Arabic with Husna – Nahw Textbook

7.4 Unit 7.4: The Five Fragments - Idafah

HOMEWORK
By  the  end  of  this  lesson,  I  should  be  able  to…
Identify the idafah fragment
Translate all of the special mudafs
Recite the ‫اﻷ ﺎء اﻟﺨﻤﺴﺔ‬
Translate the idafah fragment from Arabic to English and English to Arabic

3 - IDAFAH (‫)إﺿﺎﻓﺔ‬
Now  that  we’ve  completed  the  study  of  individual  words,  we  can  learn  how  words  
come together to create fragments. A fragment is more than a word but less than
a complete sentence. In Arabic there are five commonly used fragments that
involve isms:

1. Idafah ‫ِإﺿﺎﻓَﺔ‬

ٌ ‫ﺟﺎر و ﻣ ْﺠﺮ‬
2. Harf of jarr ‫ور‬ ٌ
ُ َ َ
ْ
3. Harf of nasb ‫ﺐ و ِا ُﻬﺎ‬ ٍ ‫ف َﻧ ْﺼ‬ ْ
ُ ‫ﺣﺮ‬
َ َ
ٌ ٌ
4. Mawsoof-sifah ‫ﻣ ْﻮﺻ ْﻮف و ِﺻ َﻔﺔ‬
َ ُ َ
5. Pointer word fragments ‫ﺸﺎر ِإﻟَ ْﻴ ِﻪ‬ ٌ ‫ِا ْﺳﻢ اﻹﺷﺎرة و ﻣ‬
ُ َ ِ َ ِ ُ
3.1: Fragments - Idafah
An  idafah  is  a  fragment  which  brings  two  isms  together  with  the  word  ‘of’  in  
between them. For example, Messenger of Allah, friend of mine, imam of a masjid.

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In  Arabic,  the  word  before  ‘of’  is  called  the  mudhaf  (‫ )ﻣﻀﺎف‬ and  the  word  after  ‘of’  
ُ
is called the mudhaf-ilayhi (‫)ﻣﻀﺎف ِإﻟﻴ ِﻪ‬.
ُ
Primary Rules for the Idhafah

1. The ‫( ﻣﻀﺎف‬word  before  “of”)  should  be:

ُ
a. Light
b. No alif-laam (‫)ال‬

2. The ‫ ﻣﻀﺎف ِإﻟﻴ ِﻪ‬should be

ُ

a. In ‫ ﺟﺮ‬status
ّ
b. After the ‫ﻣﻀﺎف‬
ُ

3. No long distance relationship. Nothing comes between the ‫ ﻣﻀﺎف‬and its

ُ
‫ﻣﻀﺎف ِإﻟﻴ ِﻪ‬.
ُ

4. The last property of the ‫ﻣﻀﺎف‬, its type, is dictated by the ‫ﻣﻀﺎف ِإﻟﻴ ِﻪ‬
ُ ُ
Basic Kinds of Idafah:
There are three basic kinds of idafah:
1. “of”  translation   eg: Imam of the masjid ‫ِإﻣﺎم اﻟﻤ ْﺴ ِﺠ ِﺪ‬
َ ُ
2. Pronoun attached to an ism eg: His house ُ ‫ﺑ ْﻴﺘُﻪ‬
َ
ْ
3. Special Mudhafs eg: Under the earth ‫ﻷ ْر ِض‬ َ ‫ﺖا‬ ‫َﺗﺤ‬
َ

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3.1.1: Fragments – Idafah – Special Mudhaf

