Lesson 29
The Imperative Verb
فعل الأمر
The command form (أَمْر) is derived from the present tense by a simple three-step process. It is essential for instructions, requests, and religious commands found throughout the Quran and Sunnah.
Deriving the Imperative
Step 1: Take the 2nd-person present: تَكْتُبُ. Step 2: Remove the تَـ prefix: كْتُبُ. Step 3: If the result starts with sukūn, add a helping alif: اُكْتُبْ. Remove the final vowel (add sukūn).
PersonImperativeMeaning
You (m sg)اُكْتُبْWrite!
You (f sg)اُكْتُبِيWrite! (to a woman)
You (m pl)اُكْتُبُواWrite! (to a group)
You (dual)اُكْتُبَاWrite! (you two)
You (f pl)اُكْتُبْنَWrite! (women, group)
Common Imperative Verbs
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
اِقْرَأْIqraʾRead!
اِذْهَبْIdh-habGo!
اِجْلِسْIjlisSit!
اِسْمَعْIsmaʿListen!
قُلْQulSay!
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ اُكْتُبِ الدَّرْسَ يَا فَاطِمَة
Iqraʾ bismi rabbik Uktubidd-darsa yā Fāṭima
Read in the name of your Lord! (96:1) Write the lesson, O Fatima!
اِذْهَبْ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ قُلِ الْحَقَّ وَلَوْ كَانَ مُرًّا
Idh-hab ilā l-masjidi Quli l-ḥaqqa walaw kāna murran
Go to the mosque! Speak the truth even if it is bitter.
- The alif at the start of the imperative (اُ/اِ/اَ) is a connecting hamza it drops when preceded by a vowel.
- The vowel of the helping alif matches the middle root vowel: kataba (u) → uktub; darasa (a/i) → idrus.
- Prohibition = لَا + jussive: لَا تَكْتُبْ (do not write!) لَا + present without the final case vowel.
- قُلْ (say!), خُذْ (take!), كُلْ (eat!) drop the hamzatu l-waṣl entirely because the verb starts with a vowel after prefix removal.
- The feminine plural imperative اُكْتُبْنَ is rare in everyday speech but appears in Quranic imperatives addressed to groups of women.