لَمَّا (Lammā) — "Not Yet"
Summary: لَمَّا is a jawāzim particle (one that puts the mudāriʿ verb into majzūm form) meaning "not yet" — it negates an action while implying that action is still expected.
Meaning and Nuance
لَمَّا negates the present tense but with a built-in expectation: the action has not happened yet, but it is still anticipated. This is more hopeful than a flat negation with لَمْ.
| Particle | Meaning | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| لَمْ | did not / has not | neutral negation |
| لَمَّا | has not yet | the action is still expected to occur |
Surah Al-Hujuraat 49:14
وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ
"...for faith has not yet entered your hearts."
The use of لَمَّا (rather than لَمْ) carries a compassionate tone — the door to true Imān is still open for these people.
Grammatical Effect
لَمَّا is one of the jawāzim — particles that put the following mudāriʿ verb into majzūm form (sukūn on the final radical, or deletion of the nūn for the five verbs).
Sukūn Clash
When the majzūm verb ends in sukūn and the following word begins with a hamza (glottal stop), two sukūns collide. The rule: add a kasra to the final letter of the verb to break the clash.
يَدْخُلِ الإِيمَانُ — the lām of يَدْخُلْ would normally have sukūn, but a kasra is added because الإِيمَانُ begins with a hamzat al-waṣl.
Compare with لَوْلَا
Both لَمَّا and لَوْلَا can have omitted response clauses. See Jawab al-Shart for the rule that a conditional response can never grammatically precede the conditional clause.
Second Type: لَمَّا الحِيْنِيَّة — "When / As Soon As"
This is an entirely different lammā — a temporal adverb meaning "when" or "as soon as." It does not cause jazm.
| Feature | لَمَّا الجازمة | لَمَّا الحينية |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical effect | Jazm on muḍāriʿ | None |
| Meaning | "not yet" | "when / as soon as" |
| Verb tense | Muḍāriʿ (majzūm) | Usually māḍī |
لَمَّا سَمِعتُ الأَذَانَ ذَهَبتُ إلَى المَسجِد — "When I heard the adhān I went to the mosque."
How to identify which type: - Verb after it is majzūm → lammā jazimah (not yet) - Verb is māḍī or marfūʿ muḍāriʿ → lammā ḥīniyyah (when)
لَمَّا الحِينِيَّة — The Five Forms of the Jawāb
When لَمَّا الحينية is used (the temporal "when"), it binds two past events: the trigger clause and the result (jawāb). The jawāb has five valid forms:
| Form | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | فِعل مَاضٍ مُثبَت — affirmative past verb |
| 2 | فِعل مَاضٍ مَنفِي بِمَا — past negated with مَا |
| 3 | فِعل مَاضٍ مَنفِي بِلَم — past negated with لَم |
| 4 | جُملَة بِإِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة — sentence beginning with the surprise إِذَا (all of a sudden) |
| 5 | جُملَة مَسبُوقَة بِالوَاو — sentence preceded by the companion wāw |
Form 4 — Sūrat al-Aʿrāf
فَلَمَّا كَشَفنَا عَنهُمُ الرِّجزَ إِذَا هُم يَنكُثُون — when We lifted the punishment from them, all of a sudden they broke their word.
The optional particle أَن can appear after لَمَّا الحينية and the following verb; the Basrans call this أَن الزائدة because removing it does not change the grammar or meaning.
Session References
- Surah Al-Hujuraat Session 16: لَمَّا الجازمة with the example from Āyah 14.
- Selections from the Glorious Quran Session 7: Both types contrasted; the two-sukūn rule applied; Quranic examples of each.
- At the Well of Madyan Session 1: لَمَّا الحينية identified in Āyah 23 ("when he arrived at the water of Madyan"); اللَّمَّا الجازمة contrasted using Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt 49:14.
- Both These Lights Session 1: Introduction to لَمَّا الحينية in the migration hadith; five forms of the jawāb introduced.
- Both These Lights Session 2: Full analysis of all five jawāb forms with Quranic examples.