ابو

1 أَبَوْتُ, [third Pers\. أَبَا,] (T, S, M, K,) and أَبَيْتُ, [third Pers\. أَبَى,] (T, M, K,) the latter accord. to Yz, (T,) aor. ـو (TK,) inf. n. أُبُوَّةٌ, (Yz, T, S, Msb,) or this is a simple subst., (M,) I became a father. (T, * S, * M, K.) b2: أَبَوْتُهُ, (ISk, T, M, K,) aor. ـو (IAar, ISk, T,) inf. n. إِبَاوَةٌ, (M, K,) I was, (IAar, ISk, T,) or became, (M, K,) a father to him. (IAar, ISk, T, M, K.) b3: [Hence, I fed him, or nourished him; and reared him, or brought him up.] You say, فُلَانٌ يَأْبُو هٰذَا اليَتِيمَ, inf. n. إِبَاوَةٌ, Such a one feeds, or nourishes, this orphan, like as the father does his children. (Lth, T.) And مَالَهُ أَبٌ يَأْبُوهُ (ISk, T, S) He has not a father to feed him, or nourish him, and to rear him, or bring him up. (S.) 2 أَبَّيْتُهُ, inf. n. تَأْبِيَةٌ, I said to him بِأَبِى [meaning فُدِيَتِ بِأَبِى Mayest thou be ransomed with my father! or the like: see أَبٌ, below]. (K, TA. [In the CK, erroneously, يا اَبِى.]) 5 تأبّاهُ He adopted him as a father; (M, K, TA;) as also ↓ استأباهُ; (M in art. اب;) and so تأبّاهُ أَبًا, accord. to A'Obeyd: (TA:) [or,] accord. to A'Obeyd, you say, تَأَبَّيْتُ أَبًا I adopted a father: (T:) and you say also, اِسْتَأَبَّ أَبًا and اِسْتَأْبَبَ أَبًا he adopted a father. (TA.) 10 إِسْتَاْبَوَ see 5.

