1Who, or which, of them is your brother?—أَيُّهُمْ أَخُوكَ
A noun, used in five different ways. One of its meanings is that of an interrogative, relating to intellectual beings and to non-intellectual things; [meaning Who? which? and what?]
As such it is a declinable noun. It is said in the K to be a particle, and so in the M, but this is wrong; and the K adds that it is indeclinable, as is also said in the M, according to Sb, in an instance explained below. It is indeclinable only when it is a conjunct noun [like الَّذِى], or when it denotes the object of a vocative; or, according to some, it is declinable as a conjunct noun also.
And in what announcement, after it, will they believe?—فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Sometimes it is without teshdeed, as in this saying of El-Farezdak: [I looked for rain, or aid from the clouds, and the two Simáks (stars so called). Of which of them two did the rains pour violently upon me from the clouds?]
shāhid 1تَنَظَّرْتُ نَصْرًا وَالسِّمَاكَيْنِ أَيْهُمَاعَلَىَّ مِنَ الغَيْثِ ٱسْتَهَلَّتْ مَوَاطِرُهْ
In the K only the former hemistich is given, with نَسْرًا (meaning the star or asterism so called) instead of نَصْرًا.
This is by poetic licence. IJ says that for this reason the poet has elided the second ى, but should have restored the first ى to و, because it is originally و. [But this assertion, respecting the first ى, I regard as improbable.]
What thing is it, O such a one?—أَيْمَ هُوَ يَا فُلَانُ
أَيْمَ is also a contraction of أَىُّ مَا, meaning أَىُّ شَىْءٍ; so in the following:
What thing do you say?—أَيْمَ تَقُولُ
In the same way, أَيْشَ is used as a contraction of أَىُّ شَىْءٍ.
A poet speaks of his companions as being بِأَىَ وَأَيْنَمَا, making أَىّ the name of the quarter, so that, being determinate and of the feminine gender, it is imperfectly declinable. [See أَينٌ, under which two other readings are given, and where it is said that the verse in which this occurs is by Homeyd Ibn-Thowr.]
أَىّ is never without a noun or pronoun prefixed to it, except in a vocative expression and when it is made to agree with a word to which it refers, as in cases given later. Being so prefixed, it is determinate; but sometimes it is not so prefixed and yet has the meaning of a prefixed noun.
That we might know which of the two parties was able to compute—لِنَعْلَمَ أَىُّ الحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَى
And they who have acted wrongly shall know with what a translating they shall be translated—وَسَيَعْلَمُ ٱلَّذَينَ ظَلَمُوا أَىَ مُنْقَلَبٍ يَنْقَلِبُونَ
When used as an interrogative, it is not governed as to the letter, though it is as to the meaning, by the verb that precedes it, but by what follows it; as in the Qur 18:11 and 26 (last verse):
When it is governed by the verb before it, it does not have the interrogative meaning, as will be shown later.
In the saying of the poet: [Haneefeh (the tribe so named) shout to us when they see us. And to what place of the earth, or land, will they go for the shouting?]
shāhid 2تَصِيحُ بِنَا حَنِيفَةُ إذْ رَأَتْنَاوَأَىَّ الأَرْضِ تَذْهَبُ لِلصِّيَاحِ
Here أَىّ is in the accusative case because the preposition إِلَى is suppressed before it.
When they separate it from what follows, not prefixing it to another noun, the Arabs say أَىٌ, in the dual أَيَّانِ, and in the plural أَيُّونَ; and they make it feminine, saying أَيَّةٌ, in the dual أَيَّتَانِ, and in the plural أَيَّاتٌ.
Who, or which, of the two men?—أَىُ الرَّجُلَيْنِ
Who, or which, of the two women?—أَىُ المَرْأَتَيْنِ
Who, or which, of the men?—أَىُّ الّرِجَالِ
Who, or which, of the women?—أَىُّ النِّسَآءِ
Who, or which, of them two? (of women)—أَيُّهُمَا
Who, or which, of them two? (of women)—أَيَّتُهُمَا
But when they prefix it to a noun properly so called, not a pronoun, they make it singular and masculine, saying:
And when they prefix it to a feminine pronoun, they make it masculine [as when they prefix it to a masculine pronoun] and feminine, saying:
[The latter of these seems to be the more common; for ISd says] sometimes they said أَيُّهُنَّ [Who, or which, of them? referring to women], meaning أَيَّتُهُنَّ.
And a person does not know in what land he will die—وَمَا تَدْرِى نَفْسٌ بِأَىِّ أَرضٍ تَمُوتُ
But some read بِأَيَّةِ أَرْضٍ; and Sb compares this feminine form to كُلَّتُهُنَّ.
When it is used as an interrogative relating to an indeterminate noun in a preceding phrase, أَىّ is made to agree with that indeterminate noun in case-ending, gender and number; and this is done, according to some, alike when it is connected with a following word and when there is a pause.
So, in the case of a pause, to one who says جَآءَنِى رَجُلٌ [A man came to me] you say أَىٌّ [Who?]; to one who says رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا [I saw a man], أَيَّا [Whom?]; and to one who says مَرَرْتُ بِرَجلٍ [I passed by a man], أَىٍّ [Whom?].
In the same way, according to all authorities, in the case of connexion with a following word: أَىُّ يَا فَتَى [Who, O young man?], أَيَّا يَا فَتَى [Whom, O young man?], and أَىٍ يَا فَتَى [Whom, O young man?].
In the feminine you say أَيَّةٌ and أَيَّةً and أَيَّةٍ [in the nominative, accusative and genitive respectively]; in the dual, أَيَّانِ and أَيَّتَانِ in the nominative [masculine and feminine respectively], and أَيَّيْنِ and أَيَّتَيْنِ in the accusative and genitive; and in the plural, with the like distinction of genders, أَيُّونَ and أَيَّاتٌ in the nominative, and أَيِّينَ and أَيَّاتٍ in the accusative and genitive.
[Examples in cases of pause, agreeing with these rules, are given in the T; and examples of connexion with following words, agreeing with the foregoing, are given in the Mughnee: but J gives rules differing from these in some respects, and IB gives rules differing in some points both from these and from those of J.]
