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Usage of Arabic Present Active Participle in the Qur'an: Understanding

Challenges in English Translation

Article  in  The Iranian EFL Journal · October 2021

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Asian ESP Journal | Volume 17 Issue 3.2 233

Usage of Arabic Present Active Participle in the Qur’an: Understanding

Challenges in English Translation

Fida M. Matter Al-Mawla

College of Arts, Wasit University, Iraq

Bio-profile:
With PhD in Linguistics and Translation from Mustansiriyah University, Iraq, Dr. Fida
Muhsin Matter Al-Mawla is currently the Dean of the College of Arts, Wasit University, as
per the nomination of the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Affairs. She has
been teaching English and Arabic Translation for 20 years. She founded the Department of
Translation at the College of Arts, Wasit University in 2012 and headed the Department for six
years. She has a lot of research papers and two books published in her credit. Moreover, she
has supervised many theses for Master students and has been a member of examining
committees for PhD and MA students in different Iraqi Universities.

Abstract
This study investigated three Qur’anic transaltions (by M. H Shaker, 2002; A. Y. Ali, 1968;
and Khan, M. M. and M.T. Al-Hilali, 2007) in an attempt to analyze and assess their renditions
of the present active particple or Nomen Agentis contrastively in Arabic and English to
understand the challenges from translators’ point of view. Findings indicated that Nomen
Agentis in Arabic can be translated into English not only as a present participle but also as an
adjectival, adverbial, prepositional phrase as well as a verbal phrase within a complete clause.
Thus, it poses a real challenge to translators in translating this kind of participle, especially
since the Qur'anic language is eloquent and full of implications and indications, and therefore,
placing a great deal of responsibility on the translator’s shoulders. Regarding the investigated
translations, the study concluded that present active participle or Nomen Agentis in Arabic is
syntactically and semantically different from the English present participle. Hence,
syntactically equivalent translation of Quran from Arabic to English cannot be rendered.

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Key words: Nomen Agentis, present active participle, Qur'an, syntactical equivalent, English
Present Participle

Introduction
Translation from one language to another is a difficult task fraught with many obstacles. The
common problems in all translation works range from those related to syntax and grammar to
rhetoric and lexico-semantics to cultural idioms and expressions. However, the task becomes
exceedingly difficult when the languages involved are from different linguistic systems such
as Arabic, a emitic language and English, an Indo-European language.
Although Arabic and English have some similarities, these are outnumbered by the differences
that set them apart. Both have alphabets and do not use characters, but the alphabets are
different, with English having 26 letters as compared to 28 in Arabic. While English language
is written and read from left to right, Arabic is its opposite, written and read from right to left.
In orthography, whereas English has a set system of capitalization and punctuation, Arabic
letters take a slightly modified form depending upon their morphological position. They are
written with ever so slight a difference in initial, medial or final position. In Arabic, the letters
always have the same pronunciation, unlike English which is full of norms as well as
exceptions. Certain English letters are not found in Arabic and vice versa. The order of words
in English sentences is usually a subject followed by verb and then by object (SVO), whereas
in Arabic it is usually a verb followed by subject and then object (VSO). Though it is true that
many English words trace their origin to Arabic, nevertheless, most words in Arabic have
different singular and plural forms, as well as gender forms, not necessarily seen in English.
Both Arabic and English exhibit the syntactic elements of present participle that is called "agent
noun" in Arabic. However, while in English it has only one form, i.e., ‘-ing’; whereas in Arabic
it has two forms with different varieties, as shown below.
This study investigated the challenges posed by present active participle in Arabic language
while translating the Quran into English. Present participle is a 'Nomen Agentis' or an agent
noun, a grammatical aspect common to both Arabic and English. In Arabic, it could be defined
as a derived noun used semantically to denote an abstract ongoing action or indicate a
permanent or quasi-permanent meaning. It has its own peculiarities in Arabic syntax and
semantics. In English, it is defined as a form of various non-finite verbs that can act as the
head of verb phrases functioning as modifiers, either adverbial or adjectival. English exhibits
this kind of participle in the "–ing" form.

