لَا النَّاهِيَة — The Prohibitive Lā
Arabic has two types of لَا used with the muḍāriʿ verb. They look identical in writing but differ in meaning and grammatical effect.
Types of Lā
| Type | Name | Effect | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| لَا نَاهِيَة | Prohibitive | Verb → majzūm | "Don't do X" | لَا تَشْرَبْ — Don't drink |
| لَا نَافِيَة (with verb) | Negating | No change (marfūʿ) | "X is not happening" | لَا يَشْرَبُ — He is not drinking |
| لَا النافية للجنس | Absolute genus-negation | Noun → manṣūb (no tanwīn) | "There is absolutely no…" | لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا — There is absolutely no power for us |
The Grammatical Signal
لَا نَاهِيَة causes the verb to go into jazm (apocopate). If the verb after لَا is majzūm, it is prohibitive. If it remains marfūʿ, it is negating.
Effect of Jazm on the Verb
In jazm, the muḍāriʿ verb undergoes changes depending on its form:
Sound Verbs (regular)
- Singular: the final ḍamma changes to sukūn
- يَشْرَبُ → لَا يَشْرَبْ
Plural and Dual Forms
- Forms that end in a nūn (the "five verbs" — الأفعال الخمسة): the nūn is dropped
- تُقَدِّمُونَ → لَا تُقَدِّمُوا (nūn dropped; alif al-fāriqah added)
- تُقَدِّمَانِ → لَا تُقَدِّمَا (nūn dropped)
- تُقَدِّمِينَ → لَا تُقَدِّمِي (nūn dropped)
Exception: Nūn al-Niswah
The group-of-women form (نُون النِّسْوَة) is mabnī — it never changes, even in jazm: - تُقَدِّمْنَ → لَا تُقَدِّمْنَ (unchanged)
Memory Aid
"Nothing can bother a group of women" — the nūn niswah form is grammatically immovable.
Restriction: لَا نَاهِيَة is Second-Person Only
لَا نَاهِيَة can only precede verbs where the speaker is addressing someone directly (second person — خطاب). You cannot use it to prohibit an absent third party.
Conjugation Table — لَا تُقَدِّمُوا (Form II from ق-د-م)
| Addressee | Positive | With لَا نَاهِيَة |
|---|---|---|
| One male | تُقَدِّمُ | لَا تُقَدِّمْ |
| Two males | تُقَدِّمَانِ | لَا تُقَدِّمَا |
| Group of males | تُقَدِّمُونَ | لَا تُقَدِّمُوا |
| One female | تُقَدِّمِينَ | لَا تُقَدِّمِي |
| Two females | تُقَدِّمَانِ | لَا تُقَدِّمَا |
| Group of females | تُقَدِّمْنَ | لَا تُقَدِّمْنَ |
Examples from the Quran
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ
"O you who believe, do not put [anything] before Allāh and His Messenger." — Al-Ḥujurāt 49:1
لَا تُقَدِّمُوا = لَا نَاهِيَة + تُقَدِّمُونَ (majzūm → nūn dropped).
لا النافية للجنس — Absolute Negation of Genus
A third, distinct use of lā: لا النافية للجنس negates the existence of an entire genus — the strongest form of negation with nouns.
Pattern: لَا + noun (manṣūb, no tanwīn) + rest of sentence
لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا اليَومَ — "There is absolutely no power for us today." (Al-Baqarah 2:249)
The noun after this lā behaves like the ism inna — manṣūb, no tanwīn.
| Negation | Arabic | Force |
|---|---|---|
| لَستُ طَبِيباً | Ordinary negation | "I am not a doctor" |
| لَا طَبِيبَ هُنَا | Lā nafiyah lil-jins | "There is absolutely no doctor here" (the concept denied universally) |
Add "absolutely" or "whatsoever" in English to approximate the force.
Session References
- Surah Al-Hujuraat Session 2: Detailed analysis of لَا تُقَدِّمُوا from Āyah 1 — lā nāhiya vs lā nāfiyah, jazm effect, nūn niswah exception.
- Selections from the Glorious Quran Session 7: Lā nafiyah lil-jins introduced from لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا (Al-Baqarah 2:249); comparison with ordinary negation.