أَبٌ is originally أَبَوٌ, (S, Msb, K,) as is shown by the first of its dual forms and of its pl. forms mentioned below; (S, Msb;) and signifies A father [in the ordinary sense: and also as meaning (assumed tropical:) an ancestor]: (M:) as also ↓ أَبًا, a dial. var., (M, K,) the same in the nom. and accus. and gen. cases, like قَفًا: (M:) and أَبٌّ is a dial. var. of the same, [the second letter being doubled to compensate for the و suppressed, as is the case in أَخٌّ, (TA voce أَخٌ)] but is rare. (Msb.) Accord. to the dial. commonly obtaining, when you use it as a prefixed noun, you decline it with the letters و and ا and ى, saying, هٰذَاأَبُوهُ [This is his father], (Msb,) and أَبُوكَ [thy father]; (M;) and رَأَيْتُ أَبَاهُ [I saw his father]; and مَرَرْتُ بِأَبِيهِ [I passed by his father]: (Msb:) but accord. to one dial., you say, هٰذَا أَبَاهُ, (Msb:) and أَبَاكَ; (M;) and رَأَيْتُ أَبَاهُ; and مَرَرْتُ بِأَبَاهُ: (Msb:) and accord. to one dial., which is the rarest of all, it is defective in every case, like يَدٌ and دَمٌ; (Msb;) and [thus] you say, هٰذَا أَبُوكَ [&c.]. (M.) The dual is أَبَوَانِ, (S, M, Msb,) meaning [two fathers, and] father and mother; and some say أَبَانِ: (S, M:) you say, هُمَاأَبَوَاهُ, meaning They two are his father and mother; and in poetry you may say, هُمَا أَبَاهُ; and in like manner, رَأَيْتُ أَبَيْهِ [I saw his father and mother], (T,) and أَبَيْكَ [thy father and mother]; (S;) but the usual, or chaste, form is رَأَيْتُ أَبَوَيْهِ. (T.) The pl. is آبَآءٌ, (T, S, M, Msb, K,) the best form, (T,) and أَبُونَ, (T, S, M, K,) and أُبُوٌّ (M, K, [in the CK الاَبْوٌ is erroneously put for الأُبُوٌّ,]) and أُبُوَّةٌ, (Lh, T, S, M, K, *) like عُمُومَةٌ and خُؤُولَةٌ: (T, S:) you say, هٰؤُلَآءِ أَبُوكُمْ, meaning آبَاؤُكُمْ [These are your fathers]; (T;) and hence, in the Kur [ii. 127], accord. to one reading, وَإِلٰهَ أَبِيكَ إِبرٰهِيمَ وَإِسْمٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحٰقَ [and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac], meaning the pl. of أبٌ, i. e. أَبِينَكَ, of which the ن is suppressed because the noun is prefixed [to the pronoun]; (S;) and some of the Arabs say, أَبُوَّتُنَا أَكْرَمُ الآبَآءِ [Our fathers are the most generous of fathers]. (T.) The dim. is ↓ أُبَّىٌّ; originally أُبَيْوٌ, with the final radical letter restored. (Msb.) b2: مَا يَدْرِى لَهُ مِنْ أَبٍ, and مَا أَبٌ, mean-ing He knows not who is his father, and what is his father, are sayings mentioned by Lh on the authority of Ks. (M.) b3: لَا أَبَا لِكَ, (T, S, M, K, &c.,) [accord. to the dial. of him who says أَبًا instead of أَبٌ,] as also لَا أَبَ لَكَ, and لَا أَبَاكَ, (S, K,) [the last, accord. to J, because the ل (meaning the ل in لك in the preceding phrases) is as though it were redundant, but he seems not to have known the dial. var. أَبًا, and I rather think that لَا أَبَاكَ, is for لَا أَبْقَى اللّٰهُ أَبَاكَ, or the like,] and لَا أَبَكَ, (Mbr, Sgh, K,) and لَابَ لَكَ, (K,) which is for لَا أَبَ لَكَ, (M,) means Thou art, in my estimation, one deserving of its being said to him, Mayest thou have no father! it is used in the manner of a proverb, is of frequent occurrence in poetry, (M,) is said to him who has a father and to him who has not a father, and is an imprecation as to the meaning, of necessity, though enunciative as to the letter; (M, K;) and hence the saying of Jereer, يَا تَيْمُ تَيْمَ عَدِىٍّ لَا أَبَا لَكُمْ [O Teym, Teym of 'Ades, may ye have no father!]; which is the strongest evidence of its being a proverb, and not having a literal meaning; for all of [the tribe of] Teym could not have one father, but all of them were fit objects of imprecation and rough speech: (M:) it is an expression of praise: (S:) [i. e.] it is an imprecation against him to whom it is addressed, not, however, said with the desire of its having effect, but on an occasion of intense love, like لَا أُمَّ لَكَ, &c.: (Har p. 165:) and sometimes in dispraise, like لَا أُمَّ لَكَ: and in wonder, like لِلّهِ دَرُّكَ: (TA:) or, as A Heyth says, on the authority of Aboo-Sa'eed Ed-Dareer, it expresses the utmost degree of reviling; [meaning Thou hast no known father;] and لَا أُمَّ لَكَ expresses reviling also, but means Thou hast no free, or ingenuous, mother: (Meyd in Har p. 165: [see أُمَّ:]) sometimes it means Strive, or exert thyself, in thine affair; for he who has a father relies upon him in some circumstances of his case: (TA:) accord. to Kh, it means Thou hast none to stand thee in stead of thyself: (ISh, TA:) Fr says that it is a phrase used by the Arabs [parenthetically, i.e.,] to divide their speech: (TA:) [thus, for instance,] Zufar Ibn-El-Hárith says, أَرِينِى سِلَاحِى لَا أَبَا لَكَ إِنَّنِى أَرَى الحَرْبَ لَا تَزْدَادُ إِلَّا تَمَادِيَا [Show thou me my weapons: (mayest thou have no father! or thou hast no father: &c.:) verily I see the war, or battle, increases not save in perseverance]. (TA.) [Aboo-'Alee, as cited in the M, observes that the ا (meaning the final ا) in أَبَا, in the phrase لَا أَبَا لَكَ, indicates that it is a prefixed noun, and determinate; whereas the ل in لك together with the government exercised upon the noun by لا indicates that it is, on the contrary, indeterminate, and separate from what follows it: but it seems that he was unacquainted with the dial. var. أَبَّا; for لَا أَبَا لَكَ in the dial. of him who uses the form أَبَّا instead of أَبٌ is the same grammatically as لَا أَبَ لَكَ in the dial. of him who uses the form أَبٌ.] Suleymán Ibn-'Abd-El-Melik heard an Arab of the desert, in a year of drought, say, أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا الغَيْثَ لَا أَبَا لَكَ, and Suleymán put the best construction upon it, [as though it meant, Send down upon us rain: Thou hast no father], and said, I testify that He hath no father nor female companion nor offspring. (TA.) They say also, in paying honour [to a person], لَا أَبَ لِشَانِئِكَ, and لَا أَبَ لِشَانِئِكَ, (TA,) i. e. May thy hater have no father! or, accord. to ISk, each is a metonymical expression for لَا أَبَا لَكَ. (S in art. شنأ, q. v.) b4: One also says, on the occasion of an occurrence that is approved and commended, by way of expressing wonder and praise, لَلِّهِ أَبُوكَ, meaning To God, purely, is attributable [the excellence of] thy father, seeing that he begat thee a generous son, and produced the like of thee! (TA;) [or to God be attributed (the excellence of) thy father!] it means that to God [alone] belongs the power