عَلَى
Root: علو
Full Definition
عَلَى
is a particle and a noun and a verb; though some assert that it is only a noun, and ascribe this assertion to Sb: its alif, [which, when it has no affix, is written ى, and] which is originally و, [like that of إِلَى, q. v.,] is changed into [what is properly] ى when it has a pronominal affix, as in عَلَيْكَ, and عَلَيْهِ; but some of the Arabs [in this case] leave it unchanged, as in the saying of a rájiz,
2 As a particle, it has nine [or more than nine] meanings. As such, or, accord. to Sb, as a noun, it denotes الاِسْتِعْلَآء [i. e. superiority] properly thus termed, such as is perceptible by sense; either with respect to what is signified by the noun governed by it, and this is generally the case, as in the saying [in the Kur xxiii. 22 and xl. 80], وَعَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى ٱلْفُلْكِ تُحْمَلُونَ [And upon them and upon the ship, or ships, ye are carried]; or with respect to what is near thereto, as in the saying [in the Kur xx. 10], أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًى [Or I shall find near upon the fire, i. e. at the fire, a right direction]: and using it to denote الاستعلآء properly thus termed, you say, كُنْتُ عَلَى السَّطْحِ [I was
3 It also denotes concomitance, like مَعَ; as in the saying [in the Kur ii. 172], وَآتَى المَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ [And giveth property with the love of it]; and so it is said to be used in the phrase, in a trad. respecting the alms of the breaking of the fast [of Ramadán], عَلَى كُلِّ حُرٍّ وَعَبْدٍ صَاعٌ [With every free man and slave, a sáa], because the alms-gift of the breaking of the fast is not incumbent on the slave, but only on his master; and so it is used in the [common] phrase, عَلَى أَنَّنِى رَاضٍ [With my being pleased, or well pleased, or content].
4 It also denotes transition, like عَنْ; as in the saying ,
5 It is also used to assign a cause, like ل; as in the saying [in the Kur ii. 181], وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا ٱللّٰهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ, meaning لِهِدَايَتِهِ إِيَّاكُمْ [i. e. And that ye should magnify God for, or on account of, his rightly directing you]; [and in the same, vi. 90, &c., لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا i. e. I will not ask of you for it, or on account of it, a recompense;] and as in the saying of Rabee'ah Ibn Makroom Ed-Dabbee,
6 It is also used in the sense of فِى [generally followed by a noun significant of time]; as in the saying [in the Kur xxviii. 14], وَدَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ [And he entered the city in, or during, a time of inadvertence]; and in the saying [in the same ii. 96], وَٱتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو ٱلشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ, meaning, فِى زَمَنِ مُلكِ سليمان [i. e. And they followed what the devils related, or recited, in the time of, or during, the reign of Suleymán ]; and in the phrase, كَانَ كَذَا عَلَى عَهْدِ فُلَانٍ, meaning, فِى عَهْدِهِ [i. e. It was thus, or such a thing was, in the time of such a one]: [and in like manner it is used in the saying in the Kur iii. 173, مَا كَانَ ٱللّٰهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ God is not purposing to leave, or certainly will not leave, the believers in that state wherein ye are: and in the phrase عَلَى سَفَرٍ, in ii. 180 &c. of the same, i. e. In a journey: in like manner also] لَقَدْ سَرَيْتُ عَلَى الظَّلَامِ, in a verse of Aboo-Kebeer El-Hudhalee, means, فِى الظَّلَامِ [i. e. I have journeyed by night in the darkness], فى الظلام holding the place of a noun in the accus. case as a ظَرْف [i. e. an adverbial noun of time or place]; or it may be in the place of a denotative of state, meaning وَأَنَا عَلَى الظَّلَامِ i. e. رَاكِبٌ لَهُ [riding upon the darkness]: and you say of one who was desiring to rise and hasten, رَأَيْتُهُ عَلَى أَوْفَاضٍ [i. e. I found him in a state of haste: see وَفْضٌ].