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Asian ESP Journal | Volume 17 Issue 3.2 235

Nomen Agentis (Active Participle) in Arabic

Nomen agentis is a term used by some grammarians such as Thatcher (1942), Wright (1967),
and Socin (1922) to refer to the active present participle in Arabic.
Inflecting for case, gender, determination, and number, it can take various forms, for example:
• (nasir) “supporter” ( indefinite singular masculine)
• (alnasir) “the supporter” ( definite singular masculine)
• (nasira) “supporter” ( indefinite singular feminine)
• (nasiran) “supporters” ( nominative indefinite dual masculine)
• (nasirain) “supporters” ( accusative indefinite dual masculine)
• (nasiratan) “supporters” ( nominative indefinite dual feminine)
• (nasiratain) “supporters” ( accusative indefinite dual feminine)
• (alnasirun) “the supporters” ( nominative definite plural masculine)
• (nasireen) “supporters” ( accusative indefinite plural masculine)
• (nasirat) “supporters” ( indefinite plural feminine)
It can be defined as a derived noun used to denote a permanent or quasi-permanent action along
with its doer, (Yaqub, 2005). Hasan (1980, p. 238) also considers it as “a derived noun which
denotes an absolute temporary action as well as its agent." Whereas other grammarians like
Radhwan (1987, p. 19) regard the active participle as an "adjective denoting an action, its
incidence and its agent."
It is usually associated with continual or habitual action (Bateson, 1967). The Arabic active
participle does not in itself convey any suggestion of time; hence [qatil] (killer), for example,
may mean 'one who has killed' as well as 'one who is killing', (Socin, 1922). It is used to
designate the person or thing to which the verbal idea attaches itself as descriptive of it. It
indicates a lasting or continuous action on the part of the agent. Nomen agentis itself, as stated
by Wright (1967) does not include the idea of any fixed time. Thus, the lasting and continuous
state of the agent might be deduced only from some other expression in the sentence, which
can point to a specific time, from the connection of the context or from the nature of the thing
or the manner of the thought.
Nomen agentis takes the form [fa’il] for triradical verbs, i.e., consisting of three letters. It can
also be derived from quadriradical verbs, i.e., consisting of four letters, by using the imperfect
form of the verb, then replacing the imperfect prefix [yu-] with [mu-] and the vowel before the
last consonant is to be [i]. This last rule applies to other verbs consisting of more than four
letters. Subsequently, the normal pattern will generally be [mu-…iC], e.g., [mustabshir]

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“rejoicing”, (Gadalla, 2005) and (Socin, 1922). It is declined like other nouns, e.g., [katibun,
katibin, katiban] “writer” and generally has a sound plural, e.g., [katiboon katibeen] “writers”.
The same is also applied to the feminine (Thatcher, 1942).
Most Arab grammarians, acclaimed among whom are “Ibn Hisham” (2004), “Al-Afghani”
(2003), believe that a nomen agentis works like its verb, i.e., it takes a subject, sometimes
implied, and an object especially when it is prefixed to the definite article [al]. In this case, it
denotes the present, past and future. However, if it comes without the definite article [al], it
may operate like its verb on some conditions: 1- It should refer to present or future; 2- It must
be preceded by a negative or interrogative particle; 3- It should be a predicate, an adjective or
an adverb of manner. See also “Al-Ghalaiyini” (2007).

Present Participle in English

Present participle is a non-finite verb form which may act as the head of a verb phrase
functioning as modifiers, whether adverbial or adjectival. Sometimes it is called imperfective
participle in "–ing" form, (Trask, 1993). Present participles have a basic role like those of
adjectives rather than nouns, (Matthews, 2007). The same opinion is shared by Azabdaftari
(2002) who adds that a distinction should be noticed between the present participle and the
gerund. The latter is traditionally described as verbal nouns; whereas the former is said to be a
verbal adjective. This means that the present participles have adjective-like functions. In the
same vein, Crystal (1985, p. 221) mentions that it is "a traditional GRAMMATICAL term
referring to a word derived from a verb and used as an ADJECTIVE… It is thus distinct from
the traditional notion of a 'gerund', where the word derived from a verb is used as a NOUN."
Present participle can often be used as adjectives before nouns, or after 'be' and other copular
verbs. It might also be used after nouns in order to define or identify nouns (Swan,1995). Quirk
and Greenbaum (1973) highlight that the present participle is used as a pre-modifier when it
indicates a permanent or characteristic feature.

