Breakdown of الصواب خير من الأذى.
منmin
than
صوابsawâb
right thing / correctness
خيرkhayr
better / best (irregular)
أذىadhâ
harm
Questions & Answers about الصواب خير من الأذى.
Wait, I thought comparatives had to follow the أَفْعَل pattern. Why is خير used here as 'better'?
You are right that most comparatives use the أَفْعَل pattern. However, خير (good) and شر (bad) are irregular elative nouns. They are used to mean 'better' and 'worse' without changing their shape to match that standard pattern.
Because خير lacks the comparative pattern, how do we know it means 'better than' rather than 'a good thing from'?
The giveaway is the preposition من immediately following it. Just like regular comparatives (for example, أكبر من meaning 'bigger than'), the structure خير من acts as the direct comparative 'better than'.
Does the word الأذى (harm) change its case ending because it follows the preposition من?
Grammatically, it is in the genitive case (majrūr) because it follows a preposition. However, because it ends in an alif maqṣūra (ى), its case endings are invisible. It is always written and pronounced الأذى regardless of its grammatical case.
Could I use a standard comparative like أفضل (better) instead of خير here?
Yes, saying الصواب أفضل من الأذى means essentially the same thing. However, using the irregular elative خير is highly idiomatic in Arabic proverbs, classical texts, and maxims when making broad moral comparisons.