7 [It also denotes conformity, accordance, adaptation, or agreement; as in the phrase, اِضْرِبْهُ عَلَى طَبْعِ هٰذَا i. e. Make thou it, fashion it, or mould it, conformably, or according, to the model, make, fashion, or mould, of this; (see طَبْعٌ;) and in طُبِعَ عَلَى الشَّىْءِ and جُبِلَ and فُطِرَ &c. i. e. He was created conformably, or with an adaptation or a disposition, to the thing: (see 1 in art. طبع:) so too in the phrase in the Kur xxiv. last verse, قَدْ يَعْلَمُ مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ Certainly He knoweth that state of conduct and mind to which ye are conforming yourselves; and in many other passages therein: thus also in the saying of Mohammad, كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الفِطْرةِ Every infant is born in a state of conformity to the natural constitution with which he is created in his mother's womb in relation to the soul; (see art. فطر;) and in the prov., mentioned by Meyd, النَّاسُ عَلَى دِينِ المُلُوكِ The people are in conformity to, i. e. are followers of, or follow, the religion of the kings; and in the phrase, relating to a saying or an opinion, عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُ العُلَمَآءِ Upon it most of the learned are in agreement; in which, as in other exs. of the same kind, a verb or a part. n., (in the last, for instance, مُجْمِعُونَ or the like,) is understood.
8 It also denotes a condition; as in the phrases, صَالَحَهُ عَلَى كَذَا He made peace, or reconciliation, or a compromise, with him on the condition of such a thing, and عَلَى أَنْ يَفْعَلَ كَذَا on the condition of his doing such a thing.
9 And there are various other usages of this prep. depending upon verbs or part. ns. expressed or obviously understood in connection with them, too numerous to be here collected. Many of these will be found among the explanations of words with which they occur.]
10 It is also used in the sense of مِنْ; as in the saying, إِذَا ٱكْتَالُوا عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ, in the Kur [lxxxiii. 2], meaning, مِنَ النَّاسِ [i. e. Who, when they take by measure from men, take fully], or, as in the T, عَنِ النَّاسِ [which signifies the same].
11 It is also used in the sense of بِ; as in the saying in the Kur [vii. 103], عَلَى أنْ لَا أَقُولَ عَلَى ٱللّٰهِ إِلَّا ٱلْحَقَّ, meaning بِأَنْ, [i. e. That I should not say of God aught save the truth,] and Ubeí read with ب [i. e. بِأَنْ]; like as they say, رَمَيْتُ عَلَى القَوْسِ [meaning بِالقَوْسِ, i. e. I shot with the bow], and جِئْتُ عَلَى حَالٍ حَسَنَةٍ [meaning بِحَالٍ حَسَنَةٍ, i. e. I came in a good condition]; (Bd; [in which, and also voce حَقِيقٌ, last sentence, see more;]) and they said also, اِرْكَبْ عَلَى ٱسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ [meaning, بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ, i. e. Mount thou in the name of God]: thus [too] it is used in the saying of Aboo-Dhu-eyb,
12 It is also used to denote an emendation, and a digression, or transition, like لٰكِنَّ; as in the saying, فُلَانٌ لَا يَدْخُلُ الجَنَّةَ لِسُوءِ صَنِيعِهِ, or فُلَانٌ جَهَنَّمِىٌّ, عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يّيْأَسُ مِنْ رَحْمةِ ٱللّٰهِ, meaning لٰكِنَّهُ [i. e. Such a one will not enter Paradise, because of the evilness of his deed, or conduct, or such a one is hell-doomed; but, or yet, he will not despair of the mercy of God]: and thus it is used in the saying,
13 It is also redundant, for the purpose of compensation; as in the saying,
def.2 It is also a noun, having the meaning of فَوْق [i. e. The location that is above, or over], this being the case when it is immediately followed by مِنْ; as in the saying (of Muzáhim-El-'Okeylee, describing a قَطَاة [or sand-grouse, and, afterwards, its making a rumbling sound in its inside, from thirst], TA),
def.3 عَلَيْكَ is also a verbal noun, used as an incentive: you say, عَلَيْكَ زَيْدًا, and بِزَيْدٍ, meaning Take thou Zeyd; or take thou hold of Zeyd: or keep thou, or cleave thou, to Zeyd: and عَلَيْكَ بِكَذَا keep thou to such a thing: (El-Munáwee, TA in art. ب:) [thus] it is said in a trad., عَلَيْكَ باِلرِّفْقِ [Keep thou to gentleness].