It is said in the S that أَىّ is made to agree with indeterminate nouns signifying intellectual beings and non-intellectual things, and is used as an interrogative; and when it is so used with reference to an indeterminate noun, you give it a case-ending like that of the noun about which you are asking for positive information. So when it is said to you مَرَّبِى رَجُلٌ [A man passed by me], you say أَىٌّ يَا فَتَى [Who, O young man?], giving it a case-ending [like that of رَجُلٌ] when it is connected with a following word; and in pausing you indicate the case-ending [by the pronunciation called الرَّوْمُ, saying أَىُّ with a somewhat obscure utterance of the final vowel].
If one says رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا [I saw a man], you say أَيَّا يَافَتَى [Whom, O young man?], giving it a case-ending [like that of رَجُلًا], with tenween, when it is connected with a following word; and you pause upon the ا, saying أَيَّا. And when one says مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ [I passed by a man], you say أَىٍّ يَافَتَى [Whom, O young man? in a case of connexion with a following word; and أَىِّ in a case of pausing].
You conform with what the other has said, in the nominative, accusative and genitive, both in connexion with a following word and in pausing. But IB says that this is correct only in connexion with a following word; for in a pause you say only أَىّْ in the nominative and genitive, with sukoon, and you imitate in both of these cases only when you use the dual form or the plural.
It is added in the S that in the dual, the plural and the feminine you say as has been said respecting مَنْ: when one says جَآءَنِى رِجَالٌ [Men came to me], you say أَيُّونْ [Who?], with the ن sākin, and أَيِينْ in the accusative and genitive. But IB says that the correct mode is أَيُّونَ and أَيِّنَ, with fet-h to the ن in both; [meaning that this is the only allowable mode in connexion with a following word, and apparently that it is the preferable mode in a pause;] the sākin ن is allowable only in a pause, and with respect to مَنْ, for you say مَنُونْ and مَنِينْ with the sākin ن only.
It is then added in the S that you say also أَيَّهْ [Who? and whom?] in using the feminine [in a case of pause]; but in connexion with a following word, [when referring to a noun in the accusative,] you say أَيَّةً يَا هٰذَا [Whom, O you? in the singular], and أَيَّاتٍ [in the plural; and in the same way أَيَّةٌ in the nominative singular, and أَيَّةٍ in the genitive singular, and أَيَّاتٌ in the nominative plural, and أَيَّاتٍ in the genitive plural].
But when the interrogation refers to a determinate noun, أَىّ is in the nominative case (with refa) only. [See also أَيَّانَ below.]
Qur’ān 7:185 matched to Lane’s own quotation of it Lane cites “Kur vii. 184”
Qur’ān 7:185 Lane quotes this verse
أَوَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا۟ فِى مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ قَدِ ٱقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ ۖ فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَDo they see nothing in the government of the heavens and the earth and all that Allah hath created? (Do they not see) that it may well be that their terms is nigh drawing to an end? In what message after this will they then believe?Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’ān (1934)
1.1
[In other cases, now to be mentioned, it is used alike as singular, dual, and plural.]
1.2Whichever of them treats me with honour, I will treat him with honour—أَيُّهُمْ يُكْرِمْنِى أُكْرِمْهُ
Whichever you call Him by, He has the best names—أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الأَسْمَآءُ الحُسْنَى
Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no wrongdoing to me—أَيَّمَا ٱلْأَجَلَيْنِ قَضَيْتُ فَلَا عُدْوَانَ عَلَىَّ
May God accompany him wherever he goes—صَحِبَهُ ٱللّٰهُ أَيَّا مَا تَوَجَّهَ
It also denotes a condition; in this case too it is a declinable noun, applied to an intellectual being and to a non-intellectual thing.
That is, أَيْنَمَاتَوَجَّهَ.
whatever tract they travelled, or travel—أَيَّةً سَلَكُوا
Zuheyr uses this expression for أَيَّةَ وِجْهَةٍ سَلَكُوا.
Whichever of me and you be evil, may God abase him!—أَيِّى وَأَيُّكَ كَانَ شَرَّا فَأَخْزَاهُ ٱللّٰهُ
This was explained by Kh to Sb as meaning أَيُّنَا كَانَ شَرًّا [whichever of us two be evil], and as being like the saying أَخْزَى ٱللّٰهُ الكَاذِبَ مِنِىّ وَمِنْكَ, meaning مِنَّا. [And in a similar way, the former clause of that saying, occurring in a verse, with مَا after أَيِّى, is said in the T to have been explained by Kh to Sb.]
Qur’ān 17:110 matched to Lane’s own quotation of it Lane cites “Kur xvii. 110”
Qur’ān 17:110 Lane quotes this verse
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَٱبْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًاSay: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between."Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’ān (1934)
1.3He, of them, who is in the house is your brother—أَيُّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ أَخُوكَ
It is also a conjunct noun; that is, it is sometimes used in the manner of الَّذِى, and therefore requires a complement.
It is synonymous with الَّذِى.
Then we will assuredly draw forth, from every sect, him, of them, who is most exorbitantly rebellious against the Compassionate—ثُمَّ لَنَنْزِعَنَّ مِنْ كُلِّ شِيعَةٍ أَيُّهُمْ أَشَدُّ عَلَى الرَّحْمٰنِ عُتِيَّا
So says Sb; but the Koofees and a number of the Basrees disagree with him, holding that the conjunct noun أَىّ is always declinable, like the conditional and the interrogative.
Zj says: "It has not appeared to me that Sb has erred except in two instances, of which this is one; for he has conceded that it is declinable when separate, and how can he say that it is indeclinable when it is a prefixed noun?"
El-Jarmee says: "I have gone forth from El-Basrah, and have not heard, from my leaving the Khandak to Mekkeh, anyone say لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيُّهُمْ قَائِمٌ [as meaning I will assuredly beat him, of them, who is standing], with damm."
These assert that in the verse above it is an interrogative, that it is a mubtadaʾ, and that اشد is a khabar; but they differ as to the object of the verb. Kh says that this is suppressed, the implied meaning being: we will assuredly draw forth those of whom it will be said, Which of them is most rebellious? Yoo says that it is the proposition [ايهّم and what follows], and that the verb is suspended from governing, as in the instance in the Qur 18:11 cited above. Ks and Akh say that it is كلّ شيعة, that من is redundant, and that the interrogative proposition is independent of what precedes it, this being grounded on their saying that the redundance of مِنْ is allowable in an affirmative proposition.
