Verb of the Day: غَفَلَ 

Verb of the Day

Verb of the Day

Ghafala

غَفَلَ

We continue to learn about a new verb in our series, Verb of the Day. 

Today’s verb is غَفَلَ /Ghafala/, which mainly means to fail to notice or ignore something. Like many other Arabic verbs, this verb has multiple meanings based on the context. So, we will look at these meanings and have the different forms of the verb when conjugated with pronouns. We will also learn the verb’s synonyms, derivations, and opposites and see examples in the Holy Quran, the Hadith, and poetry.

Main Meaning

1

To neglect - to not pay attention

The child paid no attention to his toys.

Ghafala aalṭṭiflu ʻan alʻābih

غفَلَ الطفل عن ألعابه

Don't neglect your homework.

Lā taghfl ʻan wājibātika aalmadrasīyati

لا تغفلْ عن واجباتك المدرسية

2

To Doze off (light sleeping)

The man was tired and dozes off on the bus.

Kāna aalrrajulu mutʻaban faghafala fī aalḥāfilati

كان الرجلُ مُتعبًا فغفل في الحافلة

3

To forget

The student forgot to do his homework.

Ghafala aalṭṭālibu ʻan adāʼi wājibātihi aalmadrasīyati

غَفَلَ اَلطَّالِبُ عَن أَدَاءِ واجِباتِه اَلمدرَسِيَّةِ

4

To forgive and turn a blind eye to mistakes

The father ignored his son's fault.

Ghafala aalʼabu ʻan khaṭaʼi waladihi

غَفَلَ اَلْأَبُ عَنْ خَطَأِ وَلَدِهِ

Verb Conjugation with Pronouns

English

Transcription

Arabic

I forget (S/1st P.)

Anā aʻwdu

أَنا أغفلُ

I forgot (S/1st P.)

Anā ghafaltu

أَنا غَفَلتُ

We forget (P/1st P.)

Naḥnu naghafalu

نَحنُ نَغَفَلُ

We forgot (P/1st P.)

Naḥnu ghafalnā

نَحنُ غَفَلْنَا

He forgets (S/M/3rd P.)

Huwa yaghflu

هُوَ يَغفلُ

He forgot (S/M/3rd P.)

Huwa ghafala

هُوَ غَفَلَ

They forget (P/M/3rd P.)

Hum yaghflūn

هُم يَغفلُون

They forgot (P./M/3rd P.)

Hum ghafaluwā

هُم غَفَلُوا

She forgets (S/F/3rd P.)

Hya taghfalu

هيَ تَغفَلُ

She forgot (S/F/3rd P.)

Hya ghafalat

هيَ غَفَلَتْ

They forget (P/F/3rd P.)

Hunn yaghafalna

هُنّ يَغَفَلْنَ

They forget (P/F/3rd P.)

Hunn ghafalna

هُنّ غَفَلْنَ

You forget (S/2nd P.)

Anta taghflu

أنتَ تَغفلُ

You forgot (S/2nd P.)

Anta ghafalta

أنتَ غَفَلْتَ

You forget (P/2nd P.)

Antum taghafalwn

أَنتُم تَغَفَلون

You forgot (P/2nd P.)

Antum ghafaltumu

أَنتُم غَفَلتُمُ

You forget (S/F/2nd P.)

Anti taghflyn

أنتِ تَغفلين

You forgot (S/F/2nd P.)

Anti ghafalti

أنتِ غَفَلْتِ

You forget (P/F/2nd P.)

Antunna taghafalna

أَنتُنَّ تَغَفَلْنَ

You forgot (P/F/2nd P.)

Antunn ghafaltunna

أَنتُنّ غَفَلتُنَّ

You forget (D/2nd P.)

Antumā tghflān

أنتما تغفلان

You forgot (D/2nd P.)

Antumā ghafaltumā

أنتما غفَلتُما

They forget (D/M/3rd P.)

Humā yghfalān

هما يغفلان

They forgot (D/M/3rd P.)

Humā ghaflā

هما غفلا

*P: Plural        S: Singular     D: Dual       F: Feminine      M: Masculine

Verb in the Quran

Let’s look at an example of using the verb /Ghafala/ غَفَلَ as a noun in the Holy Quran.

(وَهُمۡ فِي غَفۡلَة وَهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ)

مريم 39

Wahumۡ fī ghafۡlah wahumۡ lā yuʼۡminūna

(They are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe) Surat Mariam 39

This verse has the noun form of the verb, which means ‘heedlessnee’ or ‘ignoring’ and ‘not paying attention’ to the truth.

Verb in Hadith

The verb غفل is used in this Hadith to mean ‘forgetting to pray’:

(إِذَا رَقَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ، أَوْ غَفَلَ عَنْهَا، فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا)

idhā raqada aḥadukum ʻani alṣaalāti, aw ghafala ʻanhā, falyuṣaliihā idhā dhakarahā

When any one of you omits the prayer due to sleep or he forgets it, he should observe it when he remembers it.

