Meaning shades and usage of the Arabic Particles : The Arabic Preposition
مِنْ min
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Last edited on :
5 December 2016
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1 (w,h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is used to indicate
the
beginning of extent or
commencement of the limit in
space or time or simply
the commencement of the limit.
[ from, since]
مِنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ from the masjid.
مِنَ ٱلْيَوْمِ since/from the day.
2 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is used to indicate
the local point of departure, departure from a place.
The point or place at which an act or state has commenced.
[ from , out of ]
سَقَطَ مِن يَّدِهَا it fell
from her hand.
3 (n,h) . The
point of departure can also be physical or logical and other than a place literally e.g. person, mind etc.
[from]
إِنَّهُ مِنْ سُلَيْمَانَ indeed it is
from Sulayman.
4 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to signify
through or
by something.
[ through ]( by )
دَخَلَ مِنَ ٱلْبَابِ he came in
through the door.
5 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is used to indicate
temporal point of departure.
The point or moment in time at which an act or state has commenced.
[ from, since ]
مِنَ ٱلْمَهْدِ إِلَى ٱللَّحْدِ from the cradle to the grave. (i.e. from the time of being in the cradle to the time of being in the grave, for the entire worldly life)
6 (w) . Hence, min
مِنْ is connected with verbs which convey the idea of separation, departure, holding oneself or another aloof from any person or thing, liberating, preserving, fleeing, frightening away, forbidding etc.
[from]
اَلدُّنْيَا تَمْنَعُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْرِ the world holds (us) back
from the good.
7 (w,h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
exchange, replacement, substitute and is usually translated in this case as
in exchange for, instead of, in place of. The sign for this meaning shade is that it is possible to replace it by
بَدَل substitute/replacement.
[ in exchange for, instead of, in place of ]
أَرَضِيتُمْ بِٱلْحَيَاةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا مِنَ ٱلْآخِرَةِ are you contented with the life of this world
in exchange for the Hereafter?
8 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
the causal point of departure, the origin and source of a thing. The usage of
مِنْ in this case is to
assign the cause/reason.
[ because of, in consequence of, from, proceeding from ]( out of )
ذَٰلِكَ مِن نَّبَأَ جَآأَنِي that is
in consequence of / because of / proceeding from /
out of information that reached me.
9 (w) . In speaking of persons
مِنْ أَجْلِ is mostly used instead of
مِنْ and often in other cases also.
[ on account of, because of ] ( for the sake of )
اَلَّتِي تَبْكِي مِنْ أَجْلِهَا she
on account of whom you weep.
10 (h,w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
the noun mentioned before
مِنْ surpassing or exceeding the noun mentioned after
مِنْ usually with a comparative adjective mentioned immediately before the
مِنْ .
[ than, from ]
زَيْدٌ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ سُفْيَانٍ Zaid is more excellent
than Sufyan. (Zaid has surpassed Sufyan in excellence)
11 (w) . Min
مِنْ with its complement is occasionally placed in poetry before the comparative adjective. In prose this inversion takes place only with an interrogative pronoun or a word in the construct state before an interrogative pronoun.
[ than , from ]
لَا شَيْءَ مِنْهُنَّ أَكْسَلُ nothing is lazier
than them.
مِمَّنْ أَنْتَ خَيْرٌ from/than whom are you better? (With an interrogative pronoun)
مِنْ أَبِي أَيِّهِمْ أَنْتَ أَفْضَلُ from/than the father of which of them are you better?
12 (w,h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
the
difference or distinction between 2 persons or things which are
compared or contrasted with one another e.g. this
from that. In this case
مِنْ is prefixed to the
2nd of the 2 compared entities.
[ from ]
هَلْ تَعْرِفُ ٱلْجَيِّدَ مِنَ ٱلرَّدِيِّ do you know the good
from the bad?
13 (w) . If an object is
compared with itself in a different respect, the appropriate
pronominal suffix has to be attached to
مِنْ .
[ than ]
هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ They to covering up / denying / being ungrateful that day were closer
than they to belief / faith.
14 (w) . Sometimes, the preposition
مِنْ is annexed to the latter of the 2 objects, instead of the person or thing which is compared with himself or itself in respect of these 2 objects.
[ than ]
صَارَ يُقَاتِلُهُمْ بِٱلْعَصَا أَقْوَىٰ مِنَ ٱسِّلَاحِ he began striving to kill them with the staff more sturdily
than (with) the weapons. He began striving to kill them more sturdily with the staff
than the weapons.
15 (h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
partition. The sign for this meaning shade is that it is possible to replace it by
بَعْض some (of) /part (of) / portion (of).
[ from, of, part of, some of, portion of ]
حَتَّىٰ تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ until you spend
from / of / some of / part of / portion of what you love.
16 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
The
relation which subsists between
the part & the whole, the species & the genus. Hence it also serves to indicate the relation between the article and the material made of it
[ of, part of, portion of, one of ]
لِبَاسُهُ مِنَ ٱلْحَرِيرِ his garment is
of silk.
لَيْسَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فِى شَيْءٍ he is in no
part of knowledge (i.e. he has nothing to do with knowledge) .
When
مِنْ indicates a part of a whole, it is said to be used
لِلتَّبْعِيضِ to indicate division into parts; when it indicates the parts of which a whole is composed, it is used
لِلتَّرْكِيبِ to indicate composition.
17 (w) . When
مِنْ precedes (comes before) a definite noun, especially in the plural, it often indicates
an indefinite quantity or number.
[ from, of, some of, a number of ]
شَرِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ I drank
from / of / some of the water.
18 (w) . Often
مِنْ preceded by an indefinite noun, is followed by the definite plural of the same noun in order to signify that
a person or thing is wholly undefined.
[ from ]
مَلِكٌ مِنَ ٱلْمُلُوكِ a king
from the kings. A certain king.
19 (w) . When an indefinite noun denoting a state or condition is followed by
مِنْ with the same noun defined in the singular, it signifies
a high degree of that state or condition.
[ of ]
عَجَبٌ مِنَ ٱلْعَجَبِ a wonder
of wonders.
20 (h,m) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ can also be used for
explanation of genus, being replaceable by
اَلَّذِي and coming after
مَا what or
مَهْمَا whatever or something else.
[ of , i.e. , that is , namely ]
فَاجْتَنِبُوا ٱلرِّجْسَ مِنَ ٱلْأَوْثَانِ so avoid the uncleanliness
of / that is / namely the idols. Here the uncleanliness of what? is explained or specified after
مِنْ i.e. the idols. Replacing by
اَلَّذِي will be
فَاجْتَنِبُوا ٱلرِّجْسَ ٱلَّذِي هُوَ ٱلْأَوْثَانُ so avoid the uncleanliness that is the idols
21 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ can also be used to indicate
the
definition or explanation of a general or universal by a special or particular term, the latter being one of the several objects that make up the former.
[ of , i.e. , that is , namely ]
لَا يَحْصُلُ مَقْصُودُهُمْ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ their object of aim and pursuit
i.e. / that is / namely the knowledge was not achieved.
22 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is constantly used after the indefinite pronoun
مَا what, and
مَهْمَا whatever, which cannot be construed with a genitive. So after
مَا and
مَهْمَا a verb is used, and after the verb
مِنْ is used along with the genitive (i.e. the word in the genitive case). In some cases this
مِنْ after
مَا may be considered as the partitive min.
[ from, of ]
مَا ذَهَبَ مِنَ ٱلْمَالِ what has gone
from the wealth. (The wealth that has been spent)
23 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
The specification of the general term .
[ of , from ]
لِزَيْدٍ مِتْرَانِ مِنْ قُطْنٍ for Zaid are 2 meters
of cotton.
without
مِنْ it will be
لِزَيْدٍ مِتْرَانِ قُطْنًا for Zaid are 2 meters cotton.
24 (w)(h)(n) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also sometimes used to designate
the person or thing in which a certain quality or a certain thing's
quality or qualities are prominent.
[ from ]
لَقِيْتُ مِنْهُ أَسَدًا I met
from (meeting) him a lion.
25 (w) . After negative particles &
after interrogatives put in a negative sense
مِنْ prefixed to an indefinite noun means
none at all, not one, no one. In such cases
مِنْ alone can usually be translated using
any.
[ any ]
مَا جَآءَنِي مِنْ أَحَدٍ there didn't come to me
any one. No one came to be.
هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ is there
any addition/increase?
26 (h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used for
Designation of generality
[ any ]
مَا جَآءَنِي مِن رَّجُلٍ there didn't come to me
any man
Without
مِنْ it will be
مَا جَآءَنِي رَجُلٌ there didn't come to me a
man (negation of unity, i.e. an unspecified man didn't come) . There didn't come to me man (negation of genus, i.e. the species of man didn't come) .
27 (h) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used for
Corroboration of generality
[ any ]
مَا جَآءَنِي مِنْ أَحَدٍ there didn't come to me
any one.
مَا جَآءَنِي مِنْ دَيَّارٍ there didn't come to me
any inhabitant.
After negation
أَحَدٌ and
دَيَّارٌ are forms of generality and the
مِنْ has corroborated or strengthened this generality. Without
مِنْ it will be
مَا جَآءَنِي أَحَدٌ / دَيَّارٌ there didn't come to me a one / an inhabitant.
28 (h)(n) . In above 2 points
مِنْ is said to be redundant by some, though clearly, it is adding a definite meaning shade which can be conveyed in English to some extent using
any . Usual conditions for this usage in above 2 sorts are :
(i). Precedence of negation, prohibition or interrogation.
(ii). Indterminateness of its genitive.
(iii). Its genitive being an agent, object or inchoative/subject/
مُبْتَدَأ .
وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَّرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا ...and does not fall
any leaf except that HE (i.e. ALLAH) knows it....
لَا يَقُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ Don't stand
any one.
هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِنْ فُطُورٍ Do you see
any flaw?