But these facts refute what they say: the suspension of government belongs only to verbs signifying operations of the mind; it is not allowable to say لَأَضْرِبَنَّ الفَاسِقُ with refa, as meaning by implication "I will assuredly beat him of whom it is said, He is the transgressor"; and the redundance of مِنْ in an affirmative proposition is not correct. [Some further remarks on the same subject, in that work, mentioning other opinions as erroneous, I omit. Another reading of the passage in the Kur cited above (19:70) will be found in what here follows.]
I will assuredly beat him, of them, who is most excellent—لَأَضْربَنَّ أَيُّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ
[ISd states that] they said the following; اىّ being indeclinable according to Sb, and therefore the verb does not govern it [save as to the meaning].
him who is most excellent—أَىٌّ أَفْضَلُ
Beat him, of them, who is most excellent—اِضْرِبْ أَيُّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ
the same, or whichever of them is most excellent—أَيَّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ
Here the relative هُوَ is suppressed after ايّهم.
I will assuredly beat him, of them, or whichever of them, says that—لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيَّهُمْ يَقُولُ ذٰلِكَ
Fr says that when أَىّ is governed by the verb before it, it does not have the interrogative meaning, and that you may say:
He says also that whoever reads أَيَّهُمْ in the accusative case, in the passage of the Kur cited above (19:70), makes it governed by لَنَنْرِعَنَّ.
I will assuredly beat him, of them, or whichever of them, is in the house—لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيَّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ
Ks says this; but you may not say ضَرَبْتُ أَيَّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ, and in this way he distinguishes between the actual occurrence and that which is expected.
Akh says also that it may be indeterminate and qualified by an adjective, as when one says مَرَرْتُ بِأَىٍّ مُعْجِبٍ لَكَ, just as one says بِمَنْ مُعْجِبٍ لَكَ [I passed by one pleasing to you]; but this has not been heard from the Arabs.
Qur’ān 19:69 matched to Lane’s own quotation of it Lane cites “Kur xix. 70”
Qur’ān 18:13 approximate — somewhere between 18:1 and 18:42 Lane cites “Kur xviii. 11”
Qur’ān 19:69 Lane quotes this verse
ثُمَّ لَنَنزِعَنَّ مِن كُلِّ شِيعَةٍ أَيُّهُمْ أَشَدُّ عَلَى ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ عِتِيًّاThen shall We certainly drag out from every sect all those who were worst in obstinate rebellion against (Allah) Most Gracious.Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’ān (1934)
1.4figurative · مجاز — inferredZeyd is a man; what a man!—زَيْدٌ رَجُلٌ أَىُّ رَجُلٍ
I passed by 'Abd-Allah; what a man was he!—مَرَرْتُ بِعَبْدِ ٱللّٰهِ أَىَّ رَجُلٍ
I passed by a man; what a man!—مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ أَىِّ رَجُلٍ
I passed by a man; what a man!—أَيِّمَارَجُلٍ
I passed by a woman; what a woman!—مَرَرْتُ بِٱمْرَأَةٍ أَيَّةِ ٱمْرَأَةٍ
I passed by two women; what two women!—بِٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ أَيَّتِمَا ٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ
This is a woman; what a woman!—هٰذِهِ ٱمْرَأَةٌ أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ
What two women!—أَيَّتُمَا ٱمْرَأَ أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ
It also denotes perfection, or completeness; and in this case it is an adjective qualifying an indeterminate noun.
That is, he is complete, or consummate, in the qualities of men.
And it is a denotative of state relating to a determinate noun.
Used in this sense, it is figurative.
[J says,] it is sometimes an adjective qualifying an indeterminate noun; you say:
ما being redundant.
This is Zeyd; what a man is he!—هٰذَا زَيْدٌ أَيَّمَا رَجُلٍ
This is the handmaid of God; what a girl, or young woman, is she!—هٰذِهِ أَمَةُ ٱللّٰهِ أَيَّتَمَا جَارِيّةٍ
What a woman came to you!—أَىُّ ٱمْرَأَةٍ جَآءَتْكَ
What a woman came to you!—جَآءَكَ
What a woman came to you!—أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ جَآءَتْكَ
I passed by a girl, or young woman; what a girl, or young woman!—مَرَرْتُ بِجَارِيَةٍ أَىِّ جَارِيَةٍ
I brought you a body-wrapper; what a body-wrapper!—جِئْتُكَ بِمُلَآءَةٍ أَىِّ مُلَآءَةٍ
I brought you a body-wrapper; what a body-wrapper!—أَيَّةِ مُلَآءِةٍ
And in the case of a determinate noun you say the following, putting it in the accusative case as a denotative of state:
You say also, using an indeterminate noun:
All of these are allowable.
[In all these it evidently denotes admiration, or wonder, at some good or extraordinary quality in the person or thing to which it relates; notwithstanding that J says afterwards,] and sometimes it is used to denote wonder.
As in the saying of Jemeel: [O Butheyneh, (بُثَيْنَ being a shortened form of بُثَيْنَة, a woman's name,) hold fast to "No": "No," if you hold to it, in spite of the numbers of the slanderers, what a help will it be!]
shāhid 1بُثَيْنَ ٱلْزَمِى لَا إَنَّ لَا إِنْ لَزِمْتِهِعَلَى كَثْرَةِ الوَاشِينَ أَىُّ مَعُونِ
That is, an excellent help will be your saying "No" in repelling, or rebutting, the slanderers, though they be many.
What a man is Zeyd!—أَىُّ رَجُلٍ زَيْدٌ
What a girl, or young woman, is Zeyneb!—أَىُّ جَارِيَهٍ زَيْنَبُ
Fr gives these as examples of its use to denote wonder:
It denotes wonder at the sufficiency, and great degree of competence, of the person or thing to which it relates.
El-Kattál El-Kilábee says: [And when I saw that I had slain him, I repented of it; in what an hour, or time, of repentance!]
shāhid 2وَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُ أَنَّنِى قَدْ قَتَلْتُهُنَدِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ أَىَّ سَاعَةِ مَنْدَمِ
That is, when I slew him, I repented of it at a time when repentance did not profit. اىّ is here in the accusative case as an adverbial noun; for, as it denotes the part of a whole, its category is made the same as that of the noun to which it is prefixed, of whatever kind that noun may be.
1.5How many a man have I met! or, many a man have I met—كَأَيِّنْ رَجُلًا لَقِيتُ
It also has ك prefixed to it, and its meaning is thus changed so as to denote numerousness, being synonymous with the khabar كَمْ [How many!], or with رُبَّ [as meaning many]: [and sometimes it is synonymous with the interrogative كَمْ, meaning how many? or how much? as will be shown below.] It is written كَأَىٍّ or كَأَيِّنْ, its tenween being written ن and كَآءٍ, or more commonly كَائِنْ, like كَاعِنْ.