Special mudhafs are words that act as a mudahf 99.9% of the time. However,
when  we  translate  them  we  do  not  always  use  the  word  ‘of’  in  the  translation.  
ْ ْ
after ‫ﺑﻌ َﺪ‬ below ‫َﺗﺤﺖ‬ above ‫ﻓ َ ْﻮ َق‬
َ َ
ْ
behind ‫ﻒ‬
َ ‫ﺧﻠ‬ َ in front of ‫أَﻣﺎم‬ before ‫َﻗ ْﺒ َﻞ‬
َ
especially ْ behind, ْ
‫َن‬ ‫ورآء‬ between ‫ﲔ‬
َ ‫َﺑ‬
from ُ beyond َ َ
right in ْ
‫ﻗ ُ ّﺪام‬ which, any ‫أ َ ّي‬ other than ‫َﻏﲑ‬
front of َ
some, ْ around, with, at, has, ْ
‫ﺾ‬ َ ‫َﺑ‬
‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﺣ ْﻮ َل‬ ‫ِﻋﻨ َﺪ‬
some of surrounding َ by/beside
besides, each, all,
other ‫د ْون‬ with ‫ﻣﻊ‬ every, the ‫ﻛُ ّﻞ‬
ُ ََ
than whole

ْ
3.1.2: Fragments – Idafah – Five Special Isms ُ ‫اﻟﺨﻤﺴﺔ‬ ‫ﻷ ﺎء‬
َ ‫ا‬
َ َ ُ
The five special isms are called so because when these words are mudhafs their
status is not shown by ending sound or ending combination. Their status is shown
by ending letter.
The five special isms are:
ٌ
ٌ ‫ أ‬Brother ‫خ‬
Father ‫ب‬ َ َ ‫ أ‬Mouth ‫ ﻓ َ ٌﻢ‬In-law ‫ﺣ ٌﻢ‬
َ
Possessor-of ‫ذُو‬

Note:‫ ذُو‬is always a mudahf. Unlike the other isms it never stands alone.

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Raf: Ends in ‫و‬ Nasb: Ends with ‫ا‬ Jarr: Ends with ‫ي‬

Word Regular Mudhaf Word Regular Mudhaf

Father ٌ ‫أ‬ Mouth
‫ب‬ َ ‫أَﺑﻮ‬ ‫ﻓ َ ٌﻢ‬ ‫ﻓُﻮ‬
ُ
‫أ َ ًﺑﺎ‬ ‫أَﺑﺎ‬ ‫ﻓ َ ًﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﻓﺎ‬

‫ب‬ ٍ َ‫أ‬ ِ َ‫أ‬ ‫ﻓ َ ٍﻢ‬ ‫ِﰲ‬

Brother ٌ In-law
‫أَخ‬ ‫أَﺧُ ْﻮ‬ ‫ﺣ ٌﻢ‬ ‫َﻮ‬
َ ُ
ً َ‫أ‬
‫ﺧﺎ‬ ‫أَﺧﺎ‬ ‫َ ًﺎ‬ ‫َﺎ‬

ٍ َ‫أ‬
‫خ‬ ْ
ِ َ‫أ‬ ‫ﺣ ٍﻢ‬
َ
‫َ ِﻲ‬
Possessor-of
‫ذُو‬
Always a
Mudhaf ‫ذَا‬

‫ِذي‬

Five Special Isms: Examples from the Quran

ٌ ْ ْ ْ
‫ﲔ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ﻼ‬ ‫ﺿ‬
ٍ ِ ُّ ٍ َ َ ‫ﻲ‬ ‫ﻔ‬
ِ ‫ﺑ‬َ ‫أ‬ ‫ن‬ ‫إ‬ ‫ﺔ‬‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺼ‬‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﻦ‬‫ﺤ‬ ‫ﻧ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺎ‬‫ﻨ‬ ‫ﻣ‬
ِ ‫ﺎ‬‫ﻴﻨ‬ ‫ﺑ‬َ ‫أ‬ ٰ
َ َ َ َ ّ ِ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ ّ َ ِ َ ِ ُ ّ َ ُ ُ َ ُ ُ ُ َ ُ َ ‫ ِإ‬When they said, "Joseph
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺎ‬‫ﺎﻧ‬ ‫إ‬ ‫ﺐ‬‫ﺣ‬َ ‫أ‬ ‫ﻮه‬ ‫ﺧ‬َ ‫أ‬‫و‬ ‫ﻒ‬‫ﻮﺳ‬ ‫ﻴ‬ ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﻮا‬ ‫ﺎﻟ‬‫ﻗ‬ ‫ذ‬
and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear
error. (12:8)