Methodology and Analysis

From the Qur'an, 27 ayahs have been selected randomly along with their translations for
analysis and assessment. Subsequently, all the syntactic realizations used in translating the
ayahs analyze the active participles used by the three translators.
The three selected translations are those of Shakir (2002), Ali (1968), and Khan and Al-Hilali
(2007). However, one should bear in mind that the high elevated style of the Qur'an and its
eloquence as well as rhetorical items are incomparable to any translation. Besides, prescribing

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a certain strategy to be followed by all translators in similar linguistic situations seems to be

unfeasible due to the extra-linguistic factors surrounding the process of translation (Sirriyya,
2009).
The language of Quran is classical Arabic, different from dialectal Arabic and modern standard
Arabic.
The researcher dealt with the following examples in a systematic way of analysis and
assessment in order to show the readers how those active participles are rendered in English.
The names or titles of Suras are translated according to Shakir (2002):
(12: Hud) [fala’alaka tarikun ba’dh ma yuha ilaik] -1
Shakir: "Then, it may be that you will give up part of what is revealed to you."
Ali: "Perchance thou mayest (feel the inclination) to give up a part of what is revealed unto
thee."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "So, perchance you (Muhammad) may give up a part of what is revealed
to you."
The nomen agentis is translated as a verbal in all three translations. The tense is either future
or present. One should exclude the idea of permanence for this word due to the general meaning
of the ayah. It indicates here what Hasan (1980, p.238) states, an absolute temporary action
since it talks about Prophet Mohammed.
)30 :The Cow/Baqara( [ini ja’ilun fil ardh khalifatan]) -2
Shakir: "I am going to place in the earth a khalif."
Ali: "I will create a vicegerent on earth."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on
earth."
Futurity is evident in all target texts though in different ways. However, the choice of a suitable
equivalent might be difficult since 'place' does not give the intended meaning of the source text.
)97 :The Cow/Baqara( [musadiqan lima bain yadaih] -3
Shakir: "verifying that which is before it."
Ali: "a confirmation of what went before."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "confirming what came before it."
Here the Arabic active participle is rendered as its counterpart, i.e. English present participle,
in the first and third versions. The present participle here is used as adverbial expressing reason,
i.e. 'to verify' or 'to confirm'. Yet, Ali renders it as a noun keeping the intended meaning of the
source text.

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Sometimes a nomen agentis works just like its verb, i.e. taking a nominative subject and an
object in the accusative form under certain circumstance, as mentioned in the previous section.
For further details, see (Ibn Hisham, 2004, pp. 397-401). Consider the following ayah:
)71 : Suad( [ini khaliqun basharan min teen] -4
The noun following the nomen Agentis is its object on which the action of the active participle
falls, [basharan]. The same happens with the rendition of the above ayah:
Shakir: "Surely I am going to create a mortal from dust."
Ali: "I am about to create man from clay"
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Truly, I am going to create man from clay."
Again, futurity is expressed by using a verbal. All translators choose the same verb, 'create' to
be an equivalent to the Arabic active participle. The object of the active participle is well
rendered as an object to the verb 'create'.
Some other times, the object of the active participle might be in the genitive by virtue of
annexation. Consider:
)38:The Rangers/Al-Saffat( [inekum latha’iqu alathab alaleem] - 5
Shakir: "Most surely you will taste the painful punishment."
Ali: "Ye shall indeed taste of the Grievous penalty."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Verily, you (pagans of Makkah) are going to taste the painful torment."
The above Nomen agentis is rendered into a future verbal and it is followed by an object, except
the second translation where the verb is followed by a prepositional phrase. This means that
the noun following the Nomen agentis, whether an object or genitive, carries almost the same
denotation. The above translators are well aware of this fact and of the semantic similarity
between the object and the genitive in the rendition of the above ayah.

