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
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
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
To forget
The student forgot to do his homework.
Ghafala aalṭṭālibu ʻan adāʼi wājibātihi aalmadrasīyati
غَفَلَ اَلطَّالِبُ عَن أَدَاءِ واجِباتِه اَلمدرَسِيَّةِ
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.
