‫إسم الطالب‬

‫إسم األستاذ‬

‫سنة‬

‫‪1‬‬
 Mufrad (ٌ‫فرد‬
َ ‫) ُم‬
In Arabic, a singular word that has a meaning is called al-Mufrad. This is also
sometimes called al-Kalima (‫)ك ِلمة‬. There are three types of al-Mufrad;

i. Ism (‫ )اِسْم‬This is a noun; a word that indicates a thing or object, and

does not contain a tense in the meaning. For example, ‘a book’ (‫) ِكتاب‬,
‘a man’ (‫ )رجل‬and ‘London’ (‫)لندن‬.
ii. Fi’l (‫ )فِ ْعل‬This is a verb, namely that it indicates a tense in the word.
There are three tenses; past, present and future. An order and
prohibition are also types of tenses in Arabic. For example, ‫( كتَبْت‬I
wrote), ْ‫تضرب‬ ِ ‫( ال‬Do not hit) and ‫( ا ْس َمع‬I listen).
iii. Harf (‫ ) َح ْرف‬This is a particle. These are the smaller words in a
language that help to complete the meaning of a sentence. For
example, ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘to’ and so on. Examples in Arabic are ‫( في‬in),
‫( علي‬upon) and ‫( ِمن‬from).

Murakkab ٌ‫ُمركٌب‬

If there are two or more words combined together in Arabic, then this is called
al-Murakkab. For example, ِ‫( كتاب للا‬the book of Allah). This is made up two
parts, ‫ كتاب‬and ‫للا‬. Primarily, there are two types of al-Murakkab:
1. ‫مركب تام‬
2. ‫مركب ناقِص‬

ٌ‫مركبٌتام‬
This is a combination of two or more words that makes up a complete sentence.
For example, ‫‘ زيد عا ِلم‬Zaid is a scholar.’
There are two types of Murakkab Taam;

•‫ ج ْملة اِسمية‬This is a full sentence that begins with a noun (‫)اسم‬. E.g. ‫االمام موجود‬
(The Imam is present). Here, the sentence begins with the word ‫ االمام‬, which is
a noun. Therefore, the sentence is called a ‫جملة اسمية‬.

• ‫ جملة فع ِلية‬This is a full sentence that begins with a verb (‫)فعل‬. E.g. , ‫( سمعت زيدًا‬I
heard Zaid). Here, the sentence begins with the word ‫سمعت‬, which is a verb.
Therefore the sentence is called a ‫جملة فعلية‬.

Note:
If the sentence starts with a particle (‫) َح ْرف‬, then we look at the next word to see
whether it is a noun or a verb. Then, accordingly, it will be referred to as a
nominal or verbal sentence.

2
ٌ‫مركبٌناقِص‬
This is a combination of two or more words that makes up an incomplete
sentence. For example, ‫‘ كتاب زيد‬the book of Zaid.’ Though this is made up of
two words, it is not a full, complete sentence.
Murakkab Naaqis also has two types;
1. ‫مركب اضافي‬
2. ‫مركب توصيفي‬

‫مركبٌاِضافي‬
In terms of meaning, this is two or more words combined that give the meaning
of ownership or possession. Consider the two following expressions:

* ‫‘ كتاب زيد‬The Book of Zaid’ or ‘Zaid’s book’.

There are two main parts of this expression, ‘Zaid’ and ‘book’. Between the
two words, there is a relationship of ownership or possession. Zaid is the
owner, and the book is the object that is owned.

* ِ‫‘ رسول للا‬The Messenger of Allah’ or ‘Allah’s Messenger’.

Again, there are two words ‘Messenger’ and ‘Allah’. The relationship between
the two is one of ownership.

Note; the word ‘of’ between two words, or the ‘s’ apostrophe are a useful clue
in English to help us know that it is ‫مركب اضافي‬. For example, ‘the house of
Allah’, or ‘Allah’s house’.

Each of the two parts have their own name. The first part is called ‫ مضاف‬and the
second part is called ‫مضاف اليه‬. For example;

‫كتاب زيد‬

‫مضاف اليه‬ ‫مضاف‬

The rules of ‫ مضاف‬and ‫مضافٌاليه‬

There are three very important rules that must be followed.

1. The ‫ مضاف‬never has ‫ ال‬on it.
2. The ‫ مضاف‬never a double noon on it (This is called ‫تنوين‬, i.e. ًِ ًً )
3. The ‫ مضاف اليه‬is usually read with a Kasra (Jarr) at the end.

Additionally, if the ‫ مضاف‬has a ‫ ن‬of dual or plural, sound

3
masculine (‫)جمع مذكر سالم‬, then this ‫ ن‬drops too. For example, ‘the pen of zaid’ is
‫قلم زيد‬. The ‘two pens of Zaid’ would be ‫قلما زيد‬. This was originally ‫قل َمان زيد‬.

‫مركبٌتوصيفي‬
ِ
This is where there are two or more words that give the meaning of description. For
example, ‘blue book’. Here, the first word is the description and the item being
described is the ‘book’.
In English we tend to mention the description first and then the described object, like
‘red badge’. In Arabic however, the described item is mentioned first and then the
description of it. For example:
‫بَيْت َكبِيْر‬, a large house.

The first part is called the ‫ َم ْوصوف‬and the second part is called the ‫صفَت‬.
ِ

‫بيت كبير‬

‫صفت‬
ِ ‫موصوف‬

The rules of ٌ‫ موصوف‬and ‫صفت‬

The Mausuf and Sifat are usually identical to another. In other words;
-If the Mausuf is masculine, so is the Sifat.
ْ on it, so does the Sifat.
-If the Mausuf has ‫ال‬
-If the Mausuf has a Kasra, so does the Sifat.
-If the Mausuf is singular, so is the Sifat.

Summary.

‫مفرد‬

‫حرف‬ ‫فعل‬ ‫اسم‬

‫مركب‬

‫ناقص‬ ‫تام‬

‫مركب اضافي‬ ‫مركب توصيفي‬ ‫جملة اسمية‬ ‫جملة فعلية‬

4
Exercises.

Look at the following; identify whether they are (i) describing an object (ii)
describing a possession or ownership.

Zaid’s pen _____________

The Public Library _____________

The Eiffel Tower _____________

The Tower of London _____________

A clean city _____________

Broken watch _____________

The teacher’s watch _____________

Translate the following incomplete sentences into Arabic.

The cheap pen. ______________________________________

The Imam’s pen. ______________________________________

The Mosque of the Prophet. ________________________________

The large mosque. ______________________________________

An open door. ______________________________________

The door of the library. ________________________________

Just by looking at the following expressions, identify whether they are

Murakkab Izaafi or Tausifi.

‫المسجد االقصي‬ _______ ‫روح القدس‬ ________

‫ِين‬
ِ ‫ع ْلوم الد‬ _______ ‫اليمني‬
ْ ‫الرجْ ل‬
ِ ________

‫العَبْد المسْلم‬ _______ ‫سبيل للا‬ ________

Vocabulary
‫ رخيص‬cheap
‫قلم‬ pen
‫كبير‬ big
‫ مفتوح‬open
‫باب‬ door
‫ مكتبة‬library

5
Using the vocabulary provided, construct the following sentences.

The new key __________________________

The key of the house __________________________

An old book __________________________

The old book __________________________

The book is old. __________________________

The name of the boy __________________________

A broken bed __________________________

The bed is broken. __________________________

The dirty shirt __________________________

A dirty shirt __________________________

Messenger of Allah __________________________

Mosque of the Prophet __________________________

‫جديد‬ New ‫مكسور‬ Broken

‫مفتاح‬ Key ‫وسخ‬ Dirty
‫قديم‬ Old ‫قميص‬ Shirt
‫سرير‬ Bed ‫رسول‬ Messenger
‫اسم‬ Name

Explain, in your own words, what the difference between ‫ مركب اضافي‬and
‫ مركب توصيفي‬is.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

What do the following terms mean?

‫مفرد‬ __________________________________________________________

‫فعل‬ __________________________________________________________

‫جملة اسمية‬ ____________________________________________________

6
‫مركب توصيفي ‪ or‬مركب اضافي ‪Explain whether the following are‬‬

‫الرسول‬
‫ِ‬ ‫مسجد‬ ‫_____________‬ ‫المسجد الكبير‬ ‫________________‬

‫سماعة الحديث‬ ‫_____________‬ ‫كتاب حامد‬ ‫________________‬

‫كتاب جميل‬ ‫_____________‬ ‫ساعة مفقودة‬ ‫________________‬

‫الممرض الجديد‬ ‫_____________‬ ‫برج القاهرة‬ ‫________________‬

‫مطلع الفجر‬ ‫_____________‬ ‫الفجر الصادق‬ ‫________________‬

‫?مضاف اليه ‪ and‬مضاف ‪What are the three rules pertaining to‬‬

‫____________________________________________________________________‬

‫____________________________________________________________________‬

‫‪7‬‬
 Masculine and Feminine (‫)مذكرٌوٌمؤنث‬

In Arabic, the masculinity and femininity of a noun (‫ )اسم‬plays an important

role in grammar. It determines which type of verb (‫ )فعل‬is used in the sentence
formation. For example, to say ‘Zaid went’ and ‘Aisha went’, we are required
to use a different verb; ‫َب زيد‬
َ ‫ ذه‬and ‫ذ َهبَت عائشة‬.

Masculine (‫)مذكر‬
All nouns are masculine in their default state.

Feminine (‫)مؤنث‬
A noun is feminine via two means;

‫مؤنث لفظي‬: This is where there is indication in the word itself that it is feminine.
For example, the word ‘heiress’ is feminine by indication of the word itself,
namely the ‘ess at the end of the word.

In Arabic, there are three ways a noun is deemed feminine by indication in the
word;
a. a ‫ ة‬appears at the end of the word. E.g. ‫( ساعة‬watch, time).
b. An ‫ الف ممدودة‬appears at the end. E.g. ‫( صحراء‬desert).
c. An ‫ الف مقصورة‬appears at the end of the word. E.g. ‫( صغري‬smallest).

‫مؤنث معنوي‬: This is where the indication of the word being feminine lies in the
meaning of the word.
For example, ‘Jane’ or ‘Sarah’ by indication of its denotation, namely a
woman’s name.

There are several categories of ‫مؤنث معنوي‬:

a. A noun used to refer to a woman. E.g. ‫ ام‬,‫مريم‬. Both these words do not
have any visible indication that they are feminine. But by meaning they
are classified as feminine.
b. Name of a country, city or tribe. e.g. ‫باكستان لندن قريش‬.
c. Names of animals. e.g ‫( ارنب‬hare).
d. Parts of the body that have pairs. e.g. ‫( عين‬eye), ‫( يد‬hand).
e. Elements of the universe. e.g. ‫) ارض‬earth), ‫( شمس‬sun), ‫( ملح‬salt).
f. Different names of Hell (mentioned in the Quran). e.g. ‫جهنم سقر جحيم‬.
g. Different names of winds. E.g. ‫( ريح‬wind), ‫( صرصر‬cold wind), ‫( سموم‬hot
wind).
h. Letters of the alphabet. E.g. ‫…الف باء‬

8
Exercises.

Identify whether the following nouns are masculine or feminine. If they are
feminine, then explain the reason;

‫نار‬ fire __________________________________________

‫يد‬ hand __________________________________________

‫باريس‬ __________________________________________

‫خديجة‬ __________________________________________

‫سموم‬ __________________________________________

‫بنو كلب‬ __________________________________________

‫رأس‬ head __________________________________________

‫التاء‬ __________________________________________

‫ألمانيا‬ __________________________________________

‫النون‬ __________________________________________

‫ِرجل‬ foot __________________________________________

‫حمدي‬ __________________________________________

‫َمدرسة‬ __________________________________________

‫زينب‬ __________________________________________

‫بَكماء‬ __________________________________________

‫أنف‬ nose __________________________________________

‫ثعلب‬ fox __________________________________________

‫بنو سلمة‬ __________________________________________

‫بطن‬ stomach __________________________________________

9
 Templates ‫وزن‬

In Arabic, most nouns and verbs have a minimum of three letters. These three
letters are called the original or root letters.

How to find the original letters.

Look at the following words.

‫كتاب‬ ‫مكتوب‬ ‫كاتب‬ ‫كتبت‬ ‫مكتبة‬ ‫مكتب‬

All six of the words are different and are pronounced differently. However,
there are three letters that are to be found in all six of the words; they are
‫ك‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ب‬
So, we call these three letters the original letters.

Exercise.

In each question, there are six different words. Find the three letters in each question
that are to be found in all of the words. The first question has been done for you as an
example.

i.‫سمعت‬ ‫سامع‬ ‫سماع‬ ‫لم يسمع‬ ‫مسموع‬ ‫سمعوا‬

Answer; ‫س‬ ‫م‬ ‫ع‬

ii.‫غفار‬ ‫استغفار‬ ‫مغفور‬ ‫غفرت‬ ‫غفور‬ ‫مغفر‬

iii.‫نصرن‬ ‫نصرتن‬ ‫ناصر‬ ‫منصور‬ ‫انصر‬ ‫نصري‬

iv. ‫غسالة‬ ‫اغسل‬ ‫غاسالت‬ ‫مغسولون‬ ‫غسلتا‬ ‫غاسلة‬

These three letters have their own name. The first letter is called the ‫ف كلمة‬, the
second is called the ‫عين كلمة‬, and the third is called the ‫الم كلمة‬.

‫كتاب‬

‫ل‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ف‬

10
In this example, the ‫ ك‬in the word is called the ‘Fa Kalima’, the ‫ ت‬is the ‘Ain
Kalima’ and the ‫ ب‬is called the ‘Lam Kalima’.

We can say that the word ‫ كتاب‬falls under the template of ‫فعال‬. We have
replaced the root letters with their names of Fa, Ain and Laam. Look at the
following diagram;

‫كتاب‬

‫ف عال‬

You will see that the root letters of the word ‫ كتاب‬have been replaced by ‘Fa’,
‘Ain’ and ‘Lam’, in their correct places. So, we say that the word Kitab is on
the template, or Wazan, of Fi’al.

Exercises.

Put the following words on the template of ‫فَعَال‬.

‫شرب‬ ‫كلم‬ ‫سلم‬ ‫كرم‬

Put the following words on the template of ‫عل‬

ِ ‫فا‬

‫قتل‬ ‫سمع‬ ‫عرف‬ ‫علم‬

Put the following words on the template of ‫ا ْفعَال‬

‫وقت‬ ‫نصر‬ ‫شرف‬ ‫حكم‬

Put the following words on the template of ‫فعَالء‬

‫صلح‬ ‫شهد‬ ‫علم‬ ‫فقر‬

11
 Singular, Dual and Plural (‫ٌجمع‬,‫ٌتثنية‬,‫)واحد‬

Singular (‫)واحد‬
A noun that indicates one thing.

Dual (‫)تثنية‬
In Arabic, this is always formed from the singular word. An Alif and Nun (‫ان‬
ِ )
is simply added to the end of the singular. For example;
‫قلم‬ ‫قلمان‬
‫رجل‬ ‫رجالن‬

Plural (‫)جمع‬
There are two types;

•‫جمعٌسالم‬
This is where the plural is formed in a uniform pattern from the singular.
This type of plural is rather like in English, where most plurals are formed by
simply adding an ‘s’ at the end of the singular.
There are two further types;
‫جمع مذكر سالم‬: With a masculine word, (‫ )ون‬is added to the end of the singular.
For example;
‫مسلم= مسلمون‬
‫عالم= عالمون‬
‫جمع مؤنث سالم‬: With a feminine word, (‫ )ات‬is added to the end of the singular. For
example;
‫جنة= جنات‬ ‫مؤمنة= مؤمنات‬

•‫جمعٌغيرٌسالم‬
This is where the plural is not formed in a uniform pattern. This is also called
‫جمع مكَسر‬.
In English, most plurals are formed by simply adding an ‘s’ to the end. This
type is like the few words in English which do not accept an ‘s’ at the end. For
example, the plural of woman is women.
For example;
‫َرجل‬ becomes ‫ِرجال‬
‫ْقلب‬ becomes ‫قلوب‬

There are several templates for this type of plural. They fall into two
categories.

‫جمع قِلت‬
There are four templates;
12
1. ‫اَ ْفعل‬ like ‫( ا ْشهر‬the plural of ‫شَهر‬, month)
2. ‫ا ْفعَال‬ like ‫( ْاوقات‬the plural of ‫ َو ْقت‬, time)
3. َ‫ا ْف ِعلَة‬ like ‫اطعمة‬ ْ (the plural of ‫طعام‬
َ , food)
4. ‫فِ ْعلَة‬ ْ
like ‫( ِغل َمة‬the plural of ‫غالم‬, slave)

‫جمع كثرت‬
There are many templates for this type. Here are some of them;
1. ‫ف ْعل‬ like ‫( ح ْمر‬the plural of ‫احْ َمر‬, red)
2. ‫فعَل‬ like ‫( ا َمم‬the plural of ‫امة‬, nation)
3. ‫فعل‬ like ‫( كتب‬the plural of ‫)كتاب‬
4. ‫فعل‬ like ‫( ركَع‬the plural of ‫راكع‬, a person doing Ruku’)
5. ‫فَعَلَة‬ َ (the plural of ‫طالب‬, student)
like ‫طلَبَة‬
6. ‫فِعال‬ like ‫( ِجبال‬the plural of ‫ َجبَل‬, mountain)
7. ‫فعَالء‬ like ‫( علماء‬the plural of ‫عالم‬, scholar)
8. ‫اف ِعالء‬ْ like ‫( ا ْنبِياء‬the plural of ‫نبي‬, prophet)
9. ‫فع ْول‬ like ‫( صد ْور‬the plural of ‫صدْر‬ َ , chest)

Note.
As mentioned earlier, if the ‫ مضاف‬has a ‫ ن‬of dual or plural, sound masculine
(‫)جمع مذكر سالم‬, then this ‫ ن‬drops too. For example, ‘the pen of zaid’ is ‫قلم زيد‬. The
‘two pens of Zaid’ would be ‫قلما زيد‬. This was originally ‫قل َمان زيد‬.

Other types of plural

‫جمعٌغيرٌلفظي‬
Usually, the root letters of the singular are to be found in the plural version. For
example the singular of ‫ َرجل‬is ‫ ِرجال‬. Here, we see the root letters are to be found
in the plural too. But Jama’ Ghair Lafzi is that plural where the singular
version and plural are completely different. For example, the plural of ‫ ْامراة‬is
‫نِساء‬.

‫اسمٌجمع‬
There are certain words – both in English and Arabic – that are singular by
definition, but in terms of meaning, they are plural. For example, the word
‘army’ is singular grammatically-speaking, but by meaning, ‘army’ means
many people or soldiers. Examples of this in Arabic are;
‫( قَ ْوم‬nation)
‫ع ْسكَر‬َ (army)

13
‫جمعٌمنتهيٌالجموع‬
This is a special type of plural that has five templates. Normally, these plurals
are ‫غير منصرف‬. This means that the word does not accept a Kasra or a double
noon (‫)تنوين‬. The templates are;
1. ‫َمفَا ِعل‬ like ‫مساجد‬, mosques.
2. ‫فَ َوا ِعل‬ like ‫جوانب‬, sides.
َ
3. ‫فعَائِل‬ like ‫رسائل‬, letters.
4. ‫فَعَال‬ like ‫ليال‬, nights.
5. ‫َمفَا ِعيْل‬ like ‫مفاتيح‬, keys.

Summary of the plural (‫)جمع‬

‫جمع‬

)‫جمع غير سالم (مكسر‬ ‫جمع سالم‬

‫جمع كثرت‬ ‫جمع قلت‬ ‫جمع مؤنث سالم‬ ‫جمع مذكر سالم‬

Exercises.

Find the plurals for the following; also identify which type of plural it is;

‫قَ ْلب‬ __________ ‫فَقير‬ ____________

‫شَهيد‬ __________ ‫م ْفسد‬ _____________

‫طالبة‬ __________ ‫َمس ِْجد‬ ____________

‫بَيْت‬ __________ ‫باب‬ ____________

‫ك َِريْم‬ __________ ‫َجنَة‬ ____________

Look at the following verses, and circle the plurals in each one. Also write
what type of plurals they are;

َ ‫ض ْلنا بَ ْع‬
‫ضه ْم علي بَ ْعض‬ َ ‫___________________ تِلك الرسل ف‬

‫الجبا َل ْاوتادًا‬
ِ ‫و‬ _______________________________

‫الناس‬
ِ ‫سيَق ْول السفَهاء من‬
َ _________________________

‫ت االعْراب آ َمنا‬
ِ ‫_______________________________ قال‬
14
‫ائر ما ت ْن َهونَ ع ْنه‬
َ َ‫ا ِْن تَجْ تَنِب ْوا َكب‬ ___________________

‫و ِلك ِل ا َمة ا َجل‬ _______________________________

ً‫ْراف ِرجاال‬
ِ ‫صحاب االع‬
ْ ‫و نادي ا‬ ___________________

‫َارق و ال َمغارب‬
ِ ‫َو هللِ ال َمش‬ _________________________

What type of plurals are the following?