)3 :The Unbelievers/Kafirun ( [wala antum abidoon ma abudu] -6

Shakir: "Nor do you serve Him Whom I serve."
Ali: "Nor will ye worship that which I worship."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Nor will you worship that which I worship."
All the above translations use verbs as equivalents to the active participle. Shakir (2002) uses
the verb 'serve' in the present simple for the active participle. The other translators prefer to use
the same verb, i.e. 'worship' just in future tense. Here, the idea of permanence and renewal is
clearly shown in the source text along with the high elevated style of using verbs and their
derived active participles together. It is hard for any translator to create the same effect on the

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target reader of the translation of the Glorious Qur'an, not only in these ayahs but in almost all
other ayahs.
[innema anta munthiru man yakhshaha] -7
)45 :Those who pull out/Naziat(
Shakir: "You are only a warner to him who would fear it."
Ali: "thou art but a Warner for such as fear it."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "You (O Muhammad) are only warner for those who fear it."
Nomen agentis is rendered by all translators in the same way, i.e. as a noun. They choose to
have the same noun followed by a prepositional phrase. If the translator chooses a nominal
structure, he/she depends on various factors such as the availability of a particular structure in
the target language, the translator's knowledge of this availability, and his/her awareness and
full competence of the source language text, (Gadalla, 2005).
)9 :The Rock/Hijr( [wa inna lahu lahafidhun] -8
Shakir: "and We will most surely be its guardian."
Ali: "And We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "and surely We will guard it (from corruption)."
Shakir (2002) opts to use a noun as an equivalent to the source active participle; whereas the
other translators use a verb in the future tense to express the notion of permanence and
continuity.
)12 :The Overwhelming Calamity/Ghashiyah( [fiha aynun jarya] -9
Shakir: "Therein is a fountain flowing."
Ali: "Therein will be a bubbling spring."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Therein will be a running spring."
Here, the active participle refers to the property of the preceding noun. Simply, it is an
adjectival in the form of a nomen agentis whether preceding or following the nous it modifies.
All the above translators have it also as an adjective in the form of English present participle.
From a pragmatic point of view, the equivalents 'flowing' and 'running' are more appropriate
than 'bubbling' in this context.
[wujuhun yawma ithin musfira. dhahikatun mustabshira] -10
)39 -38 :He Frowned/Abasa(
Shakir: "(Many) faces on that day shall be bright, laughing, joyous."
Ali: "Some Faces that Day will be beaming, laughing, rejoicing."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Some faces that Day will be bright (true believers of Islamic
Monotheism), laughing, rejoicing at good news (of Paradise)."

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The three active participles here are describing the noun '‫( 'وجوه‬faces). Their translations seem
to be of the same quality, whether mere adjectives or present participle.
)47 :The Cave/Kahf( [watara alardha barizatan] -11
Shakir: "and you will see the earth a leveled plain."
Ali: "and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "and you will see the earth as a leveled plain."
It seems that all translators prefer to use a nominal to express the intended meaning of the
source text. The nominal consists of a pre-modifier and a head noun. The choice of 'level(ed),
plain and stretch' depends on the available exegeses of the Glorious Quran; otherwise, another
word, e.g., 'emerging', might be more appropriate if we take it literally without considering its
implied meaning or connotation.
)283 :The Cow/ Baqarah( [fa’innahu athimun qalbuhu] -12
Shakir: his heart is surely sinful.
Ali: His heart is tainted with sin.
Khan and Al-Hilali: surely, his heart is sinful.
Shakir and' Khan and Al-Hilali' use an adjective to be an equivalent to the active participle;
whereas Ali prefers to use a verb in the passive followed by a prepositional phrase to convey
the intended meaning. The rhetorical aspect of this ayah lies in pre-modifying the noun with
this adjectival active participle. It seems that this fact is passed unnoticed by the translators;
otherwise, they should have it as' verily, sinful is his heart'.
)7 :The Pilgrimage/Haj ( [wa’anna assa’ta atiyatun] -13
Shakir: "And because the hour is coming."
Ali: "And verily the Hour will come."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "And surely, the Hour is coming."
The above active participle is rendered into a verb phrase, either in the future tense or in the
present progressive to indicate the near future.
)49 : The Light/Nur( [ya’tu ilaihi muth’ineen] -14
Shakir: "They come to him quickly, obedient."
Ali: "they come to him with all submission."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "they come to him willingly with submission."
Each version of translation has its own peculiarity here. Shakir uses an adverb of manner along
with an adjective; whereas Ali uses a prepositional phrase. Khan and Al-Hilali, on the other
hand, use an adverb of manner followed by a prepositional phrase.
)18 :The Cave/ Kahf( [wakalbuhum basitun thira’aihi] -15

