ذلك

Core meaning

Demonstrative of distance, masculine singular: it designates what has just been said, holding it at a distance to draw up its account. Joined to كَ, it compares a whole fact to what precedes: "thus".

Uses

1. كَذَٰلِكَ, وَكَذَٰلِكَ + verb → "thus" : comparison: what follows happens in the same way as what has just been said.

   • «كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ» — "Thus does God make His signs clear to you" (24:59)
   • «وَكَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ» — "and thus will you be brought forth" (30:19)
   • «كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ» — "Thus did those before them deny" (10:39)

2. كَذَٰلِكَ alone → "Thus.", "Thus it is" : the word forms a sentence by itself: it seals an account or confirms an announcement.

   • «كَذَٰلِكَ» — "Thus." (26:59)
   • «قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ» — "Thus it is" (3:40)

3. كَذَٰلِكَ + noun → "such will be", "such is" : before a noun, it makes it the counterpart of what precedes.

   • «كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْخُرُوجُ» — "Such will be the coming forth" (50:11)
   • «كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْعَذَابُ» — "Such is the punishment" (68:33)

4. وَذَٰلِكَ, فَذَٰلِكَ → "that is", "such is" : at the head of the sentence, it names the account of what has just been set out.

   • «وَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ» — "That is the immense triumph" (4:13)
   • «وَذَٰلِكَ دِينُ ٱلْقَيِّمَةِ» — "And that is the Law of uprightness" (98:5)
   • «وَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌۭ مَّشْهُودٌۭ» — "and that is a witnessed day" (11:103)

5. بِذَٰلِكَ, لِذَٰلِكَ, أَذَٰلِكَ → "of that", "for this", "is that" : with a preposition or the question, it takes up a whole statement.

   • «وَمَا لَهُم بِذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ» — "They have no knowledge of that" (45:24)
   • «وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ» — "and it is for this that He created them" (11:119)
   • «قُلْ أَذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ» — "Is that better" (25:15)

Evidence from the text

The demonstrative almost always refers to what has just been said, not to a distant object. كَذَٰلِكَ compares one fact to another: the dead land given life and the coming forth of the dead (30:19, 43:11, 50:11), the saying of past generations and that of the present (2:113, 2:118, 10:39, 51:52), the rules set out and the signs made clear (24:58, 24:59). The comparison stands as an argument: what was done there will be done here.

Alone, the word is enough to close: after the gardens and springs left by the people of Fir'awn, "Thus." (26:59, 44:28); after the gardens promised to those who guard themselves, likewise (44:54). In the answer given to one amazed at having a child, it confirms without adding anything: "Thus it is" (3:40, 3:47).

With وَ or فَ, ذَٰلِكَ draws up the account: "That is the immense triumph" (4:13, 9:111, 40:9), "Such is the recompense" (9:26, 20:76). With a preposition, it takes up a whole statement: "They have no knowledge of that" (45:24), "it is for this that He created them" (11:119); placed first, it names the very object of the command: "And that is what I have been commanded" (6:163).

Distinctions

• هذا — nearness: what is there, at hand in the discourse, whereas ذلك steps back
• تلك — the same distance in the feminine

See also

ذا (the element of designation)