فتء

Core meaning

Not to cease: a verb used with negation, even unwritten, to say that an act or a state continues without interruption.

Uses

1. تَفْتَؤُا۟ → "not to cease to" : after an oath, the negation is understood without being written.

   • «تَٱللَّهِ تَفْتَؤُا۟ تَذْكُرُ يُوسُفَ» — "By God, you will not cease to remember Youssof" (12:85)

Evidence from the text

The only use is in the mouth of the sons, speaking to their father. The verb has no written negation: after the oath "By God", it is understood, and the translation renders it: "you will not cease". What follows sets the length: "until you are worn out or until you perish" (12:85). The remembrance of Youssof will stop only with his strength or with his life.

Distinctions

• زيل — not to cease to: the same negated duration, said of a state that lasts until an event breaks it; فتء occurs only once, with a negation understood after the oath

See also

ذكر (to remember)