Word of the Week, Issue #005

Word of the Week, Issue #005

To See = رَأَى

The word for "to see" in Arabic is رَأَى (ra'aa). It can also be used to mean "to consider". In the former case, where it is used to mean "to see", it is singly transitive (for example رَأَيْتُ الْقَمَرَ I saw the moon ), and in the latter case it is doubly transitive (for example رَأَيْتُ مَحَمّدًا صَادِقًا I considered Mohammed (to be) truthful). Where رَأَى is used to mean "to see", and there are two accusative words after it, such as رَأَيْتُ الْقَمَرَ طَالِعًا, the second word is an adverb rather than the second object: I saw the moon rising.