‫بيوت‬ _____________ plural of ‫( بيت‬house).

‫اَقالم‬ _____________ plural of ‫( قلم‬pen)

‫مفسِدون‬ _____________ plural of ‫( مفسد‬corrupt person)

‫اصدِقاء‬ _____________ plural of ‫( صديق‬friend)

‫اَطفال‬ _____________ plural of ‫( ِطفل‬child)

‫انهر‬ _____________ plural of ‫( نَهر‬stream)

‫مغارب‬
ِ _____________ plural of ‫( مغرب‬west)

‫عابدات‬ ____________ plural of ‫( عابدة‬f. worshipper)

‫أم ِتعة‬ ____________ plural of ‫( متاع‬goods)

‫مساكين‬ ____________ plural of ‫( مسكين‬poor)

‫أزواج‬ _____________ plural of ‫( زوج‬wife)

‫فاسقون‬ ____________ plural of ‫( فاسق‬lewd; wrong-doer)

Name the following types of plural.

‫َمدَارس‬ ____________________ ‫قلوب‬ _______________

‫سفهاء‬ ____________________ ‫أو ِلياء‬ _______________

‫رسل‬ ____________________ ‫س َموات‬ _______________

‫أعناب‬ ____________________ َ‫خالِدون‬ _______________

‫شركاء‬
َ ____________________ ‫ْأمثال‬ _______________

15
‫َحفدَة‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫أعْين‬ ‫_______________‬

‫جمع مذكر سالم ‪Take the following words onto the template of‬‬

‫ذاكر‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫م َهندِس‬ ‫_______________‬

‫فرح‬
‫ِ‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫تواب‬ ‫_______________‬

‫سامع‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫متصدق‬ ‫_______________‬

‫جمع مؤنت سالم ‪Take the following words onto the template of‬‬

‫غاسلة‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫ساعة‬ ‫_______________‬

‫كريمة‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫ممرضة‬ ‫_______________‬

‫سيارة‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫كاتبة‬ ‫_______________‬

‫‪Identify the following plurals.‬‬

‫دارس‬
‫َم ِ‬ ‫_______________‬ ‫فروج‬ ‫___________‬

‫سفهاء‬ ‫_______________‬ ‫ْأولياء‬ ‫___________‬

‫سموات‬
‫َ‬ ‫______________‬ ‫أعناب‬ ‫___________‬

‫خالدونَ‬ ‫______________‬ ‫شركاء‬ ‫___________‬

‫ْأمثال‬ ‫_______________‬ ‫أزواج‬ ‫___________‬

‫َحفدَة‬ ‫_______________‬ ‫أعْين‬ ‫___________‬

‫َ‬
‫طرا ِئق‬ ‫_______________‬ ‫صا ِنع‬
‫م َ‬ ‫___________‬

‫‪16‬‬
 Proper and Common noun (ٌ‫) َمعرفةٌوٌنكرة‬

In Arabic, one method of categorising nouns (‫ )اسم‬is by whether they indicate a

specific thing or general thing.

-If the noun indicates a specific person or object, then it is called ‫َم ْع ِرفة‬
(proper noun).
For example, ‫( لندن‬this indicates a specific city); ‫‘( البيت‬the house’, as opposed to
‘a house’).

-If the noun indicates something general, then it is called ‫( ن ِكرة‬common

noun).
For example, ‫‘( رجل‬a man’, as opposed to ‘the man’).

In Arabic, there are seven ways a noun becomes ‫معرفة‬, or proper.

1. By adding ‫ال‬ ْ to it. In English, this is the equivalent of adding ‘the’ in the
place of ‘a/an’ before a noun. For example, ‫البيت‬, ‫البنت‬.
2. If the noun indicates the name of a particular thing. For example, ‫خالد‬,
‫لندن‬, ‫باكستان‬.
3. By adding a ‫ ضمير‬to the noun, namely a personal pronoun (i.e.
his/hers/yours/mine/ours). For example, ‫ كتاب‬becomes ‫( كتابه‬his book) or
‫( كتابي‬my book).
4. By adding ‫ اسم اشارة‬to the noun (i.e. ‫ هذا‬and ‫ذالك‬, meaning this and that).
For example, ‫ رجل‬means ‘man’ and ‫ هذا الرجل‬means ‘this man’.
5. By adding ‫ الذي( اسم موصول‬and ‫ )التي‬meaning ‘which, that’.
For example, ‫هذا الرجل الذي ذهب‬. (This is the man who went).
6. By adding ‫ يا‬when referring it to someone. For example, ‫ ولد‬means ‘boy’.
‫ يا ولد‬means ‘O Boy’, suggesting that someone in particular is being
referred to.
7. By making it ‫ مضاف‬to another noun. In other words, to ascribe it to
someone or something and thus make it proper. For example,
‫كتاب‬ book.
‫كتاب خالد‬ Khalid’s book.
‫كتاب الطالب‬ The student’s book.

Exercises.

Identify the words that are ‫ م ْع ِرفة‬in the following verses. Also, state why they
are proper nouns.

‫قال يا ب ْشري هذا غالم‬ _________________________________________

ِ ‫س ِك ْينَةَ في قل ْو‬
َ‫ب المؤمنين‬ َ ‫ه َو الذي ا ْنز َل ال‬ ______________________________
17
‫صر للاِ و الفتْ ِ‬
‫ح‬ ‫اذا جاء نَ ْ‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫تبت يدا ابي لَ َهب‬

‫ْ‬ ‫_______________________________________________‬

‫واحد‬
‫طعَام ِ‬ ‫و ا ْذ ق ْلت ْم يا موسي لن ن ْ‬
‫ص ِب َر علي َ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫نم‬ ‫و الم ْش ِرك ْونَ في ِ‬

‫نار َج َه َ‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫هنالكَ دَعا ذَكريا ربه‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫نكرة ‪ or‬معرفة ‪Translate the following and identify whether they are‬‬

‫يونان‬ ‫___________________‬

‫الحمد‬ ‫_________________‬

‫امرأة‬ ‫__________________‬

‫ربك‬ ‫__________________‬

‫هذا الولد‬ ‫__________________‬

‫الولد‬ ‫__________________‬

‫ولد‬ ‫__________________‬

‫بيت محمد‬ ‫__________________‬

‫يا زينب‬ ‫__________________‬

‫يابان‬ ‫__________________‬

‫ب‬
‫__________________ الولد الذي ضر َ‬

‫‪18‬‬
The ‫ ُمبتدا‬and ‫( خبَر‬Subject and Predicate of a Sentence)

There are two basic forms of a sentence (‫ )جملة‬in Arabic;

 ‫جملة اسمية‬
 ‫جملة فعلية‬

Jumla Ismiyya: This is where the sentence begins with a noun (‫)اسم‬.
Jumla Fi’liyya: This is where the sentence begins with a verb (‫)فعل‬.

Jumla Ismiyya

Such a sentence has two basic parts; ‫ مبتدا‬and ‫خبر‬.

Mubtada: (Subject). Literally, the word means ‘beginning’ or ‘begun with’.

This part of the sentence refers to the actor in the statement. It indicates who or
what is going to be described. For example, in the sentence Zaid is tall, Zaid is
the Mubtada.

Khabar: (Predicate). Literally, this means ‘news’. This part of the sentence
gives us the news or information, regarding the Mubtada. For example, in the
sentence Zaid is tall, tall is the Khabar.

Rules.

● Usually, the Mubtada is given a Rafa (i.e. Dhamma) and so is the Khabar. For
example.

‫العالم موجود‬

‫خبر‬ ‫مبتدا‬

Note; In this example, the first word ‫ العالم‬did not get a double nun (‫)تنوين‬
because it has ‫ ال‬on it. A noun with ‫ ال‬on it never gets a ‫تنوين‬.

● The Mubtada is usually ‫ معرفة‬and the Khabar is usually ‫نكرة‬. E.g ‫البيت َجديد‬, ‘the
house is new’.

● Usually, the Mubtada comes first and the Khabar comes second. However, the
Khabar does sometimes appear before the Mubtada. This is particularly the case
when the sentence begins with one of the letters of Jarr (‫)حروف جر‬, which will be
introduced later. For example,
‫في الصال ِة نجاة‬, ‘In prayer is success’.

19
● The Mubtada and Khabar will usually correspond with one another in terms of (i)
gender (ii) number. What this means is that if the Mubtada is made up from a
masculine word, then the Khabar will also be masculine. If the Mubtada is dual, then
the Khabar will also be dual. For example;
‫ العالمة َم ْوجودة‬The female scholar is present. Note, the Mubtada is feminine and so
therefore, the Khabar is feminine too.

‫القلمان جديدان‬ The two pens are new. Note, the Mubtada is dual, and thus the Khabar
is dual too.

Important Terminology

In Nahv, there is a set of specific terminology that is used to describe the

Haraka (‫ )حركة‬of the words and its state. In Urdu, we are accustomed to using
words like Zabar, Zer, and Paish. In Arabic, we use the following terms.

ً This is called a Rafa’ (‫)رفع‬. A word that has such Haraka on it is called
Marfu’ (‫)مرفوع‬.
ً ًَ This is called a Nasab (‫)نَصب‬. A word that has such a Haraka is called
Mansub (‫)منصوب‬.
ًِ This is called a Jarr (‫) َجر‬. A word that has such a Haraka is called
Majrur (‫) َمجرور‬.

Exercises

Underline the ‫ مبتدا‬in the following sentences.

-Hundreds of volunteers helped in the research.

-Suppression is still going on.
-Seven people are still in hospital.
-The transcripts are currently in the possession of the courts.
-The author- who did not appear in court himself- was pleased with the
decision.
-Upon the roof is the football.
-In the story lies a great lesson.

Underline the ‫ خبر‬in the following sentences.

-The Department of Health says the system is bureaucratic.

-I live in England.

20
-The first comprehensive account of the period is The Ecclesiastical History of
the English People.
-The Prime Minister met his high-profile ministers today.
-Part of the problem is the inconsistent performance.
-The shiny bright stars of the night are a sight of awe and beauty.
Translate the following sentences. Also, underline the Khabar.
‫_________________________________ االمام من باكستان‬
‫الصالة نور‬ _________________________________
‫االيمان‬
ِ ‫الطه ْور شَطر‬ ______________________________
‫كل ِبدْعة ضاللة‬ ____________________________________
‫القلم رخيص‬ _________________________________
‫______________________________ الوضوء واجب ق ْب َل الصال ِة‬
‫ت‬ ِ ‫الجنة تحتَ ا ْق‬
ِ ‫دام االمها‬ ______________________________
‫ال ِديْن يسْر‬ ____________________________________

Translate the following sentences accurately into Arabic. Add the I’rab
too.

Ali and Zaid are in the house. _______________________________

My pen is on the desk. _______________________________
The house is far. _______________________________
The Qur’an is the book of Allah. _______________________________
The Ka’bah is our Qibla. _____________________________
The Book is expensive. _______________________________
Sajdah is compulsory in Salah. _______________________________

Vocabulary.
‫َمكتب‬ desk ‫بَعيد‬ far
‫ثمين‬ expensive ‫واجبة‬ compulsory

21
Using the vocabulary provided, translate the following sentences into Arabic

The Muslims are prostrating. ________________________________

The two pens are old. ________________________________

The Imam is new. ________________________________

The children are playing. ________________________________

The women are worshippers. ________________________________

The house of Muhammad is big. ________________________________

The new student is tall. ________________________________

Allah is our Lord. ________________________________

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah __________________________

‫ساجد‬ prostrating ‫قديم‬ old ‫جديد‬ new

‫العب‬ playing ‫كبير‬ big ‫طويل‬ tall
‫رب‬ Lord ‫رسول‬ Messenger

With the following (i) Translate them accurately into English (ii) Identify which
is the Mubtada and which is the Khabar in each sentence (iii) Add the I’raab (i.e.
the Fatha, Kasra, Dhamma)

‫الصالة مفتاح الجنة‬ ________________________________

‫الزكاة واجبة‬ ________________________________

‫السرير مكسور‬ ________________________________

‫النجم جميل‬ ________________________________

‫خالد مهندس مشهور‬ ________________________________

‫المسجد بعيد‬ ________________________________

‫المشركون في نار جهنم‬ ________________________________

22
Using the mentioned words, construct the Arabic to match the English
translation.

1. The watch is beautiful _____________________________

2. The door is open. _____________________________

3. The two pens are cheap. _____________________________

4. The library is open. _____________________________

5. The desert is vast. _____________________________

6. The Muslims are fasting. _____________________________

7. The food is hot. _____________________________

8. The slaves are Muslims. _____________________________

9. The two scholars are hardworking. _____________________________

10. The pens are new. _____________________________

11. The children are playing. _____________________________

‫االطفال‬ ‫جدد‬ ‫مفتوحة‬ ‫القلمان‬ ‫جميلة‬ ‫االقالم‬

‫العبون‬ ‫حار‬ ‫المسلمون‬ ‫الصحراء‬ ‫مفتوح‬ ‫مان‬

ِ ‫العا ِل‬

‫ال ِغلمة‬ ‫مسلمون‬ ‫الطعام‬ َ‫صائمون‬ ‫وسيعة‬ ‫الساعة‬

‫مجتهدان‬ ‫المكتبة‬ ‫رخيصان‬ ‫الباب‬

23
 Jumla Fi’liyya (‫)جملةٌفِعلية‬

This is a sentence that begins with a Fi’l (verb). For example, ً‫رب زيد ولدا‬
َ ‫ض‬َ ,
‘Zaid struck a boy.’

Such a sentence will contain the following parts.

* ‫فعل‬. This is the verb. In other words, there must be a word in the sentence that
describes what action is occurring. In the above example, the action taking
place is the ‘striking’ and it occurred in the past tense.
* ‫فاعل‬. (Subject) This is the actor or agent in the sentence. In other words, it is
the person or object doing the action. So, in the previous example, Zaid is the
‫فاعل‬, because he is the one doing the action of striking.

Sometimes, a Jumla Fi’liyya will also contain;

* ‫مفعول‬. This is the recipient of the action. In other words, the person or object
the action is being done upon. In the previous example, ‘a boy’ is the ‫مفعول‬, as
the action of striking is being done upon him.

* ‫متعلق‬. (A detailed discussion will follow soon) In short, these are the parts of
the sentence that contain expressions such as ‘in, on, at, with, from, etc. and
help us understand the meaning of a sentence better. For example,
‫دَخ َل االمام المسجدَ من الباب العام‬, ‘the Imam entered the mosque from the public door.’
In this sentence, ‘from the public door’ is the Muta’alliq.

Rules.

Normally, the ‫ فاعل‬gets a Rafa.

Normally, the ‫ مفعول‬gets a Nasab.

‫فعلٌمجهول‬

This is a verb where the subject is not known. For example, ‫ب زيد‬ َ ‫ض ِر‬, ‘Zaid was
struck.’ Here, we know the action was the ‘striking’ and that the person who was
struck was ‘Zaid’. However, the sentence does not state who actually struck Zaid. In
other words the subject of the sentence is missing.
Consider the example ‫( نَصر خالد محمودا‬Khalid helped Mahmud). The action taking
place is the helping, the one doing it (the subject) is Khalid and the recipient of the
action is Mahmud. When we say ‫صر محمود‬ ِ ‫( ن‬Mahmud was helped), we still know the
action taking place was the helping but we do not know who did it. All we know is
that the one who was helped was Mahmud. So because a ‫ فاعل‬is definitely required in
a verbal sentence, we deputise it by placing the ‫ مفعول‬in its place, which in this
example is Mahmud. So, instead of the ‫ مفعول‬getting a Nasab, it gets a Rafa. It is then
called ‫نائب الفاعل‬, or ‫مفعول ما لم يسم فاعله‬.

24
Exercises.

In the following sentences, identify (i) the action (ii) the person/object doing the
action (iii) the person/object upon which the action is done upon.

-The Prime Minister visited over thirty cities during the election campaign.

-The prisoner denied the criminal charges made against him.

-No one was willing to support the initiative.

-The merchant sold his goods within six months.

Translate the following sentences into Arabic.

The boy wrote. ____________________________

I Heard the Imam. ____________________________

The chair was raised. ____________________________

Aisha learnt the Quran. ____________________________

We (all) sat down. ____________________________

The Imam thanked Zaid. ____________________________

Zainab opened the door. ____________________________

Imam Hussain was killed in Karbala. ______________________

Change the following sentences so that the subject becomes unknown. For
example, ‘David killed Goliath’ becomes ‘Goliath was killed’.

-The publishers issued the book for public sale three months after its release in New
York.
___________________________________________________________________

-I sold the phone for half its original price. _________________________________

-The referee abandoned the game after the first half. _________________________

__________________________________

Using the vocabulary provided, translate the following.

25
‫ شكر‬to thank. ‫كتب‬ to write. ‫رفع‬ to raise.
‫ غسل‬to wash. ‫دخل‬ to enter.
‫ م ْدرسة‬school ‫رسالة‬ letter. ‫ قميص‬shirt.
Zaid washed the shirt. _________________________

I raised the pen. _________________________

The Imam entered the school. _________________________

Hamid thanked Khalid. _________________________

Khalid was thanked. _________________________

I wrote the letter. _________________________

We entered the mosque. _________________________

Aisha raised the table. _________________________

26
 Doing Tarkibs (‫)تركيب‬
In Arabic grammar, a certain exercise is conducted with complete (and sometimes
incomplete) sentences, in which each word is analysed and identified. This exercise
and method is called Tarkib (‫)تركيب‬.

The Purpose behind Tarkibs.

Primarily, the objective behind doing Tarkibs is that it helps us to identify key
elements in a sentence; in a nominal sentence (‫)جملة اسمية‬, we look for the Mubtada
and the Khabar, and in a verbal sentence, we look for a verb, subject and object. This
in turn helps us to help read the correct Haraka on each word.

Here are two Tarkibs, in their most basic form.

‘Zaid entered’.
‫دخ َل زيد‬

‫فاعل‬ ‫فعل‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل‬

‘Zaid is a scholar.’
‫زيد عالم‬

‫خبر‬ ‫مبتدا‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

For the majority of all complete sentences, the end product will be either a ‫ جملة اسمية‬or
a ‫جملة فعلية‬.
As more terms and categories of words are introduced, the Tarkibs will become
progressively harder.

Exercises.

Do the Tarkib of the following.

َ‫دخل االمام المسجد‬

‫االمام‬
ِ ‫خالد صديق‬

27
 Nahv Revision
1. Complete the following diagram.

‫مركب‬

2. There are three rules regarding the ‫ اعراب‬of the ‫ مضاف‬and the ‫مضاف اليه‬. State all
three.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Merely by looking at the following words, identify whether they are ‫ مركب اضافي‬or
‫مركب توصيفي‬.

‫البلد الطيب‬ __________________________

‫رزق واسع‬ __________________________
‫قران الفجر‬ __________________________
‫ذنب مغفور‬ __________________________
‫كتاب الولد‬ __________________________
‫المدينة المنورة‬ __________________________
‫مدينة العلم‬ __________________________

4. Identify whether the following words are masculine or feminine. If they are
feminine, write whether they are feminine by word (Lafzi) or feminine by meaning
(Ma’nawi)
‫زينب‬ __________________________
‫جحيم‬ __________________________
28
‫( نيو يارك‬New York) __________________________
‫حسني‬ __________________________
‫سبيل‬ (path) __________________________
‫قلب‬ (heart) __________________________
‫( عقرب‬scorpion) __________________________
‫سموم‬ __________________________
‫الميم‬ __________________________
5. Complete the following diagram.

‫جمع‬

6. Identify what type of plurals the following words are;

‫مصابيح‬ ‫مدائن‬ ‫ركع‬ ‫صديقون‬

‫ساجدات‬ ‫اشربة‬ ‫شهداء‬ ‫قاعدون‬

‫رسل‬ ‫ابواب‬ ‫نساء‬ ‫امة‬

7. What do the following grammatical terms mean? Explain your answer.

‫معرفة‬ _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

‫تثنية‬ _________________________________________________________

‫مفعول‬ _________________________________________________________
29
‫جملة فعلية‬ _________________________________________________________

‫جمع مؤنث سالم‬ _________________________________________________________

8. Using the vocabulary provided below, translate the following sentences into
Arabic. Also, remember to add all the I’raab.

