و

Core meaning

A conjunction that joins a term or a clause to what precedes, without marking order or consequence. In its isolated forms it carries the preposition لـ and a pronoun: it then adds an attribution, "and to them", "and to Him".

Uses

1. وَلَهُمْ, وَلَهُم → "and they will have" / "and they have" : adds what falls to a group: its punishment, or what it possesses.

   • «وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ» — "and they will have an immense punishment" (16:106)
   • «وَلَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌۭ لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَآ» — "and they have ears with which they do not hear" (7:179)

2. وَلَهُۥ, وَلَهُ → "To Him belongs" / "to Him" : what belongs to God as His own.

   • «وَلَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ» — "To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on the earth" (16:52)
   • «وَلَهُ ٱلْحُكْمُ» — "to Him belongs the judgment" (28:70)
   • «وَلَهُ ٱلْكِبْرِيَآءُ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ» — "And to Him belongs greatness in the heavens and the earth" (45:37)

3. وَلَكُمْ, وَلِىَ, وَلَكُمُ → "to you" / "to me" : the second share of a division, set facing the first.

   • «لَنَآ أَعْمَٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلُكُمْ» — "to us our works, to you yours" (42:15)
   • «لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ» — "To you your Law, and to me my Law" (109:6)
   • «أَمْ لَهُ ٱلْبَنَٰتُ وَلَكُمُ ٱلْبَنُونَ» — "Or would He have daughters, while you would have sons?" (52:39)

Evidence from the text

After a description, وَلَهُمْ adds what falls to the group: "and they will have an immense punishment" (2:7, 3:176, 16:106); after the eyes that do not see clearly, "and they have ears with which they do not hear" (7:179). The conjunction introduces neither cause nor sequence: it adds.

Referred to God, the same construction states full possession: "To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on the earth" (16:52), "And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth" (21:19). In a division, و sets the second share on equal footing with the first: "to us our works, to you yours" (42:15), "To you your Law, and to me my Law" (109:6).

Distinctions

• ف — ف marks sequence or consequence; و joins without ordering.

See also

ل (the preposition of attribution carried by the isolated forms of و)