IJ says, on the authority of Aboo-'Alee, that it is formed from كَأَيِّنْ by putting the double ى before the ء, after the manner of the transposition in قِسِىٌّ and a number of other words, so that it becomes كَيَّأٍ [or كَيَّئِنْ]; then by suppressing the second ى, as is done in مَيِّتٌ and هَيِّنٌ and لَيِّنٌ, so that it becomes كَىْءٍ [or كَىْءِنْ]; and then by changing the remaining ى into ا, as in [طَيْئِىٌّ, which becomes] طَادِىٌّ, and in [حِيرِىٌّ, which becomes] حَارِىٌّ, so that it becomes كَآءٍ [or كَائِنْ].
It has other dialectal variants: كَيْئِنٌ [one of the intermediate forms between كَأَيِّنْ and كَائِنْ mentioned above] (in one copy of the K written كَيَيِّنْ, and so according to the TK); and كَأْىٍ, of the measure of رَمْىٍ, most probably formed by transposition from كَىْءٍ mentioned above; and كَأ, of the measure of عَمٍ, incorrectly written in the copies of the K كَاءٍ, that is, like كَاعٍ, formed by the suppression of ى in كَىْءٍ, a change not greater than that from أَيْمُنُ ٱللّٰهِ to مُ ٱللّٰهِ and مِ ٱللّٰهِ.
The noun following كأيّن is put in the accusative case as a specificative.
You say also كَأَيِّنْ مِنْ رَجُلٍ لَقِيتُ; and the introduction of مِنْ after كَأيّن is more common, and better.
How many a man has come to me! or, many a man has come to me—كَأَيِّنْ قَدْ أَتَانِى رَجُلًا
For how much will you sell this garment, or piece of cloth?—بِكَأَيِّنْ تَبِيعُ هٰذَا الثَّوْبَ
That is, بِكَمْ تبيع.
Kh says that if any one of the Arabs made it govern the genitive case, perhaps he did so by making مِنْ to be implied, as is allowable with كَمْ [so that you may say بِكَأَيِّنْ دِرْهَمٍ ٱشْتَرَيْتَ هٰذَا, For how many a dirhem did you buy this? for] it is allowable for the noun that follows كَمْ to be governed in the genitive case by منْ implied, when كم immediately follows a preposition, as in بِكضمْ دِرْهَمٍ ٱشْتَرَيْتَ هٰذَا; but when it is not thus preceded by a preposition, the noun after it must be in the accusative case.
It always holds the first place in a proposition, like كَمْ.
1.6O you man—يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ
It is also a connective of the vocative يَا with the noun signifying the person or persons or thing called, when this noun has the article ال prefixed to it; and with a noun of indication, as ذَا; and with a conjunct noun having ال prefixed to it, as الذِّى. It is a noun formed to serve as such a connective, and has هَا affixed to it.
In this first example, أَىّ is a noun of vague meaning denoting the person called, of the singular number, made determinate by the vocative [يا], indeclinable, with damm for its termination; هَا is a particle employed to rouse attention, or to give notice, a substitute for the noun to which أَىّ is in other cases prefixed; and الرَّجُلُ is a qualificative to أَىّ, and is therefore in the nominative case.
Akh asserts, as indicated above, that أَىّ is here the conjunct noun, and that the first member of its complement, namely the relative هُوَ, is suppressed, the meaning being يَا مَنْ هُوَ الرَّجُلُ. But this assertion is refuted by the fact that there is no relative pronoun that must be suppressed, nor any conjunct noun that necessarily requires its complement to be a nominal proposition; though he might reply to these two objections by arguing that ما in the saying لَا سِيَّمَا زَيْدٌ is in the same way [virtually] in the nominative case [as a conjunct noun synonymous with الَّذِى, and that the first member of its complement, namely هُوَ, a mubtadaʾ of which زَيْدٌ is the khabar, is suppressed].
[This seems to be best rendered O you man; more agreeably with the original, O you, the man; or, according to Akh, O you who are the man; literally, O he who is the man; often written يَأَيُّهَا.]
O you two men—يَاأَيُّهَا الرَّجُلَانِ
O you men—يَاأَيُّهَا الرِّجَالُ
O you woman—يَاأَيَّتُهَاالمَرْأَةُ
O you two women—يَا أَيَّتُهَا المَرْأَتَانِ
O you women—أَيَّتُهَا النّسْوَةُ
O you, this person or thing—يَاأَيُّهَا المَرْأَةُ
O you, this person or thing—المَرْأَتَانِ
O you, this person or thing—النِّسْوَةُ
O you, this person or thing—يَاأَيُّهَا ذَا
O you who did, or have done, this—يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِى فَعَلَ كَذَا
The putting of the qualificative of أَىّ in the accusative case, as in the saying يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلَ أَقْبِلْ [O you man, advance], is allowed by El-Mázinee; but it is not known as heard from the Arabs.
As for me, I will do this, you man—أَمَّا أَنَا فَأَفْعَلُ كَذَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ
أَيُّهَا and أَيَّتُهَا are also used for the purpose of specifying, in which case they are not preceded by يا; as when one says:
Here he means himself.
And we remained behind, or held back, you three—فَتَخَلَّفْنَا أَيَّتُهَا الثَّلَاثَهُ
This is from a saying of Kaab Ibn-Málik, related in a tradition; by "the three" he means those specified as remaining behind with him, or holding back.