The book is new. ____________________

The two doors are open.
Hamid is an Imam.
Zainab is a (female) doctor).
Zaid hit Muhammad.
Muhammad listened to the Imam.
The student thanked the boy.
The (female) Muslims are prostrating____________________
The house of Jamil is old.
Hamid is a new student.
The small boy is playing.
The milk is hot.
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

‫كتاب‬ book ‫جديد‬ new ‫باب‬ door ‫امام‬ Imam

‫طبيب‬ doctor ‫ضرب‬ He struck ‫سمع‬ He listened ‫شكر‬ He thanked
‫ساجد‬ prostrating ‫بيت‬ house ‫قديم‬ old ‫طالب‬ student
‫صغير‬ small ‫ولد‬ boy ‫لبن‬ milk ‫حار‬ hot

9. Write three ways a noun can be ‫( معرفة‬proper noun)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

10. Write four signs of ‫( مؤنث معنوي‬feminine by meaning)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

30
 Personal Pronouns (‫)ضمير‬.
Personal pronouns are words that refer to the third, second or first person. In
grammar, the ‘third’ person is the person spoken of, the ‘second’ person is the person
spoken to and the ‘first’ person is the person speaking. Words such as
his/her/ours/him/her are all examples of Dhamirs.

How personal pronouns are used.

* Look at the example, ‘I saw Zaid and waved at Zaid’.

Though the sentence does make sense, we instead tend to say ‘I saw Zaid and waved
at him.’ Once we have introduced the person/object we are talking about, there is no
need to keep repeating it. Rather we repeat the personal pronouns such as ‘him/her’.
* Another way to use personal pronouns is to help us identify the ownership of a
certain object. For example, ‫ كتاب‬means book. We can add personal pronouns to the
end of this word to show who owns the book. For example,
‫كتابه‬ )His book) ‫كتابها‬ )Her book) ‫) كتابنا‬Our book)

The personal pronouns change form as they are used in different circumstances. For
example, the word ‘he’ is used when opening a sentence and as a subject, but when
the same word is used as an object, then it becomes ‘him’. Also, when it is used as
possessor, it becomes ‘his’. This exact effect can be seen in the Arabic language too.
The meaning of the word does not change in any way- rather it is just grammatically
wrong to use the word ‘him’ when ‘he’ should have been used.

The Dhamirs in Arabic.

Type 1
Look at the following personal pronouns.

‫ه‬ Single Masculine Third Person

‫هما‬ Dual Masculine Third Person
‫ه ْم‬ Plural Masculine Third Person
‫ها‬ Single Feminine Third Person
‫هما‬ Dual Feminine Third Person
‫هن‬ Plural Feminine Third Person

َ‫ك‬ Single Masculine Second Person

‫كما‬ Dual Masculine Second Person
‫ك ْم‬ Plural Masculine Second Person
‫ِك‬ Single Feminine Second Person
‫كما‬ Dual Feminine Second Person
‫كن‬ Plural Feminine Second Person

‫ي‬ Single Unisex First Person

‫نا‬ Plural Unisex First Person

31
This particular type of ‫ ضمير‬is called ‫َصل‬
ِ ‫مت‬, which means ‘connected’. They are so
called because this category of Dhamirs is always attached to another word, whether
to a noun, verb or particle. For example;
‫كتابه‬ An example of the Dhamir attached to a noun.
‫ض َربَه‬
َ An example of the Dhamir attached to a verb.
‫بِه‬ An example of the Dhamir attached to a particle.

When the above category of Dhamir is attached to a noun, verb and particle, then it
produces a different set of results and meanings.

The Noun.

When this Dhamir is added to a noun, then the Dhamir is called ‫الضمير ال َمجْ رور المتصل‬.
In terms of meaning, this Dhamir indicates ownership. Here is the word ‫ كتاب‬added
with this Dhamir, and the resulting meaning.

‫كتاب‬ A book.

‫كتابه‬ His book.

‫كتابهما‬ Their (2) book.
‫كتابهم‬ Their book.
‫كتابها‬ Her book.
‫كتابهما‬ Their (2) book.
‫كتابهن‬ Their book.
َ‫كتابك‬ Your book (male).
‫كتابكما‬ Your (2) book.
‫كتابكم‬ Your book (plural/masculine).
‫كتابك‬
ِ Your book (female).
‫كتابكما‬ Your (2) book.
‫كتابكن‬ Your book (plural/feminine).
‫كتابي‬ My book.
‫كتابنا‬ Our book.

Note; For ‫ تركيب‬purposes, these Dhamirs will become ‫ مضاف‬and ‫مضاف اليه‬. For
example.
‫كتابه‬

‫مضاف اليه‬ ‫مضاف‬

32
The Verb.

When this Dhamirs are added to a verb, then they are called ‫الضمير المنصوب المتصل‬. In
terms of meaning, these Dhamirs tell us of the recipient of the verb. In other words,
these Dhamirs occur as the object (‫)مفعول‬.
For example, ‫ب‬ َ ‫ض َر‬
َ means ‘he struck’. When we add a Dhamir to the end of this verb,
it tells us who was struck. So
‫ ضربه‬means ‘he struck him’.
‫ ضربهم‬means ‘he struck them (male)’.
‫ ضربنا‬means ‘he struck us’, and so on.

Note I; With the Dhamir representing singular/unisex/first person, we are required to

add a Nun (‫ )نون‬in between the verb and the personal pronoun. So rather than saying
‫ض َربي‬
َ for ‘he struck me’, we say ‫ض َربَني‬
َ . This ‫ نون‬is called ‫نون الوقاية‬.

Note II; For ‫ تركيب‬purposes, these Dhamirs occur as ‫مفعول‬. So, for example,

‫ض َربَه‬
َ

‫مفعول‬ ‫ ه َو فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫ مفعول = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

Exercises.

Translate the following accurately into English

‫رسولنا‬ _____________ ‫_____________ ساعتي‬

‫مسجدكم‬ _____________ ‫قلمهما‬ _____________

‫قبلتهم‬ _____________ ‫يده‬ _____________

‫سيارتهن‬ _____________ ‫شيخك‬

ِ _____________

Translate the following verbal sentences into English.

َ‫سمعَك‬ _____________ ‫_____________ ضربَني‬

‫ذكرتكم‬ _____________ ‫سلَهم‬

َ ‫غ‬ _____________

‫قتلوهم‬ _____________ َ‫_____________ ضربوك‬

‫رفعناك‬ _____________ ‫_____________ ذكرتَني‬

‫ضربَ ِك‬
َ _____________ َ‫_____________ سمعتك‬

‫قتله‬ _____________ َ‫_____________ ضربهن‬

33
‫نصرتَه‬
ْ _____________ ‫خلقكم‬ _____________

‫ضربَنا‬
َ _____________ ‫_____________ سمعهما‬

Translate the following into Arabic.

My Messenger ____________

Our Ka’ba ____________

We heard you (single, male) ____________

They (fem./plural) killed her (single/female) _____________

Your (dual/fem.) house _____________

Her (single/female) watch _____________

The Particles.

When these Dhamirs occur after a particle, then it is called ‫الضمير المجرور المتصل‬.
So, for example, ‫ في‬means ‘in’ and when added with this Dhamir (for instance, the
first one), it will become ‫فيه‬, meaning ‘in him’ or ‘in it’.

The Dhamirs when added to ‫ِل‬

‫له‬ ‫لهما‬ ‫لهم‬
‫لها‬ ‫لهما‬ ‫لهن‬
‫لك‬ ‫لكما‬ ‫لكم‬
‫لك‬ ‫لكما‬ ‫لكن‬
‫لي‬ ‫لنا‬

The Dhamirs when added to ‫علي‬

‫عليه‬ ‫عليهما‬ ‫عليهم‬
‫عليها‬ ‫عليهما‬ ‫عليهن‬
‫عليك‬ ‫عليكما‬ ‫عليكم‬
‫عليك‬
ِ ‫عليكما‬ ‫عليكن‬
‫علي‬
َ ‫علينا‬

Note; For ‫ تركيب‬purposes, these Dhamirs become ‫ جار‬and ‫مجرور‬.

34
Type 2.

Look at the following personal pronouns.

‫ه َو‬ Single Masculine Third Person

‫هما‬ Dual Masculine Third Person
‫ه ْم‬ Plural Masculine Third Person
‫ِي‬َ ‫ه‬ Single Feminine Third Person
‫هما‬ Dual Feminine Third Person
َ‫هن‬ Plural Feminine Third Person

َ‫ا ْنت‬ Single Masculine Second Person

‫ا ْنتما‬ Dual Masculine Second Person
‫انت ْم‬ Plural Masculine Second Person
‫ت‬ ِ ‫ان‬ Single Feminine Second Person
‫ا ْنتما‬ Dual Feminine Second Person
‫انتن‬ Plural Feminine Second Person

‫انا‬ Single Unisex First Person

‫نحْ ن‬ Plural Unisex First Person
These personal pronouns are called ‫َصل‬ ِ ‫ف‬ ْ
‫ن‬ ‫الم‬ ‫المرفوع‬ ‫الضمير‬. Unlike the previous type,
they are not added to an existing word (noun, verb or particle), but they are
disconnected. In other words, they are ‘free-standing’. For this reason, they are called
‫َصل‬ ِ ‫الم ْنف‬, which means ‘detached’. For example,

‫انا طالب‬ I am a student.

‫هو امام‬ He is an Imam.
‫انتَ مجتهد‬ You are hardworking.

Note; In the above example, all the personal pronouns occur as Mubtada in the
sentence. For example,

‫انا طالب‬

‫خبر‬ ‫مبتدا‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

35
Type 3.

Look at the following personal pronouns.

‫اياه‬ Single Masculine Third Person

‫اياهما‬ Dual Masculine Third Person
‫اياهم‬ Plural Masculine Third Person
‫اياها‬ Single Feminine Third Person
‫اياهما‬ Dual Feminine Third Person
‫اياهن‬ Plural Feminine Third Person

َ‫اياك‬ Single Masculine Second Person

‫اياكما‬ Dual Masculine Second Person
‫اياك ْم‬ Plural Masculine Second Person
‫اياك‬
ِ Single Feminine Second Person
‫اياكما‬ Dual Feminine Second Person
‫اياكن‬ Plural Feminine Second Person

‫اياي‬ Single Unisex First Person

‫ايانا‬ Plural Unisex First Person

Again this type of Dhamir is not used in attachment to a word. They are called
‫الضمير المنصوب المنفصل‬. Usually, they occur as ‫مفعول‬, just like the ‫ المنصوب المتصل‬when
they occur on a verb. Therefore the following two sentences mean the same thing;
َ‫ نَ ْعبدك‬We worship you.
‫ اياك ن ْعبد‬It is you we worship.

Exercises.

Translate the following.

‫هو طالب‬ _____________________

‫ت طبيبة‬
ِ ‫أن‬ _____________________

‫نحن مسلمون‬ _____________________

‫هما مدرسان‬ _____________________

I am a student _____________________

They (plural/fem) are doctors _____________________

They (2 men) are Muslims _____________________

She is ill _____________________

You (single/male) are an Imam____________________

36
She is an engineer _____________________

They (all men) are teachers. ____________________

We are engineers. _____________________

My pen _____________________

Our mosque _____________________

He heard you (s/m) _____________________

‫أنا مسلم‬ _____________________

Your (s/f) house. _____________________

‫مسجدكم‬ _____________________

‫شيخك‬
ِ _____________________

‫قلمهما‬ _____________________

‫قتلوهم‬ _____________________

‫ضربوني‬ _____________________

Rewrite the following after correcting the mistake.

‫أنا مسلمون‬ _____________________

‫هم مدرسات‬ _____________________

‫هي رجل‬ _____________________

‫أنتم مسلمات‬ _____________________

‫هما امام‬ _____________________

‫أنتن مهندسون‬ _____________________

‫أنا طبيبان‬ _____________________

‫هن امراة‬ _____________________

‫أنتم نساء‬ _____________________

37
 ٌ‫اسمٌاالشار ِة‬
Ism Ishara are the words used to point out a certain object. In other words, it is the
Arabic equivalent of this/these and that/those. For example, ‫( هذا رجل‬this is a man).
Here, ‫ هذا‬is ‫ اسم االشارة‬and ‫ رجل‬is called the ‫( المشار اليه‬this literally means the pointed or
indicated thing).

Its Types.

There are two types of Ism Ishara.

* The first is called ‫اسم االشارة للقريب‬, which is used to mean ‘this’. There are six
versions, based on number and gender.

Masculine
‫هذا‬ (single) This
‫( هذان‬dual) These (two)
‫) هؤالء‬plural) These (many)

Feminine
‫هذه‬ (single) This
‫) هاتان‬dual) These(two)
‫( هؤالء‬plural) These (many)

* The second is called ‫اسم االشارة للبعيد‬, which is used to mean ‘that’. Again, there are
six versions.

Masculine
‫ذالك‬ )single) That
‫ذانك‬ )dual) Those (two)
‫) اولئك‬plural) Those (many)

Feminine
‫تلك‬ )single) That
‫تانك‬ )dual) Those (two)
‫) اولئك‬plural) Those (many)

Rules

* Usually, the ‫ اسم االشارة‬corresponds with the ‫المشار اليه‬. What this means is that if the
pointed-out object is dual and masculine, then we use the ‫ اسم االشارة‬that is dual and
masculine too. So, for example, ‘these are two boys’ is ‫هذان ولدان‬.
‫هذه بنت‬ This is a girl.
‫هاتان بنتان‬ These are two girls.
‫هؤالء بنات‬ These are (many) girls.

38
However, there is an exception to this rule. If the ‫( المشار اليه‬i.e. the object being
pointed to) is ;
 a plural on the template of ‫( جمع مكسر‬the broken plurals), or
 a plural of an insensible thing (i.e. animals, objects etc. and not
humans)
then we can use the single/feminine form instead (i.e. ‫ هذه‬for ‘this’ and ‫ تلك‬for ‘that’)

Example.
‘These are books’ in Arabic is ‫هوالء كتب‬. But because ‫ كتب‬is a broken plural, we can
use ‫ هذه‬instead of ‫هؤالء‬. So it can be read ‫هذه كتب‬.

* Whether the noun after Ism Ishara has an ‫ ال‬on it or not, plays a very crucial role in
the meaning and ‫ تركيب‬of the sentence. Consider the following examples;

‫' هذا امام‬This is an Imam’

Here, the noun after ‫ هذا‬does not have ‫ ال‬on it. Therefore it becomes a full sentence.
The ‫ تركيب‬will be as follows.

‫هذا امام‬

‫خبر‬ ‫مبتدا‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

‫‘ هذا االمام‬This Imam’

Here, the noun after ‫ هذا‬does have ‫ ال‬on it. Now, it is not a full sentence. The ‫تركيب‬
will be as follows.

‫هذا االمام‬

‫صفت‬ ‫موصوف‬

‫ صفت = مركب توصيفي‬+ ‫موصوف‬

Here are other examples;

‫هذا بيت‬ This is a house. (Complete sentence).

‫هذا البيت‬ This house (Incomplete sentence).

‫هذا بيت جديد‬ This is a new house. (Complete sentence).

‫هذا البيت جديد‬ This house is new. (Complete sentence).

‫هذا البيت الجديد‬ This new house (Incomplete sentence).

39
Exercises.

Translate the following sentences carefully.

This is a pen. ________________________________

That is a book. ________________________________

That book is expensive. ________________________________

These are two Imams. ________________________________

Those are men. ________________________________

These are books. ________________________________

This book is beneficial. ________________________________

These two men are doctors. ________________________________

This is a female student. ________________________________

Translate the following into English.

‫هذا قلم قديم‬ ________________________________

‫ذالك رجل مجتهد‬ ________________________________

‫ذانك االمامان جديدان‬ ________________________________

‫تلك االقالم رخيصة‬ ________________________________

‫هذا المسجد جميل‬ ________________________________

‫اولئك رجال‬ ________________________________

‫تانك طالبتان ِمن باكستان‬ ________________________________

‫هؤالء مسلمات‬ ________________________________

Translate the following accurately

This is a house. _______________________

These are two houses. _______________________

These are two beautiful houses. _______________________

40
‫‪These two houses are beautiful.‬‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫‪These two beautiful houses‬‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫‪Translate into Arabic.‬‬

‫هذا المفتاح مفتاحي‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫ذالك المدرس جديد‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫ذانك مدرسان جديدان‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫هذه رسل‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫هوالء الفقراء مسلمون‬ ‫_______________________‬

‫‪Do the Tarkib of the following.‬‬

‫هذا البيت بيته‬

‫اولئك رجال صالحون‬

‫هذا االمام قديم‬

‫هذه طالبة مجتهدة‬

‫هذا الرجل مسلم‬

‫هذا العصفور طاهر صغير‬

‫‪41‬‬
 ‫اسمٌالموصول‬
Consider the following sentences.

-I met the man who visited Paris.

-These are the books which need renewing.

The first sentence refers to a man. We do not know much about this man until we are
told he ‘visited Paris.’ In the second sentence, the topic is some books, but we do not
know which books they are until we are informed that they are the ones that ‘need
renewing.’
In Arabic, the words that give the meaning of ‘who’ or ‘which’ are called ‫اسم موصول‬.
There are different variants, according to gender and number;

Masculine
Single ‫الذي‬
Dual ‫اللذان‬
Plural ‫اللذين‬

Feminine
Single ‫التي‬
Dual ‫اللتان‬
Plural ‫الالتي‬ ‫اللواتي‬ ‫الالئي‬

There are two other words that are used in the meaning of ‫; اسم موصول‬
‫َمن‬ (who) This is usually used for people.
‫ما‬ (which, that) This is usually used for insensible things.

Examples

‫ يسبح هللِ ما في السموات و ما في االرض‬Whatever is in the skies and earth praise Allah (62:1)

َ‫عدون‬
َ ‫ هذه جهنم التي كنتم تو‬This is the hell that you were promised.

‫جهنم‬
َ ‫دون للاِ حصب‬
ِ ‫ انكم و ما ت َعبدون ِمن‬Verily you are whatever you worship besides Allah
are the fuel of hell.

‫حمده‬
ِ ‫سم َع للا ل َمن‬
ِ Allah has heard he who praised Him.

42
 Understanding the I’raab I (‫)االعراب‬
In Arabic, the Haraka at the end of a noun can change from one state to another. The
changing of the Haraka is extremely important, because it helps us identify what the
noun is becoming (i.e. the object, subject and so on) in the sentence. There are three
main states of a noun;

‫زَ يْد‬ The final vowel (Haraka) on this word is the ‫ضمة‬. The word is referred to as
being ‫ َم ْرفوع‬, or alternatively, we say it is in the ‫ َر ْفعي‬state.

ً ‫زَ يْدا‬ The final vowel on this word is the ‫فتحة‬. The word is referred to as being
‫منصوب‬, or alternatively, we say it is in the ‫ نصبي‬state.

‫زَ يْد‬ The final vowel on this word is the ‫كسرة‬. The word is referred to as being
‫مجرور‬, or alternatively, we say that it is in the ‫ جري‬state.

When is a word in the ‫ رفعي‬state?

A noun becomes ‫( مرفوع‬or is in the ‫ )رفعي حالت‬when;

-it is Mubtada in a sentence.
-it is Khabar in a sentence.
-it is the subject (‫ )فاعل‬in a verbal sentence. E.g. ‫ب زيد‬
َ ‫ض َر‬
َ , ‘Zaid struck.’
There are many other reasons, which will be introduced to you gradually.

When is a word in the ‫ نصبي‬state?

A noun becomes ‫( منصوب‬or is in the ‫ )نصبي حالت‬when;

-it is the object (‫ )مفعول‬in a verbal sentence. E.g. ً ‫ض َربْت زَ يْدا‬
َ ‘I struck Zaid’.
-it is ‫( حال‬this is a word used to describe the state of something). E.g. ً ‫الشاي قاعدا‬ َ ‫‘ شَربْت‬I
drink tea whilst sitting).
Again, there are many other reasons, which will be introduced to you gradually.

When is a word in the ‫ جري‬state?

A noun becomes ‫( مجرور‬or is in the ‫ )جري حالت‬for two main reasons;

-When it is ‫مضاف اليه‬. E.g. ‫كتاب زيد‬
-When it is preceded by ‫حرف جر‬. E.g. ‫الدار‬
ِ ‫زيد في‬.

43
Exercises

Add the Haraka to the following sentences, and translate them.

‫ضرب زيد محمودا‬ ___________________________________

‫خالد عالم‬ ___________________________________

‫ضربت الولد‬ ___________________________________

‫فقدت كتاب خالد‬ ___________________________________

‫رايت االمام ساجدا‬ ___________________________________

Translate the following sentences. Add all the Harakas.

I sat in the mosque. ______________________________

We read our lessons. _____________________________

The tall man is hardworking. _______________________

Zaid helped me. __________________________________

Zaid’s book is beneficial. ___________________________

I went to the King. ________________________________

Vocabulary.

‫دروس‬ lessons ‫طويل‬ tall

‫مجت ِهد‬ hardworking ‫مفيد‬ beneficial

Verbs;
‫جلس يجلس‬
َ to sit ‫قرأ يقرأ‬ to read
‫ص َر ينصر‬َ ‫ن‬ to help ‫َب يذهب‬َ ‫ذه‬ to go

Translate the following sentences; ensure you add all the I’raabs to the words.