29 (m,h,a,p) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is sometimes used in a peculiar sense to indicate
Extreme, extremity, extent, limit, bound, utmost e.g. extreme for sight, i.e. a
place of beginning and ending of sight, e.g. a place of beginning of sight from someone and ending of sight to the same. On a closer examination, it will be found that in this case also the meaning shade of
from appears more valid as compared to
till or
to, but depending on context and intent of speaker, in some rare cases 2nd opinion may be valid.
[from]
رَأَيْتُهُ مِنْ ذَالِكَ ٱلْمَوْضِعِ I saw him
from that place (my sighting of him starting from that place) (opinion 1) . I saw him
to/till that place (to the very extent of vision) (opinion 2) .
30 (w) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
the distance from a place, person, thing,
particularly after words which signify proximity.
[ to, from ]
مَا هٰذَا ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنْكَ what (relation) is this lad
to you?
مَا أَنَا مِنْ دَدٍ ولَا ٱلدَّدُ مِنِّي I have no
concern with diversion, nor has diversion any
concern with me. (Literally: ) I am not
from diversion, nor is diversion
from me.
31 (h)(n) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
connection
[ of , from ] ( connected with )
بَعْضُهُم مِنْۢ بَعْضٍ They are
from / of one another. They are
connected with one another. Some of them are
connected with some.
32 (h)(n) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also used to indicate
agreement
[ of , from ] ( agrees with )
فُلَانٌ مِّنَّا Such a one is
of us (in agreeing with us) .
33 (w)(n) . The Arabic preposition min
مِنْ is also
used after verbs meaning to sell, to give in marriage etc.
[ to , through , from ]
بَاعَ مِنْهُ فَرَسًا he sold
to him a horse. More literally:
He sold
through him a horse, i.e. he accomplished the selling of a horse
through him (by selling it to him). He sold
from him a horse, i.e. he accomplished the selling of a horse
from him (by selling it to him).
34 (w)(n) . In the adverbial expressions as in below examples
مِنْ signifies
in a part of, in a time from , of , from etc. but in English may also be translated using in, during , at , on
etc.
[ from , of , in a part of , in a time from ] ( in , during , on , at )
مِنَ ٱلْغَدِ in a part of / in a time from / in / during tomorrow.
مِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ in a part of / in a time from / in / during / at the night.
خَرَجَ مِن يَّوْمِهِ he went out
in a part of / in a time from / on the same day.
35 (h)(w) . Min
مِنْ prefixed to
قَبْلَ before, and
بَعْدَ after, denotes
beginning of extent according to the majority, but is redundant according to Ibn Malik. In this context
مِنْ usually specifies
in a portion of the space of time or simply
in a portion of time .
[ in a portion of , from ]
مِنْ قَبْلِ in a portion of time before.
From before. Before.
مِنْۢ بَعْدِ in a portion of time after.
From after.
After.
36 (h) . Preposition
مِنْ is exclusively distinguished by governing the following in the genitive
قَبْلَ بَعْدَ عِنْدَ لَدَى لَدُنْ مَعَ بَلْهَ
and also
عَنْ عَلَىٰ when used as nouns.
37 (n) . According to some
مِنْ is sometimes used in a similar meaning shade to
عَنْ or to
فِى or to
بِ or to
عَلَىٰ or to some other preposition, but a closer examination shows that still there is a difference in meaning shades, and due to context, one may assume the meaning shade is of some other particle which is more often used in such contexts, but on a closer examination, a meaning shade closer the the core meaning shades of
مِنْ seems more accurate. e.g.
مِنْ vs
عَنْ can be understood better after reading both prepositions in detail, since meaning shades are close. Many times
from is used to translate both prepositions. But once one has the core meanings in mind, he can understand the subtle differences of using one over the other in a context.
مِنْ vs
عَلَىٰ can be better understood in a similar context with following example:
Help some one
from some one else (more focus on defense) vs help some one
over some one else (more focus on attack) .
مِنْ vs
فِى can be better understood in a similar context with following example:
In a part of or in a time from tomorrow vs
in or during tomorrow.
مِنْ vs
بِ can be better understood in a similar context with following example:
Looking
from a furtive glance
vs looking
with a furtive glance.
(furtive glance: in this a person contracts the eyelids over the main portion of the eyes and then we can say (depending on which preposition is used) he looks
from the remaining part of the eyes or looks
with the remaining part of the eyes. On 1st the focus is on
"from where" and on the 2nd the focus is on
"with what" )
38 (w) . For compound prepositions see
this section on
Wright Arabic Grammar specially see the
مِنْ compounds.
39 . To study this particle further in many other books read the pages for this particle in
Arabic Particles Tool . Also to see other posts in
Arabic Particles Meanings series.
References: When multiple references mentioned for a point, it means material selected from all quoted references more from some and less from others and all quoted references do not necessarily agree on everything. Material is not exactly copied but based on the reference quoted and I have made additions, editions & changes where required :
w =
Wright Arabic Grammar English
h =
Howell Arabic Grammar English
n =
New indication by me
a =
Arabic Almanac books
p =
Arabic Particles Tool books .
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