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Shakir: "while their dog (lay) outstretching its paws."

Ali: "their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs."
Al-Hilali and Khan: "and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs."
All the above translators render the active participle as its English counterpart, i.e. the present
participle in an adverbial notion to refer to what is called by Gadalla (2005: 26) 'historic
present'.
[wala taqulana lisha’in inni fa’ilun thalika ghada] -16
)23 :The Cave/Kahf(
Shakir: "And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow."
Ali: "Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow"."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow." "
They all agree to use a verbal in the simple future not only because the active participle itself
conveys this tense, but through the context and the presence of the word '‫( 'غدا‬tomorrow). It is
just as Wright (1967) puts it when he says that the lasting and continuous state of the agent
might be deduced only from some other expression in the sentence, which can point to a
specific time, from the connection of the context, or from the nature of the thing or the manner
of thought. Consequently, he believes that the active participle itself "does not include the idea
of any fixed time."

)35 :The Cave/ Kahf( [wahua dhalimun linafsihi] -17

Shakir: "while he was unjust to himself."
Ali: "in a state (of mind) unjust to his soul."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "unjust to himself."
The nomen agentis in this ayah is adjectival. The active participle, here, is rendered by all
translators as the same lexical adjective since it conveys a state of being.
)46 :Marium( [araghibun anta an alihati] -18
Shakir: "Do you dislike my gods."
Ali: "Dost thou hate my gods."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Do you reject my gods."
The most suitable equivalent to the nomen agentis here is a verbal in the present simple. Though
each translator chooses a deferent lexical item, they remain almost identical in their semantic
denotation.
)16 :The Great Event/Waqia( [mutak’een alayha mutaqabileen] -19
Shakir: "Reclining on them, facing one another."

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Ali: "Reclining on them, facing each other."

Khan and Al-Hilali: "Reclining thereon, face to face"
The first active participle is rendered as its English counterpart, expressing adverbial notion by
all translators. However, the second one is rendered as a present participle by the first two
translators; whereas the last translators use an idiom to indicate the adverbial state of the agent.

)101 :Ta Ha( [khalideen fihi] )‫(خالدين فيه‬-20

Shakir: "Abiding in this (state)"
Ali: "They will abide in this (state)."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "They will abide in that (state in the Fire of Hell)."
Shakir (2002) uses a present participle to be an equivalent to the nomen agentis mentioned in
the source text and to describe a state of being. The other translators, however, use a verb in
the future tense to convey the same idea.

)3 :The Prophets/ Anbiya( [lahiyatan qulubuhum] -21

Shakir: "Their hearts trifling."
Ali: "Their hearts toying as with trifles."
Khan and Al-Hilali: "With their hearts occupied (with evil things)."
Shakir (2002) uses a present participle as an adjectival equivalent to the nomen agentis. Ali
(1968), on the other hand, tries to illustrate the meaning of this active participle by employing
a present participle with a prepositional phrase. Khan and Al-Hilali (2007), on their part, use a
past participle in the role of adjectival along with further information between brackets.
)28 :The Prophets/ Anbiya( [wahum min khishyatihi mushfiqun] -22
Shakir: "and for fear of Him they tremble."
Ali: "and they stand in awe and reverence of His (glory)."
Al-Hilali and Khan: "And they stand in awe for fear of Him."
The verb used by Shakir (2002) does not give the exact meaning of the nomen agentis. The
same happens with Ali (1968) and Khan and Al-Hilali (2007)' who use the verb 'stand' followed
by a prepositional phrase. An adjective, like 'horrified' or 'frightened' may do in this context.