I read a useful book. ___________________________

I helped the student. ___________________________

I read the useful book. ___________________________

44
We sat in the mosque. ___________________________

Zaid heard the Imam in the mosque. ___________________________

She opened the book. ___________________________

Allah created man. ___________________________

Khalid lost the pen. ___________________________

The pen was lost. ___________________________

Zaid is the Imam’s son. ___________________________

I am a new student. ___________________________

They are Muslims. ___________________________

I opened the door of the mosque. ___________________________

I lost the teacher’s pen ___________________________

The teacher is prostrating. ___________________________

Fatima sat on the chair. ___________________________

We heard the Imam’s sermon. ___________________________

Aisha is a new Muslim ___________________________

The Imam’s sermon is beautiful. ___________________________

Vocabulary

‫خطبة‬ sermon ‫باب‬ door ‫انسان‬ man

‫ابن‬ son ‫نصر‬ He helped ‫جلس‬ He sat
‫خلق‬ He created ‫فتح‬ He opened ‫سمع‬ He heard

45
 ‫‪Revision Exercises.‬‬
‫مركب توصيفي ‪ or‬مركب اضافي ‪Explain whether the following are‬‬

‫صراط مستقيم‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫بيت ِك‬ ‫____________________‬

‫المسجد النبوي‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫النبأ العظيم‬ ‫______________‬

‫أصحاب الفيل‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫قبلتهم‬ ‫____________________‬

‫الكتاب المفيد‬ ‫____________________‬ ‫حج مبرور‬ ‫______________‬

‫مؤنث لفظي ‪Name the three signs that a word is‬‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫جمع كثرت ‪ and four templates of‬جمع قلت ‪Name three templates of‬‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫?‪) state, what does it mean‬نصبي( ‪When a word is in the Nasbi‬‬

‫______________________________________________________________‬

‫‪Look at the following types of Dhamirs; match each one with their name in‬‬
‫‪Arabic.‬‬

‫هو‪ ,‬هما‪ ,‬هم‪ ,‬هي‪ ,‬هما ‪ ,‬هن‪...‬‬ ‫الضمير المجرور المتصل‬

‫اياه ‪ ,‬اياهما ‪ ,‬اياهم ‪ ,‬اياهها ‪ ,‬اياهما ‪ ,‬اياهن‪...‬‬ ‫الضمير المرفوع المنفصل‬

‫له ‪ ,‬لهما ‪ ,‬لهم ‪ ,‬لها ‪ ,‬لهما ‪ ,‬لهن‪...‬‬ ‫الضمير المنصوب المتصل‬

‫ضربه ‪ ,‬ضربهما ‪ ,‬ضربهم ‪ ,‬ضربها ‪...‬‬ ‫الضمير المنصوب المنفصل‬

‫;‪Name two places where a noun will be given a‬‬

‫‪*A Nasab‬‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫’‪*A Rafa‬‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫‪* A Jarr‬‬ ‫_________________________________________‬

‫‪46‬‬
Write out the six variations for ‫اسم اشارة للقريب‬

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

The ‫ اسم اشارة‬usually corresponds with the ‫ المشار اليه‬in terms of number and
gender (i.e. if one is masculine and single, the other will be too). Name two places
where this is not the case and instead the singular/feminine version of ‫ اسم اشارة‬is
used.

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Add all of the I’raab to the following sentences and translate.

‫المهندس مسلم جديد‬ __________________________________

‫باب المدرسة مفتوح‬ __________________________________

‫محمد رسول للا‬ __________________________________

‫سمع زيد الدرس من االمام‬ __________________________________

‫فتحت عائشة باب البيت‬ __________________________________

‫نصرت خالدا‬ __________________________________

Translate the following accurately into Arabic, adding all of the I’raab.

These are two Imams. __________________________________

I struck the boy. __________________________________

Zaid washed his hand. __________________________________

I heard the Azan. __________________________________

Khalid is an old teacher. __________________________________

47
Do the Tarkibs of the following sentences.

This pen is red.

‫هذا القلم أحمر‬

This is a famous trader.

‫هذا تاجر مشهور‬

These houses are expensives.

‫هذه البيوت ثمينة‬

That book is old.

‫ذالك الكتاب قديم‬

These women are Muslims.

‫هؤالء النساء مسلمات‬

That pen is the pen of Hamid.

‫ذالك القلم قلم حامد‬

The watch of the Imam is beautiful.

‫ساعة االمام جميلة‬

These are two mosques.

‫هذان مسجدان‬

48
‫‪Translate the following sentences.‬‬

‫قلمه مفقود‬ ‫___________________‬

‫رأيته في المسجد‬ ‫___________________‬

‫ضربني زيد‬ ‫___________________‬

‫سم ْعتهن‬ ‫___________________‬

‫لقيت المسلمينَ و سلمت عليهم‬ ‫___________________‬

‫محمد رسولنا‬ ‫___________________‬

‫الكعبة قبلة المسلمينَ‬ ‫___________________‬

‫زيد مدرس و ابنه طالب‬ ‫___________________‬

‫ص َرنا االمام‬
‫ن َ‬ ‫___________________‬

‫‪Fill in the gaps with a suitable word.‬‬

‫االمامان ___________‬
‫ِ‬

‫الكتاب‬
‫َ‬ ‫قرأ _________‬
‫َ‬

‫المسلمات __________‬

‫الساعة _________‬

‫الطبيبتان __________‬

‫نصرت _________‬

‫شكر _________ والده‬

‫‪49‬‬
 The Declinable and Indeclinable. ٌ‫َمبْنيٌوٌ ُم ْعرب‬
In the previous lesson, we learnt how the vowels (Haraka) at the end of a noun can
change, according to what the word is becoming in the sentence. Look at how the
word ‘Muhammad’ changes in these examples;
‫محمد رسول للا‬ Here, it is Marfu’ because it is becoming Mubtada.
‫ اشهد اَن محمدا رسول للا‬Here, it is Mansub because it is the Ism of ‫ان‬.
‫اللهم صل علي محمد‬ Here, it is Majrur because of the ‫ حرف جر‬before it.

ٌ‫ُمعرب‬

If a noun’s Haraka can change from one state to another- like the word ‫ محمد‬in the
above example, then the word is called ‫عرب‬
َ ‫م‬.

ٌ‫مبْني‬

This is almost the opposite of Mu’rab. There are certain words in Arabic that do not
change from one state to another. Rather, they have a certain Haraka and this Haraka
stays the same in all circumstances. Look at the following examples of Mabni;

* َ‫ هذا‬This is an example of a Mabni word. We always read it ‫هذا‬, regardless of

whether it is the object, subject etc. in the sentence. For example, ‫القلم‬
ِ ‫‘ كتبت بهذا‬I wrote
with this pen’. Here, ‫ هذا‬come after ‫ حرف جر‬and so ideally, we should read the word
with a Kasra. But because ‫ هذا‬is Mabni, and cannot change from one state to another,
we must read it the same.

Which words are ‫?مبني‬

ْ ‫ ِم ْن‬will
ْ all types of particles are Mabni. So, for example, ‫علي‬, ‫في‬, ‫عن‬,
* Apart from ‫أل‬,
all stay the same in the three states.

* The past tense and imperative tense are Mabni (‫)فعل ماضي و امرحاضر معروف‬.
However, the present tense (‫ )فعل مضارع‬is Mu’rab because it can change. For example
‫ يضْرب‬can change to ‫يضرب‬
َ ْ .
‫لن‬
However, the present tense must be free from the Nun (‫ )نون‬of feminine plural and
from the Nun of emphasis for it to be Mu’rab.

* Most of the nouns are ‫معرب‬, with the exception of ‫ اسم االشارة‬and ‫اسم موصول‬.

50
 َ ‫اسمٌغيرٌ ٌُم ْن‬
Ism Ghair Munsarif ٌ‫صرف‬ ُ
‫ اسم غير منصرف‬refers to a few categories of nouns that do not accept;

* a Tanween i.e. double nun; ً ً

* a Kasra.

The I’raab of these words are different to normal ‫ معرب‬words.

-In the ‫رفعي حالت‬, it gets a single Dhamma. E.g.‫جاء احمد‬
-In the ‫نصبي حالت‬, it gets a single Fatha. E.g. َ‫نصرت احْ مد‬
-In the ‫جري حالت‬, it gets a single Fatha. E.g. َ‫سلمت علي احمد‬

Which words are ‫?غيرٌمنصرف‬

The Ghair-Munsarif words fall under four broad categories.

1. ‫( العلم‬Names)

The names of certain nouns are Ghair-Munsarif in the following cases;

i. When it is a feminine name. E.g. ‫عائشة‬, ‫فاطمة‬, ‫زينب‬.

ii. When the name ends with an additional ‫ ان‬at the end. E.g. ‫ ِعرفان‬, ‫عثْمان‬, ‫عمران‬.
ْ
iii. When the name appears on the template (‫ )وزن‬of a verb. E.g. ‫احمد‬, ‫يثْرب‬
iv. When the name appears on the template of ‫فعَل‬. E.g. ‫ع َمر‬.
v. When the name is of non-Arabic origin. E.g. ‫ابراهيم‬, ‫اسماعيل‬. The exception is when
the name consists of three letters, and the middle letter has a Sakin (ًْ ) on it. E.g. ‫ ِه ْند‬.
Such a word can be considered Ghair-Munsarif and Munsarif.
vi. When the name is a mixed compound. E.g. ‫حضر موت‬.

2. ‫( الصفة‬Adjectives).

‫ الصفة‬are words that are used to describe other objects. The following Sifats will be
considered Ghair-Munsarif in the following cases;

i. When the word comes on the template of ‫ ف ْعالن‬and ‫ا َ ْفعَل‬, and its feminine version
does not accept a ‫ ة‬at the end. For example, ‫جوعان‬,
ْ ‫احْ َمر‬.
ii. When the numbers appear on the template of ‫ فعال‬and ‫ َم ْفعَل‬. For example, ‫رباع‬, ‫مربَع‬.
ْ
iii. The words ‫ اخَر‬and ‫ ج َمع‬are also Ghair-Munsarif.

3. The Feminine Alif ‫الف تانيث‬

In the lesson on ‘Masculine and Feminine’, you read that there are three signs of
‫( مؤنث لفظي‬feminine by word) (i) a ‫ ة‬at the end (ii) an ‫( الف مقصورة‬iii) ‫الف ممدودة‬.
A word will be considered Ghair-Munsarif if it has an Alif Maqsura or Mamduda at
the end. For example, ‫صحْ راء‬.

51
4. ‫جمع منتهي الجموع‬

As you have read, this type of plural has five templates;

- ‫َمفَا ِعل‬
- ‫فَ َوا ِعل‬
- ‫فَعَائل‬
- ‫فَعال‬
- ‫َمفَا ِعيْل‬

Any word on this template will also be considered as Ghair-Munsarif. For example
‫مساجد‬.
ِ

Note;
There are two circumstances where the Ghair-Munsarif will accept a Kasra.
i. When the Ghair-Munsarif word is ‫مضاف‬. E.g. ‫مساجدِك ْم‬
ْ on it. E.g. ‫في المساج ِد‬
ii. When the Ghair-Munsarif word has ‫ال‬

Exercises.

Write down 5 names that you think will be considered as Ghair-Munsarif.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Translate the following sentences into Arabic.

I met Ahmed in the Bazaar. ___________________________________

The mosques are many in Cairo. ______________________________

Isma’il thanked his Lord. ________________________________________

I have lost the keys. _____________________________________________

Add the correct ‫ االعراب‬to the following sentences and translate.

‫سمعت عائشة و فاطمة الدرس‬ ____________________________________

‫عرفان و اشرف طالبان جديدان في المدرسة‬ _______________________________

‫رايت مساجد كثيرة في دمشق‬ _____________________________________

52
‫‪ . In detail, explain why they are‬اسم غير منصرف ‪All of the following words are‬‬
‫‪considered as such.‬‬

‫زفَر‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫اسحاق‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫غضْبان‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫نيو يارك‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫مساجد‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫رقية‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫أمجد‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫يَ ِزيد‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫أزرق‬
‫َ‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َمفاتيح‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫ْفران‬
‫زع َ‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َرسائِل‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َمدارس‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫سفيان‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َجوعان‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫أسود‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫طل َحة‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫أنور‬
‫َ‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫مكاتب‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َم ْروان‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫يوسف‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫أكبر‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫َمريم‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫‪53‬‬
Add the correct I’raab to the underlined words and translate. Remember:
Rafi state: Mubtada, Khabar, Fa’il in a verbal sentence.
Nasbi state: Maf’ul in a verbal sentence.
Jari state: followed by a particle of Jarr, or its Mudhaf Ilai

_______________________ ‫ص ْرت زينب في در ِسها‬

َ ‫ن‬

________________________ ‫ذهب عمر الي المدرس ِة‬

َ

____________________‫رأيت اسحاق و يعقوب في السوق‬

___________________________ ‫رأيت مساجد في لندن‬

________________________ ‫ذهب عمران الي نيو يارك‬

َ

___________________________ ‫هذا كتاب فاطمة‬

_____________________ ‫يوسف و عثمان طالبان في المدرسة الثانوية‬

________________________ ‫حفظ حامد مدارسه‬

_______________________ ‫هوالء كتب أحمد‬

_____________________ ‫خالد رجل غضبان‬

54
 Understanding the I’raab II (‫)االعراب‬
Previously, you read how the ending of a noun can change into three states, depending
on what the word is becoming in the sentence. So, for example, the word ‫ زيد‬is read
with a Dhamma if it is becoming the Mubtada or Khabar in a sentence. It is read with
a Kasra if it is ‫ مضاف اليه‬or followed by a ‫حرف جر‬.
However, there are a number of categories of words that cannot accept a Dhamma,
Fatha and Kasra when that is required. Take, for instance, words that are the plural,
sound feminine (‫)جمع مؤنث سالم‬, such as ‫مسلمات‬. This cannot be read with a Fatha. In
the three different states, it receives the following I’raab;

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Dhamma ‫ٌاتا لسم ائا‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Kasra ‫نصرت مسلمات‬
‫جري حالت‬ Kasra ‫سلمت علي مسلمات‬

Here, we see that in the Raf’i and Jari state, the word was given the default I’raab.
However, in the Nasbi state, ideally it should have been given a Fatha, but instead it
was given a Kasra.

Here are the other categories of words that receive a different I’raab than its original,
default requirement.

_________________

Ism Ghair Munsarif ‫اسمٌغيرٌمنصرف‬

These are the words that do not accept a Kasra or double nun (Tanwin).

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Dhamma ‫ٌاد حا ءا‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Fatha َ‫نصرت احمد‬
‫جري حالت‬ Fatha َ‫سلمت علي احمد‬

The Plural, Sound, Feminine (‫)جمعٌمؤنثٌسالم‬

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Dhamma ‫ٌاتا لسم ائا‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Kasra ‫نصرت مسلمات‬
‫جري حالت‬ Kasra ‫سلمت علي مسلمات‬

55
The Noun possessed with the ‫ ي‬of the first person.

Sometimes a noun is given a ‫ ي‬at the end (which is ‫ )الضمير المجرور المتصل‬to denote
‘my’. For example, ‫ كتاب‬can become ‫ كتابي‬, meaning ‘my book’. In all three states, the
word stays the same; we say that its I’raab is virtual (‫)تقديري‬.

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Virtual ‫جاء امامي‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Virtual ‫نصرت امامي‬
‫جري حالت‬ Virtual ‫امامي‬
ِ ‫سلمت علي‬

Ism Manqus ٌ‫اسمٌم ْنقُوص‬

This is a noun that has a necessary ‫ ي‬at the end (meaning the ‫ ي‬is part of the original
word) and is preceded by a letter that has a Kasra on it. For example, ‫القاضي‬
ِ (the
judge).

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Virtual ‫جاء القاض ْي‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Nasb ‫اتر‬
‫ص‬ ‫َ يئا حا‬
‫جري حالت‬ Virtual ‫سلمت علي القاض ْي‬

In this example, the word ‫ ألقاضي‬has been given the ‫أل‬. Without the ‫ أل‬it will be read
the following way in the three states.

Raf’i State; ‫جاء قاض‬

Nasbi State; ً ‫نصرت قاضيا‬
Jari State; ‫سلمت علي قاض‬

Ism Maqsur ٌ‫اسمٌ َمقصور‬

This is a noun that has a necessary Alif at the end, but this is not its original letter.
Rather, this Alif has either changed from being a ‫ و‬or ‫ي‬, or it is an additional letter.
For example, ‫( الفتي‬which was originally ‫)الفتي‬, and ‫اولي‬.

State I’raab given Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ Virtual ‫جاء الفتي‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ Virtual ‫نصرت الفتي‬
‫جري حالت‬ Virtual ‫سلمت علي الفتي‬

Without the ‫ أل‬it will be as follows;

Raf’i State; ‫فتي‬

ً ‫جاء‬
Nasbi State; ‫فتي‬
ً ‫نصرت‬
Jari State; ‫ي‬ ً ‫سلمت علي فت‬

56
‫‪Exercises.‬‬

‫‪Add the I’raab to the following sentences and translate them.‬‬

‫نصرت مؤمنات‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ذهب القاضي الي المسجد‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫رأيت المحامي في السوق‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ضرب ابراهيم يوسف‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫رأيت المسلمات ساجدات‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ذهب والدي الي بيت يعقوب‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ْ‬
‫نصرت عائشة المؤمنات في درسهن‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫الطالبات راكعات‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪Translate the following.‬‬

‫‪Talha helped Irfan.‬‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪I saw the Muslim women.‬‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪I met the lawyer.‬‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪This is my pen.‬‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪I did Salaam upon the judge.‬‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪Complete this table.‬‬

‫‪Type of Word‬‬ ‫رفعي حالت‬ ‫نصبي حالت‬ ‫جري حالت‬

‫اسم غير منصرف‬ ‫أحمدَ‬

‫جمع مؤنث سالم‬

‫اسم منقوص‬

‫اسم مقصور‬

‫ي ضمير متكلم‬ ‫امامي‬

‫ِ‬

‫‪57‬‬
In all the previous cases, you will see that the actual I’raab changes, not the letters of
the word. However, in the following categories, the actual lettering changes slightly.
For example, ‫ مسلمون‬is the sound, masculine plural. In the Nasbi and Jari state, the ‫و‬
changes into a ‫ي‬, to become ‫مسلمين‬. Note that the Fatha at the end on the Nun stays the
same.

Here are the other categories of words that alter in its letterings.

The Sound, Masculine Plural (‫)جمعٌمذكرٌسالم‬

State Change Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ َ‫ْون‬ ‫جاء مسلمون‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ ‫َنص‬ َ‫مسلميْن‬
ِ ‫نصرت‬
‫جري حالت‬ ‫َنص‬ ‫سلمت علي مسلمين‬

The Dual (‫)تثنية‬

State Change Example

‫رفعي حالت‬ ‫ان‬ ِ ‫امامان‬
ِ ‫جاء‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ ‫َ ْن‬ ‫تن‬
ْ ‫ص‬ ‫ل‬ ‫حلا‬ ‫يئا‬ َ
‫جري حالت‬ ‫َن‬ْ ‫سلمت علي اما َمي ِْن‬

ُ‫ستَةٌُال ُمكَبر ٌة‬

ِ ‫االسما ُءٌال‬

This refers to six words

‫اب‬ Father
‫اخ‬ Brother
‫فَم‬ Mouth
‫َحم‬ Father-in-Law
‫هَن‬ Thing
‫ذ ْو‬ Possessor. For example, ‫( ذو ال ِعلم‬possessor of knowledge).

The I’raab for these words is as follows;

State Example
‫رفعي حالت‬ ‫اخو زيد‬
ْ ‫جاء‬ ‫جاء اخ‬
‫نصبي حالت‬ ‫نصرت اخا زيد‬ ً ‫نصرت اخا‬
‫جري حالت‬ ‫سلمت علي اخي زيد‬ ‫سلمت علي اخ‬

58
Exercises.

Translate the following sentences into Arabic carefully.

I greeted (Salam) the Muslim men. _____________________________________

Zaid is a possessor of knowledge. ______________________________________

The female scholars heard the female students_____________________________

The doctor heard the judge in the court. __________________________________

I helped my brother in the school. _______________________________________

Idris is a prophet of Allah. _____________________________________________

The name of Yusuf’s brother is Hamid. __________________________________

I listened to the two engineers. _________________________________________

I saw the two Imams prostrating ________________________________________

Which one of the following statements is true?

The sound, feminine plural (‫ )جمع مؤنث سالم‬does not accept a Fatha. _______

‫ اسم غير منصرف‬can sometimes have a double Nun (‫______ )تنوين‬

‫ اسم منقوص‬does not ever receive a Dhamma. ______

Dual words always finish with ‫ان‬

ِ in all states. _____

Spot the grammatical mistakes in the following sentences and correct them.

