Lesson 87 · لَوْلَا
If it weren’t for…: لَوْلَا
لَوْلَا means “if it weren’t for”. A noun with the normal -u ending follows it, and the result starts with لَـ, as with لَوْ in lesson 56: لَوْلَا الْمَطَرُ لَخَرَجْنَا (if it weren’t for the rain, we would have gone out).
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
لَوْلَا الْمَطَرُ لَخَرَجْنَاlawla l-maṭaru la-kharajnaaIf it weren’t for the rain, we would have gone out.
لَوْلَا أَنْتَ لَضِعْتُlawlaa anta la-ḍiʿtuIf it weren’t for you, I would have got lost.
لَوْلَا الْخَرِيطَةُ لَمَا وَصَلْنَاlawla l-khariiṭatu lamaa waṣalnaaWithout the map, we wouldn’t have arrived.
لَوْلَا الزَّحْمَةُ لَوَصَلْتُ مُبَكِّرًاlawla z-zaḥmatu la-waṣaltu mubakkiranIf it weren’t for the traffic, I would have arrived early.
لَوْلَا اللّٰهُ ثُمَّ أَنْتَ لَمَا نَجَحْتُlawla llaahu thumma anta lamaa najaḥtuIf not for Allah and then you, I would not have succeeded.
فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَكُنْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَfa-lawlaa faḍlu llaahi ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatuhuu la-kuntum mina l-khaasiriinaIf not for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have been among the losers. (2:64)
Key points
- With a pronoun, use the -u set أَنْتَ, هُوَ and so on: لَوْلَا أَنْتَ لَضِعْتُ (if it weren’t for you, I would have got lost). In everyday speech you also hear لَوْلَاكَ.
- A negative result uses لَمَا: لَوْلَا اللّٰهُ ثُمَّ أَنْتَ لَمَا نَجَحْتُ (if not for Allah and then you, I would not have succeeded), a common way to thank someone.
- Compare: لَوْ is “if” (something had happened) and لَوْلَا is “if not for” (something that did happen): لَوْ دَرَسْتَ لَنَجَحْتَ (if you had studied, you would have passed) · لَوْلَا الدِّرَاسَةُ لَرَسَبْتُ (if it weren’t for studying, I would have failed).
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “If it weren’t for the heat, we would have played.” Heat: الْحَرُّ.
لَوْلَا الْحَرُّ لَلَعِبْنَا lawla l-ḥarru la-laʿibnaa
Tell a man “If it weren’t for you, I would have forgotten.”
لَوْلَا أَنْتَ لَنَسِيتُ lawlaa anta la-nasiitu
Say “If it weren’t for the teacher, I would not have understood.”
لَوْلَا الْمُدَرِّسُ لَمَا فَهِمْتُ lawla l-mudarrisu lamaa fahimtu
