? 

How much for one (piece of bread)? 

Here he will reply back in some number like 5 dinars or 3 dinars etc. 

E.g 5.3) 

Kam taliban fi faslika?

How many students in this grade/class? 

Again he will answer in some numver like 30 students etc 

6) kayfa (how) - tusta`malu lis suali anil haal 

Kayfa is used to ask questions related to the state be it health or to understand this simply then in english whenever you use how? Use kayfa there for most cases 

E.g 6.1) 

Kayfa tusafiru ila farwaniya? 

How do you/will you travel to the (area of ) farwaniya (in kuwait) 

E.g 6.2) 

Kayfa tazhabu ilal madrasati?

How will you go to your madrasa? 

7) limadha (why)? Tusta`malu lis suali anis sabab 

E.g 7.1) 

Limaza tadrusu lughatul arabiyya?

Why do you study the arabic language? 

Answer : adrusu arabi li afhamal quran 

E.g 7.2)

Limaza tashrabu (ash) shaiy?

Why do you drink tea? 

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8) hal (do you or will you or have you and ilk) - tustamalu lis suali an  ma`anal jumlati 

E.g 8.1.) Hal taraf ayna makanil wudu? 

Do you know where the place for ablution is? 

Wayujabu anha bi na`am fil ithbaat wa bi la fil inkaar 

As per arabic grammar rule the answer to this question should begin with yes or no. Today if we ask someone with "hal " like tak  e.g 8.1 . The answerer will either directly point out the place or gesture in another way. But grammatically the answer should begin with na`am (yes ) or laa (no) 

E.g 8.2) hal tazhabu ila kuwait?

Are you going to kuwait?

Answer should be
 " la azhab" 

no i wont go 

E.g 8.3)

Hal zurta makkah?

Did you visit makkah? 

Answer : na`am zurtu makkah

Yes i visited makkah 

E.g 8.4 )

Hal hajjajta?

Have you performed hajj?

Answer : na`am hajjajtu 

E.g 8.5 ) 

Hal anta mudarrisun?

Are you a teacher?

Answer : la ana talibun

No i am a student 
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9)  a' - tustamalu lis sualati an jumlati . 

Same ruling as hal above with slight difference 

E.g 9.1)

Atuhibbul arabi? 

Do you love arabic? 

Answer : na`am uhibbal arabi 

Yes i love arabic 

E.g 9.2)

Atatakallum ul-lugatil arabiyyah?

Do you speak the arabic language?  

Answer : 

Na`am ana atakkalamun qaleelan 

Yes i speak but a little 

End of dars, translated on my phone so point out any mistakes min fadlik

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