)47 :The Believers/ Moaminun( [waqawmuhuma lana abidun]-23

Shakir: while their people serve us."
Ali: "and their people are subject to us."

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Al-Hilali and Khan: "and their people are obedient to us with humility (and we use them to
serve us as we like)."
The active participle here is rendered differently in all three translations. However, it seems
that all of them are successful in conveying the intended message of the source text which is
the most important thing in rendering the Glorious Qur'an.
)22:The Originator/ Fatir( [wama anta bimusmi’n man fil qubur] -24
Shakir: "and you cannot make those hear who are in the graves."
Ali: "but thou canst not make those to hear who are (buried) in graves."
Al-Hilali and Khan: "but you cannot make hear those who are in graves."
The verbal consisting of two verbs here, i.e. 'make' and 'hear' is shared by all translators. The
active participle is well rendered by this verbal.
[qul Allah khaliqu kuli shay’ wahua alwahid alqahhar] -25
(16: The Thunder/Ra’d)
Shakir: "Say Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Supreme."
Ali: "Say: "God is the creator
Of all things: He is
The One, the Supreme and Irresistible." "
Khan and Al-Hilali: "Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things; and He is the One, the Irresistible."
"
All three translations have used the same equivalent, i.e., "the creator" which is a derived noun
from the verb "create". Here we find some similarity between the root of the two term in Arabic
and English. The Arabic on is derived from the verb "‫( "خلق‬created) and the English on is
derived from the verb “create". Hence, we may say that they are similar morphologically.
[fawailun lilqasiyati qulubuhum min thikr Allah] - 26
(22: The Companies/ Zumar)
Shakir: "woe to those whose hearts are hard against the remembrance of Allah."
Ali: "Woe to those whose hearts
Are hardened against celebrating
The praises of God!"
Al-Hilali and Khan: "So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of
Allah!”
In the first translation, Shakir (2002) uses an adjective to be the equivalent of the Arabic active
participle; whereas the second and third translators use the past participle as an adjectival.
(35: The Ant/Naml) [wa’inni mursilatun ilayhim bihadiyatin] - 27

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Shakir: "And surely I am going to send a present to them"

Ali: " But I am going to send Him a present"
Al-Hilali and Khan: "But verily, I am going to send him a present"
All the three translators use near future to render the active participle. This was a good choice
to be the right equivalent. If they use the present continuous, this will be adequate.
A final remark will be stated after this analysis and assessment of all the above translated ayahs.
Not all Qur'anic active participles are analyzed in this paper, but the chosen ones are adequate
in showing some syntactic aspects of the translation of Arabic nomen agentis.

Analysis of Results
The following table summarizes all the syntactic realizations used in translating the analyzed
active participles by the three translators:

Table 1
Syntactic realizations of active participles by translators
No. Arabic Active Shakir's Ali's Translation Al-Hilali and
participle Translation Khan
1 [tarikun] Verbal (future) verbal Verbal
(you will give up)
2 [ja’ilun] Verbal (future) Verbal (future) Verbal(future)
(I am going to place)
3 [musadiqan] Present participle noun Present participle
(verifying)
4 [khaliqun] Verbal (future) Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
(I am going to create)
5 [tha’iqu] Verbal (future) Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
(You will taste)
6 [abidoon](serve) Verbal (present Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
simple)
7 [munthiru] (Warner) A noun A noun A noun
8 [hafidhun](guardian) A noun Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
9 [jarya] (flowing) Present participle Present participle Present participle
10 [musfira]( Bright) Adjective Present participle Adjective
Present participle
[dhahikatun](laughing) Present participle Present participle Present participle

[mustabshira] (joyous) adjective Present participle

11 [barizatan] Adj. + noun Adj. + noun Adj. + noun
(a leveled plain)
12 [athimun](sinful) Adjective Past participle Adjective
+p.p.

