Conditional sentences | الْجُمْلَةُ الشَّرْطِيَّة

Introduction to the conditional sentences – الْجُمَلُ الشَّرْطِيَّةُ

 

There are two parts in a conditional sentence: the condition or protasis – فِعْلُ الشَّرْطِ and apodosis – جَوَابُ الشَّرْطِ. Sometimes, the protasis and the apodosis have the verb in the perfect or jussive mood in a verbal sentence.

 

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّـهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ 

O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant your feet firmly. (47:7)

  A conditional sentence is introduced by one of the following particles.  

• إِنْ – if
• إذَا – when
• لَوْ – if
• مَنْ – who/ whom / whoever
• مَهْمَا – whatever
• أَيُّ – which / whichever
• لَمَّا – when
• مَا – what
• أَيْنَ – where

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1. إنْ (if) is used to begin the sentence

 

وَإِن تَعُودُوا نَعُدْ

 but if you return [to war], We will return (8:19)

  When إِنْ is preceded by لَ, it means indeed if / certainly if.  

لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ ۖ وَاهْجُرْنِي مَلِيًّا 

 If you do not desist, I will surely stone you, so avoid me a prolonged time.” (19:46)

 

وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ

 and if he will not do what I order him, he will surely be imprisoned and will be of those debased.” (12:32)

  Note: إِنْ, when followed by إلَّا, is merely a negative particle.  

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ 

It is not, but a revelation revealed, (53:4)

 

2. إِنْ and إِذَا are said to be likely or possible conditions

 

In the likely conditional sentence, the protasis – فِعْلُ الشَّرْطِ and apodosis – جَوَابُ الشَّرْطِ can be the perfect or the jussive.

 

فَإِذَا جَاءَ الْخَوْفُ رَأَيْتَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ

 And when fear comes, you see them looking at you (33:19)

 

فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ الْخَوْفُ سَلَقُوكُم بِأَلْسِنَةٍ 

But when fear departs, they lash you with sharp tongues, indisposed toward [any] good.  (33:19)

 

3. The unlikely condition is introduced by the conjunction لَوْ

 

وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً

And if your Lord had willed, He could have made humanity one community (11:118)

 

 لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّـهِ

If We had sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of Allah (59:21)

  An unlikely negative condition is often expressed by لَوْ لَا (if not/had not):  

وَلَوْلَا أَن كَتَبَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْجَلَاءَ لَعَذَّبَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا

And if not that Allah had decreed for them evacuation, He would have punished them in [this] world (59:3)

 

وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّـهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ

And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people using others (2:251)

 

Examples of the conditional sentences used in the Holy Quran

 

وَإِنْ أَرَدتُّمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَّكَانَ زَوْجٍ

But if you want to replace one wife (4:20)

 

وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَقُولُوا هَـٰذِهِ مِنْ عِندِكَ ۚ قُلْ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّـهِ

and if evil befalls them, they say, “This is from you.” Say, “All [things] are from Allah.” (7:78)

 

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ 

So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, (99:7)

 

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ

And whoever disbelieves in it – it is they who are the losers. (2:121)

 

 مَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ 

Whoever does a wrong will be recompensed for it (4:123)

 

فَلَمَّا جَهَّزَهُم بِجَهَازِهِمْ 

So when he had furnished them with their supplies (12:70)

 

You have now completed this Arabic lesson. The next one will be insha’Allah about Inna and its sisters in Arabic.

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