The Islamic expression لَبَّيْكَ: grammar and usage explained

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 step by step.

The root of لَبَّيْكَ

It is ل – ب – ى. This root is only used as a II-verb 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 dual form for the sake of corroboration (emphasis). 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.

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

What is a اسم مصدر in Arabic?

The Ism al-Masdar اسم المصدر and the regular masdar sometimes mean the same, sometimes not. Let's check why.

• Grammar

byGerald Drißner

02.01.16

2 min

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