Show Lane's original text
is a noun, used in five different manners. (Mughnee.) One of its meanings is that of an interrogative, (T, S, M, Mughnee, K,) relating to intellectual beings and to non-intellectual things; [meaning Who? which? and what?] (S, M, K;) and as such, it is a decl. noun: (S:) it is said in the K to be a particle; (MF;) and so in the M; (TA;) but this is wrong: (MF:) and it is added in the K that it is indecl.; (MF;) and it is said to be so in the M, accord. to Sb, in an instance to be explained below; (TA;) but this is only when it is a conjunct noun [like الَّذِى ], or denotes the object of a vocative: (MF:) or, accord. to some, it is decl. as a conjunct noun also. (Mughnee.) You say, أَيُّهُمْ أَخُوكَ [Who, or which, of them, is thy brother?]. (S.) Another ex. is the saying [in the Kur vii. 184, and last verse of lxxvii.], فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ [And in what announcement, after it, will they believe?]. (Mughnee.) Sometimes it is without teshdeed; as in the saying (of El-Farezdak, M), 1 [I looked for rain, or aid from the clouds, and the two Simáks (stars so called). Of which of them two did the rains pour vehemently upon me from the clouds?]: (M, Mughnee, K: * [in the last of which, only the former hemistich is given, with نَسْرًا (meaning the star or asterism so called) instead of نَصْرًا :]) so by poetic licence: (M:) IJ says that for this reason the poet has elided the second ى , but should have restored the first ى to و , because it is originally و . (TA. [But this assertion, respecting the first ى , I regard as improbable.]) أَيْمَ , also, is a contraction of أَىُّ مَا , meaning أَىُّ شَىْءٍ : so in the saying, أَيْمَ هُوَ يَا فُلَانُ [What thing is it, O such a one?]: and أَيْمَ تَقُولُ [What thing sayest thou?]. (TA in art. ايم .) In like manner, also, أَيْشَ is used as a contraction of أَىُّ شَىْءٍ . (Ks, TA in art. جرم .) A poet speaks of his companions as being بِأَىَ وَأَيْنَمَا ; making أَىّ the name of the quarter ( جِهَة ); so that, being determinate and of the feminine gender, it is imperfectly declinable. (M. [See أَينٌ ; under which head two other readings are given; and where it is said that the verse in which this occurs is by Homeyd Ibn-Thowr.]) أَىّ is never without a noun or pronoun to which it is prefixed, except in a vocative expression and when it is made to conform with a word to which it refers, as in cases to be exemplified hereafter. (Mughnee.) Being so prefixed, it is determinate; but sometimes, [as in the latter of the cases just mentioned,] it is not so prefixed, yet has the meaning of a prefixed noun. (S.) When used as an interrogative, it is not governed, as to the letter, though it is as to the meaning, by the verb that precedes it, but by what follows it; as in the saying in the Kur [xviii. 11], لِنَعْلَمَ أَىُّ الحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَى [That we might know which of the two parties was able to compute]; and in the same [xxvi. last verse], وَسَيَعْلَمُ ٱلَّذَينَ ظَلَمُوا أَىَ مُنْقَلَبٍ يَنْقَلِبُونَ [And they who have acted wrongly shall know with what a translating they shall be translated]: (Fr, * Th, Mbr, T, S: *) when it is governed by the verb before it, it has not the interrogative meaning, as will be shown hereafter. (Fr, T.) In the saying of the poet, 2 [Haneefeh (the tribe so named) shout to us when they see us. And to what place of the earth, or land, will they go for the shouting?], أَىّ is in the accus. case because the prep. إِلَى is suppressed before it. (S.) When they separate it [from what follows it, not prefixing it to another noun], the Arabs say أَىٌ , and in the dual أَيَّانِ , and in the pl. أَيُّونَ ; and they make it fem., saying أَيَّةٌ , and [in the dual] أَيَّتَانِ , and [in the pl.] أَيَّاتٌ : but when they prefix it to a noun, properly so called, not a pronoun, they make it sing. and masc., saying أَىُ الرَّجُلَيْنِ [Who, or which, of the two men?], and أَىُ المَرْأَتَيْنِ [Who, or which, of the two women?], and أَىُّ الّرِجَالِ [Who, or which, of the men?], and أَىُّ النِّسَآءِ [Who, or which, of the women?]: and when they prefix it to a fem. pronoun, they make it masc. [as when they prefix it to a masc. pronoun] and fem., saying أَيُّهُمَا and أَيَّتُهُمَا [Who, or which, of them two?], meaning women; (Fr, T;) [the latter of which seems to be the more common; for ISd says,] sometimes they said أَيُّهُنَّ [Who, or which, of them? referring to women], meaning أَيَّتُهُنَّ . (M.) It is said in the Kur [xxxi. last verse], وَمَا تَدْرِى نَفْسٌ بِأَىِّ أَرضٍ تَمُوتُ [And a person knoweth not in what land he will die]: (S:) but some read بِأَيَّةِ أَرْضٍ ; and Sb compares this fem. form to كُلَّتُهُنَّ . (Bd.) When it is used as an interrogative relating to an indeterminate noun in a preceding phrase, أَىّ is made to conform with that indeterminate noun in case-ending and in gender and in number; and this is done [alike, accord. to some,] in the case of its connexion with a following word and in the case of a pause; so that, [in the case of a pause,] to him who says, جَآءَنِى رَجُلٌ [A man came to me], you say, [accord. to the authorities alluded to above,] أَىٌّ [Who?]; and to him who says, رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا [I saw a man], أَيَّا [Whom?]; and to him who says, مَرَرْتُ بِرَجلٍ [I passed by a man], أَىٍّ [Whom?]: and in like manner, [accord. to all authorities,] in the case of its connexion with a following word; as أَىُّ يَا فَتَى [Who, O young man?], and أَيَّا يَا فَتَى [Whom, O young man?], and أَىٍ يَا فَتَى [Whom, O young man?]: and in the case of the fem. you say, أَيَّةٌ and أَيَّةً and أَيَّةٍ [in the nom. and accus. and gen. respectively]; and in the dual, أَيَّانِ and أَيَّتَانِ in the nom. case [masc. and fem. respectively], and أَيَّيْنِ and أَيَّتَيْنِ in the accus. and gen. cases [masc. and fem. respectively]; and in the pl., [with the like distinction of genders,] أَيُّونَ and أَيَّاتٌ in the nom. case, and أَيِّينَ and أَيَّاتٍ in the accus. and gen. cases. (I' Ak p. 319.) [Exs. in cases of pause, agreeing with the foregoing rules, are