Part 3 · Chapter Twenty-Nine · Governing Particles (العوامل)
جُمْلَةُ الشَّرْطِ
Conditional Sentences — If, Whoever, Whatever
You now have every piece needed to build a full ‘if ... then’ sentence: the jussive mood (Ch.27) and the relative pronouns مَنْ and مَا (Ch.23, where you met them as ‘whoever/whatever’). This chapter shows you how إِنْ and إِذَا turn into ‘if,’ and how مَنْ and مَا do double duty as ‘whoever’ and ‘whatever’ in conditional sentences — a structure that appears constantly throughout the Qur'ān's promises and warnings.
Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.
BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Build a conditional sentence with إِنْ, using jussive on both verbs
Use إِذَا for ‘when/if’ — the Qur'ān's most common conditional word
Use مَنْ and مَا as ‘whoever’ and ‘whatever’ in conditional sentences
Recognise the wider family of conditional words you may meet in reading
Read one of the Qur'ān's shortest and most famous conditional promises
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 50–60 min
Prerequisite check: Jussive mood (Chapter Twenty-Seven) — most conditionals use it.
Watch out for: إِذَا vs إِنْ is a real distinction (likely/hypothetical) that's easy to blur — keep two separate example sets.
01 — THE FULL PICTURE, FIRST
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
The conditional family. إِنْ is the ‘pure’ jussive-triggering conditional; إِذَا behaves similarly in meaning but is normally followed by a perfect-tense verb, even when the meaning is future. مَنْ and مَا, which you met as relative pronouns in Chapter Twenty-Three, become ‘whoever’ and ‘whatever’ when used this way — same words, new job.
Particle
Says
Meaning
Status
إِنْ
in
if (true conditional, + jussive)
NEW HERE
إِذَا
idhā
if, when (+ past tense, future meaning)
NEW HERE
مَنْ
man
whoever (+ jussive)
ALREADY LEARNED
مَا
mā
whatever (+ jussive)
ALREADY LEARNED
مَهْمَا، أَيّ، مَتَى، أَيْنَ، حَيْثُمَا
various
whatever/whichever/whenever/wherever
COMING SOON
إِنْ تَجْتَهِدْ تَنْجَحْ
in tajtahid tanjaḥ If you work hard, you will succeed. (both verbs jussive)
إِذَا جَاءَ الْمَسَاءُ، عُدْنَا
idhā jā’a-l-masā’, ‘udnā When evening comes, we return. (perfect tense, future sense)
A wider family of conditional words exists — مَهْمَا (whatever), أَيّ (whichever), مَتَى (whenever), أَيْنَ (wherever), حَيْثُمَا (wherever) — all working the same way. You don't need to memorise all of them now; recognising the pattern is what matters.
Quick check: what mood is the verb in after إِنْ? (Jussive.)
02 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf and Maryam make plans with ‘if’ statements. Listen twice, then read aloud.
YŪSUF
إِنْ تَنْتَهِي مِنَ الْوَاجِبِ، نَخْرُجْ مَعًا.
in tantahi mina-l-wājib, nakhruj ma‘an.
If you finish the homework, we'll go out together.
MARYAM
وَإِذَا تَأَخَّرْتُ، مَاذَا نَفْعَلُ؟
wa idhā ta’akhkhartu, mādhā naf‘al?
And if I'm late, what do we do?
YŪSUF
مَنْ يَتَأَخَّرْ يَنْتَظِرْهُ الْآخَرُ.
man yata’akhkhar yantaẓirhu-l-ākhar.
Whoever is late, the other waits for him.
MARYAM
حَسَنًا! وَمَهْمَا حَدَثَ، سَنَحَاوِلُ.
ḥasanan! wa mahmā ḥadatha, sanaḥāwil.
Okay! And whatever happens, we'll try.
03 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
Both verbs in a conditional sentence — the ‘if’ half and the ‘then’ half — take the jussive after إِنْ.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEWإِنْتَنْتَهِي،نَخْرُجْ
in tantahi, nakhruj
if you finish, we'll go out
Both verbs jussive after إِنْ.
NEWإِذَاتَأَخَّرْتُ
idhā ta’akhkhartu
if/when I'm late
إِذَا is usually followed by the past tense, even with future meaning.
NEWمَنْيَتَأَخَّرْ
man yata’akhkhar
whoever is late
مَنْ as a conditional — compare Ch.23's relative مَنْ.
NEWمَهْمَاحَدَثَ
mahmā ḥadatha
whatever happens
—
NEWانْتَظَرَ/يَنْتَظِرُ
intaẓara / yantaẓiru
he waited / he waits
—
NEWالْآخَرُ
al-ākhar
the other (one)
—
NEWحَاوَلَ/يُحَاوِلُ
ḥāwala / yuḥāwilu
he tried / he tries
—
NEWحَدَثَ/يَحْدُثُ
ḥadatha / yaḥduthu
it happened / it happens
—
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYبَاكِرًا
bākiran
early
—
EARLYرَاحَةٌ
rāḥah
rest, comfort
—
EARLYالظُّرُوفُ
aẓ-ẓurūf
the circumstances
—
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
One of the shortest, most repeated conditional promises in the Qur'ān.
SŪRAT IBRĀHĮM — 14:7
لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor].
لَئِنْ
la’in
if (emphatic لَ + إِنْ)
شَكَرْتُمْ
shakartum
you were grateful
لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ
la’azīdannakum
I will surely increase you
Here إِنْ appears with an emphatic لَ prefix (لَئِنْ) and the ‘if’ verb in the perfect tense rather than jussive — a common Qur'ānic variation once the sentence is charged with an oath-like emphasis. The structure is still fundamentally the conditional pattern from this chapter: a condition, followed by its result.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Everyday phrases using conditional words.
إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
in shā’a-llāh — God willing
مَنْ جَدَّ وَجَدَ
man jadda wajad — whoever strives, finds (proverb)
إِذَا لَزِمَ الْأَمْرُ
idhā lazima-l-amr — if necessary
مَهْمَا كَانَ
mahmā kān — whatever the case, no matter what
إِذَا سَمَحْتَ
idhā samaḥt — if you would allow, please
مَنْ يَعْرِفُ؟
man ya‘rif? — who knows?
إِنْ أَمْكَنَ
in amkana — if possible
مَا شِئْتَ
mā shi’t — whatever you wish
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 29.1
Salmā and Aḥmad plan around uncertainty. Listen first, script second.
SALMĀ
إِنْ أَنْهَيْتُ عَمَلِي بَاكِرًا، أَزُورُكَ.
AḨMAD
وَإِذَا لَمْ تَنْهَي؟
SALMĀ
إِذَنْ أَتَّصِلُ بِكَ غَدًا.
AḨMAD
حَسَنًا، مَهْمَا حَدَثَ، لَا تَقْلَقِي.
What will Salmā do if she finishes early?
What if she doesn't finish?
What does Aḥmad tell her at the end?
Reveal answers
1. Visit him. 2. She'll call him tomorrow. 3. Not to worry, whatever happens.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Make three real “if ... then ...” plans with your partner using إِنْ or إِذَا.
Recycling round. Build the conditional around a real plan — 'if it rains tomorrow' (إِذَا أَمْطَرَتْ غَدًا) uses Chapter Twenty-Two's غَدًا.
1. False — إِنْ does trigger the jussive. 2. True. 3. True.
SKILLS PRACTICE
قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading
Hover to check — no test, just read
A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.