Verb in poetry

Now let’s see how the verb is used in poetry. In the following line, the verb عاد is used to mean “to return” or “to show up again”:

تَغَافَلَتُ حَتَّى صِرْتُ مِنْ فَرْطِ غَفْلَتِي كَأَنِّي لَا أَدْرِي بِتِلْكَ المَرَاهِبِ

Taghāfalatu ḥattá ṣirtu min farṭi ghaflatī kaʼannī lā adrī bitilka aalmarāhibi

I overlooked so much that, due to my excessive heedlessness, it is as if I am unaware of those trials.

In this line, the poet uses the verb غفل to mean ‘ignore mistakes,’ ‘forgive,’ or ‘turn a blind eye to’ mistakes.

Daily Life Examples

The following examples use the verb غفل in its different meanings.

The teacher overlooked the student's jokes.

Ghafala aalmuʻallimu ʻan mizāḥi aalṭṭālibi

غَفَلَ اَلْمُعَلِّمُ عَنْ مِزَاحِ اَلطَّالِبِ

The soldier does not neglect to guard his homeland.

Lā yaghfulu aaljundīyu ʻan ḥirāsati aalwaṭani

لَا يَغْفُلُ اَلْجُنْدِيُّ عَنْ حِرَاسَةِ اَلْوَطَنِ

You neglected the lesson and understood nothing about it.

Ghafalata ʻan aalddarsi falam tafham minhu shayʼan

غَفَلَتْ عَنْ اَلدَّرْسِ فَلَمْ تَفْهَمْ مِنْهُ شَيْء

Derivations

We will look at two words that are derived words from the root غفل /ghafala/:

Heedless (Adj)

Ghāfilun

غَافِلٌ

The lazy student is Inattentive to success.

Aalṭṭālib aalkasūl ghāfilun ʻan aalnnajāḥi

اَلطَّالِب اَلْكَسُول غَافِل عَنْ اَلنَّجَاحِ

Unexpectedly (Adv)

Ghaflatan

غَفْلَةً

The flood came unexpectedly.

Jāʼa aalssaylu ghaflatan

جَاءَ اَلسَّيْلُ غَفْلَةً

Synonyms

There are 4 main synonyms for the word غفل: 

to overlook

Sahā

سَهَا

to fall short

qaṣṣara

قَصَّرَ

to forget

Nasiya

نَسِيَ

to neglect

Ahmala

أَهْمَلَ

 

Let’s look at these words in examples:

Examples

The worker overlooked his work.

Ghafala aalʻāmilu ʻan ʻamalihi

غَفَلَ اَلْعَامِلُ عَنْ عَمَلِهِ

The worker neglected his work.

Sahā aalʻāmilu ʻan ʻamalihi

سها اَلْعَامِلُ عَنْ عَمَلِهِ

Do not neglect to perform your duties.

Lā taghfal ʻan adāʼi wājibātika

لَا تَغْفُلُ عَنْ أَدَاءِ وَاجِبَاتِكَ

Do not fall short in performing your duties.

lā tuqaṣer biʼadāʼi wājibātika

لَا تُقَصر بِأَدَاءِ وَاجِبَاتِكَ

The child ignored her toys.

Ghafalat aalṭṭiflatu ʻan alʻābihā

غَفَلَتْ اَلطِّفْلَةُ عَنْ أَلْعَابِهَا

The child forgot her toys.

Nasiyat aalṭṭiflatu alʻābahā

نَسِيَت اَلطِّفْلَةُ أَلْعَابَهَا

You are ignoring your work

Antumā taghfalāni ʻan ʻamalikumā

أَنْتُمَا تَغْفَلَانِ عَنْ عَمَلِكُمَا

You are neglecting your work.

antumā tuhmilāni ʻamalkumā

أَنْتُمَا تُهْمِلَانِ عَمَلكُمَا

Opposites

Now we will look at two opposites to the verb غفل

Paid attention

Intabaha

اِنْتَبَهَ

Remembered

Tadhakkara

تَذَكَّر

Examples

The driver overlooked the traffic lights and ran the red light.

Ghafala aalssāʼiqu ʻan aalʼishārati fatajāwzhā

غَفَلَ اَلسَّائِقُ عَنْ اَلْإِشَارَةِ فَتَجَاوزها

The driver paid attention to the signal and stopped.

Intabaha aalssāʼiqu lilʼishārati fatawaqqafa

اِنْتَبَهَ اَلسَّائِقُ لِلْإِشَارَةِ فَتَوَقَّف

They forgot the appointment so they did not come.

Ghafalā ʻan aalmawʻidi falam yaḥḍurā

غَفَلَا عَنْ اَلْمَوْعِدِ فَلَمْ يَحْضُرَا

They remembered the appointment, so they came at the right time.

Tadhakkara aalmawʻida faḥaḍarā fī aalwaqti aalmunāsibi

تذكرا اَلْمَوْعِدَ فَحَضَرَا فِي اَلْوَقْتِ اَلْمُنَاسِبِ

Final word

Now that we have explored the verb غفل in-depth, I hope you found it helpful and encourage you to use it in everyday conversations.

Keep expanding your vocabulary, one word at a time, and you’ll steadily move closer to fluency.

To make your learning even more enjoyable, try testing your knowledge of Arabic through the fun exercises in our app, and check out our other blogs on Arabic verbs here.

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