to create the like of this man [to whom it relates], from whom has proceeded this wonderful action. (Har p. 44.) b5: and هِىَ بِنْتُ أَبِيهَا, meaning She resembles her father in strength of mind, or spirit, and sharpness of disposition, and in hastening, or striving to be first, to do things: said of Hafsah, by 'Áïsheh. (TA.) b6: بِأَبِى, (TA,) or بِأَبِى أَنْتَ, (T in art. بأ,) [said to a person,] means [فُدِيتَ بِأَبِى Mayest thou be ransomed with my father! (see the next sentence but one;) or] أَفْدِيكَ بِأَبِى [I will ransom thee with my father]; (T ubi suprà;) or أَنْتَ مَفْدِىٌّ بِأَبِى Thou art, or shalt be, ransomed with my father]; or فَدَيُتُكَ بِأَبِى [I have in my heart ransomed thee, or I would ransom thee, with my father]; the ب being dependent upon a word suppressed, which, accord. to some, is a [pass. participial] noun, and accord. to others, a verb; and this word is suppressed because of the frequent usage of the phrase. (TA.) You say also, بِأَبِى أَنْتَ وَ أُمِّى [With my father mayest thou be ransomed, and with my mother!]. (TA.) and بِأَبِى مَنْ وَدَدتُّهُ, i. e. فُدِىَ بِأَبِى مَنْ وَدَدتُّهُ [May he whom I love be ransomed with my father!], meaning may he [my father] be made a ransom for him [whom I love]! (El-Wáhidee on the Deewán of El-Mutanebbee, in De Sacy's Chrest. Arabe, sec. ed. vol. iii. p. 35 of the Arabic text.) Sometimes they change the ى into ا: a poet says, وَقَدْ زَعَمُوا أَنِّى جَزِعْتُ عَلَيْهِمَا وَهَلْ جَزَعٌ أَنْ قُلْتُ وَا بِأَبَا هُمَا [And they have asserted that I have become impatient on account of them two: but is it an evidence of impatience that I said, Alas, with my father may they two be ransomed?]; meaning وَا بِأَبِى هُمَا. (S.) And some of the Arabs used to say, وَا بِأَبَا أَنْتَ [Alas, with my father mayest thou be ransomed!]: this, says AM, being like يَا وَيْلَتَا for يَا وَيْلَتِى; as also يَا بَيْبَا, with the hemzeh changed into ى, originally يَا بِأَبَا, meaning يَابِأَبِى: and hence what is related, in a trad., of Umm-'Ateeyeh; that she used not to mention the Prophet without saying, بِيَبَا [for بِأَبِ هُوَ]. (TA in art. بأ.) A woman said, يَا بِأَبِى أَنْتَ وَ يَا فَوْقَ البِيَبْ [O thou to whom I would say, With my father mayest thou be ransomed! and O thou who art above him to whom I would address the saying, With my father mayest thou be ransomed!]; respecting which Fr observes that the two words [بِ and أَب] are made as one [by prefixing the article] because of their frequent occurrence; (S;) and Aboo-'Alee says that the ى in بِيَب is substituted for ء, not necessarily; but ISk quotes the words as commencing with يَا بِيَبَا, which is the right reading, in order that this expression may agree with البِئَبْ, which is derived from it: EtTebreezee, however, relates Abu-l-'Alà's reciting the words as ending with البِئَبْ; saying that this is compounded from the phrase بِأَبِي, and that therefore the ء is preserved. (TA.) [See also the first paragraph in art. بأ.] b7: You say also, يَا أَبَتِ [meaning O my father], (S, M, K,) as in يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ [O my father, do thou such a thing]; (S;) and يَا أَبَتَ; (S, M, K;) and يَاأَبَتُ; (Z in the Ksh xii. 4;) and يَا أَبَهْ (S, M, K) when you pause after it. (S, M.) The ة, [here written ت,] (Kh, M,) the sign of the fem. gender, (S, Z,) is substituted for the [pronominal] affix ى, (Kh, S, M, Z,) as in يَاأُمَّتِ; (S;) and is like the ة in عَمَةٌ and خَالَةٌ, as is shown by your saying, in pausing, يَا أَبَهٌ, like as you say, يَا خَالَةٌ: (Kh, M:) the annexing of the fem. ت to a masc. noun in this case is allowable, like as it is in حَمَامَةٌ ذَكَرٌ and شَاةٌ ذَكَرٌ and رَجُلٌ رَبْعَةٌ and غَلَامٌ يَفَعَةٌ: its being made a substitute for the affix ى is allowable because each of these is an augmentative added at the end of a noun: and the kesreh is the same that is in the phrase يَا أَبِى: (Z ubi suprà:) the ت does not fall from اب in the phrase يَا أَبَتِ when there is no pause after it, though it [sometimes] does from أُمّ in the like phrase in that case, because the former word, being of [only] two letters, is as though it were defective. (S.) يَا أَبَتَ is for يَا أَبَتَا, (Aboo-'Othmán El-Mázinee, S, * M, [the latter expression mentioned also in the K, but not as being the original of the former,]) the ا [and ه] being suppressed; (the same Aboo-'Othmán and M;) or for يَا أَبَتَا, the ا being suppressed, like as the ى is in يَا غُلَامِ; or it may be after the manner of يَاأَبِىَ. (Z ubi suprà.) يَا أَبَتُ is thus pronounced after the usual manner of a noun ending with the fem. ة, without regard to the fact that the ت is in the former a substitute for the suffix ى. (Z ubi suprà.) يَا أَبَهْ is said in a case of pause, except in the Kur-án, in which, in this case, you say, يَا أَبَهْ, following the written text; and some of the Arabs pronounce the fem. ة, in a case of pause, ت [in other instances], thus saying, يَا طَلْحَتُ. (S.) يَا أَبَاهُ is also said; (M, K;) though scarcely ever. (M.) A poet uses the expression يَا أَبَاتَ, for يَا أَبَتَاهْ: (S, M:) IB says that this is used only by poetic license, in a case of necessity in verse. (TA.) b8: أَبٌ is tropically applied to signify (tropical:) A grandfather, or any ancestor. (Msb.) b9: It is also applied to signify (assumed tropical:) A paternal uncle; as in the Kur ii. 127, quoted before. (M.) b10: [It is also (like أُمّ and اِبْن and بِنْت) prefixed to nouns of various significations. Most of the compounds thus formed will be found explained in the arts. to which belong the nouns that occupy the second place. The following are among the more common, and are therefore here mentioned, as exs. of different kinds.] b11: أَبُو المَرْأَةِ (assumed tropical:) The woman's husband: (Ibn-Habeeb, M:) it is said in the TS that الأَبُ, in certain of the dials., signifies the husband: MF deems this meaning strange. (TA.) أَبُو المَثْوَى (assumed tropical:) The master of the dwelling, or of the place of abode: (TA:) and (assumed tropical:) the guest. (K in art. ثوى.) أَبُو الأَضْيَافِ (assumed tropical:) The very hospitable man. (TA.) b12: أَبُو الحَارِثِ (assumed tropical:) The lion. (TA.) أَبُو جَعْدَةَ (assumed tropical:) The wolf. (TA.) أَبُو الحُصَيْنِ (assumed tropical:) The fox. (TA.) b13: أَبُو جَابِر (assumed tropical:) Bread. (S and K in art. جبر.) b14: أَبُو مَالِكٍ (assumed tropical:) Extreme old age: (TA:) and (assumed tropical:) hunger. (MF in art. جبر.) أَبَّا: seeأَبٌ.