‫ﲑ‬ ‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ْ ‫ وﻧﻤﲑ أ ْﻫﻠﻨﺎ وﻧ ْﺤﻔﻆ أﺧﺎﻧﺎ وﻧ ْﺰداد ﻛ‬And we will obtain supplies for our family and protect our
‫ﻴ‬
ِ
ٍ َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َُ ِ َ َ
َ
brother and obtain an increase of a camel's load (12:65)

ْ ْ ‫ﺖ ﻧ ْﻔﺴﻪ ﻗ ْﺘﻞ أﺧﻴﻪ ﻓﻘﺘ ﻓﺄ‬ ْ

‫ﺎﺳ ِﺮﻳﻦ‬
ِ ‫ﺨ‬ ‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﻦ‬‫ﻣ‬ِ
َ َ َ َ ‫ﺢ‬‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺻ‬ َ َ َ َ َ ِ ِ َ َ َ ُ ُ َُ َ ‫ ﻓَﻄَ ّ َﻮﻋ‬And his soul permitted to him the murder of his
َ ُ َ َ
brother, so he killed him and became among the losers. (5:30)

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‫ﻒ‬
َ ‫ﻮﺳ‬ ‫ﺪ ِرﻳﺢ ﻳ‬ ‫ﺟ‬
ِ ‫ﻷ‬
َ َ ّ ‫ﺎل أَﺑﻮ ُ ْ ِإ‬‫ ﻗ‬their father said, "Indeed, I find the smell of Joseph (12:94)
ُ ُ َ ُ ِ ُ َ َ
ْ ْ ْ ْ ْ
‫ُ ْﻢ‬ ‫ُ ْﻢ وﺟﻪ ُأ َ ِﺑﻴ‬ ً
‫ﻒ أ َ ِو اﻃﺮﺣﻮه أَرﺿﺎ ﻳﺨ ُﻞ َﻟ‬ ‫ﻮﺳ‬ ‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻮا‬ ‫ﻠ‬ ‫ﺘ‬ ‫اﻗ‬
َ ُ ُ ُ ُ Kill Joseph or cast him out to [another] land;
َ َ ُ ُ َ
the countenance of your father will [then] be only for you, (12:9)

ْ ْ ْ
ِ َ ‫اﷲ ُذُو اﻟ َﻔﻀ ِﻞ اﻟ‬
‫ﻈ‬
ِ ‫ﻌ‬ َ ّ ‫ َو‬and Allah is the possessor of great bounty. (2:105)
ْ
‫ﻛ ّ َﻔ ْﻴ ِﻪ ِإ َ اﻟﻤﺎ ِء ﻟِﻴ ْﺒﻠ ُ َﻎ ﻓَﺎه‬
َ ‫ﻂ‬
ِ ‫ﺎﺳ‬
ِ ‫ﻛﺒ‬ like one who stretches his hands toward water [from afar, calling it] to reach
ُ َ َ ََ
his mouth, (13:14)

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REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE STUDENT

1. The two conditions of the ‫ ﻣﻀﺎف‬are that it must be ____________ and no

_____________.

2. The two conditions for the ‫ ﻣﻀﺎف إﻟﻴﻪ‬are that is must be in _________ status
and come directly after the ________________.

3. The status of ‫ اﻷ ﺎء اﻟﺨﻤﺴﺔ‬is shown by the ending _______________.

4. Translate to English: ‫ﺘﺎب‬

ِ ِ ‫____________________________ ﻓ َ ْﻮ َق اﻟ‬.

5. Translate  to  Arabic:  Allah’s  slave  _____________________________.  

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IN-CLASS
TEACHER-LED DISCUSSION POINTS
1. The  word  before  “of”  is  called  ___________________.  
2. The  word  after  “of”  is  called  _____________________.  
3. Whenever a pronoun is attached to an ism the pronoun is in ___________
status.