given in the T; and exs. in cases of connexion with following words, agreeing with the foregoing, are given in the Mughnee: but J gives rules differing from the foregoing in some respects; and IB gives rules differing in some points both from the foregoing and from those of J.] It is said in the S, أَىّ is made to conform with indeterminate nouns significant of intellectual beings and of nonintellectual things, and is used as an interrogative; and when it is thus used in reference to an indeterminate noun, you make it to have a caseending like that of the noun respecting which it demands positive information; so that when it is said to you, مَرَّبِى رَجُلٌ [A man passed by me], you say, أَىٌّ يَا فَتَى [Who, O young man?], thus giving it a case-ending [like that of رَجُلٌ ] when it is in connexion with a following word; and you indicate the case-ending [by the pronunciation termed الرَّوْمُ , saying أَىُّ , with a somewhat obscure utterance of the final vowel,] in pausing; and if one says, رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا [I saw a man], you say, أَيَّا يَافَتَى [Whom, O young man?], giving it a case-ending [like that of رَجُلًا ], with tenween, when it is [thus] in connexion with a following word; and you pause upon the ا , saying أَيَّا ; and when one says, مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ [I passed by a man], you say, أَىٍّ يَافَتَى [Whom, O young man? in a case of connexion with a following word; and أَىِّ in a case of pausing]: you conform with what the other has said, in the nom. and accus. and gen. cases, in the case of connexion with a following word and in that of pausing: but IB says that this is correct only in the case of connexion with a following word; for in the case of a pause, you say only أَىّْ , in the nom. and gen., with sukoon; and you imitate in both of these cases only when you use the dual form or the pl.: it is added in the S, you say in the cases of the dual and pl. and fem. like as we have said respecting مَنْ : when one says, جَآءَنِى رِجَالٌ [Men came to me], you say, أَيُّونْ [Who?], with the ن quiescent; and أَيِينْ in the accus. and gen.: but IB says, the correct mode is to say, أَيُّونَ and أَيِّنَ , with fet-h to the ن in both; [meaning that this is the only allowable mode in the case of connexion with a following word, and app. that it is the preferable mode in the case of a pause;] the quiescent ن being allowable only in the case of a pause, and with respect to مَنْ , for you say مَنُونْ and مَنِينْ with the quiescent ن only: it is then added in the S, you say, also, أَيَّهْ [Who? and whom?] in using the fem. [in a case of pause]; but in a case of connexion with a following word, [when referring to a noun in the accus.,] you say, أَيَّةً يَا هٰذَا [Whom, O thou? in the sing.], and أَيَّاتٍ [in the pl.; and in like manner, أَيَّةٌ in the nom. sing., and أَيَّةٍ in the gen. sing.; and أَيَّاتٌ in the nom. pl., and أَيَّاتٍ in the gen. pl.]: but when the interrogation refers to a determinate noun, أَىّ is in the nom. case (with refa) only. (TA.) [See also أَيَّانَ , below.] تَنَظَّرْتُ نَصْرًا وَالسِّمَاكَيْنِ أَيْهُمَا | عَلَىَّ مِنَ الغَيْثِ ٱسْتَهَلَّتْ مَوَاطِرُهْ تَصِيحُ بِنَا حَنِيفَةُ إذْ رَأَتْنَا | وَأَىَّ الأَرْضِ تَذْهَبُ لِلصِّيَاحِ [In other cases, now to be mentioned, it is used alike as sing., dual, and pl.] It also denotes a condition; (T, S, M, Mughnee;) in which case, also, it is a decl. noun, applied to an intellectual being and to a non-intellectual thing. (S.) So in the saying, أَيُّهُمْ يُكْرِمْنِى أُكْرِمْهُ [Whichever of them treats me with honour, I will treat him with honour]. (S.) So, too, in the saying [in the Kur xvii. 110], أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الأَسْمَآءُ الحُسْنَى [Whichever ye call Him, He hath the best names]. (T, * Mughnee.) And in the saying [in the same, xxviii. 28], أَيَّمَا ٱلْأَجَلَيْنِ قَضَيْتُ فَلَا عُدْوَانَ عَلَىَّ [Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no wrongdoing to me]. (Mughnee.) One says also, صَحِبَهُ ٱللّٰهُ أَيَّا مَا تَوَجَّهَ , meaning أَيْنَمَاتَوَجَّهَ [May God accompany him wherever he goeth]. (AZ, T.) And Zuheyr uses the expression أَيَّةً سَلَكُوا for أَيَّةَ وِجْهَةٍ سَلَكُوا [Whatever tract they travelled, or travel]. (T.) The saying, أَيِّى وَأَيُّكَ كَانَ شَرَّا فَأَخْزَاهُ ٱللّٰهُ [Whichever of me and thee be evil, may God abase him !] was explained by Kh to Sb as meaning أَيُّنَا كَانَ شَرًّا [whichever of us two be evil]; and as being like the saying, أَخْزَى ٱللّٰهُ الكَاذِبَ مِنِىّ وَمِنْكَ , meaning مِنَّا . (M. [And in a similar manner, the former clause of that saying, occurring in a verse, with مَا after أَيِّى , is said in the T to have been explained by Kh to Sb.]) It is also a conjunct noun; (Mughnee;) [i. e.] it is sometimes used in the manner of الَّذِى , and therefore requires a complement; as in the saying, أَيُّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ أَخُوكَ [He, of them, who is in the house is thy brother]: (S:) [i. e.] it is syn. with الَّذِى . (M, Mughnee.) So in the saying [in the Kur xix. 70], ثُمَّ لَنَنْزِعَنَّ مِنْ كُلِّ شِيعَةٍ أَيُّهُمْ أَشَدُّ عَلَى الرَّحْمٰنِ عُتِيَّا [Then we will assuredly draw forth, from every sect, him, of them, who is most exorbitantly rebellious against the Compassionate]: so says Sb: but the Koofees and a number of the Basrees disagree with him, holding that the conjunct noun أَىّ is always decl., like the conditional and the interrogative: Zj says, “It has not appeared to me that Sb has erred except in two instances, whereof this is one; for he has conceded that it is decl. when separate, and how can he say that it is indecl. when it is a prefixed noun?” and El-Jarmee says, “I have gone forth from El-Basrah, and have not heard, from my leaving the Khandak to Mekkeh, any one say, لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيُّهُمْ قَائِمٌ [as meaning I will assuredly beat him, of them, who is standing], with damm:” these assert, that it is, in the verse above, an interrogative, and that it is an inchoative, and اشد is an enunciative: but they differ as to the objective complement of the verb: Kh says that this is suppressed, and that the implied meaning is, we will assuredly draw forth those of whom it will be said, Which of them is most &c.? and Yoo says that it is the proposition [ ايهّم &c.], and that the verb is suspended from governing, as in the instance in the Kur xviii. 