2 And [in like manner] you say, عَلَىَّ زَيْدًا, and بِزَيْدٍ, meaning Give thou me, or present thou to me, Zeyd: [or, more commonly, bring thou to me Zeyd:] you say, عَلَىَّ بِكَذَا, meaning bring thou to me such a thing.
[They fled, or have fled, upon them, and flee thou upon her]; this, it is said, being of the dial. of Belhárith Ibn-Kaab.طَارُوا عَلَاهُنَّ فَطِرْ عَلَاهَا
2 As a particle, it has nine [or more than nine] meanings. As such, or, accord. to Sb, as a noun, it denotes الاِسْتِعْلَآء [i. e. superiority] properly thus termed, such as is perceptible by sense; either with respect to what is signified by the noun governed by it, and this is generally the case, as in the saying [in the Kur xxiii. 22 and xl. 80], وَعَلَيْهَا وَعَلَى ٱلْفُلْكِ تُحْمَلُونَ [And upon them and upon the ship, or ships, ye are carried]; or with respect to what is near thereto, as in the saying [in the Kur xx. 10], أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًى [Or I shall find near upon the fire, i. e. at the fire, a right direction]: and using it to denote الاستعلآء properly thus termed, you say, كُنْتُ عَلَى السَّطْحِ [I was
3 It also denotes concomitance, like مَعَ; as in the saying [in the Kur ii. 172], وَآتَى المَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ [And giveth property with the love of it]; and so it is said to be used in the phrase, in a trad. respecting the alms of the breaking of the fast [of Ramadán], عَلَى كُلِّ حُرٍّ وَعَبْدٍ صَاعٌ [With every free man and slave, a sáa], because the alms-gift of the breaking of the fast is not incumbent on the slave, but only on his master; and so it is used in the [common] phrase, عَلَى أَنَّنِى رَاضٍ [With my being pleased, or well pleased, or content].
4 It also denotes transition, like عَنْ; as in the saying ,
[When the sons of Kusheyr shall be pleased, or well pleased, or content, with me, (or rather, if عَلَىَّ here denote transition, with what will proceed from me,) by the everlasting existence of God, their being pleased, &c., will induce in me admiration, or pleasure], i. e. عَنِّى; or it may be that رَضِىَ is made to imply the meaning of عَطَفَ [which is trans. by means of عَلَى]; or, as Ks says, it is made to accord with its contr. سَخِطَ, by its being made trans. by means of عَلَى: and so in the saying,إِذَا رَضِيَتْ عَلَىَّ بَنُو قُشَيْرٍ لَعَمْرُ ٱللّٰهِ أَعْجَبَنِى رِضَاهَا
[In a nigh in which we shall not see any one that shall report what will proceed from us, except its stars], i. e., عَنَّا; or it may be said that يَحْكِى is [here] made to imply the meaning of يَنُِمُّ.فِى لَيْلَةٍ لَا نَرَى بِهَا أَحَدًا يَحْكِى عَلَيْنَا إِلَّا كَوَاكِبَهَا
5 It is also used to assign a cause, like ل; as in the saying [in the Kur ii. 181], وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا ٱللّٰهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ, meaning لِهِدَايَتِهِ إِيَّاكُمْ [i. e. And that ye should magnify God for, or on account of, his rightly directing you]; [and in the same, vi. 90, &c., لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا i. e. I will not ask of you for it, or on account of it, a recompense;] and as in the saying of Rabee'ah Ibn Makroom Ed-Dabbee,
i. e. [And they called out, “ Alight; ” and I was the first of any alighting:] and for what [or wherefore] do I ride him if I do not alight when called upon to do so? (Ham p. 29. [عَلَامَ is here, as usually, for عَلَى مَ.])فَدَعَوْا نَزَالِ فَكُنْتُ أَوَّلَ نَازِلٍ وَعَلَامَ أَرْكَبُهُ إِذَا لَمْ أَنْزِلِ