‫خلف زيد و اخو حامد‬

َ ‫جلست‬ _____________________________________

َ‫يَغ ِفر للا المسلمون‬ _____________________________________

َ‫انا ال احب الفاسقين و الفاسقات‬ _____________________________________

َ‫عمان قريب من المسجد‬

ِ ‫بيت ن‬ _____________________________________

ْ
‫نصرت زينب المؤمنون و المؤمنات‬ _____________________________________

‫ذهب أبي الي مكة في ذو الحج‬ _____________________________________

‫هذا قلم أبو بكر‬ _____________________________________

59
‫هذان امامان مجتهدين‬ ‫_____________________________________‬

‫ذهب أحمدَ الي المحكمة‬ ‫_____________________________________‬

‫و ِلدَ زيد في ذو الحج‬ ‫_____________________________________‬

‫االمامان في المسج ِد‬

‫ِ‬ ‫رأيت‬ ‫_____________________________________‬

‫‪Fill in the following table.‬‬

‫‪Word‬‬ ‫رفعي حالت‬ ‫نصبي حالت‬ ‫جري حالت‬

‫طبيبات‬

‫عائشة‬

‫ذو القعدة‬

‫مهاجرون‬

‫مهندسان‬

‫راكعات‬

‫منافقون‬

‫العصي‬

‫حامي‬
‫الم ِ‬

‫أبو هريرة‬

‫مدر ِسي‬

‫ساجدان‬
‫ِ‬

‫‪60‬‬
‫‪Write out the three states for the following. The first one has been done for you.‬‬

‫الذاكرون‬ ‫جاء الذاكرون – نصرت الذاكرينَ – سلمت علي الذاكرين‬

‫الصادقون‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫الحافظان‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫ابو بكر‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫أخو محمد‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫ذو العلم‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫‪Choose the correct I’raab and translate.‬‬

‫زينب – زينب) الي المحكمة ________________________‬

‫َ‬ ‫ْ‬
‫ذهبت (زينب –‬

‫(القاضي – القاض ْي) ساجدًا _______________________________‬

‫َ‬ ‫رأيت‬

‫سلمت علي (أبو بكر – ابا بكر – ابي بكر) __________________________‬

‫يففر للا (المسلمونَ – المسلمينَ ) ________________________________‬

‫هذا كتاب (زيد – زيدًا – زيد )_________________________________‬

‫ف )_____________________________‬
‫يوسف – يوس ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫هذا بيت (يوسف –‬

‫هذان تاجران (جديدان – جديدين) _______________________________‬

‫ت )_________________________________‬
‫رأيت (الطالبات – الطالبا ِ‬

‫‪61‬‬
 The Abrogation of the Nominal Sentence
ِ ‫نَوا‬
ٌ‫س ُخٌال ُج ْملةٌاالسمي ِة‬

What is abrogation?
Abrogation is the process of replacing one rule or order with another. In Arabic, this
is called ‫النسخ‬. The order that is replaced is called ‫ألمنسوخ‬, and the new, replacing order
is called ‫( ألناسخ‬plural ‫)النواسخ‬. For example, drinking alcohol was allowed at one time
in early Islam, but it was then outlawed. We say that permission to drink has been
abrogated (‫)المنسوخ‬.

ِ ‫نَوا‬
The Abrogation of the Nominal Sentence ‫س ُخٌال ُج ْملةٌاالسمي ٌِة‬

The ‫ نواسخ‬refer to five categories of words that appear on a ‫جملة اسمية‬. When they
appear, they abrogate or replace some of the rules governing the nominal sentence. In
principal, they have two effects;
a. they change the meaning
b. they change the I’raab of the nominal sentence.

Take for example, the sentence ‫( الرجل مريض‬the man is ill). ‫ الرجل‬is Mubtada and
‫ مريض‬is the Khabar. Together they make a ‫جملة اسمية‬.
The letter ‫ ان‬can appear on to the nominal sentence, like ‫ ان الرج َل مريض‬When it does, it
has two effects;
a. The meaning changes from ‘the man is ill’ to ‘indeed the man is ill’. ‫ ان‬gives
the meaning of ‘verily/indeed’.
b. When ‫ ان‬appears, it has an effect on the actual I’raab. It gives the Mubtada a
Nasab and it gives the Khabar a Rafa’.

You will remember that the word ‫ مبتدا‬literally means ‘begun with/beginner’. This is
because the sentence starts with this word. But when one of the abrogating words
appear, like ‫ ان‬, the ‫ مبتدا‬no longer appears at the beginning of the sentence. Thus, in
such a situation, the ‫ مبتدا‬is now called the ‫اسم‬.

‫الرجل مريض‬
َ

‫خبر‬ ‫مبتدا‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

62
 ‫اِن الرج َل مريض‬

‫خبر‬ ‫اسم‬ ‫الحرف المشبهة بالفعل‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫الحرف المشبهة بالفعل‬

The five categories of words are ;

‫حروف مشَبهة بال ِفعل‬

‫الجنس‬
ِ ‫ال ِلنَفي‬
‫صة‬ َ ‫ق‬
ِ ‫النا‬ ‫االفعال‬
‫يس‬ َ
َ ‫الحروف المشبهة بِل‬
‫افعال المقارب ِة‬

__________________________

ٌ‫روفٌالمشَبهةٌبال ِفع ِل‬

ُ ‫أل ُح‬
This refers to the six letters that appear at the beginning of a ‫ةيمسح ةلمج‬. In terms of
force, these letters
 Give the ‫( اسم‬i.e. the Mubtada) a Nasab
 Give the ‫ خبر‬a Rafa’

These six letters are

‫اِن‬ ‫اَن‬ ‫كَان‬ ‫ل ِكن‬ َ‫لَيت‬ ‫لَعل‬

Each one has its own particular meaning.

_______________________

‫ﱠ‬ ‫ان‬

This means ‘indeed’ or ‘verily’. For example, ‫( ان للا غفور‬Verily Allah is Most-
Forgiving).

‫اَنﱠ‬

This also means indeed/verily, and it also means ‘that’. For example,
ِ‫( اش َهد ان محمدا ً َرسول للا‬I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).

63
The Difference between ‫ اِنﱠ‬and ‫اَنﱠ‬.

‫ اِن‬is used at the beginning of the sentence, whereas ‫ اَن‬is used in the middle of the
sentence. However, the exception is the verb ‫ قال يقول‬and its derivatives (to speak/say).
When this verb is used, it is followed by ‫اِن‬. For example,
‫قال اِنه يقول اِنها بقرة‬

‫كَانﱠ‬

This means ‘as if’. For example, ‫( كان الصالة نور‬As if the prayer is light).

‫ﱠ‬ ‫لكن‬

This means ‘but’. For example, ‫( المدرسة قرييبة لكن المسجدَ بعيد‬The school is near but the
mosque is far).

Note;
a. Because of the nature of its meaning, ‫ لكن‬usually comes in the middle of a
sentence.
b. The meaning of the sentence before ‫ لكن‬and after it will conflict and oppose
with one another.

ٌَ‫لَيْت‬

This means ‘if only’ and is used for hope. For example, ‫( ليت الجو معتدِل‬If only the
weather is moderate).

‫ﱠ‬ ‫لعل‬

This means ‘perhaps’ and is used for hope. For example, ‫االمام مريض‬
َ ‫( لعل‬Perhaps the
Imam is ill).

The difference between ٌَ‫ ليت‬and ‫لع ٌَل‬

‫ لعل‬is used to describe events that are expected to happen. ‫ ليت‬is usually used to
describe scenarios that are unlikely to happen and are likely to happen.
For example, ‫الشباب يَعود‬
َ ‫( ليت‬if only youth would return).

64
Examples of ‫تركيب‬

‫ان للا رحيم‬

‫خبر‬ ‫اسم‬ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

‫ خبر =جملة اسمية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

________________

َ‫ان للا يغفر المسلمين‬

‫مفعول‬ ‫ ه َو فاعل‬+‫فعل‬ ‫اسم‬ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

‫ مفعول = جملة فعلية= خبر‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫ خبر =جملة اسمية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

____________________
‫اني مريض‬

‫خبر‬ ‫ ي اسم‬+ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

‫ خبر =جملة اسمية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫حرف مشبهة بالفعل‬

Additional Rules.

1. There are four that end with a ‫ن‬. These are all read with a heavy Nun but sometimes
they can be read with a light Nun. (The heavy Nun is called ‫ نون ثفيلة‬and the light Nun
is called ‫نون خفيفة‬.) For example;

‫اِن‬ becomes ‫ا ِْن‬

‫اَن‬ ْ
becomes ‫ان‬
‫كاَن‬ ْ
becomes ‫كان‬
‫ل ِكن‬ becomes ‫لكن‬ ْ

If this changing does occur, then these letters still retain their meanings. For example,
ْ still means ‘but’, and so on.
‫لكن‬
However, these letters no longer have their force. What this means is that the letters
no longer give the Ism a Nasab and the Khabar a Rafa’. Instead, it will return to its
previous state of a Rafa’ for both Mubtada and Khabar. (Note, we can now refer to
65
the first part as Mubtada again, because the letter that precedes it no longer has an
effect). For example, Allah states in the Quran ‫ل ِك ِن الراسخون في ال ِع ِلم‬. Here, because the
word ‫ لكن‬has a light Nun, there is no effect on the Ism/Mubtada. If it was having an
effect, then we would read َ‫الراسخين‬.

2. On all six of these letters, a ‫ ما‬is sometimes added. For example, ‫ ان‬becomes ‫انما‬.
When this change occurs, the letter no longer has its force. In other words, it no
longer gives the Ism/Mubtada a Rafa’. The exception, however, it ‫ليْتما‬. This will still
have its force. For example, َ‫صفون‬ ِ ‫الناس م ْن‬
َ ‫( ليتما‬if only people were fair).
 When ‫ ما‬is added to these letters, we sometimes find that they can
appear before a ‫ جملة فعلية‬too. For example, ‫( انما يعاقَب المجْ رم‬Only the
criminal is punished).
 When ‫ ما‬is added to ‫ ان‬, it gives the meaning of ‘merely’ or ‘only’. For
example, ‫ت‬ ِ ‫( انما االعمال بالنِيا‬Actions are merely judged by intention).

3. Dhamirs can be added to these six letters, which will all act as the Ism in the
Tarkib. For example, in the sentence ‫( ان زيدا غني‬Indeed Zaid is rich), ‘Zaid’ is the Ism
whereas ‘Ghani’ is the Khabar. If we say ‫( انه غني‬Indeed he is rich), the ‫ ه‬is the Dhamir
representing Zaid and it too will become the Ism in the Tarkib. Likewise:

He Her You (m) I We

‫ان‬ ‫انه‬ ‫انها‬ ‫انك‬ ‫اني‬ ‫ اننا‬- ‫انا‬
‫لكن‬ ‫لكنه‬ ‫لكنها‬ ‫لكنك‬ ‫لكني‬ ‫لكنا‬
‫ليت‬ ‫ليته‬ ‫ليتها‬ ‫ليتك‬ ‫ليتني‬ ‫ليتنا‬
‫لعل‬ ‫لعله‬ ‫لعلها‬ ‫لعلك‬ ‫لعلي‬ ‫لعلنا‬

Exercises
Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following sentences.

I know that Allah is most forgiving.

‫اعلم ان للا غفور‬

The school is new but the mosque is old.

‫المدْرسة جديدة لكن المسجدَ قديم‬

If only I was king

‫ليتنِي ملك‬

66
 Perhaps he is ill.
‫لعله مريض‬

Translate the following into Arabic.

Indeed Musa is a prophet of Allah. _______________________________

I witness that the student is tall. __________________________________________

Indeed I am a servant of Allah. __________________________________________

Verily Allah does not forgive the tyrants. __________________________________

The market is far but my house is near. ____________________________________

It is as if Hamid is a lion. _______________________________________________

If only he was a Muslim _______________________________________________

Perhaps you are an engineer. _____________________________________

Indeed Allah is most Powerful. __________________________________________

Indeed he is prostrating. _________________________________________

Perhaps Khalid is a teacher. ___________________________________________

It as if the Quran is light. ___________________________________________

I know that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. __________________________

Perhaps Yusuf’s pen is broken. _________________________________________

Indeed the Muslim women are prostrating. ________________________________

If only the judge is a Muslim. __________________________________________

We testify that the lawyer is pious. ______________________________________

Vocabulary.

‫نبي‬ prophet. ‫طويل‬ tall. ‫نور‬ light.

‫صالح‬ pious ‫ساجد‬ prostrating. ‫ مهندس‬engineer.
‫عبد‬ servant. ‫ظالم‬ tyrant.

67
‫‪Translate the following and do the Tarkibs too.‬‬

‫ليتَ الرج َل مجتهد ___________‬

‫االمام رخيص __________‬

‫ِ‬ ‫قلم‬
‫لعل َ‬

‫أنا مسلم لكنه يهودي _____________‬

‫ان الدار دار جميل _____________‬

‫أرض للاِ واسعة ______________‬

‫َ‬ ‫ان‬

‫لعل السيارة جديدة ______________‬

‫ان محمدًا خاتم النبيين _____________‬

‫ان اللغة العربية لغة جميلة _________________‬

‫كتاب للا نور _____________________‬

‫َ‬ ‫كأن‬

‫‪68‬‬
 The ‫ ال‬negating the whole genus. ‫نس‬ ِ ِ ‫الٌلن ْفي‬
ٌ ِ ‫ٌالج‬
This ‫ ال‬appears before a ‫جملة اسمية‬. The effect it has is to give the Ism a Nasab and the
Khabar a Rafa’. As the name suggests, this ‫ ال‬is used to negate something in general.
We say that the whole genus of its ‫ اسم‬is negated. For example, ‫ِين‬ ِ ‫( ال اِكراهَ في الد‬There is
no compulsion in religion).

Its Usage.

This ‫ ال‬is used in a very specific way. Its ‫( اسم‬i.e. what was formerly known as the ‫)مبتدا‬
appears in three different forms.

Form One ٌ‫ُمضاف‬

In this format, the ‫ اسم‬of ‫ ال‬will be ‫ مضاف‬and ‫ نكرة‬and its ‫ مضاف اليه‬will also be ‫نكرة‬. For
example, ‫طالب مدْرسة موجود‬
َ ‫( ال‬There is no student of the school present).

Form Two ‫ضاف‬

ٌِ ‫ُمشبهٌبال ُم‬

This is where the word after ‫ ال‬will not be ‫ مضاف‬and ‫ مضاف اليه‬in wording, but in terms
of meaning, it will resemble it. For example, ‫( ال راكبا ً فَرسا ً حاضر‬There is no rider of the
horse present). In this example, the word ‘rider’ (‫ )راكبا‬is not ‫ مضاف‬towards the word
‘horse’ (‫)فرسا‬, but in terms of meaning, it is similar to being possessed (i.e. the rider of
the horse).

Form Three ‫ُم ْفردٌوٌنَ ِكرة‬

This is the most common form for this ‫ال‬. The noun that appears after ‫ ال‬will be
singular and common. For example, ‫طالب حاضر‬َ ‫( ال‬There is no student present).

Note

Sometimes the force of this ‫ ال‬is dropped. In other words, it no longer gives the Ism a
Nasab and the Khabar a Rafa’, though it will still give the meaning of negation.

a. If ‫ ال‬is followed by a ‫ َم ْع ِرفة‬word (rather than ‫)نكرة‬. For example, ‫الدار‬

ِ ‫ال زيد في‬
(There is no Zaid in the house).
b. If a word appears in between ‫ ال‬and its ‫اسم‬. For example, ‫صبْيان‬ ِ ‫ال في الحديق ِة‬
(There is no children in the garden).
c. If a ‫ ب‬appears on the ‫ال‬. (i.e. ‫ ) ِبال‬For example, ‫الفرس بال سرج‬
َ ‫( اشتريت‬I purchased
the horse without a saddle).

69
Example of ‫تركيب‬

ٌ‫الٌطالبٌمدْرسةٌموجود‬
َ

‫خبر‬ ‫مضاف اليه= اسم‬+ ‫مضاف‬ ‫ال لنفي الجنس‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫ال لنفي الجنس‬

Exercises.

Translate the following sentences using ‫ال لنفي الجنس‬.

There is no life before death. ___________________________________________

There is no student in the class. _________________________________________

There is no prayer without ablution. ______________________________________

No disbeliever will be successful in the hereafter. (‫ناجح‬

ِ successful)

___________________________________________________________________

There is no doubt in the Qur’an. _________________________________________

There is no shop often. ________________________________________________

There is no prophet after Muhammad. ____________________________________

There is no fast for the ill. ______________________________________________

There is no book that is new. ____________________________________________

Add the I’raab to the following sentences. Also, translate them and do the ‫تركيب‬
of each.

_________________ ‫ال رجل مطمئن‬

_________________ ‫كتاب طالب رخيص‬

َ ‫ال‬

70
‫ال صالة بعد صالة العصر_________________‬

‫امام حاضر _______________________‬

‫ال َ‬

‫باب مسجد مفتوح _____________________‬

‫ال َ‬

‫ال طالبة غائبة _________________________‬

‫‪71‬‬
 ‫صة‬
َ ِ‫االفعا ُلٌالناق‬
The ‫ االفعال الناقصة‬are a special and unique set of verbs. There are a few points to
remember regarding their usage.

● These verbs appear on a ‫جملة اسمية‬.

● When they appear, they have the following force;
-it gives the ‫ اسم‬a Rafa’.
-it gives the ‫ خبر‬a Nasab
● Normally, we expect a verb to require a ‫ فاعل‬and sometimes a ‫ مفعول‬too. These verbs
do not require these components.
● Although it appears on a ‫جملة اسمية‬, the end result for the ‫ تركيب‬will be a ‫جملة فعلية‬.
● As the name suggests, these words are verbs. Hence, they will have their own
variations (depending on number and gender, as well as tense). For example, َ‫كان‬
represents singular; masculine; third person of the past tense (‫)فعل ماضي معروف‬. Other
variations of this would be;
‫ك ْنت‬ ‫واحد متكلم‬ ‫فعل ماضي معروف‬ ‘I was’
‫ك ْن‬ ‫‘ فعل امر حاضر معروف واحد مذكر حاضر‬You become’

And so on.
The exception is ‫ليس‬.
َ This verb only has a past tense. It does not have an imperfect or
an imperative tense.

● In all, there are thirteen such verbs;

َ‫كان‬ ‫صار‬
َ ْ َ‫ا‬
‫صبَ َح‬ ‫ْامسي‬ ‫ظل اضْحي‬ َ‫بات‬ ‫ما زا َل‬ َ ِ‫ما بَ ِر َح ما فَت‬
‫ئ‬
‫دام ما ا ْنفك‬
َ ‫ما‬ ‫ْس‬
َ ‫ي‬َ ‫ل‬

For example;
ً‫( كانَ الناس امةً واحدة‬The people belonged to one nation).
ً ‫ليس السوق بعيدا‬
َ (The market is not far).

‫كان الناس امة واحدة‬

‫ صفت =خبر‬+ ‫موصوف‬ ‫اسم‬ ‫فعل ناقص‬

‫ خبر = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫فعل ناقص‬

Here are the meanings of each of the thirteen verbs.

َ ‫ك‬
ٌ‫َان‬
(was)
This indicates that the information in the sentence relates to the past tense. For
example,
ً ‫كان الرجل مه ْندِسا‬ The man was an engineer.
ً ‫كان الدكان مفتوحا‬ The shop was open.

72
‫كانت زينب مريضة‬ْ Zainab was ill.
‫ك ْنت َموجودا في المسج ِد‬ I was present in the mosque.

Note:
The ‫ فعل مضارع‬of ‫ كان‬is ‫ يَكون‬. This imperfect verb can accept the particles of ‫( جازمة‬like
ْ For example,
‫ )ل ْم‬and ‫( ناصبة‬like ‫)لن‬.
‫ لم يك ْن‬The ‫ و‬has dropped because of the appearance of two Saakins. Sometimes the ‫ن‬
also drops too to leave ‫لم يَك‬. For example, Allah says regarding Ibrahim (peace be
upon him) ‫و لم يك من المشركين‬

The imperative (‫ )امر‬for this verb is ‫ك ْن‬, meaning ‘become.’

ٌ‫َار‬
َ ‫ص‬
(became)
This indicates a change from one state to another. For example,
ً‫صار الجو حارا‬ The weather became hot.
ً ‫صار الغني فقيرا‬ The rich became poor.

The ‫ فعل مضارع‬for this is ‫يصير‬

ْ َ ‫ضحي ا‬
ٌ‫صبَ َح‬ ْ ‫امسي ا‬
ْ ‫ظل‬
‫ﱠ‬ ٌَ‫بَات‬
(became)
These five also mean ‘became’, just like ‫صار‬. However, these words are more specific
in the sense that each one means ‘became’ at a certain time;
‫اصبح‬ became in the morning.
‫اضحي‬ became in the mid-morning.
‫امسي‬ became in the evening.
‫ظل‬ became in the day.
‫بات‬ became in the night.