إِبْوَآءٌ or أَبْوَآءٌ: see أُبُوَةٌ.

أَبَوِىٌّ Of, or relating or belonging to, a father; paternal. (S, TA.) أَبَىٌّ dim, of أَبٌ, q. v. (Msb.) أُبُوَةٌ [in copies of the K ↓ إِبْوَآء, and in the CK ↓ اَبْواء, both app. mistranscriptions for أُبُوَّة, which is well known,] Fathership; paternity; the relation of a father. [S, * M.) You say, بَيْنِي و بَيْنَ فَلَانٍ أُبُوَةٌ [Between me and such a one is a tie of fathership]. (S.)

اما

أَمَا, used to denote an interrogation, is a compound of the interrogative hemzeh and the negative مَا: (M:) it is a mere interrogative [respecting a negative, like أَلَا]; as in the saying, أَمَا تَسْتَحْيِى مِنَ اللّٰهِ [Art not thou ashamed for thyself, or of thyself, with respect to God?]. (Lth, T.) b2: [IHsh says, after explaining two other usages of أَمَا which we have yet to mention,] El-Málakee adds a third meaning of أَمَا, saying that it is a particle denoting عَرْضٌ [or the asking, or requiring, a thing in a gentle manner], like [أَلَا (q. v.) and]

