أصلح

Cognate with Hebrew הִצְלִיחַ (hitslíakh, “succeed”).

أَصْلَحَ • (ʔaṣlaḥa) IV (non-past يُصْلِحُ (yuṣliḥu), verbal noun إِصْلَاح (ʔiṣlāḥ))

1. (transitive) to make (something bad) better; to mend

   Synonym: حَسَّنَ (ḥassana, “to make (something) better; to refine”)

   Antonym: أَفْسَدَ (ʔafsada, “to make (something good) bad; to vitiate; to spoil; to corrupt; to pervert”)

   1. to repair (something malfunctioning, such as a machine or a device); to fix

      Antonyms: أَفْسَدَ (ʔafsada), أَتْلَفَ (ʔatlafa, “to damage; to mar”), خَرَّبَ (ḵarraba, “to ruin; to vandalize; to sabotage”), كَسَرَ (kasara, “to break; to break up”), حَطَّمَ (ḥaṭṭama, “to crash; to wreck”), عَطَّلَ (ʕaṭṭala, “to render nonfunctional; to corrupt”)

      هٰذَا الرَّجُلُ يُجِيدُ إِصْلَاحَ الْأَجْهِزَةِ الْمُتَعَطِّلَة.

      hāḏā r-rajulu yujīdu ʔiṣlāḥa al-ʔajhizati l-mutaʕaṭṭila.

      This man excels at repairing nonfunctional machines and devices.

   2. to reform (something); to improve

      اَلْإِصْلَاحُ الْبُرُوتِسْتَانْتِيّ

      al-ʔiṣlāḥu al-burūtistāntiyy

      The Protestant Reformation

      حِزْبُ الْإِصْلَاح

      ḥizbu l-ʔiṣlāḥ

      The Reform Party

      جَمَاعَةُ إِصْلَاحِ مَالِيزِيَا

      jamāʕatu ʔiṣlāḥi mālīziyā

      The Reform of Malaysia Organization

      • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:11-12:

        وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ.

        waʔiḏā qīla lahum lā tufsidū fī l-ʔarḍi qālū ʔinnamā naḥnu muṣliḥūna ʔalā ʔinnahum humu l-mufsidūna walākin lā yašʕurūna.

        And when it is said to them, "Do not spread corruption on the earth!" they say, "We are but reformers!" They are the corrupters, but they are senseless!

   3. to better (something or someone) morally; to moralize; to uplift; to correct

      Synonym: أَدَّبَ (ʔaddaba, “to better (someone) morally especially by beating or reproach; to castigate; to discipline”)

      (Can we date this quote?), al-Qurṭubī, الجامع لأحكام القرآن [The Collection of the Ordainments of the Qur'an]:

      وَمِنْ مَنَافِعِ الْعَصَا ضَرْبُ الرَّجُلِ نِسَاءَهُ بِهَا فِيمَا يُصْلِحُهُمْ وَيُصْلِحُ حَالَهُ وَحَالَهُمْ مَعَهُ

      wamin manāfiʕi l-ʕaṣā ḍarbu r-rajuli nisāʔahu bihā fīmā yuṣliḥuhum wayuṣliḥu ḥālahu waḥālahum maʕahu

      Among the benefits of the stick is beating one's women with it to improve them and to improve [with it] one's life and theirs too.

2. (intransitive) to fix relations [with بَيْنَ (bayna) ‘between’], to make peace, to reconcile; to harmonize

   Synonym: وَفَّقَ (waffaqa, “to make agree or compatible; to match; to harmonize”)

   Antonyms: أَلَّبَ (ʔallaba, “to incite; to stir up”), هَيَّجَ (hayyaja, “to rouse; to inflame; to provoke”), نَفَّرَ (naffara, “to drive away as from hate or disgust; to repel”), أَفْسَدَ (ʔafsada, “to spread corruption and falsehood so as to agitate and fuel sedition”)

   أَصْلَحَ بَيْنَ الْمُتَخَاصِمَيْنِ

   ʔaṣlaḥa bayna l-mutaḵāṣimayni

   He reconciled between the two squabblers.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:128:

     وَإِنِ ٱمْرَأَةٌ خَافَتْ مِن بَعْلِهَا نُشُوزًا أَوْ إِعْرَاضًا فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَن يُصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا صُلْحًا وَٱلصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ

     waʔini mraʔatun ḵāfat min baʕlihā nušūzan ʔaw ʔiʕrāḍan falā junāḥa ʕalayhimā ʔan yuṣliḥā baynahumā ṣulḥan waṣ-ṣulḥu ḵayrun

     And if a woman fears from her husbans any inharmony or rebuffing, there is no blame on them if they reconcile. Indeed, reconciliation is good!

Elative of صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, “correct; honest, upright; sound, whole; pious; suitable”).

أَصْلَح • (ʔaṣlaḥ)

1. elative degree of صَالِح (ṣāliḥ):
   1. more correct; most correct
   2. more honest, more upright; most honest, most upright
   3. more sound, more whole; most sound, most whole
   4. more pious; most pious
   5. more suitable; most suitable

• أَفْسَد (ʔafsad)

• Wehr, Hans (1979) “صلح”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

أصلح (form I)

1. أَصْلُحُ (ʔaṣluḥu) /ʔasˤ.lu.ħu/: first-person singular non-past active indicative of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa) and صَلُحَ (ṣaluḥa)
2. أَصْلَحُ (ʔaṣlaḥu) /ʔasˤ.la.ħu/: first-person singular non-past active indicative of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa)
3. أَصْلُحَ (ʔaṣluḥa) /ʔasˤ.lu.ħa/: first-person singular non-past active subjunctive of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa) and صَلُحَ (ṣaluḥa)
4. أَصْلَحَ (ʔaṣlaḥa) /ʔasˤ.la.ħa/: first-person singular non-past active subjunctive of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa)
5. أَصْلُحْ (ʔaṣluḥ) /ʔasˤ.luħ/: first-person singular non-past active jussive of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa) and صَلُحَ (ṣaluḥa)
6. أَصْلَحْ (ʔaṣlaḥ) /ʔasˤ.laħ/: first-person singular non-past active jussive of صَلَحَ (ṣalaḥa)

أصلح (form II)

1. أُصَلِّحُ (ʔuṣalliḥu) /ʔu.sˤal.li.ħu/: first-person singular non-past active indicative of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)
2. أُصَلَّحُ (ʔuṣallaḥu) /ʔu.sˤal.la.ħu/: first-person singular non-past passive indicative of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)
3. أُصَلِّحَ (ʔuṣalliḥa) /ʔu.sˤal.li.ħa/: first-person singular non-past active subjunctive of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)
4. أُصَلَّحَ (ʔuṣallaḥa) /ʔu.sˤal.la.ħa/: first-person singular non-past passive subjunctive of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)
5. أُصَلِّحْ (ʔuṣalliḥ) /ʔu.sˤal.liħ/: first-person singular non-past active jussive of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)
6. أُصَلَّحْ (ʔuṣallaḥ) /ʔu.sˤal.laħ/: first-person singular non-past passive jussive of صَلَّحَ (ṣallaḥa)

Learned borrowing from Arabic أَصْلَحَ (ʔaṣlaḥa).

• IPA^(key): /ʔasˤ.laħ/, [ˈʔɑsˤ.lˤɑħ]

• Audio (al-Lidd):

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أصلح • (ʔaṣlaḥ) IV (present بصلح (biṣleḥ))

1. (formal) to fix, reform