هل

Arabic edit

Etymology edit

Univerbation of هَـ (ha-, now interrogative أَ (ʔa)) +‎ لـ (l-, affirmative particle, found as لَـ (la-, “truly”) and the exhortative لِـ (li-) the vowel of which disappears between فَـ (fa-) or وَ (wa) and a following verb).

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /hal/

Particle edit

هَلْ • (hal)

introduces a positive yes-no question
Synonym: أَ (ʔa)

هَلْ فَتَحْتَ النَّافِذَةَ؟
hal fataḥta n-nāfiḏata?
Did you open the window?

هَلِ ٱلْوَلَدُ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ؟
hali l-waladu fī l-madrasati?
Is the boy at school?

هَلْ أَنْتَ مِصْرِيٌّ؟
hal ʔanta miṣriyyun?
Are you Egyptian?
indicates a suggestion
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 61:10:
  هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى تِجَارَةٍ تُنْجِيكُم مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
  hal ʔadullukum ʕalā tijāratin tunjīkum min ʕaḏābin ʔalīmin
  Shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?
indicates an exclusive disjunction with أَمْ (ʔam, “or”), as in alternative questions
Synonym: أَ (ʔa)
- 13th-14th century CE, Taqī al-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn Taymiyyah, مَجْمُوع الْفَتَاوَى [majmūʕ al-fatāwā, The Collection of Rulings]‎^[1], volume 11, Medina, Saudi Arabia: King Fahd Complex, published 2004, →ISBN, pages 392–393:
  فَإِذَا أَرَادَ الْمُرِيدُ أَنَّ عُقُولَ الْعُقَلَاءِ لَمْ تَصِلْ إلَى مَعْرِفَةِ مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْأُمُورِ فَهَذَا صَحِيحٌ وَأَمَّا إذَا أَرَادَ أَنَّ الْعُقَلَاءَ لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُمْ عِلْمٌ وَلَا يَقِينٌ بَلْ حَيْرَةٌ وَرَيْبٌ فَهَذَا بَاطِلٌ قَطْعًا. وَمَا ذُكِرَ عَنْ ذِي النُّونِ " فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ مَعَ أَنَّ ذَا النُّونِ قَدْ وَقَعَ مِنْهُ كَلَامٌ أَنْكَرَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَزَّرَهُ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ مِسْكِينٍ وَطَلَبَهُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ إلَى بَغْدَادَ وَاتُّهِمَ بِالزَّنْدَقَةِ وَجَعَلَهُ النَّاسُ مَنْ الْفَلَاسِفَةِ فَمَا أَدْرِي هَلْ قَالَ هَذَا أَمْ لَا؟
  faʔiḏā ʔarāda l-murīdu ʔanna ʕuqūla l-ʕuqalāʔi lam taṣil ʔilā maʕrifati miṯli haḏihi l-ʔumūri fahaḏā ṣaḥīḥun waʔammā ʔiḏā ʔarāda ʔanna l-ʕuqalāʔa laysa ʕindahum ʕilmun walā yaqīnun bal ḥayratun waraybun fahaḏā bāṭilun qaṭʕan. wamā ḏukira ʕan ḏī n-nūni " fī haḏā l-bābi maʕa ʔanna ḏā n-nūni qad waqaʕa minhu kalāmun ʔankara ʕalayhi waʕazzarahu l-ḥāriṯu bnu miskīnin waṭalabahu l-mutawakkilu ʔilā baḡdāda wāttuhima bi-z-zandaqati wajaʕalahu n-nāsu man al-falāsifati famā ʔadrī hal qāla haḏā ʔam lā?
  If it is meant that the minds of right-minded men have not attained knowledge of such things, then yes, this is true. If, however, it is meant that not even right-minded men have knowledge of nor are certain about anything but are rather in doubt and perplexity, this is absolutely false, together with what Ḏū al-Nūn said on this matter. Ḏū al-Nūn himself, though, did say things for which he was reproached and chastised by al-Ḥāriṯ ibn Miskīn, and he was sent for by al-Mutawakkil and was charged with heresy and has been deemed to be among the Philosophers, and so I do not know whether he said this or not.

Usage notes edit

Cannot precede a negative sentence, a conditional sentence, or إِنَّ (ʔinna).

References edit

Tropper, Josef (2003) “Sekundäres wortanlautendes Alif im Arabischen”, in Kogan, Leonid, editor, Studia Semitica (Orientalia: Papers of the Oriental Institute; III), Moscow, →ISBN, pages 200–201