11, cited above: and Ks and Akh say that it is كلّ شيعة , that من is redundant, and that the interrogative proposition is independent of what precedes it; this being grounded on their saying that the redundance of مِنْ is allowable in an affirmative proposition: but these [following] facts refute their sayings; viz. that the suspension of government is peculiar to verbs significant of operations of the mind; and that it is not allowable to say, لَأَضْرِبَنَّ الفَاسِقُ , with refa, as meaning by implication “I will assuredly beat him of whom it is said, He is the transgressor;” and that the redundance of مِنْ in an affirmative proposition is not correct. (Mughnee. [Some further remarks on the same subject, in that work, mentioning other opinions as erroneous, I omit. Another reading of the passage in the Kur cited above (xix. 70) will be found in what here follows.]) [ISd states that] they said, لَأَضْربَنَّ أَيُّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ [I will assuredly beat him, of them, who is most excellent], and أَىٌّ أَفْضَلُ [him who is most excel-lent]; اىّ being indecl., accord. to Sb, and therefore the verb does not govern it [save as to the meaning]. (M.) And [that] you say, اِضْرِبْ أَيُّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ [Beat thou him, of them, who is most excellent], and أَيَّهُمْ أَفْضَلُ [meaning the same, or whichever of them, &c.]; suppressing the relative هُوَ after ايّهم . (M in a later part of the same art.) Fr says that when أَىّ is governed by the verb before it, it has not the interrogative meaning; and you may say, لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيَّهُمْ يَقُولُ ذٰلِكَ [I will assuredly beat him, of them, or whichever of them, says that]: and he says that he who reads أَيَّهُمْ , in the accus. case, in the passage of the Kur cited above (xix. 70) makes it to be governed by لَنَنْرِعَنَّ . (T.) Ks says, you say, لَأَضْرِبَنَّ أَيَّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ [I will assuredly beat him, of them, or whichever of them, is in the house]; but you may not say, ضَرَبْتُ أَيَّهُمْ فِى الدَّارِ : thus he distinguishes between the actual occurrence and that which is expected. (S.) Akh says, also, that it may be indeterminate and qualified by an epithet; as when one says, مَرَرْتُ بِأَىٍّ مُعْجِبٍ لَكَ , like as one says, بِمَنْ مُعْجِبٍ لَكَ [I passed by one pleasing to thee]: but this has not been heard [from the Arabs]. (Mughnee.) It also denotes perfection, or consummateness: and in this case it is an epithet applying to an indeterminate noun; as in زَيْدٌ رَجُلٌ أَىُّ رَجُلٍ [Zeyd is a man; what a man!], meaning that he is complete, or consummate, in the qualities of men: and it is a denotative of state relating to a determinate noun; as in مَرَرْتُ بِعَبْدِ ٱللّٰهِ أَىَّ رَجُلٍ [I passed by 'Abd-Allah; what a man was he!]: (Mughnee:) and used in this sense, it is tropical. (Har p. 534.) [J says,] it is sometimes an epithet applying to an indeterminate noun: you say, مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ أَىِّ رَجُلٍ and أَيِّمَارَجُلٍ [I passed by a man; what a man!]; and مَرَرْتُ بِٱمْرَأَةٍ أَيَّةِ ٱمْرَأَةٍ [I passed by a woman; what a woman!], and بِٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ أَيَّتِمَا ٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ [by two women; what two women!]; and هٰذِهِ ٱمْرَأَةٌ أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ [This is a woman; what a woman!]: and أَيَّتُمَا ٱمْرَأَ أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ [What two women!]; ما being redundant: and in the case of a determinate noun, you say, هٰذَا زَيْدٌ أَيَّمَا رَجُلٍ [This is Zeyd; what a man is he!]; putting it in the accus. case as a denotative of state; and هٰذِهِ أَمَةُ ٱللّٰهِ أَيَّتَمَا جَارِيّةٍ [This is the handmaid of God; what a girl, or young woman, is she!]: you say, also, [in using an indeterminate noun,] أَىُّ ٱمْرَأَةٍ جَآءَتْكَ and جَآءَكَ , and أَيَّةُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ جَآءَتْكَ [What a woman came to thee!]; and مَرَرْتُ بِجَارِيَةٍ أَىِّ جَارِيَةٍ [I passed by a girl, or young woman; what a girl, or young woman!]; and جِئْتُكَ بِمُلَآءَةٍ أَىِّ مُلَآءَةٍ and أَيَّةِ مُلَآءِةٍ [I brought thee a body-wrapper; what a body-wrapper!]: all are allowable. (S.) [In all these it evidently denotes admiration, or wonder, at some good or extraordinary quality in the person or thing to which it relates; notwithstanding that J says afterwards,] and sometimes it is used to denote wonder; as in the saying of Jemeel, 1 [O Butheyneh, ( بُثَيْنَ being a curtailed form of بُثَيْنَة , a woman's name,) adhere thou to “No:” verily “No,” if thou adhere to it, notwithstanding the numbers of the slanderers, what a help will it be!]: (S:) i. e., an excellent help will be thy saying “No” in repelling, or rebutting, the slanderers, though they be many. (TA in art. عون .) Fr gives as exs. of its use to denote wonder the sayings, أَىُّ رَجُلٍ زَيْدٌ [What a man is Zeyd!], and أَىُّ جَارِيَهٍ زَيْنَبُ [What a girl, or young woman, is Zeyneb!]