لَوْلَا; and is connected peculiarly with a verb; as in أَمَا تَقُومُ [Wherefore wilt not thou do stand?], and أَمَا تَفْعَلُ [Wherefore wilt not thou do such a thing?]; which may be explained by saying that the hemzeh is used as an interrogative to make one confess, or acknowledge, a thing, as it is in أَلَمْ and أَلَا, and that مَا is a negative. (Mughnee.) b3: It is also an inceptive word, used in the manner of أَلَا: (M:) followed by أَلَا, it is syn. with أَلَا: (S:) [meaning Now: or now surely: or] both of these meaning verily, or truly; i. c. حَقًّا: and for this reason Sb allows one's saying, أَمَا إنَّه مُنْطَلقٌ and أَمَا أَنَّهُ مُنْطَلقٌ [Verily, or truly, he is going away]; with kesr after the manner of أَلَا إِنَّهُ, and with fet-h after the manner of حَقًّا أَنَّهُ: and هَمَا وَاللّٰهِ لَقَدْ كَانَ كَذَا is mentioned as meaning أَمَا وَ اللّٰهِ [&c., i. e. Verily, or truly, by God, such a thing did indeed happen]; the ه being a substitute for the hemzeh: (M:) so too حَمَى واللّٰه [or حَمَا واللّٰه]: (Sgh and K in art. حمى:) it denotes the truth of the words which follow it; as when you say, أَمَا إِنَّ زَيْدًا عَاقِلٌ, meaning Truly, or properly speaking, not tropically, Zeyd is intelligent; and أَمَّا و اللّٰه قَد ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا [Truly, &c., by God, Zeyd beat, or struck, Amr]: (S in art. امو:) [in other words,] it corroborates an oath and a sentence; as in أَمَا وَ اللّٰه لَئِنْ سْهَرْتُ لَكَ لَيْلَةً لَأَ دَعَنَّكَ نَادِمًا [Verily, or now surely, by God, if I remain awake for thee a night, then will I indeed leave thee repenting]; and أَمَا لَو عَلِمْتُ مَكَانَكَ لَأَزْعَجْتُكَ مِنْهُ [Verily, or now surely, if I had known thy place of being, then had I unsettled thee, or removed thee, from it]; and أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَرَجُلٌ كَرِيمٌ [Verily, or now surely, he is (emphatically) a generous man]: (T:) or it is an inceptive particle, used in the manner of أَلَا; [meaning now: or now surely:] (Mughnee:) or a particle used to give notice of what is about to be said: only put before a proposition [as in exs. mentioned above]: (TA:) and often occurring before an oath [as in exs. mentioned above]: and sometimes its hemzeh is changed into ه or ع, before the oath; each with the ا remaining; [written هَمَا or عَمَا;] and with the ا elided; [written هَمَ or عَمَ;] or with the ا elided, but without the substitution; [written أَمَ;] and when انَّ occurs after أَمَا, it is with kesr, as it is after أَلَا: and it also means حَقًّا [verily, or truly]: or أَحقًّا [verily? or truly?]: accord. to different opinions: and in this case, انَّ after it is with fet-h, as it is after حَقَّا: accord. to Ibn-Kharoof, this is a particle: but some say that it is a noun in the sense of حَقًّا: and others, that it consists of two words, namely, the interrogative hemzeh and مَا as a noun in the sense of شَىْءٌ; i. e. أَذالِكَ الشَّىْءُ حَقٌّ [is that thing ture?]; so that the meaning is أَحَقًّا: [if so, أَمَا أَنَّه مُنْطَلقٌ means Verily, or truly, is he going away?] and this, which is what Sb says, is the correct opinion: مَا is virtually in the accus. case, as an adverbial noun, like as حَقًّا is literally: and أَنَّ with its complement is an inchoative, of which the adverbial noun is the enunciative: but Mbr says that حَقًّا is the inf. n. of يَحِقُّ, which is suppressed, and that أنَّ with its complement is an agent. (Mughnee.) أَمَّا is a conditional and partitive and corroborative particle; and is sometimes written أَيْمَا, by the change of the first م into ى. (Mughnee, K.) b2: It is used as a conditional particle in the words of the Kur [ii.24], فأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَيَعْلَمُونَ

أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَيَقُولُونَ مَا ذَا أَرَادَ اللّٰهُ بِهذَا مَثَلاً [For as for those who have believed, they know that it is the truth from their Lord; but as for those who have disbelieved, they say, What is it that God meaneth by this as a parable?]. (Mughnee,* K,* TA.) That it denotes a condition is shown by the necessary occurrence of ف after it; for if this ف were a conjunction, it would not be prefixed to the enunciative; and if it were redundant, it might be dispensed with; but it may not be dispensed with except in a case of necessity in poetry or in a case of an ellipsis. b3: In most cases, (Mughnee, K,) it is used as a partitive, (S, Mughnee, K,) implying the meaning of a condition; (S; [in which it is mentioned with أَمَا;]) and thus it is used in the passage of the Kur cited above; (Mughnee;) and in the following exs. [in the Kur xviii. 78 and 79 and 81], أَمَّا السَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَاكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِى البَحْرِ and وَأَمَا الْغُلَامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنِينَ and وأَمَّا الْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغلَامَينِ يَتَيمَيْنِ [As for the ship, it belonged to poor men who worked on the sea . . . and as for the boy, his two parents were believers . . . and as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys]. (Mughnee, * K, * TA.) [It is a partitive also in the phrase أَمَّابَعْدُ, which see in art. بعد.] b4: Few have mentioned its use as a corroborative: (Mughnee:) it is thus used in the phrase أَمَّا زَيْدٌ فَذَاهِبٌ [Whatever be the case, or happen what will or what may, or at all events, Zeyd is going away], when you mean that Zeyd is inevitably going away, and determined, or decided, upon doing so: (Z cited in the Mughnee, and K:) therefore Sb explains it as meaning, in this case, مَهْمَا يَكُنْ مِنْ شَىْءٍ [whatever be the case, &c., as above, or, in some instances, happen what would or what might]; thereby showing it to be a corroborative, and to have a conditional meaning: (Z cited in the Mughnee: [and the same explanation of it is given, with a similar ex., in the S, in art. امو:]) the فَ, in this case, is transferred from its proper place before the inchoative, and put before the enunciative. (I 'AK p. 306.) Ks says that أَمَّا is used in commanding and forbidding and announcing: you say, أَمَّا اللّٰهَ فَاعْبُدْ [Whatever be the case, or happen what will, &c., God worship thou]: and أَمَّا الخَمْرَ فَلَا تَشْرَبْهَا [i. e. أَمَّا الخَمْرَ فَلَا تَشْرَبْهَا (as is shown in the case of a similar ex. in the Mughnee, though you may say أَمَّا الخَمْرُ فَلَا تَشْرَبْهَا, without an ellipsis, like as you say أمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ as well as أَمَّا ثَمُودَ, in the Kur xli. 16, accord. to different readers,) Whatever be the case, &c., wine (drink not), drink not thou it]: and أَمَّا زَيْدٌ فَخَرَجَ [Whatever be the case, &c., with respect to other things, Zeyd has gone forth; or whatever be the case with respect to others, as for Zeyd, he has gone forth]: whereas إِمَّا [which see in the next paragraph] is used in expressing a condition and in expressing doubt and in giving option and in taking option. (T.) b5: [IHsh says that in his opinion,] in the phrase أَمَّا العَبِيدَ فَذُو عَبِيدٍ, thus heard, with العبيد in the accus. case, the meaning is, مَهَما ذَكَرْتَ [&c., i. e. Whenever thou mentionest the slaves, he is a possessor of slaves: but I would rather say that the meaning is, أَمَّا ذِكْرُكَ العَبِيدَ, &c., i. e. as for thy mentioning the slaves, &c.]: and so in similar phrases which have been heard. (Mughnee.) A2: Distinct from the foregoing is أَمَّا in the saying in the Kur [xxvii. 86], أَمَّا ذاكُنْتُمْ تَعمَلُونَ [Or rather, what is it that ye were doing?]: for here it is a compound of the unconnected أَمْ and the interrogative مَا (Mughnee.) A3: So too in the saying of the poet, أَبَا خُرَاشَةَ أَمَّا أَنْتَ ذَا نَسفَرٍ

فَإنَّ قُوْمِىَ لَمْ تَأكُلْهُمُ الضَّبُعُ [O Aboo-Khurásheh, because thou wast possessor of a number of men dost thou boast? Verily, my people, the year of dearth, or of sterility, hath not consumed them]: for here it is a compound of the أَنْ termed مَصُدَرِيَّة [which combines with a verb following it to form an equivalent to an inf. n.] and the redundant مَا: أَمَّا أَنْتَ is for لِأَنْ كُنْتَ; the preposition and the verb are suppressed for the sake of abridgment, so that the pronoun [تَ in كُنْتَ] becomes separate; and مَا is substituted for the verb [thus deprived of its affixed pronoun], and the ن [of ان] is incorporated into the م [of ما]. (Mughnee.) [See another reading of this verse voce إِمَّا; and there also, immediately after, another ex. (accord. to the Mughnee) of أَمَّا used in the manner explained above. See also أَنْ as a conditional particle, like إِنْ.]

A4: Also i. q. إِمَّا, q. v. (Mughnee, K.) إِمَّا is sometimes written أَمَّا, and sometimes its first م is changed into ى, [forming أَيْمَا or إِيْمَا or both, as will be shown below,] (Mughnee, [in my copy of which it is written أَيْمَا, and so in some copies of the K,] and K, [in some copies of which it is written إيمَا,]) and it is held by Sb to be a compound of إِنْ and مَا, (Mughnee,) or as denoting the complement of a condition it is a compound of إِنْ and مَا. (M, K.) b2: It denotes doubt; (Ks, T, Mughnee, K;) as in مَا أَدْرِى مَنْ قَامَ إِمَّا زَيْدٌوإِمَّا عَمْرٌو [I know not who stood: either Zeyd or 'Amr]: (Ks, T:) and جَآءَنِى إِمَّا زَيْدٌ وَإِمَّا عَمْرٌو [There came to me either Zeyd or 'Amr], said when one knows not which of them came. (Mughnee, K.) b3: It also denotes vagueness of meaning; as in [the Kur ix. 107,] إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُم وأمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ [Either He will punish them or He will turn unto them with forgiveness]. (Mughnee, K.) b4: It also denotes giving option; as in [the Kur xviii. 85,] إِمَّا أَن تُعَذِّبَ وإِمَّا أَنْ تَتَّخِذَ فِيِهِمْ حُسْناً [Either do thou punish, or do thou what is good to them]. (Mughnee, K.) b5: It also denotes the making a thing allowable; as in تَعَلَّمْ إِمَّا فِقْهًا وإِمَّا نَحْوًا [Learn thou either low or syntax; (an ex. given in the T, on the authority of Ks, as an instance of the usage of إِمَّا to denote giving option;)] but its use with this intent is disputed by some, (Mughnee, K,) while they assert it of أَوْ. (Mughnee.) b6: It is also used as a partitive; as in [the Kur lxxvi. 3,] إمَّا شَاكِراً و إمَّا كَفُورًا [Either, or whether, being thankful or being unthankful]; (Mughnee, K;) the two epithets being here in the accus. case as denotatives of state: or, accord. to the Koofees, إمَّا may be here [a compound of] the conditional إِنْ and the redundant مَا; كَانَ, accord. to Ibn-EshShejeree, being understood after it: (Mughnee:) and Fr says that the meaning is, إِنْ شَكَرَ وَإِنْ كَفَرَ [if he be thankful and if he be unthankful]. (T.) b7: It also denotes taking option; as in the saying, لِى دَارٌ بِالكُوفَةِ فَأنَا خَارِجٌ إلَيْهَا فَإمَّا أَنْ أَسْكُنَهَا وإِمَّا أَنْ

