A young man in traditional attire with a white headscarf raises his hands in prayer, his face illuminated by soft light, with an indistinct crowd and architectural elements blurred in the background.

The Islamic expression لَبَّيْكَ: grammar and usage explained

The phrase لَبَّيْكَ (labbaika) is said during the pilgrimage in Islam (Hajj) before the pilgrims enter Mecca. It means: “Here I am! At your service!” But what kind of form is لَبَّيْكَ?

Last updated: 1 month

In this article, we explore the significant Arabic phrase لَبَّيْكَ (labbaika), often used during the Hajj pilgrimage. This expression means “Here I am” or “At your service”, showing commitment and readiness to serve Allah.

We will examine its roots, grammar, and cultural context, emphasizing its importance in Islamic rituals and the Arabic language.

The Arabic phrase لَبَّيْكَ (labbaika) translates to “Here I am” or “At your service” in English. It is often used during the Hajj pilgrimage by Muslims as a declaration of their readiness and willingness to serve and obey Allah: لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ

The phrase signifies continuous submission and devotion.

Let us check it .

The root of لَبَّيْكَ

It is ل – ب – ى. This root is only used as a and means to follow, to obey (a call, an invitation), to say “labbaika”.

The مَصْدَر of لَبَّي

The مَصْدَر of لَبَّي – a form-II-verb (فَعَّلَ) – would be تَلْبِية . But we don’t use this word for our expression. Instead, we use لَبٌّ which is the so called اِسْم الْمَصْدَر of the verb لَبَّى. If you are not sure what a ism al-Masdar is, click here.

The dual of لَبٌّ

The word لَبٌّ is put into the form for the sake of corroboration (). It has somehow the meaning of: “answer after answer“, “saying after saying”, etc. –> أُلَبِّي لَبَّيْكَ=تَلْبِيَة بَعْدَ تَلْبِيَة

Check the table below for other examples. The dual is لَبَّانِ in مَرْفُوع (nominative case) or لَبَّيْنِ in مَجْرُور or مَنْصُوب (genitive, accusative case).

The accusative (مَنْصُوب) of لَبَّانِ

Why is that? Let us explain this by the famous Arabic expression سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ (Praise Allah! Or: God be praised!)

This expression (similar to labbaika) is used as an exclamation of surprise – a special form of the أُسْلُوب التَّعَجُّب.

Grammatically speaking, سُبْحانَ is a so called اِسْم مَصْدَر and is used as an absolute object – مَفْعُول مُطْلَق – which always has to be مَنْصُوب/accusative.

Many common expressions in Arabic have a مَفْعُولٌ مُطْلَقٌ serv­ing as the first part of a إضافة-construction.

Actually, there is no other application. This word is only used as a مَفْعُول مُطْلَق.

So we need لَبَّيْنِ in our example.

Adding a personal pronoun to لَبَّيْنِ

As we connect the personal pronoun you (you here refers to Allah) and since we use the word as a مَفْعُول مُطْلَق the ن is elided – because it is connected to a personal pronoun.

Result

Finally, we get: لَبَّيْكَ

There are a bunch of expressions that are constructed similarly using a مَفْعُول مُطْلَق (sometimes in connection with the dual form, for example: سَعْدَيْكَ)


Some common expressions

Let’s check some other important phrases and expressions related to Islam.

meaningoriginal meaningexpression
Praise God!أُسَبِّحُ اللَّه تَسْبِيحًاسُبْحانَ اللَّهِ
God forbid!
God save (protect) me (us) from that!
أَعْوُذُ بِاللَّهِ مَعاذًامَعاذَ اللَّهِ
Here I am! At your service!أُلِبُّ لَكَ إِلْبابًا or أَلُبُّ لَكَ لَبًّالَبَّيْكَ
And all good is in your hands.أسْعَدْتُكَ إسعادًا بَعْدَ إسعادٍسَعْدَيْكَ

In case you are interested in some additional reading, take a look at this article:

Did you like this?

The Islamic expression لَبَّيْكَ: grammar and usage explained The phrase لَبَّيْكَ (labbaika) is said during the pilgrimage in Islam (Hajj) before the pilgrims enter Mecca. It means: "Here I am! At your service!" But what kind of form is لَبَّيْكَ?
5 1 5 1
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Kaliyuyu
Kaliyuyu
7 years ago

Hi There !
Thank you again for the explanations. I love your blog and find it absolutely necessary.
I have noticed that the “Books for Arabic Nerds” section is empty, but would really appreciate if you could find some time to recommand some references you deem worth mentioning (aside from yours which I obviously just ordered ! – eager to read it).

Many thanks

Previous Article
A close-up of a smartphone screen displaying text in Arabic, with a finger poised near the bottom, possibly scrolling through content. The background is blurred, focusing on the device.

Best way to adjust Arabic fonts on Android devices

Next Article
A person in a blue polo shirt stands in a library, looking at books on a shelf while pointing at one with their right hand. The shelves are filled with various books in different colors and sizes, and there are large windows in the background allowing natural light to enter.

20 questions: Habib Kassem (#15)

➤ DIDN'T FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?

Related Posts
A colorful illustration featuring the word 'they' in large, vibrant font surrounded by intricate floral patterns and two stylized eyes peering through the flowers, creating a visually engaging and artistic composition.
Read More

Translating nonbinary gender expressions from English to Arabic

"They", "ze", "gender-fluid": Researchers of Arab universities analyzed how Netflix's subtitlers attempted to translate non-binary gender expressions into Arabic. This is particularly difficult due to the gendered nature of Arabic and societal perceptions. Some key findings and recommendations.