6 It is also used in the sense of فِى [generally followed by a noun significant of time]; as in the saying [in the Kur xxviii. 14], وَدَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ [And he entered the city in, or during, a time of inadvertence]; and in the saying [in the same ii. 96], وَٱتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو ٱلشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ, meaning, فِى زَمَنِ مُلكِ سليمان [i. e. And they followed what the devils related, or recited, in the time of, or during, the reign of Suleymán ]; and in the phrase, كَانَ كَذَا عَلَى عَهْدِ فُلَانٍ, meaning, فِى عَهْدِهِ [i. e. It was thus, or such a thing was, in the time of such a one]: [and in like manner it is used in the saying in the Kur iii. 173, مَا كَانَ ٱللّٰهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ God is not purposing to leave, or certainly will not leave, the believers in that state wherein ye are: and in the phrase عَلَى سَفَرٍ, in ii. 180 &c. of the same, i. e. In a journey: in like manner also] لَقَدْ سَرَيْتُ عَلَى الظَّلَامِ, in a verse of Aboo-Kebeer El-Hudhalee, means, فِى الظَّلَامِ [i. e. I have journeyed by night in the darkness], فى الظلام holding the place of a noun in the accus. case as a ظَرْف [i. e. an adverbial noun of time or place]; or it may be in the place of a denotative of state, meaning وَأَنَا عَلَى الظَّلَامِ i. e. رَاكِبٌ لَهُ [riding upon the darkness]: and you say of one who was desiring to rise and hasten, رَأَيْتُهُ عَلَى أَوْفَاضٍ [i. e. I found him in a state of haste: see وَفْضٌ].
7 [It also denotes conformity, accordance, adaptation, or agreement; as in the phrase, اِضْرِبْهُ عَلَى طَبْعِ هٰذَا i. e. Make thou it, fashion it, or mould it, conformably, or according, to the model, make, fashion, or mould, of this; (see طَبْعٌ;) and in طُبِعَ عَلَى الشَّىْءِ and جُبِلَ and فُطِرَ &c. i. e. He was created conformably, or with an adaptation or a disposition, to the thing: (see 1 in art. طبع:) so too in the phrase in the Kur xxiv. last verse, قَدْ يَعْلَمُ مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ Certainly He knoweth that state of conduct and mind to which ye are conforming yourselves; and in many other passages therein: thus also in the saying of Mohammad, كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الفِطْرةِ Every infant is born in a state of conformity to the natural constitution with which he is created in his mother's womb in relation to the soul; (see art. فطر;) and in the prov., mentioned by Meyd, النَّاسُ عَلَى دِينِ المُلُوكِ The people are in conformity to, i. e. are followers of, or follow, the religion of the kings; and in the phrase, relating to a saying or an opinion, عَلَيْهِ أَكْثَرُ العُلَمَآءِ Upon it most of the learned are in agreement; in which, as in other exs. of the same kind, a verb or a part. n., (in the last, for instance, مُجْمِعُونَ or the like,) is understood.
8 It also denotes a condition; as in the phrases, صَالَحَهُ عَلَى كَذَا He made peace, or reconciliation, or a compromise, with him on the condition of such a thing, and عَلَى أَنْ يَفْعَلَ كَذَا on the condition of his doing such a thing.
9 And there are various other usages of this prep. depending upon verbs or part. ns. expressed or obviously understood in connection with them, too numerous to be here collected. Many of these will be found among the explanations of words with which they occur.]
10 It is also used in the sense of مِنْ; as in the saying, إِذَا ٱكْتَالُوا عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ, in the Kur [lxxxiii. 2], meaning, مِنَ النَّاسِ [i. e. Who, when they take by measure from men, take fully], or, as in the T, عَنِ النَّاسِ [which signifies the same].