4. Translate to English: ِ‫ﻛ ِﻠﻤﺔ ُاﷲ‬ _____________________.

َ َ
5. Translate to Arabic: His word _____________________.

TEACHER-LED ACTIVITIES
Identify whether the following are idafahs (write Y or N). Some examples have been
done for you.

ْ‫ﻗ‬ ْ ْ ْ
1. ‫ﻚ‬‫ﻠ‬ِ ‫ﺒ‬ 2. ‫ﺤﻮن‬ ‫ﻠ‬ ‫ﻔ‬‫اﻟﻤ‬ 3. ‫ﺑﻌ ِﺪ ِﻣﻴﺜَﺎ ِﻗ ِﻪ‬
َ َ َ ُ ِ ُ ُُ َ
Y (special mudhaf) N(pronoun  can’t  be  
mudhaf, also second
word  isn’t  jarr)
ْ ْ ْ
4. ‫اﻷر ِض‬
َ ‫ات و‬
ِ ‫اﻟﺴﻤﺎو‬
َ ّ ‫َﻏ ْﻴﺐ‬ 5. ‫ت‬ ْ
ِ ‫ﺣ َﺬر اﻟ َﻤﻮ‬ 6. ‫ﻛُ ّﻠ َ َﻬﺎ‬
َ َ َ َ َ َ

ْ
7. ‫ُ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﻣﻌ‬ 8. ‫ﻛُ ّ ِﻞ َ ْ ٍء‬ 9. ‫أ َ َﺎ ِء َﻫ ٰـ ُﺆ َﻻ ِء‬
ََ

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‫اﷲ ‪10.‬‬ ‫ﺧ‬ ‫وﻗُﻮد َﻫﺎ ‪11.‬‬ ‫آل ﻓِ ْﺮﻋ ْﻮن ‪12.‬‬
‫ِ‬
‫َ َ َ َّ ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ‬

‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ٰ‬

‫ﻗُﻠُﻮ ِ ِ ْﻢ ‪13.‬‬ ‫ﺎت َﺗﺠ ِﺮي ‪14.‬‬
‫ﺟﻨ ّ َ ٍ‬ ‫ِ ﺘﺎب ‪15.‬‬ ‫ﻚ اﻟ‬
‫ذَﻟِ َ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ ُ‬

‫ٌ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬

‫ﻈ ٌ ‪16.‬‬
‫َﻋ َﺬاب َﻋ ِ‬ ‫َﺗﺤ ِ ﺎ ‪17.‬‬ ‫ﻴﻞ ‪18.‬‬
‫َﺑﻨِﻲ ِإﺳﺮا ِ َ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬

‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬
‫‪19.‬‬ ‫أَﻧﻔُ َﺴ ُ‬ ‫ﻓ َ ْﻮ َﻗ َﻬﺎ ‪20.‬‬ ‫‪21.‬‬ ‫أَﻧﺖ اﻟﻌ ِﻠ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ َ‬

‫ْ‬
‫اﻟﺴ َﻔ َﻬﺎء ‪22.‬‬
‫ﻦ ُّ‬ ‫آﻣ‬ ‫اﷲِ ‪23.‬‬
‫َﻋﻬ َﺪ ّ َ‬ ‫ﻛُﻨ ُ ْ ﺻﺎ ِد ِﻗﲔَ ‪24.‬‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫َ‬

‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬

‫‪25.‬‬ ‫ﻳﺪﺧُ َﻞ اﻟﺠﻨّ َ َﺔ‬ ‫‪26.‬‬ ‫ﺑﺄ ًﺳﺎ ﺷ ِﺪﻳﺪاً‬
‫َ‬ ‫َﺗﺤ ِ ِ ْﻢ ‪27.‬‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬

‫ْ‬
‫اﻟ ُﻤ ْﺠ ِﺮﻣﻮن اﻟﻨَّﺎر ‪28.‬‬ ‫‪29.‬‬ ‫ُ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﻫﺎﻧ‬ ‫ْ‬
‫ﺑُﺮ َ‬ ‫اﷲ ‪30.‬‬ ‫اﺗﺨﺬ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُ َ‬ ‫َّ َ َ َّ ُ‬

