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15 Calling out
15.1 Introduction
When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.”
There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
15.2 Calling out to specific persons
15.2.1 Using single word personal names
When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zayd.”
15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns
The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples:
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu.
“Peace be upon you, O you boy.”
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu.
“Peace be upon you, O you girl.”
In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule:
يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun.
“O you men, a matter has occurred.”
Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
Similarly,
يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal.
“O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.”
15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns
When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba
“O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].”
أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību.
“I am ill, O you the Doctor.”
If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi.
“O you the teacherf, this is my book.”
15.2.4 Using multiple words
The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example:
عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
ɛabdu -llāhi
“Ɛabd Allāh”أَبُو بَکْرٍ
ʾabū bakrin
“Abū Bakr”صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
ṣalāḥu -ddīni
“Salāḥ ad-Dīn”
In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples:
مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi.
“I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.”
يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun
“O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.”
يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu.
“O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.”
If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu.
“O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.”
يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka.
“O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.”
يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun.
“O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.”
When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
يَا أَبانا
yā ʾabānā
“O our father”
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say,
يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you.
If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say:
يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state.
يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ.
yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun.
“O [any] players of games, time is precious.”
15.4 Omitting يَا yā
When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying,
يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“O Zayd, your question is excellent.”
it is permissible to say:
زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“Zayd, your question is excellent.”
Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation.
This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example,
رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ.
rabbanā laka -lḥamdu.
“Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.”
15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible,
يَا قَوْمِي
yā qawmī
“O my people”
it is more common to say:
يَا قَوْمِ
yā qawmi
“O my people”
This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”.
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say:
يَا أَللَّـٰهُ
yā ʾallāhu
“O Allāh”
Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ.
However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word:
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ
ʾallāhumma
“O Allāh”
Examples:
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu.
“O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.”
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari.
“O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.”