كان used to mean present tense

[USani]

It is common for kana to be used to mean the present tense in the Qur'an. Does this use also exist in other sources of classical arabic like hadith and poetry?

For example

قل كفى بالله شهيدا بيني وبينكم إنه كان بعباده خبير بصيرا

 

[Ali Smith]

No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it outside of the Quran. But in the Quran it is quite common. Eg وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

 

[WadiH]

I don't know if you can call this a 'present' tense. It's more about expressing a universal or eternal fact (i.e. 'it was ever thus'). It is indeed rare outside the Qur'an, though you might hear it in poetry or religious sermons (the latter probably quoting or borrowing Quranic phrases).

 

[Ali Smith]

Would this be another example of it:

وكان الله على كل شيء مقتدرا
الكهف:٤٥

 

[WadiH]

Yes.

 

[Afsar]

إنه كان توابا

 

[Ali Smith]

What about here?

إن الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات كانت لهم جنات الفردوس نزلا
الكهف:107

 

[WadiH]

I think it's the same. The verb is 'timeless'; the emphasis is on the event or state of affairs itself rather than the time it happened.

 

[Madeeha719]

This is a very good example of it:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