For example,
ً‫اصبح الطبيب مشغوال‬ The doctor became busy in the morning.
ً ‫بات المطر شديدا‬ The rain became severe at night.

‫مازال‬ َ ‫ح مافَ ِت‬

ٌ‫ئ‬ ٌَ ‫ماٌاِ ْنفكﱠ مابَ ِر‬
(remains, still)
All four of these verbs mean the same thing, to remain or continue. For example,
ً‫مازال القلم مفقودا‬ The pen remained missing.
ً ‫مابر َح الولد مريضا‬ The child remained ill.

ٌ‫ماٌدَا َم‬
(as long as, so long as)
This verb gives the meaning of ‘as long as’. Because of the nature of its meaning, it
usually appears in the middle of a sentence. For example,

73
 ‫التتكل ْم مادام االمام قائما ً في الصال ِة‬ Do not talk as long as the Imam is standing in prayer.
َ‫ال ت َْخرجْ مادام الجو باردا‬ Do not leave so long as the weather is cold.

َ ‫لَي‬
ٌ‫ْس‬
(not)
This is used to negate a nominal sentence. For example,
ً ‫ليس الرجل َجبانا‬ The man is not a coward.
ً ‫لست مريضا‬ I am not ill.

As mentioned before, ‫ ليس‬only has a past tense. Also, a ‫ ب‬usually features on the
Khabar of ‫ليس‬. For example, ‫( اَلَست بربكم‬Am I not your Lord?)

Exercises.

Write out the fourteen verbs of the past tense of ‫ليس‬.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Translate the following into Arabic using the ‫االفعال الناقصة‬

The door was closed. ________________________

The water become cold (at night) ________________________

The teacher was ill. ________________________

The table became broken in the morning. ________________________

The mosque is not far. ________________________

The weather became moderate in the day. ________________________

Zainab was late. ________________________

Khalid became ill in the mid-morning. ________________________

The infidels became Muslims. ________________________

Fatima was sleeping. ________________________

The two students became hardworking at night. ________________________

Yusuf is not present. ________________________

74
The female Muslims remain in prostration. ________________________

The engineers were Muslims. ________________________

The lesson became hard. ________________________

The mosque is not new. ________________________

The boy became hungry (in the evening). ________________________

Zaid was brave. ________________________

I am not an Imam. ________________________

The grapes became cheap (in the day). ________________________

The engineer became tired in the morning. ________________________

The moon became eclipsed in the day. ________________________

Vocabulary.

‫رخيص‬ cheap. ‫جوعان‬ ْ hungry. ‫شجاع‬ brave.

‫ِعنب‬ grave. ‫ت ْعبان‬ tired. ‫نائم‬ sleeping.
‫ص ْعب‬ hard. ‫درس‬ lesson. ‫مخسوف‬ eclipsed.
‫قمر‬ moon. ‫مغلق‬ closed. ‫مريض‬ ill.
‫ماء‬ water. ‫بارد‬ cold.

Translate the following verses and sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him).

‫ين‬
ِ ‫الط‬
ِ ‫الماء و‬
ِ َ‫كنت نبيا ً و ادم بين‬ ______________________________

‫قالوا ل ْم نَك من المصلين‬ ______________________________

َ ‫ك ْنت ْم خ‬
‫َير امة‬ ______________________________

ً ‫و اوصاني بالصالةِ و الزكاةِ ما د ْمت حيا‬ ________________________

Translate the following sentences into English.

‫أصبح الناس كسالي‬ ______________________________

‫صار الماء باردا‬ ______________________________

ْ
‫تأكل ما دمت صائما‬ ‫ال‬ ______________________________

75
‫ما زال المطر شديداً‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ال تكتبْ ما دام المدرس موجوداً‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ت مريضة علي يوم الجمعة‬

‫كن ِ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫صار الكسالن مجتهدا‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ليس الرجل رجال صالحا‬

‫‪Do the Tarkibs of the following.‬‬

‫لست مريضا ً‬

‫ك ْنت ْم خ َ‬
‫َير امة‬

‫صار الغني فقيرا ً‬

‫ليس الرجل رجال صالحا‬

‫‪76‬‬
 َ ‫روفٌال ُمشبَهةٌ ِبلَي‬
ٌ‫ْس‬ ُ ‫ال ُح‬ ٌَ ‫لَي‬
The letters similar to ‫ْس‬
There are four letters that act in a similar fashion to ‫ليس‬. So,
 They give the meaning of ‘not’ just like ‫ليس‬.
 They give the Ism a Rafa’ and the Khabar a Nasab, like ‫ليس‬.

However, there are conditions attached to its usage.

The four letters are; ‫ا ِْن‬ ‫ما‬ ‫ال‬ َ‫الت‬

ْ and ‫ما‬
‫ان‬
These two letters can enter on both proper (‫ )معرفة‬and general (‫ )نكرة‬nouns. For
example;
‫ما زيد قائ ًما‬ There is no Zaid standing.
ً ‫ ان رجل م ْنطلقا‬There is no man going.

However, there are two conditions for its usage;

1-After the ‫ان‬/‫ما‬, the Ism must appear, followed by the Khabar. In other words, the
Khabar must not precede the Ism.
2-Before the Khabar, the particle of exception (‫ )اال‬should not appear.

If these two conditions are not met, then ‫ ان‬and ‫ ما‬lose their force. In other words, they
will no longer give the Ism a Rafa’ and Khabar a Nasab.
Take the example of the verse ‫( وما محمد اال َرسول‬And Muhammad is but a messenger).
The ‫ ما‬does not have its force (though it still gives the meaning of ‘not’) because ‫اال‬
appeared in the sentence (before the Khabar(.

‫ال‬
Unlike the above two letters, this ‫ ال‬can only appear when the Ism and Khabar are
both common nouns (‫)نكرة‬. For example,
‫ال رجل غائبًا‬ There is no man absent. (Note that both words after ‫ ال‬are common).

Again, there are two conditions governing its usage.

1-After the ‫ال‬, the Ism must appear, followed by the Khabar. In other words, the
Khabar must not precede the Ism.
2-Before the Khabar, the particle of exception (‫ )اال‬should not appear.

If these two conditions are not met, then ‫ ال‬loses its force. In other words, it will no
longer give the Ism a Rafa’ and Khabar a Nasab.
Take the example ‫( ال زيد قائم‬There is no Zaid standing). Because a proper noun is
featured in the sentence (i.e. ‫)زيد‬, it no longer has its force.

َ‫الت‬
This is usually used in association with َ‫( ِحين‬meaning ‘when’). Usually its Ism is
omitted and only the Khabar is featured. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an;
‫التَ حينَ مناص‬. Here, only the Khabar of ‫ الت‬appears. With the Ism included, it would
have read ‫التَ الحين حينَ مناص‬.

77
 َ ‫ْافعا ُلٌال ُم‬
ٌ‫قاربَ ِة‬
This is the final category of the ‫ نواسخ‬of the nominal sentences. These verbs appear on
a ‫جملة اسمية‬. The force they have is that:
-they give the ‫ اسم‬a Rafa’.
-they give the ‫ خبر‬a Nasab.
Importantly however, the ‫ خبر‬will always appear in the form of the imperfect tense
(‫)فعل مضارع‬. For example, ‫يأتي‬
َ ‫( ْاوشك زيد ان‬Zaid is close to coming).

‫يأتي‬
َ ‫ْاوشك زيد ان‬

‫هو فاعل= جملة فعلية =خبر‬

َ + ‫فعل‬ ‫اسم‬ ‫فعل مقاربة‬

‫ خبر = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ اسم‬+ ‫فعل مقاربة‬

Principally, there are four verbs that are referred to as ‫افعال المقاربة‬

َ‫ْاوشك‬ ‫ب‬
َ ‫ك ََر‬ ‫كا َد‬ ‫عسي‬

________

‫عسي‬
This verb is used to give the meaning of hope. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an;
ِ‫يأتي بالفتْح‬
َ ‫ان‬ ْ ‫( عسي للا‬It is hoped Allah will bring victory).
This verb only has a past tense. Also, ‫ ان‬usually appears on the ‫فعل مضارع‬. For
example, Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫( عسي ربكم ان ير َح َمكم‬Verily your Lord will forgive
you) (17:8)

‫كا َد‬
This verb gives the meaning ‘close’. For example,
‫نزل‬ ِ َ‫( كاد المطر ي‬The rain was close to falling).
- This verb can have a ‫ فعل مضارع‬version itself, which is ‫ ; يَكاد‬Allah says in the
Qur’an;
‫ْصاره ْم‬
َ ‫طف اب‬ َ ‫البرق يَخ‬
ْ ‫( يكاد‬the lightning is close to snatching their sights).
- Usually, ‫ ان‬does not appear on the ‫ فعل مضارع‬that forms the Khabar.

‫ب‬َ ‫كر‬
َ َ‫ْاوشك‬
Both these verbs also give the meaning of ‘close’. ‫ كرب‬usually does not have ‫ ان‬on its
Khabar, whilst ‫ اوشك‬usually does. For example,
‫( كرب االمام يخطب‬The Imam was close to speaking).
‫يأتي‬
َ ‫( اوشك زيد ان‬Zaid is close to coming).

78
Other verbs of ‫المقاربة‬

The above-mentioned four verbs are known as the verbs of ‫المقاربة‬. However, there are
other verbs that too are categorised as the verbs of ‫المقاربة‬. For instance,
‫اِخلَ ْولق حري‬
Both these verbs give the same meaning as ‫عسي‬, namely to hope for. The ‫ ان‬must
feature on the ‫ فعل مضارع‬when these two verbs are used.

َ‫اَخذ‬ ‫َجعَ َل‬ َ‫َطفِق‬

These verbs indicate that the Khabar in the sentence is about to begin. The ‫ان‬
will not appear on the imperfect tense with any of these verbs. Collectively,
these verbs are also known as the ‫افعال الشروع‬, because they indicate the
commencing of something. For example,
‫سه‬
َ ‫سح را‬
َ ‫يم‬
ْ ‫جعل رسول للا‬ The Prophet of Allah began to wipe his head.
‫اخذت اكتب‬ I began to wrote.

79
 Revision Exercises; The Abrogation of the Nominal Sentence.

In your own words, what does abrogation mean?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

What I’raab do the following give to the ‫ اسم‬and the ‫?خبر‬

‫حروف مشبهة بالفعل‬ __________________________________________

‫االفعال الناقصة‬ __________________________________________

‫ال لنفي الجنس‬ __________________________________________

‫حروف مشبهة بليس‬ __________________________________________

‫افعال المقاربة‬ __________________________________________

In detail and with examples of each, explain the difference between how
‫ ليت‬and ‫ لعل‬are used?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following sentences.

ْ It as if the boy likes oranges.

‫كان الولدَ يحب البرتقال‬

Indeed religion is easy.

‫ان الدينَ يسر‬

Give two examples where ‫ اِنﱠ‬loses its force.

_____________________________________________________________

80
_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Explain what happens if ‫ ال لنفي الجنس‬is followed by a ‫ معرفة‬noun?

_____________________________________________________________

One of the three ways ‫ ال لنفي الجنس‬is used is ‫مفرد و نكرة‬. Explain what this means.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Explain the difference between ‫ اِن‬and ‫اَن‬.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Translate the following using ‫ال لنفي الجنس‬.

There is no doctor in the hospital. _________________________________

There is no prophet after Muhammad ______________________________

There is no change to the religion of Allah. __________________________

Make a useful sentence using the following ‫االفعال الناقصة‬

‫صار‬ _______________________________________________________

‫بات‬ _______________________________________________________

‫_______________________________________________________ ما زال‬

Identify whether the following statements are true or false.

* In some circumstances, ‫ اِن‬can appear in the middle of a sentence. _____

* When ‫ ما‬appears on َ‫ليت‬, it still gives the ‫ اسم‬a Rafa’ and the ‫ خبر‬a Nasab. ____
*َ ‫ ظل‬means ‘to become in the evening’. _________
َ*‫ ما برح‬means ‘to remain’. __________
81
* From the letters similar to ‫ليس‬, ‫ ما‬and ‫ اِن‬can appear on both common and proper
nouns. ________
* In the verse ‫و ما محمد اال رسول‬, the appearance of ‫ اال‬in the sentence means ‫ ما‬lost its
force and meaning. ________
* With the ‫افعال المقاربة‬, the ‫ خبر‬can appear in the form of ‫فعل ماضي‬. ______
* ‫ليس‬
َ only has a past tense. _____
ْ _____
* The ‫ مضارع‬of ‫ كان‬can accept particles such as ‫ ل ْم‬and ‫لن‬.

Correct the grammatical errors in the following sentences.

‫ان للا غفور‬ ____________________

‫أعلم اِن خالدا ً مهندس‬ ____________________

‫ال رجل حاضر‬ _____________________

‫أصبحت مريض‬ _____________________

‫ب‬
َ ‫ض َر‬
َ ‫أوشك زيد أن‬ _____________________

‫الطالب جديد لكن المدرس قديم‬ _____________________

‫االمام مفقود‬
َ ‫قلم‬
َ ‫ان‬ _____________________

ً ‫صار الما َء باردا‬ _____________________

Translate the following sentences.

The school is closed but the mosque is open. ____________________

The tea became cold. ____________________

The two teachers are not old. ____________________

Perhaps the house is cheap. ____________________

The shop is near to opening. ____________________

It is hoped that the Imam will recite Surah Baqara in Salah. ____________________

Fill in the gaps with a suitable word and then translate them into English.

_______ ‫ليت خالدا‬

_______ ‫أوشك االمام‬

َ‫كان __________ مس ِلمين‬

82
 ‫أصب َح ْ‬
‫ت ________ مريضة‬

‫ما برحت __________ راكعات‬

‫ال تقرأ مادام _________ ضعيفا‬

‫لعل االما َمي ِن __________‬

‫أمسيت ___________‬

‫ما فتئ المطر ___________‬

‫صار الماء ___________‬

‫كافر ____________‬
‫ال َ‬

‫ْ‬
‫ان زيد ____________‬

‫‪Categorise the following according to which type of abrogation (of the nominal‬‬
‫‪sentence) they belong to.‬‬

‫التَ‬ ‫مازال‬ ‫كأنّ‬ ‫صار‬ ‫أوشك‬ ‫بات اخلولق‬ ‫ليتَ‬ ‫ليس‬

‫َ‬

‫عسي ما فتئ‬ ‫ما‬ ‫كرب‬ ‫حري‬ ‫ظل‬ ‫لكن‬

‫حروف مشبهة بالفعل‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫االفعال الناقصة‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫أفعال المقاربة‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫حروف مشبهة بليس‬ ‫____________________________________‬

‫‪Translate the following and do the Tarkibs too.‬‬

‫امام مسجد حاضر ________________‬

‫ال َ‬

‫كانَ الطالب مجتهدًا ________________‬

‫ان القرانَ كتاب للا ________________‬

‫‪83‬‬
 __________________ ‫االمام مريضا‬
ِ ‫أمسي أخو‬

_____________________ ‫بات القميص نظيفًا‬

_____________________ ‫المطر شديد‬

َ ‫ان‬

___________________ ‫صار التاجر أمينا‬

____________________ ‫الدرس سهل‬

َ ‫ليت‬

Write out the fourteen variations for the ‫أصب َح‬

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Which of the ‫ أفعال ناقصة‬give the meaning of:

-Became in the night. _________

-Became in the day. _________

-So long as. _________

-Remains. _________

-Not. _________

Name three from the ‫ أفعال مقاربة‬that give the meaning of ‘close’.

____________________________________________________________

Translate the following.

‫كاد االمام يكتب‬ _________________

84
 ‫انه كريم‬ ‫____________________‬

‫قلم طالب مفقود‬

‫ال َ‬ ‫____________________‬

‫ليس الدكان مفتوحا‬ ‫____________________‬

‫صار العدو صديقا‬ ‫____________________‬

‫أصبحت مريضا‬ ‫____________________‬

‫أوشك خالد أن يسم َع‬ ‫____________________‬

‫أمسي الكتاب ثمينا‬ ‫____________________‬

‫‪Do the Tarkibs of the following.‬‬

‫‪Perhaps the Imam is hardworking.‬‬

‫االمام مجتهد‬
‫َ‬ ‫لعل‬

‫‪Indeed Allah is Forgiving.‬‬

‫ان للا غفور‬

‫‪There is no Salah after Asr.‬‬

‫ال صالة بعد العصر‬

‫‪The Imam’s son was close to memorising.‬‬

‫كرب ابن االمام يحفظ‬

‫‪85‬‬
 Finding the Dhamirs in a verbal sentence.
As we have already seen, a ‫ جملة فعلية‬is a sentence that begins with a verb. In this
lesson, we will focus on finding the personal pronouns (‫ )ضمير‬in such a sentence.
Specifically, we will look at finding the personal pronouns in the past tense verb.

In a verbal sentence (or any other sentence where a verb appears), there is always a
subject, or a ‫فاعل‬. This is because a verb describes an action; we need to know who is
performing that particular action. Sometimes there is an object too (‫)مفعول‬, but a
verbal sentence can exist without one.
In such a sentence that features a verb, the personal pronoun (‫ )ضمير‬will either be
hidden or apparent. For example,

* ‫س ِم َع زيد‬
َ (Zaid Heard).
Here, the action taking place is the ‘hearing’ in the past tense. ‘Zaid’ is the person
who heard, and so he is the ‫فاعل‬. Also note that the word ‫ زيد‬has a Rafa’; this is a clue
that it is the subject in the sentence. We say that the subject is apparent.
The ‫ تركيب‬will be as follows;
‫سمع زيد‬

‫فاعل‬ ‫فعل‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل‬

* ً ‫سم ْعت زيدا‬

ِ (I heard Zaid).
Here, the person listening is ‘I’. But ‫( انا‬which is the Arabic for ‘I’) is not visible.
Thus, we say that the ‫ فاعل‬is hidden in the verb, and is represented by the ‫ت‬.
The ‫ تركيب‬will be as follows;

ً ‫سمعت زيدا‬

‫مفعول به‬ ‫ ت ضمير فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫ مفعول به = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

The personal pronouns in the past tense.

With the single/masculine/third person (e.g. ‫ب‬ َ ‫)ضر‬

َ and the single/feminine/third
person (e.g. ‫ت‬ْ َ‫)ضرب‬,
َ we must look at each individual sentence where it features and
see if the noun that follows it becomes the subject. We will know this because usually
the noun will be Marfu’. If the noun is apparent and it is Marfu’ then we know the
Dhamir is apparent, rather than hidden. For example,

‫ضرب زيد‬ 'Zaid’ becomes the ‫ فاعل‬here.

ْ
‫ضربت عائشة‬ 'Aisha’ is the subject here.

86
Here is a table to explain which Dhamirs will appear in the past tense.

Verb Hidden Personal Pronoun.

‫ضرب‬
َ Unless there is an apparent noun after it, it will have a hidden
‫ ه َو‬Dhamir in it.
‫ضربا‬ ‫هما‬
‫ضربوا‬ ‫ه ْم‬
ْ
‫ضربت‬ Unless there is an apparent noun after it, it will have a hidden
‫ِي‬َ ‫ ه‬Dhamir in it.
‫ضربتا‬ ‫هما‬
َ‫ضربْن‬ ‫هن‬

َ‫ضربْت‬ َ‫ت‬
‫ضربْتما‬ ‫تما‬
‫ضربْت ْم‬ ‫ت ْم‬
‫ت‬ ِ ‫ضرب‬ ‫ت‬ ِ
‫ضربْتما‬ ‫تما‬
‫ضربتن‬ ‫تن‬

‫ضربت‬ ‫ت‬
‫ضربنا‬ ‫نا‬

________________

With each of the past tense verbs, you will find these personal pronouns in them. The
exception is single/masculine/third person and single/feminine/third person, if they
have an apparent noun appearing after the verb. If it does, then this usually becomes
the ‫فاعل‬. Otherwise, they will have a ‫ هو‬and ‫ هي‬Dhamir hidden in them respectively.

Exercises.

In the following verses, identify the past tense, and state where the ‫ فاعل‬is.

‫ختم للا علي قلوبه ْم‬

َ _________________________________

‫_____________________اولئك الذين صدَقوا و اولئك هم المتَقون‬

‫ان الذينَ كفروا‬ _________________________________

َ‫_________________________________ و َرف ْعنا لكَ ذكرك‬

ْ‫فاذا فَرغتَ فانصب‬ ___________________________

‫ب الفي ِل‬
ِ ‫_____________________ الم تر كيف فعَ َل ربكَ باصحا‬

َ‫__________________ و قت َل داود جالوت‬

87
 The nouns that give the meaning of a verb. ٌ‫اسماء‬
‫االفعا ٌِل‬
As we have read, there is a clear difference between an ‫ اسم‬and a ‫فعل‬.

‫اسم‬ A meaningful word that does not have a tense in it.

