لَئِن — The La-In Combination (Oath + Condition)
لَئِن = لَ (lam al-mutia) + إِن (adat al-shart)
La-in is the most common combination of kasam and shart in the Quran — occurring more than 60 times. It signals an implicit oath followed by a conditional sentence, with the jawab following the rules of the jawab al-qasam (not jawab al-shart).
Structure
| Component | Name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| لَ (la) | لَامُ المُوطِئَة لِلقَسَم (lam al-mutia lil-qasam) | Signals an implicit oath; the full qasam (wallahi etc.) is omitted but understood |
| إِن (in) | أَدَاةُ الشَّرط | The conditional "if" |
Together they are written and read as لَئِن (la'in).
Lam al-Mutia — The Path-Paving Lam
This lam takes its name from the root وَطِئَ (wati'a) — to tread/trample a path — brought to Form II: وَطَّأَ (watta'a) — to pave thoroughly. The lam "paves the way" (mutia) for the implicit oath, announcing its presence before the conditional sentence.
Famous Book: Al-Muwatta'
The name of Imam Malik's famous hadith collection — Al-Muwatta' (المُوَطَّأ) — comes from this same root, meaning he "paved the way" / provided an accessible road for the study of hadith.
The Single Rule: Qasam Takes Precedence
When kasam and shart combine, whichever comes first has its jawab take precedence:
- Shart first, kasam later → jawab follows shart rules
- Kasam first (la-in), shart later → jawab follows qasam rules
In la-in, the lam (qasam marker) comes before the in (shart) → jawab follows qasam rules.
Consequence: The jawab will have no fa (which shart would normally require before a joomla ismia or amir), and instead has inna/lam/nunu as appropriate.
Jawab Rules in La-In
| Jawab Type | Required | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Joomla ismia, affirmative | inna + lam (or one alone) — no fa | إِنَّكُم إِذاً لَخَاسِرُون |
| Joomla fa'liya, mudari, future | lam + nunu sakhila — no fa | لَيُسجَنَنَّ |
| Joomla fa'liya, mudari, present | lam only | لَأُحِبُّكَ |
| Any negative sentence | No emphasis, no fa | مَا أَنَا بِبَاسِطٍ |
Key Quranic Examples
Affirmative Nominal Jawab (inna + lam)
لَئِن اتَّبَعتُم شُعَيباً إِنَّكُم إِذاً لَخَاسِرُون (Surah al-A'raf 7:88) "If you follow Shu'ayb, you will surely be among the losers."
لَئِن أَذَقنَاهُ رَحمَةً مِنَّا مِن بَعدِ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ هَذَا لِي (Surah Fussilat 41:50) "If We make him taste mercy from Us after hardship has touched him, he will surely say: 'This is for me.'"
Affirmative Verbal Jawab (lam + nunu sakhila)
تَاللهِ لَئِن لَم تَنتَهِ لَأَرجُمَنَّكَ (Surah Maryam 19:46) "By Allah! If you do not stop, I will stone you to death!" — Azar to Ibrahim ﷺ. (Here the ta-qasam is explicit alongside la-in.)
لَئِن لَم يَفعَل مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُوناً مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ (Surah Yusuf 12:32) "If he does not do what I command him, he will surely be imprisoned and be among the humiliated."
لَئِن أَشرَكتَ لَيَحبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الخَاسِرِينَ (Surah al-Zumar 39:65) "If you associate [others with Allah], your deeds will be nullified and you will be among the losers."
Negative Jawab (no emphasis)
لَئِن بَسَطتَ إِلَيَّ يَدَكَ لِتَقتُلَنِي مَا أَنَا بِبَاسِطٍ يَدِيَ إِلَيكَ (Surah al-Ma'ida 5:28) "If you stretch your hand to kill me, I will not stretch my hand toward you." — Habil to Qabil.
When the Lam Is Omitted
Sometimes the lam is dropped, leaving only in. The jawab still follows qasam rules — the absence of fa and presence of inna/lam/nunu are the grammatical clues that an oath is implied.
لَئِن أَطَعتُمُوهُم إِنَّكُم لَمُشرِكُونَ (Surah al-An'am 6:121) — with la present.
وَإِن أَطَعتُمُوهُم إِنَّكُم لَمُشرِكُونَ — the la is absent but the inna + lam betrays the presence of an implied oath; the correct understanding reconstructs this as la-in.
Man + Kasam (Same Rules)
The conditional particle مَن (man) + kasam behaves identically to la-in:
لَمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنهُم لَأَملَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكُم أَجمَعِينَ (Surah al-A'raf 7:18) "Whoever among them follows you, I will surely fill Jahannam with all of you together."
Session References
- Oaths in Quran Session 3: La-in fully introduced with 15+ Quranic examples
- See also: Jawab al-Qasam — full rules for the response to an oath
- See also: Huruf al-Qasam — the three particles of oath
- See also: Nunu Sakhila — the noon of emphasis used in la-in jawabs
- See also: Conditional Sentences — the shart rules this construction modifies