Nesrin Dec 9, 2010:

Everybody probably knows this already but... just to put an end to Phil and airmailrpl's little disagreement: "pious", or indeed any other adjective, can only be used as a noun if it is preceded by the definite article "the" and if it refers to a collective plural. So in airmailrpl's examples "the pious" is used to refer to "pious people", but you can't use it to refer to a single pious person, as I believe Saleh intends to do. Similarly, you can speak of "the poor" but not "a poor" - in the singular, it's an adjective that requires a noun (person, man, individual etc)

schevallier Dec 9, 2010:

idea "humbly devout muslim/man/person" :)

schevallier Dec 9, 2010:

agree with Phil again Because it's exactly the same in FR.
The closest noun IMO would be "believers"... and "anonymous believers" sounds totally awkward and meaningless. This explains my use of "benefactor" - that is literally, in latin, "good doer" - for lack of a better word than "believer", which would make reference to God. On the other hand, goodness should be of divine nature...? Oh well... Wait and see if someone else finds the perfect term :)

airmailrpl Dec 9, 2010:

a few more
The Art of Inventing Characters - Google Books Result
II — CLASSIFICATION VESTA I — The Pious 1. The Constant. Examples: besides the Virgin, the purest of the Saints, the Mexican Koat- ...
www.books.google.com/books?isbn=1409783391...

Where Even Angels Fear To Tread - Abyssos - Letra no Muita Música
We are the legion from the dusk the pious always feared. The sky turned to red as I slew the angels among the clouds. They fell to earth feather-light, ...
www.muitamusica.com.br › Abyssos

Letra da Música Astute Sceptre - Ondskapt (Letra e Clipe)
a mace long forgotten by the pious. Of the dousing fumes of the ancient snake lowing with unearthly rancour. I bear this sceptre of the underworld ...
www.letradamusica.net/ondskapt/astute-sceptre.html

Arabian Nights, In - Google Books Result
Richard F. Burton, Sir - 2008 - Fiction - 296 pages
I admired this with the utmost admiration and knew that he was of the sons of the pious. So I bestirred myself for his release and cured him and besought ...
www.books.google.com/books?isbn=1605206008...

airmailrpl Dec 9, 2010:

used as a noun Understand it as you will - it is used as a noun in these references

Saleh Dardeer (asker) Dec 9, 2010:

@philgoddard I mentioned "people" in my explanation

philgoddard Dec 9, 2010:

Pious is an adjective in your examples - it's just that there's no noun. We understand it to mean "pious individuals".

airmailrpl Dec 9, 2010:

Pious as a noun 14:02 [Click here to delete your Atheists Know More About Religion Than the Pious - Truthdig
Well, this is awkward. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life undertook a study in which nonbelievers correctly answered more religious ...
www.truthdig.com/.../atheists_know_more_about_religion_than... -

The Way of the Pious – Maimonidean Sufism
17 Oct 2010 ... The maqamat (stations) on the Jewish Sufi tariqa (path) established by Abraham Maimonides in 13th Century Egypt, and the.
www.suite101.com/.../the-way-of-the-pious--maimonidean-sufi...

airmailrpl Dec 9, 2010:

Pious as a noun Come the Pious - Tehelka - India's Independent Weekly News Magazine
9 Oct 2010 ... Here Come the Pious. A new Islamist body, the Popular Front of India, is causing alarm with its religious overdrive in the south. ...
www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename...asp

schevallier Dec 9, 2010:

@philgoddard I agree with you...

philgoddard Dec 9, 2010:

It seems to me that the first word has to be an adverb (eg "anonymously pious"). If you use an adjective, it makes "pious" look like a noun, which it isn't.