11 It is also used in the sense of بِ; as in the saying in the Kur [vii. 103], عَلَى أنْ لَا أَقُولَ عَلَى ٱللّٰهِ إِلَّا ٱلْحَقَّ, meaning بِأَنْ, [i. e. That I should not say of God aught save the truth,] and Ubeí read with ب [i. e. بِأَنْ]; like as they say, رَمَيْتُ عَلَى القَوْسِ [meaning بِالقَوْسِ, i. e. I shot with the bow], and جِئْتُ عَلَى حَالٍ حَسَنَةٍ [meaning بِحَالٍ حَسَنَةٍ, i. e. I came in a good condition]; (Bd; [in which, and also voce حَقِيقٌ, last sentence, see more;]) and they said also, اِرْكَبْ عَلَى ٱسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ [meaning, بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ, i. e. Mount thou in the name of God]: thus [too] it is used in the saying of Aboo-Dhu-eyb,
[expl. in art. فيض, conj. 4,] meaning بِالقِدَاحِ:يَسَرٌ يُفِيضُ عَلَى القِدَاحِ وَيَصْدَعُ
12 It is also used to denote an emendation, and a digression, or transition, like لٰكِنَّ; as in the saying, فُلَانٌ لَا يَدْخُلُ الجَنَّةَ لِسُوءِ صَنِيعِهِ, or فُلَانٌ جَهَنَّمِىٌّ, عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يّيْأَسُ مِنْ رَحْمةِ ٱللّٰهِ, meaning لٰكِنَّهُ [i. e. Such a one will not enter Paradise, because of the evilness of his deed, or conduct, or such a one is hell-doomed; but, or yet, he will not despair of the mercy of God]: and thus it is used in the saying,
[With everything we treated, or have treated, ourselves curatively, and what was in us was not, or has not been, healed; but the nearness of the abode is better than the remoteness; but the nearness of the abode is not profitable when the person whom thou lovest is not endued with affection]: the poet invalidates by the first عَلَى his saying فَلَمْ يُشْفَ مَا بِنَا; and then, by the second عَلَى, the clause immediately preceding it.بِكُلٍّ تَدَاوَيْنَا فَلَمْ يُشْفَ مَا بِنَا عَلَى أَنَّ قُرْبَ الدَّارِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ البُعْدِ عَلَى أَنَّ قُرْبَ الدَّارِ لَيْسَ بِنَافِعٍ إِذَا كَانَ مَنْ تَهْوَاهُ لِيْسَ بِذِى وَدِّ
13 It is also redundant, for the purpose of compensation; as in the saying,
meaning مَنْ يَتَّكِلُ عَلَيْهِ [i. e. Verily the generous, by thy father, will work for himself when he finds not, some day, him upon whom he may rely]; عَلَى being added before مَنْ for the purpose of compensation [for its omission in its proper place]: Es-Subkee says, it may be redundant, as in the saying, لَا أَحْلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ, meaning لا احلف يَمِينًا [i. e. I will not swear an oath].إِنَّ الكَرِيمَ وَأَبِيكَ يَعْتَمِلْ إِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ يَوْمًا عَلَى مَنْ يَتَّكِلْ
def.2 It is also a noun, having the meaning of فَوْق [i. e. The location that is above, or over], this being the case when it is immediately followed by مِنْ; as in the saying (of Muzáhim-El-'Okeylee, describing a قَطَاة [or sand-grouse, and, afterwards, its making a rumbling sound in its inside, from thirst], TA),
[It went away in the early morning from the location above it, after that her interval between two comings to water was complete]: or, accord. to As, meaning مِنْ عِنْدِهِ [from its vicinage]: and, used in this sense, as a noun, it admits before it no other prep. than مِنْ.غَدَتْ مِنْ عَلَيْهِ بِعْدَ مَا تَمَّ ظِمْؤُهَا
def.3 عَلَيْكَ is also a verbal noun, used as an incentive: you say, عَلَيْكَ زَيْدًا, and بِزَيْدٍ, meaning Take thou Zeyd; or take thou hold of Zeyd: or keep thou, or cleave thou, to Zeyd: and عَلَيْكَ بِكَذَا keep thou to such a thing: (El-Munáwee, TA in art. ب:) [thus] it is said in a trad., عَلَيْكَ باِلرِّفْقِ [Keep thou to gentleness].
2 And [in like manner] you say, عَلَىَّ زَيْدًا, and بِزَيْدٍ, meaning Give thou me, or present thou to me, Zeyd: [or, more commonly, bring thou to me Zeyd:] you say, عَلَىَّ بِكَذَا, meaning bring thou to me such a thing.
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