‫)‪Highlight the idafahs in the following ayat from Surah Kahf (11-15‬‬

‫ْﻬﻒ ﺳﻨﲔ ﻋﺪدًا ﴿‪ ﴾١١‬ﺑﻌ ْﺜﻨﺎ ْ ﻟﻨ ْﻌﻠﻢ أي اﻟْﺤ ْﺰﺑ ْﲔ أ ْ‬ ‫ْ‬

‫ﺣﺼ ٰﻰ ﻟِﻤﺎ‬ ‫َ ِ ِ ِ َ َ َ‬ ‫ﻀﺮ ْﺑﻨَﺎ ﻋ َ ٰ آذَا ِ ِ ْﻢ ِﰲ اﻟ‬ ‫ﻓ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُ َّ َ َ َ ُ ِ َ َ َ َ ّ ُ ِ َ ِ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬

‫ْﻢ وز ْدﻧﺎ ْ‬ ‫ْ ْ ٌ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ﻟﺒﺜﻮا أﻣ ًﺪا ﴿‪ ﴾١٢‬ﻧ ْﺤﻦ ﻧﻘﺺ ﻋﻠ ْ‬

‫ﻫ ًﺪى ﴿‪﴾١٣‬‬ ‫ﺮ‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻮا‬‫ﻨ‬ ‫آﻣ‬ ‫ﺔ‬ ‫ﻴ‬ ‫ﺘ‬ ‫ﻓ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ﻢ‬ ‫إ‬ ‫ﻖ‬ ‫ﺤ‬ ‫ﺎﻟ‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﺄ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﻴ‬
‫ِ َ ِ َ ُ ُ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ َ ُ َ ِّ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ّ‬
‫َ ِ َّ ُ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫َ‬
‫َّ ُ َ ُ ّ ُ َ َ َ َ َ ُ‬ ‫َِ ُ ََ‬

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‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫ْ ْ‬ ‫ْ‬

‫ً‬
‫ﻋﻮ ِﻣﻦ دو ِﻧ ِﻪ ِإﻟَ ٰـﻬﺎ ﻟّ َ َﻘﺪ‬ ‫اﻷر ِض ﻟﻦ ﻧﺪ‬
‫ات و َ‬‫اﻟﺴ َﻤﺎو ِ‬ ‫ورﺑﻄﻨﺎ ﻋ ٰ ﻗﻠﻮ ﻢ إذ ﻗﺎﻣﻮا ﻓﻘﺎﻟﻮا رﺑﻨﺎ رب‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ َّ ُ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ ُ ِ ِ ِ َ ُ َ َ ُ َ ّ ُ َ َ ّ ُ َّ َ‬

‫ﻗ ْﻠﻨﺎ إذًا ﺷﻄﻄًﺎ ﴿‪ ﴾١٤‬ﻫـﺆﻻ ِء ﻗ ْﻮﻣﻨﺎ اﺗﺨﺬوا ﻣﻦ دوﻧﻪ آ ًﺔ ﻟ ْﻮﻻ ﻳﺄْﺗﻮن ﻋﻠ ْ ﻢ ﺴ ْﻠﻄﺎن ﺑﲔ ﻓﻤﻦْ‬
‫َ ٰ ُ َ َ ُ َ َّ َ ُ ِ ُ ِ ِ ِ َ َّ َ َ ُ َ َ َ ِ ِ ُ َ ٍ َ ِ ّ ٍ َ َ‬ ‫ُ َ ِ َ َ‬

‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬
‫ً‬
‫ﻛ ِﺬﺑﺎ ﴿‪﴾١٥‬‬
‫اﷲِ َ‬ ‫ٰ‬
‫ﱰى َﻋ َ ّ َ‬‫ﻦ اﻓ َ َ‬
‫أَﻇ َﻠ ُﻢ ِﻣ ّ َﻤ ِ‬

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