In one line
Classical definition
Key words in the Arabic
Understand it
One distinction here matters enormously in the Quran: نَعَمْ agrees with a question as asked, but بَلَى overturns a negative. When Allah asks أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ (“Am I not your Lord?”), the souls answer بَلَى — “Indeed You are!” Answering نَعَمْ there would have agreed with the negation. One particle, and the covenant depends on it.
The particles of answer
| # | Meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | نَعَمْ | na'am | yes — confirming the statement as it was put, positive or negative |
| 2 | بَلَى | bala | yes it is — and this one turns a negative question positive |
| 3 | إِي | i | yes — used with an oath |
| 4 | أَجَلْ | ajal | yes |
| 5 | جَيْرِ | jayri | yes |
| 6 | إِنَّ | inna | yes — rare in this use |
The pair worth learning properly is نَعَمْ and بَلَى. To did Zayd not come? نَعَمْ agrees with the negative — he did not — while بَلَى contradicts it: he did. Getting these the wrong way round reverses the meaning of the answer.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Related terms
Common questions
Is there an Arabic word that simply means yes?
There is, but Arabic distinguishes more finely than English. One word agrees with a positive question; another contradicts a negative question — answering a not-is-it with a yes-it-is. Using the plain yes to answer a negative question says the opposite of what you mean.
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