أَبِيعَهَا [I have a house in El-Koofeh, and I am going forth to it, and either I will inhabit it or I will sell it: but this is similar to the usage first mentioned above]. (Ks, T.) b8: It is a conjunction, (S in art. امو, and Mughnee,) accord. to most authorities, i. e., the second إِمَّا in the like of the saying, جَاءَنِى إمَّا زَيْدٌ وإِمَّا عَمْرٌو [mentioned above]; (Mughnee;) used in the manner of أَوْ in all its cases except this one, that in the use of او you begin with assurance, and then doubt comes upon you; whereas you begin with إِمَّا in doubt, and must repeat it; as in the saying last mentioned: (S: [and the like is said in the Mughnee, after the explanations of the meanings:]) but some assert that it is like the first إِمَّا, not a conjunction; because it is generally preceded by the conjunction و: and some assert that إِمَّا conjoins the noun with the noun, and the و conjoins إِمَّا with إِمَّا; but the conjoining of a particle with a particle is strange. (Mughnee.) b9: Sometimes the و is suppressed; as in the following verse, (Mughnee,) of El-Ahwas; (S;) يَا لَيْتَمَا أُمُّنِا شَالَتْ نَعَامَتُهَا

أَيْمَا إِلَى جَنَّةٍ أَيْمَا إِلَى نَارِ [O, would that our mother took her departure, either to Paradise or Hell-fire!]; (S,* Mughnee, K;) cited by Ks, with ايما for إِمَّا: (T:) and sometimes it is with kesr [i. e. إِيمَا]: (S:) IB says that it is correctly إِمَّا, with kesr; asserting the original to be إِمَّا, with kesr, only. (TA.) b10: And sometimes the former مَا is dispensed with; as in the following verse, (Mughnee,) which shows also that مَا is sometimes suppressed; سَقَتْهُ ارَّوَاعِدُ مِنْ صَيِّفٍ

وَإِنْ مِنْ خَرِيفٍ فَلَنْ يَعْدَمَا [The thundering clouds of summer-rain watered him, or of autumn-rain; so he will not want sufficient drink]: i. e. إِمَّا مِنْ صَيِّفٍ وَإِمَّا مِنْ خَرِيفٍ. (Mughnee, K.) Mbr and As say that إِنْ is here conditional, and that the ف is its complement: but this assertion is of no weight; for the object is the description of a mountain-goat as having sufficient drink in every case: AO says that إِنْ in this verse is redundant. (Mughnee.) b11: Sometimes, also, one does not require to mention the second إِمَّا, by mentioning what supplies its place; as in the saying, إِمَّا أَنْ تَتَكَلَّمَ بِخَيْرٍ

وَإِلَّا فاسْكُتْ [Either do thou speak what is good or else be silent]. (Mughnee.) [See art. الا, near its end.]

A2: Distinct from the foregoing is إِمَّا in the saying in the Kur [xix. 26], فَإِمَّأِتَريِنَّ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ أَحَدًاِ [And if thou see, of mankind, any one]: for this is [a compound of] the conditional إِن and the redundant مَا. (S * in art. امو, and Mughnee.) [In like manner,] you say, in expressing a condition, إِمَّا تَشْتِمَنَّ زْيدًا فَإِنَّهُ يَحْلُمُ عَنْكَ [If thou revile Zeyd, he will treat thee with forbearance]. (Ks, T.) And إِمَّا تَأْتِنِي أُكِْرِمْــكَ [If thou come to me, I will treat thee with honour]. (S.) b2: In the following saying, إِمَّا أَنْتَ مُنْطَلِقًا انْطَلَقْتُ [If thou be going away, I go away], the مَا is not that which restrains the particle to which it is subjoined from governing, but is a substitute for a verb; (K and TA in art. مَا;) as though the speaker said, إِذَا صِرْتَ مُنْطَلِقًا [or rather إِنْ صِرْتَ]. (TA in that art.) And hence the saying of the poet, [of which a reading different from that here following has been given voce أَمَّا,] أَبَا خُرَاشَةَ إِمَّا أَنْتَ ذَا نَسفَرٍ