. (T.) It denotes wonder at the sufficiency, and great degree of competence, of the person [or thing] to whom [or to which] it relates. (M.) El-Kattál El-Kilábee says, 2 [And when I saw that I had slain him, I repented of it; in what an hour, or time, of repentance!]: i. e., when I slew him, I repented of it, in a time when repentance did not profit: اىّ being here in the accus. case as an adv. n.; for, as it denotes the part of a whole, its predicament is made to be the same as that of the affixed noun, of whatever kind this may be. (Ham p. 95.) بُثَيْنَ ٱلْزَمِى لَا إَنَّ لَا إِنْ لَزِمْتِهِ | عَلَى كَثْرَةِ الوَاشِينَ أَىُّ مَعُونِ وَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُ أَنَّنِى قَدْ قَتَلْتُهُ | نَدِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ أَىَّ سَاعَةِ مَنْدَمِ It also has ك prefixed to it; and thus it becomes changed in signification so as to denote numerousness, being syn. with the enunciative كَمْ [How many!]; (S, K;) or syn. with رُبَّ [as meaning many]: (Sb, M:) [and sometimes it is syn. with the interrogative كَمْ , meaning how many? or how much? as will be shown below:] thus it is written كَأَىٍّ , (M,) or كَأَيِّنْ , (S, M, K,) its tenween being written ن ; (S, K;) and كَآءٍ , (M,) or [more commonly] كَائِنْ , (S, M, K, [in some copies of the S and K كَايِنْ ,]) like كَاعِنْ , (S,) said by IJ, on the authority of Aboo-'Alee, to be formed from كَأَيِّنْ , by putting the double ى before the ء , after the manner of the transposition in قِسِىٌّ and a number of other words, so that it becomes كَيَّأٍ [or كَيَّئِنْ ], then suppressing the second ى , as is done in مَيِّتٌ and هَيِّنٌ and لَيِّنٌ , so that it becomes كَىْءٍ [or كَىْءِنْ ], and then changing the [remaining] ى into ا , as in [ طَيْئِىٌّ , which becomes] طَادِىٌّ , and in [ حِيرِىٌّ , which becomes] حَارِىٌّ , so that it becomes كَآءٍ [or كَائِنْ ]; (M;) and it has other dial. vars.; namely كَيْئِنٌ [one of the intermediate forms between كَأَيِّنْ and كَائِنْ mentioned above]; (K; [in one copy of the K written كَيَيِّنْ , and so accord. to the TK;]) and كَأْىٍ , (M, K,) of the measure of رَمْىٍ , and most probably formed by transposition from كَىْءٍ , mentioned above; (M;) and كَأ , of the measure of عَمٍ , (M, TA,) incorrectly written in the copies of the K كَاءٍ , i. e. like كَاعٍ , (TA,) formed by the suppression of ى in كَىْءٍ ; a change not greater than that from أَيْمُنُ ٱللّٰهِ to مُ ٱللّٰهِ and مِ ٱللّٰهِ . (M.) You say, كَأَيِّنْ رَجُلًا لَقِيتُ [How many a man have I met! or many a man &c.], (S, K, *) putting the noun following كأيّن in the accus. case as a specificative; (S;) and كَأَيِّنْ مِنْ رَجُلٍ لَقِيتُ ; (S, K; *) and the introduction of مِنْ after كَأيّن is more common, and better. (S. [And Sb, as cited in the M, says the like.]) You say also, كَأَيِّنْ قَدْ أَتَانِى رَجُلًا [How many a man has come to me! or many a man &c.]. (Sb, M.) And بِكَأَيِّنْ تَبِيعُ هٰذَا الثَّوْبَ , i. e. بِكَمْ تبيع [For how much wilt thou sell this garment, or piece of cloth?]. (S.) Kh says that if any one of the Arabs made it to govern the gen. case, perhaps he did so by making مِنْ to be implied, as is allowable with كَمْ : (M:) [so that you may say, بِكَأَيِّنْ دِرْهَمٍ ٱشْتَرَيْتَ هٰذَا For how many a dirhem didst thou buy this? for] it is allowable to make the noun that follows كَمْ to be governed in the gen. case by منْ implied, when كم immediately follows a preposition; as in بِكضمْ دِرْهَمٍ ٱشْتَرَيْتَ هٰذَا ; but when it is not thus preceded by a preposition, the noun after it must be in the accus. case. (I 'Ak p. 317.) It always holds the first place in a proposition, like كَمْ . (Idem, next p.) It is also a connective of the vocative يَا with the noun signifying the person or persons or thing called, when this noun has the article ال prefixed to it; (S, M, Mughnee, K;) and with a noun of indication, as ذَا ; and with a conjunct noun having ال prefixed to it, as الذِّى : (I 'Ak p. 268:) it is a noun formed for serving as such a connective; (M, K;) and has هَا affixed to it. (S, M, &c.) You say, يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ [which seems to be best rendered O thou man; more agreeably with the original, O thou, the man; or, accord. to Akh, O thou who art the man; lit., O he who is the man; often written يَأَيُّهَا ]; (T, S, M, Mughnee, K;) and يَاأَيُّهَا الرَّجُلَانِ [O ye two men]; and يَاأَيُّهَا الرِّجَالُ [O ye men]; (M;) and يَاأَيَّتُهَاالمَرْأَةُ [O thou woman]; (S, M;) and يَا أَيَّتُهَا المَرْأَتَانِ [O ye two women]; and أَيَّتُهَا النّسْوَةُ [O ye women]; and يَاأَيُّهَا المَرْأَةُ , and المَرْأَتَانِ , and النِّسْوَةُ ; (M;) and يَاأَيُّهَا ذَا [O thou, this person or thing]; and يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِى فَعَلَ كَذَا [O thou who didst, or hast done, thus]. (I 'Ak p. 267.) In the first of the exs. here given, أَىّ is a noun of vague signification, (Zj, T, S,) denoting the person called, (Zj, T,) of the sing. number, (Zj, T, S,) rendered determinate by the vocative [ يا ], (S,) indecl., with damm for its termination; (Zj, T, S;) and هَا is a particle employed to rouse attention, or to give notice, a substitute for the noun to which أَىّ is in other cases prefixed; and الرَّجُلُ is a qualificative to أَىّ , (Zj, T, S,) wherefore it is in the nom. case. (S.) Akh asserts, [as we have indicated above,] that أَىّ is here the conjunct noun, and that the first member of its complement, namely the relative هُوَ , is suppressed; the meaning being, يَا مَنْ هُوَ الرَّجُلُ : but this assertion is refuted by the fact that there is no relative pronoun that must be suppressed, nor any conjunct noun that necessarily requires that its complement should be a nominal proposition: though he might reply to these two objections by arguing that ما in the saying لَا سِيَّمَا زَيْدٌ is in like manner [virtually] in the nom. case [as a conjunct noun syn. with الَّذِى , and that the first member of its complement, namely هُوَ , an inchoative of which زَيْدٌ is the enunciative, is suppressed]. (Mughnee.) The putting of the qualificative of أَىّ in the accus. case, as in the saying يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلَ أَقْبِلْ [O thou man, advance], is allowed (M, K) by El-Mázinee; but it is not known [as heard from the Arabs]. (M.) أَيُّهَا and أَيَّتُهَا are also used for the purpose of particularizing; [in which case they are not preceded by يا ;] as when one says, أَمَّا أَنَا فَأَفْعَلُ كَذَا أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ [As for me, I will do thus, or such a thing, thou man], meaning himself; and as in the saying of Kaab Ibn-Málik, related in a trad., فَتَخَلَّفْنَا أَيَّتُهَا الثَّلَاثَهُ [And we remained behind, or held back, ye three], meaning, by the three, those particularized as remaining behind [with him], or holding back. (TA.)