‫فعل‬ A meaningful word that does have a tense in it.

However, the ‫ اسماء االفعال‬are nouns that give the meaning of a verb. So by formation
and appearance, they resemble a noun. But in terms of meaning, they resemble a verb.
Also, because they are nouns they will be ‫غير متصرف‬. This means that they do not
have variations based on person (third/second/first), gender and number.

Altogether, there are nine such nouns that give the meaning of a verb; six give the
meaning of the imperative (‫)امر‬, and three that give the meaning of the past tense
(‫)ماضي‬.

‫اسماءٌاالفعالٌبمعنيٌاالمر‬

There are six nouns that give the meaning of the imperative. The noun that follows
this will be read with a Fatha, by virtue of being the object (‫)مفعول‬. This means that
the
‫ اسماء االفعال‬have a hidden Dhamir in them, acting as the subject (‫)فاعل‬.

َ‫ر َو ْيد‬
This means ‘allow time.’ For example, ً ‫( رويد زيدا‬Allow time to Zaid).
We say that the word ‫ رويد‬is ‫اسم الفعل‬, giving the meaning of the verb ‫أم ِه ْل‬,
ْ which is the
equivalent verb that gives the meaning of ‘allow time’.

َ‫بَ ْله‬
This means ‘leave’, thus giving the equivalent meaning of ‫دَ ْع‬. For example,
َ‫( بله السارق‬Leave the thief).

َ‫دونَك‬
This means ‘hold’, thus giving the equivalent meaning of ‫خذ‬.

َ‫عليك‬
ْ For example,
This means ‘adopt/adhere to’. It gives the equivalent meaning of ‫أل ِز ْم‬.
‫ق‬
ِ ‫بالصد‬
ِ ‫( عليك‬Adhere to the truth).

‫َحي َه ْل‬
ِ ‫اِي‬. For example, َ‫حيهل الصالة‬
This means ‘bring’ thus giving the equivalent meaning of ‫ت‬
(Bring the prayer).

‫ها‬
This means ‘take/hold’ thus giving the equivalent meaning of ‫خذ‬. For example, ‫ها زيدا‬
(take Zaid).
88
Other than these six, there are other nouns that also give the meaning of the
imperative;

َ‫هَيت‬ 'Hurry up’

َ‫مكانَك‬ ‘Wait’
‫امين‬ ‘Please accept’

_______

‫اسماءٌاالفعالٌبمعنيٌالماضي‬

َ‫هَيهات‬
This means to ‘be afar’. For example, ‫( هيهاتَ زيد‬Zaid went afar). Here, the noun gives
the meaning of َ‫بَعد‬.
Note that the word after the ‫ اسم الفعل‬is now read with a Rafa’. This is because it is now
becoming the subject (‫)فاعل‬.

َ‫س ْرعان‬
َ
This means ‘to be quick.’ It gives the equivalent meaning of ‫سرع‬. For example,
‫( سرعان زيد‬Zaid was quick).

َ‫شتان‬
This means ‘to be separated’, thus giving the meaning of ‫اِفترق‬. For example,
‫( شتان الحق و الباطل‬The truth and falsity separated).

__________

Examples of ‫تركيب‬

‫رويد زيدا‬

‫مفعول‬ ‫اسم فعل بمعني "امهل" انتَ ضمير فاعل‬

‫ مفعول = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫هيهات زيد‬

‫فاعل‬ "‫اسم فعل بمعني "بعد‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل‬

89
 ‫افعالٌالقلوب‬
There are seven verbs that are collectively called the ‫افعال القلوب‬. These verbs enter on
the ‫ مبتدا‬and ‫خبر‬, and give both a Nasab. The reason for their Nasab is that they both
become the object (‫ )مفعول‬of the verb. For example, the sentence ‫ زيد عالم‬is a nominal
sentence. The verb ‫ ع ِلمت‬can appear before it to make ً ‫( علمت زيدا عالما‬I knew Zaid is a
scholar). The result is that the sentence is now a verbal sentence and both ‫ زيد‬and ‫عالم‬
become the two objects of the verb ‫علمت‬.

Of the seven verbs,

-three give the meaning of doubt (‫)شك‬. They are

‫ِب‬
َ ‫َحس‬
‫خال‬
‫ظن‬

-three give the meaning of conviction (‫)يقين‬. They are

‫ع ِل َم‬
‫راي‬
‫وجد‬

-the last verb can be used to mean both doubt and conviction. This verb is
‫ز ِع َم‬

Hence, these verbs are also sometimes known as ‫افعال الشك و اليقين‬.

Examples of usage.

‫حسبت زيدا مدرسا‬ I thought Zaid was a teacher.

ً ‫ِخ ْلت بكرا ً نائما‬ I thought Bakar was sleeping.
ً ‫ظننت الما َل نافعا‬ I thought the wealth was useful.

ً ‫علمت زيدا امينا‬ I knew Zaid was trustworthy.

ً‫رأيت عمرا ً فاضال‬ I saw Amr as excellent.
ً ‫وجدت البيتَ رهينا‬ I found the house to be leased.

ً ‫زعمت للاَ غفورا‬ I found Allah to be Forgiving. (for conviction)

ً ‫زعمت الشيطانَ نصيرا‬ I thought the devil was a helper. (for doubt)

Notes.

The verb ‫ ظن‬means to doubt/presume. It can also mean ‘to accuse someone’. When
this verb is used to give the latter meaning, then it only needs one object, not two. For
example, ً ‫( ظننت زيدا‬I accused Zaid).

90
Likewise, the verb ‫ علم‬also means ‘to know/have acquaintance’. When this verb is
used to give this meaning, then it only needs one object. For example, ً ‫( علمت زيدا‬I
knew Zaid).

The verb ‫ وجد‬can also mean ‘to find/reach’. When this verb is used to give this
meaning, then it only needs one object. For example, ‫القلم‬
َ ‫( وجدت‬I found the pen).

Other verbs that sometimes need more than one object.

Other than the seven verbs mentioned above, there are other verbs that –by virtue of
their meaning- have more than one object;

‫اِتخذ‬ To take. ً‫ابراهيم خليال‬

َ ‫اتخذ للا‬ Allah took Ibrahim as a friend.

‫اري‬ To show ً ‫الطالب كتابا‬

َ ‫ اري المدرس‬The teacher showed the student a book.

‫اعطي‬ To give ً ‫اعطيت الولدَ كرة‬ I gave the boy a ball.

ْ
‫أخبَ َر‬ To inform ً ‫الطالب جوابا‬
َ ‫أخبرت‬ I informed the student of an answer.

‫سأ َل‬ To ask ‫العالم مسئلة‬

َ ‫سألت‬ I asked the scholar a question.

Exercises

Use the ‫ افعال القلوب‬to change the following sentences into a verbal sentence.

‫الولد قائم‬ ______________________________________

‫للا رحيم‬ ______________________________________

‫القطار متأخر‬ ______________________________________

‫الدرس سهل‬ ______________________________________

‫القهوة بارد‬ ______________________________________

‫البيت نظيف‬ ______________________________________

‫المجلة رخيصة‬ ______________________________________

‫______________________________________ المسلمون راكعون‬

91
The Five Types of Object (‫)المفعول‬
An object appears in a verbal sentence; it is the person or object upon which the
action is done upon. In the sentence َ‫قتل داود جالوت‬,
‫ جالوت‬is the ‫ مفعول‬because it is the recipient of the action of ‘killing’.
There are five types of ‫مفعول‬.
 ‫مفعول به‬
 ‫مفعول مطلق‬
 ‫مفعول له‬
 ‫مفعول فيه‬
 ‫مفعول معه‬

‫مفعولٌبه‬

This is the noun upon which the action of the verb is done. This noun will appear in
the ‫ نصبي‬state. In a verbal sentence, the order is usually verb, followed by subject and
then the object. However, the object can sometimes appear before the subject. For
example,
‫ولدا ً ضرب زيد‬

There are certain places where the object must appear before the subject (‫)فاعل‬.

i. When the subject has an attached pronoun (‫ )ضمير‬that returns to the object. For
example, ‫ابرهيم ربه‬
َ ‫( ابتلي‬Ibrahim’s Lord tested him).
If the mentioning of ‘his Lord’ came first before ‘Ibrahim’ then this would not
grammatically make sense. This is because the noun must be mentioned first before
we can refer to it using a pronoun. For example, we say ‘I saw Zaid and waved at
him.’ We cannot say ‘I saw him and waved at Zaid’ because this would be using the
pronoun before the actual noun (Zaid). Similarly, it was necessary to mention
‘Ibrahim’ first and then ‘his Lord.’

ii. When the object (‫ )مفعول‬appears in the form of a pronoun added to a verb. For
example,
‫( اكرمني زيد‬Zaid respected me) or ‫( سمعني خالد‬Khalid heard me). Here, the Dhamir has
been added to the verb (‫ أكرم‬and ‫ )سمع‬and the noun after it is Marfu’, thus suggesting
that it must be the subject and not the object (‫)مفعول‬.

‫مفعولٌمطلق‬

If a verb is mentioned and the root word (‫ )مصدر‬or a word with a similar meaning to
the root word is mentioned after it in the ‫ نصبي‬state, then it is called ‫مفعول مطلق‬. For
example,
‫و رتل القرانَ ترتيال‬
ً ‫قعدت جلوسا‬
‫تدميرا‬
ً ‫فدمرنها‬

92
The purpose behind the ‫مفعولٌمطلق‬

This type of object is used to express three possible things;

i. Emphasis. To create the impression of emphasis and stress, this type of object is
used. For example, ً ‫( ضربت ضربا‬I struck hard).
ii. Number. This object can be used to tell us the frequency of action. For example,
ً‫( جلست جلسة‬I sat down once).
iii. Type. This object is used to describe a certain type of action. For example,
‫جلست جلسة المدرس‬. (I sat like the teacher).

‫مفعولٌله‬

This is where the root word (‫ )مصدر‬is mentioned after the verb. Specifically this
object will explain the reason for the action. Unlike the previous type (‫)مفعول مطلق‬, the
root word does not have to be the same or similar to the verb mentioned before it. For
example,
ً ‫( ضربته تأديبا‬I hit him to discipline him)
ً ‫( قمت احتراما‬I stood in respect)

‫مفعولٌفيه‬

This is an object that describes either the time or place of the action. This is also
called ‫الظرف‬. For example,
‫صمت يوم الجمعة‬ I fasted on Friday.
‫خلف االمام‬
َ ‫جلست‬ I sat behind the Imam.

‫مفعولٌمعه‬

This is the object that occurs after ‫( َو‬which gives the meaning of ‫مع‬, with). For
example, َ‫( استوي الماء و الخشبة‬The water became still along with the wood plank).

Exercises

Find the object in each of these sentences/verses. Also, identify which type of object it
is.

‫وال تقتلوا اوالدَكم خشيةَ اِمالق‬ ________________

ً ‫و كلم للا موسي تكليما‬ ________________

93
‫يوم الخميس‬
‫رجعت َ‬ ‫________________‬

‫اذا زلزلت االرض زلزالها‬ ‫________________‬

‫تلك حدود للاِ فالتقربوها‬ ‫________________‬

‫سافر زيد و اخاه‬ ‫________________‬

‫ضربته ضربا شديداً‬ ‫________________‬

‫‪Translate the following accurately. Also identify the object in each.‬‬

‫سمعني خالد‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫قتله حامد‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫شكر ادريس ربَه‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫رأيت االمام يوم الخميس‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫سه‬
‫ضرب زيدًا مدر َ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫مصر‬
‫َ‬ ‫زرت‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫شكر خالدا ً ابنه‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫;‪Do the Tarkibs of the following‬‬

‫رأيت االمام يوم الخميس‬

‫وال تقتلوا اوالدَكم خشيةَ اِمالق‬

‫شكر خالدا ً ابنه‬

‫قتله حامد‬

‫‪94‬‬
 The Genitive State ‫المجرور‬
There are two principle ways a noun will receive a Jarr. (i.e. Kasra)
 Because it is appearing as ‫مضاف اليه‬. For example, ‫كتاب خالد‬.
 Because it is preceded by one of the ‫الجر‬
ِ ‫حروف‬, which are seventeen in
number.

The particles of Jarr.

There are seventeen particles in the Arabic language that come before a noun and give
it a Kasra. It is important to remember that these particles are link or anchor particles.
Therefore they carry very little meaning on their own. This means that whenever they
are used, they will be used with;
 Verbs.
 Nouns that are similar to verbs. This includes
o ‫اسم فاعل‬
o ‫اسم مفعول‬
o ‫صفة مشبهة‬
o ‫اسم مصدر‬

The only complication is that the verb or the nouns similar to the verb are not always
present in the sentence. Therefore, this will require you to work out the missing verb
or noun similar to a verb. This will be referred to in detail later.

The particles of ‫ ألجار‬are seventeen in total;

‫خال‬ ‫مذ‬ ‫منذ‬ ‫الواو‬ ‫الالم‬ ‫الكاف‬ ‫التاء‬ ‫الباء‬

‫الي‬ ‫حتي‬ ‫علي‬ ‫عن‬

َ ‫في‬ ‫عدا‬ ‫ِمن‬ ‫حاشا‬ ‫رب‬

Each one has a particular meaning…

‫الباء‬
‘With’
‫بالقلم‬
ِ ‫كتبت‬ I wrote with the pen.

‫التاء‬
Used for oath with Allah’s name.
ً ‫تاهلل رايت زيدا‬ By Allah, I saw Zaid.

‫الكاف‬
‘Like, similar to’
‫زيد كاالس ِد‬ Zaid is like a lion.

95
‫الالم‬
‘For’. Used to denote ownership/possession.
‫المال ِلزيد‬ The wealth is for Zaid.

‫الواو‬
Used for oath.
‫وللا قرات القران‬ By Allah I recited the Quran.

‫مذ و منذ‬
Both mean ‘since’.
‫ما رايته مذ يوم الجمعة‬ I haven’t seen him since Friday.

‫خال و عدا و حاشا‬

All three mean ‘except’
‫ذهب الطالب عدا زيد‬ The students went except Zaid.

ْ
‫عن‬
‘From’
‫عمر‬
ِ ‫روي ابو بكر عن‬ Abu Bakr narrated from Umar.

ْ
‫من‬
‘From’
‫ ِسرت من البصرة الي الكوفة‬I travelled from Basra to Kufa.

‫علي‬
‘Upon’.
‫السطح‬
ِ ‫زيد علي‬ Zaid is on the roof.

‫حتي‬
‘Until’. Used to indicate the termination of an action.
‫الصباح‬
ِ ‫ قرات القران حتي‬I recited the Quran until the morning.

‫الي‬
‘To/towards’
‫ذهبت الي السوق‬ I went towards the market.

‫في‬
‘In’.
‫زيد في الدار‬ Zaid is in the house.

‫رب‬
َ
‘Few’
‫رب عالم ذكي لقيت‬ Very few intelligent scholars I have met.

96
Doing the ‫ تركيب‬with the ‫حروفٌالجر‬

As mentioned earlier, the particles of Jarr must link back to either a verb or a noun
similar to a verb. Consider the following examples;

‫رايت المسلمين في المسجد‬

‫مجرور‬ ‫جار‬

‫المفعول به‬ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫ مجرور = ظرف لغو متعلق فعل رايت‬+ ‫جار‬

‫ متعلق = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ مفعول‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

In this ‫تركيب‬, we made ‫ في المسجد‬Jar and Majrur. The next step is to link (‫ )متعلق‬it to a
verb. There is a verb in the sentence in the form of ‫ رايت‬and so we linked it to that. We
use the terminology ‫ظرف لغو‬, which means that in the sentence, the link was
physically present in the sentence.

‫زيد العب في الحديقة‬

‫ مجرور‬+ ‫جار‬ ‫اسم فاعل‬ ‫مبتدا‬

‫ مجرور = ظرف لغو متعلق اسم فاعل‬+ ‫جار‬

‫ متعلق = خبر‬+ ‫ هو فاعل‬+ ‫اسم فاعل‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

In this example (Zaid is playing in the garden), we linked (‫ )متعلق‬the ‫ جار‬and ‫مجرور‬
backed to ‫العب‬. ًًWe can do this because it comes under the category of nouns similar
to a verb. (See list at the beginning of the chapter). Again we say ‫ ظرف لغو‬because the
link (‫ )متعلق‬is present in the sentence.

97
 ‫زيد في الدار‬

"‫ مجرور = ظرف مستقر متعلق "موجود‬+ ‫جار‬

‫ متعلق = شبه جملة اسمية = خبر‬+ ‫ هو فاعل‬+ ‫موجود اسم مفعول‬
‫مبتدا‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

In this sentence (‘Zaid is in the house), ‫ زيد‬was the Mubtada and the ‫ في الدار‬was the
Khabar. Unlike the previous example, there was no verb or noun similar to a verb to
link it back to. So, we had to bring in a virtual word. When this is done, it is called
‫ظرف مستقر‬. The virtual word that we brought in here was ‫موجود‬, meaning ‘present’.
The reason for bringing this particular word in is that for the meaning of the sentence,
it is the most suitable word. When we say ‘Zaid is in the house’, we are really saying
‘Zaid is present in the house.’
We say it is a ‫( شبه جملة اسمية‬which means a virtual nominal sentence) because
originally, the word ‫ موجود‬was not there; rather we had to insert it ourselves.

The word ‫ موجود‬is a word that can be brought in when a verb or a noun similar to a
verb is not physically present in the sentence. Other words we sometimes use are;

‫ثابت‬ 'proven’
‫‘ حاضر‬present’.

Exercises.

Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following sentences.

I met Zaid in the market.

‫لقيت زيدا في السوق‬

I am going to London.
‫انا ذاهب الي لندن‬

98
 The students left the school.
‫خرج الطالب من المدرس ِة‬

Verily, we created man in the best form.

ِ ْ‫لق ْد خلقنا االنسانَ في اح‬
‫سن تقويم‬

Zaid is in the garden

‫زيد في الحديقة‬

They are upon guidance.

‫ي‬ً ‫اولئك علي هد‬

I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.

‫الناس‬
ِ ‫اعوذ برب‬

Verily, the Quran is an intercessor for its readers.

‫اِن القرانَ شفيع الصحابه‬

99
 Allah has sealed upon their hearts.
‫ختم للا علي قلوبهم‬

Indeed Allah orders with fairness.

‫ان للاَ يأمر بالعد ِل‬

And Salam be upon Muhammad.

‫والسالم علي محمد‬

Do not be disheartened from the mercy of Allah.

ِ‫ال تقنطوا من رحمة للا‬

In each of the following sentences, a link (‫ )متعلق‬is required. Identify which is the
most suitable virtual word for each sentence.

ِ‫الحمد هلل‬ _____________________

‫انا في القاهرة‬ _____________________

‫و الصالة علي محمد‬ _____________________

‫المال علي المكتب‬ _____________________

Insert a suitable ‫ حرف جر‬in the gaps and then translate the sentences.

َ‫سلمت ____ المسلمين‬ _______________________________

‫__ للا ما رايته ____ يوم االربعاء‬ _______________________________

‫االمام يقرأ القران _____ القاري عب ِد الباسط‬

َ ‫اِن‬ _______________________________

‫حفظت القرانَ ___ سورة الحديد‬ _______________________________

‫دخل المسلمون ___ المسجد ____ القليل‬ _______________________________

‫ال صالة اال __ فاتحة الكتاب‬ _______________________________

100
‫المسلم َمن س ِلم المسلمونَ ____ لسانه و يده‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫__ طالب مجتهد لقيت‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫روي ابو هريرة ___ انس بن مالك‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫الطعام __ يدِك اليسري‬

‫َ‬ ‫ال تأكل‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫جاء الطبيب ___ مصر‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫و الصالة ___ محمد‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫هذا االمام ___ الهند‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫قرأت القران ___ صالة العصر‬ ‫_______________________________‬

‫‪Translate the following sentences.‬‬

‫ذهب حامد الي الهن ِد‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫دخل المسلمون في المسج ِد‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫السطح‬
‫ِ‬ ‫رأيت خالدا ً علي‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ق بالقلم األحمر‬
‫كتبت علي الور ِ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫زيد جالس في المسجد‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫أنا طالب بالجامعة‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫‪Re-write the following words with the correct I’raab, after adding the particles‬‬
‫‪of Jarr in the bracket.‬‬

‫أحمد‬ ‫(علي)‬ ‫____________‬ ‫المسلمون‬ ‫(عن)‬ ‫_________________‬

‫(من) القاضي‬ ‫____________‬ ‫رجالن‬

‫ِ‬ ‫(ب)‬ ‫_________________‬

‫____________ (حاشا) عابدات‬ ‫هذا‬ ‫(علي)‬ ‫_________________‬

‫(من) ذو الحج‬ ‫____________‬ ‫والدي‬ ‫(عدا)‬ ‫_________________‬

‫‪101‬‬
 The State ‫الحال‬
Sometimes a word or sentence is brought in to explain the state or condition of the;
-subject of the sentence (‫)فاعل‬
-object of the sentence (‫)مفعول‬
-or both subject and object.