فَإنَّ قَوْمِىَ لَمْ تَإْكُلْهُمُ الضَّبُغُ [O Aboo-Khurásheh, if thou be possessor of a number of men, verily, my people, the year of dearth, or of sterility, hath not consumed them]; as though he said, إِنْ كُنْتُ ذَا نَفَرٍ. (TA in that art.) [But IHsh states the case differently; saying,] An instance of أَمَّا أَنْتَ مُنطَلِقًا انْطَلَقْتُ not used to restrain from governing, but as a substitute for a verb, occurs in the saying, أَمَّا أَنْتَ مُنطَلِقًا اِنْطَلَقْتُ [ Because thou wast going away, I went away]; originally, اِنْطَلَقْتُ لِأَنْ كُنْتَ مُنطَلِقاً: [for an explanation of which, see what is said of أَمَّا أَنْتَ in a reading of the verse commencing with أَبَا خُرَاشَة voce أَمَّا:] but accord. to El-Fárisee and IJ, the government belongs to مَا; not to كَانَ [or كُنْتَ]. (Mughnee in art. مَا.) b3: So too in the saying, اِفْعَلْ هذَا

إِمَّالَا, meaning إِنْ كُنْتَ لَاتَفْعَلُ غَيْرَهُ [i. e. Do thou this if thou wilt not do another thing; or do thou this at least]; (Mughnee and K, each in art. مَا;) indicating a person's refusal to do [fully] that which he is ordered to do: (TA in that art.:) or إِمَّالَا فَافْعَلْ كَذَا, meaning if thou wilt not do that, then do thou this; the three particles [إِنْ and مَا and لَا] being made as one word: so says Lth: (T:) [J says,] إِمَّالَا فَافْعَلْ كَذَا is pronounced with imáleh, [i. e. “ immá-lè,”] and is originally إِن لَا with مَا as a connective; and the meaning is, if that thing will not be, then do thou thus: (S in art. لَا:) [but] AHát [ disallows this pronunciation, and] says, sometimes the vulgar, in the place of اِفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ إِمَّالَا, say, اِفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ بَارِى

[Do thou that at least]; but this is Persian, and is rejected as wrong: and they say also, أُمَّالَىْ, with damm to the ا [and with imáleh in the case of the final vowel, and thus it is vulgarly pronounced in the present day]; but this too is wrong; for it is correctly إِمَّالَا, [with kesr, and] not pronounced with imáleh, for particles [in general] are not thus pronounced: (T:) and the vulgar also convert the hemzeh into ه with damm [saying هُمَّالَىْ]. (TA in art. مَا.) [Fei says,] لَا is a substitute for the verb in the saying, إِمَّالَا فَافْعَلْ هٰذَا, the meaning being If thou do not that, then [at least] do thou this: the origin thereof is this; that certain things are incumbent on a man to do, and he is required to do them, but refuses; and then one is content with his doing some, or a part, of them, and says to him thus: i. e., if thou wilt not do all, then do thou this: then the verb is suppressed, on account of the frequency of the usage of the phrase, and مَا is added to give force to the meaning: and some say that it is for this reason that لَا is here pronounced with imáleh; because it serves for the verb; like as بَلَى is, and the vocative يَا: but it is said that it is correctly pronounced without imáleh; because particles [in general] are not pronounced therewith; as Az says. (Msb in art. لَا.) [El-Hareeree says that]

إِمَّالَا is properly [a compound of] three particles, which are إِنْ and مَا and لَا, made as one word, and the ا at the end thereof is like the ا of حُبَارَى

[in which it is written ى, agreeably with rule]; wherefore it is pronounced with imáleh, like as is the ا of this latter word. (Durrat el-Ghowwás, in De Sacy's Anthol. Gr. Ar. p. 57 of the Arabic text.) In the Lubáb it is said that لَا is used as a negative of the future, as in لا تَفْعَلْ; and the verb [in إِمَّالَا] is suppressed; so it [لا] serves as a substitute in the saying, اِفْعَلْ هٰذَا إِمَّالَا; therefore they pronounce its ا with imáleh: and IAth says that the Arabs sometimes pronounced لَا with a slight imáleh; and the vulgar make the imáleh thereof full, so that its ا becomes ى; but this is wrong. (TA.) You say also, خُذْ هٰذَا إِمَّالَا, meaning Take thou this if thou take not that. (T.) It is related that the Prophet saw a runaway camel, and said, “To whom belongeth this camel? ”

when, lo, some young men of the Ansár said, “ We have drawn water upon him during twenty years, and yet he has in him fat; so we desired to slaughter him; but he escaped from us. ” He said, “Will ye sell him? ” They answered, “No: but he is thine. ” And he said, إِمَّالَا فأَحْسِنُوا إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى يأْتِيَهُ أَجَلُهُ, meaning If ye will not sell him, act well to him until his term of life come to him. (T.)