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13 [atiyatun] (is coming) Verbal(present Verbal (future) Verbal (present

continuous) continuous)
14 [muth’ineen] Adv. +adj. p.p. Adv. +p.p.
(quickly, obedient)
15 [basitun] Present participle Present participle Present participle
(outstretching)
16 [fa’ilun] (I will do) Verbal (future) Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
17 [dhalimun] (unjust) Adjective Adjective Adjective
18 [raghibun] (dislike) Verbal (present Verbal (present Verbal (present
simple) simple) simple)
19 [mutak’een](reclining) Present participle Present participle Present participle
[mutaqabileen] (facing Present participle Present participle N. +P.P.
one another)
20 [khalideen](abiding) Present participle Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
21 [lahiyatan](trifling) Present participle Present participle Past participle
22 [mushfiqun](tremble) Verbal (present Verbal (present Verbal (present
simple) simple)+ P.P. simple)+ P.P.
23 [abidun](serve us) Verbal (present Adj. +P.P. Adj. +P.P.
simple)
24 [musmi’n] (make V.P. (present V.P. (present V.P. (present
those hear) simple) simple) simple)
25 [khaliqu](Creator) Noun Noun Noun
26 [qasiyati](hard) Adjective Past participle Past participle
27 [mursilatun] (I am Verbal (future) Verbal (future) Verbal (future)
going to send)

The 27 chosen ayahs contain 30 active participles and with three translations for each one.
Thus, we have a total of 90 translations. The most significant finding from the above table is
that the most recurrent syntactic realization of Arabic active participles are verbals, whether
present simple, continuous or future, and not the present participle. They prevail 38 times out
of 90.
The syntactic realization of Arabic active participle as present participle occurs only 22 times,
relegating it to the second position. Adjectives stand third by recurring 13 times, followed by
nouns at nine times out of 90. Past participles are at the fifth place with four recurrences,
adverbs at sixth with two recurrences and, finally, prepositional phrases with only one
recurrence. Table 2 below shows the recurrence of syntactic realizations as percentages:

Table 2
The recurrence of syntactic realizations as percentages
No. Syntactic Realizations Recurrences Percentages
1 Verbal 38 42.22
2 Present Participles 22 24.44

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3 Adjectives 14 15.55
4 Nouns 9 10
5 Past Participles 4 4.44
6 Adverbs 2 2.22
7 Prepositional Phrase 1 1.11

For ease of use, Table 2 is depicted graphically in Figure 1 below.

Prepositional
Adverbs
Past Participles
Phrase
Nouns5%2% Verbal
1%
10% Verbal Present Participles
Adjectives 42% Adjectives
16%
Nouns
Present
Past Participles
Participles
24% Adverbs
Prepositional Phrase

Figure 1. Recurrence of syntactic realizations of active participles

Thus, nomen agentis in Arabic is translated into English not only as a present participle but
also as a noun, adjectival, adverbial, past participle, and prepositional phrase apart from a
verbal phrase within a complete clause.

Conclusions
The nomen agentis in Arabic, or what is called (active participle) is different from present
participle in English syntactically and semantically. Owing to morphology and language
structure of both Arabic and English, some Arabic participles have to be rendered as verbals,
adjectivals, adverbials, nominals and prepositional phrases. Therefore, it is unnecessary and
futile to render this aspect into its syntactic equivalent in English.

The translators of the Qur'an have to know all shades of meaning and implications of
vocabularies and ayahs in advance. Moreover, it is quite impossible for any translator to convey
the exact intended meaning and myriad shades of meaning implied in every single verse

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mentioned in the Qur'an due to the limitations of translation This sometimes obligates the
translator to use more than one word to convey the meaning of a single item. Finally, nomen
agentis designates a lot of meanings in a single lexeme. This is a sort of terseness, which is a
characteristic of rhetoric.

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