نَهْيٌ – Forbidding
Forbidding (نَهْيٌ) is easier than commanding (أَمْرٌ). The easiest way to forbid someone from doing something is to just state, ”No!” Commanding usually requires more instruction.
The Formula forbidding (نَهْيٌ) in Arabic is :
لا + Second Person lightest (مَجْزُوْمٌ) present-tense
Let us do an example by saying ”Don’t go!” to a Singular Male who is in front of you (i.e. 2nd Person)
- 2nd Person present-tense : تَذْهَبُ
- Make it مَجْزُوْمٌ (lightest) : تَذْهَبْ
- Place لا in front : لا تَذْهَبْ
لا تَذْهَبْ → تَذْهَبُ
Go! → Dont Go!
Let’s have a look at some more example:
| English Command | 2nd Person present-tense | مَجْزُوْمٌ (lightest) | Forbidding (نَهْيٌ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don’t eat! (to singular female) | تَأْكُلِيْنَ | تَأْكُلِيْ | لا تَأْكُلِيْ |
| Don’t learn! (to all) | تَتَعَلَّمُوْنَ | تَتَعَلَّمُوْا | لا تَتَعَلَّمُوْا |
| Don’t write (to all females) | تَكْتُبْنَ | تَكْتُبْنَ | لا تَكْتُبْنَ |
Forbidding (نَهْيٌ) vs Observation
It is important to note the difference between forbidding and an Observation/Comment/Statement . for example, a friend may turn to you and say, ”i noticed you don’t write books”. in this case, ”you don’t write books” is an observation, not forbidding.
However, your friend may not have much confidence in your writing skills, in which case your friend would forbid (نَهْيٌ) you from writing books by saying ”Don’t write books!”
Observation/Comment/Statement: لا تَكْتُبُ كُتُباً – You do not write books
Forbidding (نَهْيٌ): لا تَكْتُبْ كُتُباً – Do not write books!
Notice that for observation, the فِعْلٌ is not مَجْزُوْمٌ (lightest) form. However, for forbidding (نَهْيٌ) it is.
So, how would you then translate the following لا تَكْتُبْنَ كُتُبًا؟ (i.e. when in أَنْتُنَّ form (feminine Plural). Since the مَرْفُوْعٌ (normal) form and مَجْزُوْمٌ (lightest) form for أَنْتُنَّ are the same, the translation would have to be based on context. It could either be an observation ”you don’t write books” or it can be forbidding (نَهْيٌ) ”Don’t write books!”.
Examples from the Quran:
| Quran Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| … وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ … [2:35] | And do not come near this tree (both of you) |
| فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحْتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحْزَنِي قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّا [19:24] | But he called her from below her, ”Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. |
| يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاذَوْا۟ مُوسَىٰ … [33:69] | O you who have believed, do not be like those who abused Musa |
| قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِي بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلَا تُرْهِقْنِي مِنْ أَمْرِى عُسْرًا [18:73] | (Musa) said, ”Do not blame me for what i forgot and do not cover me in my matter with difficulty”. |
| … قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَعْلَمُونَ [7:38] | He will say, ‘For each is double but you do not know‘ |