Back to search
The question

What are the types of “mā” in the following phrases: “قَدَّرَ اللَّهُ وَمَا شَاءَ فَعَلَ” (Allah has decreed, and what He willed, He did), “الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا” (Praise be to Allah, who revived us after He caused us to die), “أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتْ الْحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي” (Keep me alive as long as life is good for me), “وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ” (And Allah created you and what you do), “مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ أَوْ بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ” (Any blessing I have received in the morning, or by any of Your creation), and “مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ” (I do not want from them any provision)?

Share this answer

Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The word "Ma" (ما) is a multifaceted word in the Arabic language, carrying several meanings:

Relative Pronoun (Mawsulah): Meaning "that which" or "what," as in "Allah decreed what He willed and He did it" (وَيَفْعَلُ الَّذِي شَاءَ - and He does what He wills), and "what bounty has come to me" (الَّذِي حَصَلَ لِي مِنَ النِّعَمِ - that which I have received of blessings).

Masdariya (Source/Verbal Noun): Conveying the meaning of a verbal noun, as in "after He caused us to die" (بَعْدَ إِمَاتَتِهِ لَنَا - after His causing us to die), and the Almighty's saying: "And Allah created you and what you do" (خَلَقَكُمْ وَعَمَلَكُمْ - He created you and your actions).

Temporal Adverb (Zarfiyah): Meaning "the period during which," as in "may life be better for me" (أَحْيِينِي الْمُدَّةَ الَّتِي الْحَيَاةُ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ لِي - grant me life for the period during which life is good for me).

Negating Particle (Nafiyah): As in the Almighty's saying: "I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me" (meaning He does not want any benefit from them).

Indefinite descriptive, for wonder/astonishment, conditional, interrogative, extra (Zaidah): As mentioned by Al-Suyuti.

And Allah knows best.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported

Read the full answer on Ftawy
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
120363
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
Read the full ruling
Read the full answer on Ftawy