When this occurs, then we call this word or sentence ‫( حال‬the state). The part whose
state we are describing is called ‫ذو الحال‬.

Examples.

‫جاء زي ٌد راكبا‬ ‘Zaid came riding’ (or Zaid came in the state of riding).
Here, ‫ زيد‬is the subject. The word that follows it is ‫( راكبا‬riding), which explains which
state Zaid came in. Note that the word ً ‫ راكبا‬is given a Nasab. Usually, the ‫ حال‬appears
in this state. Because ‫ زيد‬was the being whose state was being described, we call this
‫ذو الحال‬.

ً ‫‘ لقيت زيدا مسرورا‬I met Zaid happy’ (or I met Zaid in the state he was happy).
Here, ‫ زيد‬is the object. The word that follows (‫ )مسرورا‬explains the state Zaid was in
when he was met. Again, this word has been given a Nasab.

‫‘ لقيت زيدا را ِكبَين‬I met Zaid whilst riding’ (or I met Zaid in the state both of us were
riding).
In this example, the word ‫ راكبين‬explains the state of both the subject (I) and the object
(Zaid).

Example of a ‫تركيب‬

ً ‫جاء زيد راكبا‬

‫حال‬ ‫ذو الحال‬ ‫فعل‬

‫ حال = فاعل‬+ ‫ذو الحال‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل‬

102
The Rules of ‫ ذوٌالحال‬and ‫حال‬.

1. The ‫ حال‬is usually common (‫ )نكرة‬and the ‫ ذو الحال‬is usually proper (‫)معرفة‬. In the
above three examples, this rule has been observed. However, if the ‫ ذو الحال‬is a
common word, then the ‫ حال‬must appear first, followed by the ‫ذو الحال‬. For example,
‫( جاءني راكبا ً رجل‬A man came to me riding). Because ‫ رجل‬is ‫نكرة‬, it was necessary to
bring the ‫ حال‬first.

2. The ‫ حال‬is usually similar to the ‫ ذو الحال‬in gender and number. For example,
‫ رايت فاطمة قائمة‬I saw Fatima standing.

3. The ‫ حال‬can take on different forms;

i. It can take on the appearance of a single noun. For example, ً ‫جاء زيد راكبا‬

ii. The ‫ حال‬can take on the appearance of a nominal sentence. For example,
Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫( التقربوا الصالة و انتم سكاري‬Do not approach the prayer whilst
you are intoxicated). In this verse, ‫ وانتم سكاري‬is a full, nominal sentence and it is
becoming ‫حال‬. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said
‫كنت نبيا ً و ادم بين الماء و الطين‬. (I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and clay).
Note that in both examples, a ‫ و‬appeared. This ‫ و‬is called ‫ الحالية‬and usually appears
when the ‫ حال‬is in the form of a nominal sentence.

iii. Sometimes, the ‫ حال‬can take on the appearance of a verbal sentence.

a. * If this verb is the imperfect (‫)مضارع‬, then the ‫ ضمير‬in the verb is sufficient.
For example, ‫هب زيد يسعي‬ َ ‫( ذ‬Zaid went running).

b. * If this verb is the past (‫)ماضي‬, then the past tense must have ‫ ق ْد‬before it. For
example,
‫( رايت خالدا و قد خر َج من المسجد‬I saw Khalid as he just left the mosque).

iv. The ‫ حال‬can sometimes take on the form of ‫ جار‬and ‫مجرور‬.

For example, ‫( لقيت زيدا في السوق‬I met Zaid in the market).

As you can see, there is some overlap with the meaning of ‫ حال‬and ‫صفت‬. One way of
knowing the difference is that ‫ حال‬is usually used with the proper nouns and ‫ صفت‬is
usually used with common nouns. For example;

‫ذهب زيد يسعي‬ Zaid went running. (‫)حال‬

‫ذهب ولد يسعي‬ A boy went who was running. (‫)صفت‬.

103
Exercises.
Translate the following sentences into Arabic.

Read the Qur’an whilst sitting. ________________________________________

I returned from the mosque early. _______________________________________

I saw the students standing in the market. _________________________________

I recite the Quran daily. _______________________________________________

Do not talk whilst I am speaking. ________________________________________

I went to class running. ___________________________________________

Don’t drink water standing. _____________________________________________

Vocabulary.

‫ قام يقوم‬To stand Early ‫باكر‬ ‫سعي يسعي‬ To run.

‫يوميا‬ Daily. ‫ تكلم يتكلم‬To speak. ‫جالس‬ sitting.

Do the Tarkibs of the following.

I saw the Imam (in the state of) prostration.

‫االمام ساجدًا‬
َ ‫رأيت‬

I entered the mosque (in the state) the Sheikh was in Ruku.
‫دخلت المسجدَ والشيخ راكع‬

Zaid left from the school happy.

‫خرج زيد من المدرس ِة مسرو ًرا‬

104
 ‫‪Zainab drank the tea sitting.‬‬
‫شربت زينب الشاي جالسة‬

‫‪Translate the following sentences into English. Also, add the I’raab.‬‬

‫_____________________________________________ أحمد و خالد سافرا راكبين في القطار‬

‫دخلت الدار و الباب مفتوح‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫ضربت زيدا مرارا‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫رايت العالم يقرأ القران ليال و نهارا‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫و اذا قاموا الي الصالة قاموا كسالي‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫و لقد نصر كم للا ببدر و انتم اذلة‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫خلِقَ االنسان ضعيفا‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫و جاء رجل من اقصا المدينة يسعي‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫غضبان اسفا ً‬
‫ِ‬ ‫_____________________________________________ فرجع موسي الي قومه‬

‫َحججت و أنا صغير‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫_____________________________________________ دخلت المسجدَ و الناس يخرجون منه‬

‫العلم و أنا متزوج‬

‫َ‬ ‫طلبت‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫ال تقرأ و أنت تعبانَ‬ ‫_____________________________________________‬

‫‪105‬‬
 ‫حروفٌالنداءٌوٌالمنادي‬
There are six particles in Arabic used to call people. Collectively they are called the
‫حروف النداء‬. They are;

‫َوا‬ ‫أ‬ ‫أي‬

ْ ‫هَيا‬ ‫أيا‬ ‫يَا‬

The word that follows these letters (i.e. the person being called) is called ‫المنادي‬. For
example,

O Zaid!
‫يا زيد‬

‫المنادي‬ ‫حرف النداء‬

The particles of the ‫ النداء‬represent the verb ‫( أدْعو‬I am calling). What this means is that
by saying ‫ يا زيد‬we are in essence saying ‫أدعو زيدا‬. In the ‫ تركيب‬where such particles
appear, we will substitute the particle for the verb ‫أدعو‬. For example,

‫يا زيد‬

‫المنادي و مفعول‬ ‫ أنا فاعل‬+ ‫حرف النداء قائم مقام فعل أدعو‬

‫ مفعول = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

What I’raab does the ‫ المنادي‬get?

The ‫ المنادي‬is given a different I’raab according to the type of word it is.

The ‫ منادي‬is given a Rafa’ when;

i. When it is a proper noun (‫)معرفة‬. For example, ‫يا زيد‬

ii. When it is ‫نكرة معين‬. This means a common noun that is in some sense specific. For
example, if someone wanted to call a specific person in a crowd, but doesn’t know his
name, he might say ‫( يا رجل‬O man!).

The ‫ منادي‬is given a Nasab when;

i. When it is ‫مضاف‬. For example, ِ‫يا رسو َل للا‬

ii. When it is ‫مشابه بالمضاف‬. In other words, it is similar to ‫ مضاف‬and ‫ مضاف اليه‬in
meaning, but not in wording and appearance. For example, ‫( يا طالبا ً للعلم‬O student of
knowledge).

106
iii. When it is ‫نكرة معين‬. This means an unspecific common noun; no one in particular
is being referred to. For example, a person wishing to cross the road wanting someone
to help him would say ‫( يا رجال انصرني‬O someone! Help me).

The ‫ منادي‬is given a Jarr when;

i. The ‫ منادي‬is given a Jarr when a ‫ َل‬appears on it. This ‫ الم‬is called ‫الم االستغاثة‬, or the
Lam of seeking help. For example, ‫( يا هللِ لوطني‬O Allah! I seek help for the sake of my
country). The verb representing the ‫ يا‬here will be ‫ألت َجي‬, meaning ‘I seek help’.

Inserting ‫ ايها‬and ‫ايتها‬

If the ‫ منادي‬has ‫ أل‬on it, then if the word is masculine, ‫ ايها‬is inserted between the
particle of ‫ نداء‬and the ‫منادي‬. For example,
‫يا ايها النبي‬
If the word is feminine then ‫ ايتها‬is added. For example, ‫يا ايتها النفس المطمئنة‬

Other Rules

When the name of Allah is used as ‫منادي‬, then either ‫ يا‬is added or a double ‫ م‬at the
end. For example, ‫اللهميا للا‬

Sometimes the actual ‫ حرف النداء‬is omitted. For example, in Tashahhud, we recite
…‫…السالم عليك ايها النبي‬

The nouns ‫( ابي‬my father) and ‫( امي‬my mother) are sometimes read ‫ت‬
ِ ‫ يا اب‬and ‫ت‬
ِ ‫يا ام‬
when preceded by the ‫حرف النداء‬.

Example of ‫تركيب‬

ِ‫يا نبي للا‬

‫ مضاف اليه = منادي و مفعول‬+ ‫مضاف‬ ‫ أنا فاعل‬+ ‫حرف النداء قائم مقام فعل أدعو‬

‫ مفعول = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

107
‫‪Exercises.‬‬

‫‪ to the following. Make the necessary changes to the I’raab.‬حرف النداء ‪Add a‬‬

‫راكب للفرس‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫امام االنبياء‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫المسلمون‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫جماعة المؤمنات‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫زينب‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫الذينَ كفروا‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫المسلمات‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪ of the following sentences.‬تركيب ‪Do the‬‬

‫يا داود‬

‫يا طالبا ً ِ‬
‫للعلم‬

‫سلين‬
‫يا سيد المر َ‬

‫‪108‬‬
Revision Exercises; ‫ٌمفاعيلٌخمسة‬,‫ٌحروفٌالجر‬,‫ٌحال‬,‫حروفٌالنداء‬

Add the relevant ‫ حال‬to the following sentences. Remember, the ‫ حال‬and the ‫ﺫو‬
‫ الحال‬must correspond with one another in gender and number.

_________ ‫رايت الولدَين‬ I saw the two boys standing.

________ ‫جاءني الطبيب‬ The doctor came to me repeatedly.

___________ ‫لقيت زيدا‬ I met Zaid riding a horse.

_____________ ‫دخلت المسجدَ و المسلمون‬ I entered the mosque whilst the Muslims
were in Ruku’.
_______ ‫وجدت الباب‬ I found the door open.

ْ
_____________ ‫خرت المسلمات‬ The Muslim women fell into Sajda.

Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following.

Musa returned to his community, angry and sorry.

ً ‫رج َع موسي الي قومه غضبانَ ا ِسفا‬

In your own words explain what the following terms mean;

‫ظرف لغو‬ ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

‫ظرف مستقر‬ ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

‫نكرة معين‬ ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

‫متعلق‬ ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

‫مفعول له‬ ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
109
What do the following ‫ حروف الجر‬mean? Also, use each one in a sentence.

‫الكاف‬ _______________________________________________________

‫رب‬ _______________________________________________________

‫عدا‬ _______________________________________________________

‫ِم ْن‬ _______________________________________________________

Explain, in your own words, the three reasons why the ‫ مفعول مطلق‬is used.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Add a ‫ حرف النداء‬to the following. Make the necessary changes to the I’raab.

‫الناس‬ _______________________________

‫تاجر للسيارات‬ _______________________________

‫للا‬ _______________________________

‫خالد‬ _______________________________

Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following sentences.

‫سمعت االمام يقرأ القرانَ في المسج ِد‬

‫يا ايها الكافرون‬

110
 ‫خَر َج الطالب من الفص ِل‬

‫و السالم علي االنبياء‬

‫القدر‬
‫ِ‬ ‫انا ْ‬
‫أنزلناه في ليلة‬

‫‪I sat behind Khalid and Zaid.‬‬

‫جلست ورا َء خالد و زيد‬

‫‪And they came to their father, at night crying.‬‬

‫و جائوا اباهم عشا ًء يبكون‬

‫ختم للا علي قلوبهم‬

‫‪111‬‬
 The Numbers; ‫مميزٌوٌتمييز‬

‫مميزٌوٌتمييز‬

Sometimes a word is mentioned that is in some sense unclear. A further word is

required after it to offer clarification. In Arabic grammar, the unclear part is called
‫ مميز‬and the actual clarification is called ‫تمييز‬. Consider the following examples from
the Qur’an:

‫ب ِزدْني‬
ِ ‫ ر‬O Allah increase me!
This sentence is unclear because it does not indicate what exactly this supplication is
for. It could mean ‘increase me in wealth’ or ‘increase me in terms of respect’.
‫ رب زدني علما‬O Allah increase me in terms of knowledge!
By adding the ‫تمييز‬, which is ‫ علما‬here, we now know the supplication is asking Allah
for more knowledge.

‫ أنا اكثر منك‬I am more than you.

Again, there is no indication as to what this ‘more’ actually entails.
‫ أنا اكثر منك ماال‬I am more than you in terms of wealth.
By adding the ‫تمييز‬, which is ً‫ماال‬, we understood this ‘more’ is in terms of wealth.

ٍ ‫‘ و لالخرة اكبر درجا‬And the hereafter is greater in (terms of) ranks and
‫ت و اكبر تفضيال‬
greater in (terms of) superiority.’ (17:21)

The I’raab of the ‫تمييز‬

As clear from the previous examples, the ‫ تمييز‬in such situations is given a Nasab.

The Numbers.

In Arabic, the numbers are a form of ‫ مميز‬and ‫تمييز‬. The number itself is the ‫ مميز‬and
the object (being counted) is the ‫تمييز‬. For example,

‫ثالثة اوالد‬

‫تمييز‬ ‫مميز‬

The I’raab of the Numbers.

The I’raab of the numbers differ according to the actual number involved. When
dealing with the numbers, there are three important parts to remember; one relating to
the ‫ مميز‬and two to the ‫تمييز‬.

112
 1. The number itself can be masculine or feminine. For example, ‫ ثالث‬is
masculine and ‫ ثالثة‬is feminine.
2. The ‫ تمييز‬can be read Mansub or Majrur. For example, ً ‫احد عشر كوكبا‬
and ‫ثالث ساعات‬.
3. The ‫ تمييز‬can be in its singular form or plural form.
For example, ً ‫ عشرون قلما‬and ‫أربعة اقالم‬.

The numbers; 1-99.

Number 1.
Because a singular word in Arabic already denotes ‘one’, there is no special rule for
this number. For example, to say ‘one pen’ we merely need to say ‫قلم‬. Sometimes,
when required, ‫ واحد‬and ‫ واحدة‬is added after it to denote ‘one’, in the form of ‫موصوف‬
and ‫صفت‬. For example,
‫قلم واحد‬ One pen.
‫ساعة واحدة‬ One watch.

Number 2.
To denote ‘two’, ‫ان‬
ِ is simply added to the word. For example, for ‘two pens’ we
merely need to say ‫قلمان‬. In the Nasbi and Jari state, this would be read ‫قلمين‬.

The Numbers 3-9.

i. In terms of gender of the number, this will always be opposite to the ‫تمييز‬. So, for
example, if the object being counted (i.e. the ‫ )تمييز‬is masculine, the number itself will
be feminine. If the ‫ تمييز‬is feminine, then the actual number will be masculine. For
example,

Three boys.
‫ثالثة اوالد‬

This is masculine. This is feminine.

ii. As for the ‫ تمييز‬for three to nine, it will be read with a Jarr.
iii. The ‫ تمييز‬for three to nine will be in the plural form. For example,

Three watches.
‫ثالث ساعات‬

This is Majrur, and the plural form

has been used (the singular is ‫)ساعة‬

113
The Number 10 (‫)عشر‬

The actual number will be opposite to the ‫ تمييز‬in terms of gender.

The ‫ تمييز‬will be in the plural form.
The ‫ تمييز‬will be read with a Jarr.

‫عشرة اوالد‬

This is read in the plural form )singular ‫ )ولد‬and with a Jarr. Feminine.

Note.
The actual word ‫ عشر‬can be read two ways;
1. with a Sakin on the ‫ش‬.
2. with a Fatah on the ‫ش‬.

If the word is used with a feminine ‫تمييز‬, then the ‫ ش‬will have a Sakin on it. For
example, ‫ع ْشرة اوالد‬.
If the word is used with a masculine ‫تمييز‬, then the ‫ ش‬will have a Fatah on it. For
example, ‫عشر بنات‬.

The Numbers 11-19.

11 ‫احد عشر‬
12 ‫اثنا عشر‬
13 ‫ثالث عشر‬
14 ‫اربع عشر‬
15 ‫خمسة عشر‬
16 ‫ست عشر‬
17 ‫سبع عشر‬
18 ‫ثماني عشر‬
19 ‫تسعة عشر‬

Note that inbetween the two parts, there is no ‫ و‬or other letter.

The Numbers 11 and 12.

The actual number will correspond with the ‫ تمييز‬in terms of gender. So if the ‫ تمييز‬is
masculine, then ‫ احد عشر‬and ‫ اثنا عشر‬will be used. If the ‫ تمييز‬is feminine,
then ‫ احْ دي عشرة‬and ‫ اثنتا عشرة‬will be used.
As for the ‫ تمييز‬itself, this will be;
-singular
-will be read in the Nasbi state.

The Numbers 13-19.

The word ‫( عشر‬from ‫ثالث عشر‬, for example) will always be the same as the ‫ تمييز‬in
terms of gender.
The first part (i.e. the ‫ ثالث‬from ‫ )ثالث عشر‬between 13 and 19 will be the opposite of
the ‫ تمييز‬in terms of gender.
As for the ‫ تمييز‬itself, this will be;
114
-singular
-will be read in the Nasbi state.

For example, ‫ثالث عشرة بنتا‬ ‫اربعة عشر ولدا‬

The Number 20.

The rule that applies to 20 will also apply to;

30 ‫ثالثون‬
40 ‫اربعون‬
50 ‫خ سون‬
60 ‫ستون‬
70 ‫سبعون‬
80 ‫ثمانون‬
90 ‫تسعون‬

There is no rule for the gender of the actual number. In other words, if the actual ‫تمييز‬
is masculine or feminine, it will be read ‫عشرون‬, ‫ ثالثون‬and so on.
As for the ‫ تمييز‬itself, this will be;
-singular
-will be read in the Nasbi state.

For example,
‫عشرون ولدا‬
‫اربعون بنتا‬
‫سبعون ساعة‬

The Numbers 21 and 22.

The rule that applies to this number also applies to;
31 32
41 42
51 52
61 62
71 72
81 82
91 92

Note that for these numbers a ‫ و‬must be used between the actual numbers. For
example, ‫احد و عشرون‬.

The actual number will correspond with the ‫تمييز‬. So if the ‫ تمييز‬is masculine,
‫ احد و عشرون‬and ‫ اثنان و عشرون‬will be used. If the ‫ تمييز‬is feminine, then
‫ احدي و عشرون‬and ‫ اثنتان و عشرون‬will be used.
As for the ‫ تمييز‬itself, this will be;
-singular
-will be read in the Nasbi state.

For example,
‫احد و عشرون ولدا‬ ‫احدي و عشرون بنتا‬

115
The Numbers 23-29.
The rule that applies to this number will also apply to;
33-39
43-49
53-59
63-69
73-79
83-89
93-99

The actual number will be the opposite to the ‫ تمييز‬in terms of gender.
As for the ‫ تمييز‬itself, this will be;
-singular
-will be read in the Nasbi state.

Summary- The Numbers from 3-99.

What Is the How is the actual number written?
I’raab does Tamyiz
the Tamyiz read
get? singular or
plural?
Masculine Feminine.

3-9 Jarr. Plural ‫ثالثة رجال‬ ‫ثالث نساء‬

...‫أربعة رجال‬ ...‫اربع نساء‬
‫تسعة رجال‬ ‫تسع نساء‬
10 Jarr. Plural ‫عشرة رجال‬ ‫عشر نساء‬

11-12 Nasab. Singular. ‫أحد عشر رجال‬ ‫احدي عشرة امراة‬

13-19 Nasab Singular ‫ثالثة عشر رجال‬ ‫ثالث عشرة امراة‬

...‫أربعة عشر رجال‬ ...‫أربع عشرة امراة‬
‫تسعة عشر رجال‬ ‫تسع عشرة امراة‬
21 Nasab Singular ‫أحد و عشرون رجال‬ ‫احدي و عشرون امراة‬

22 Nasab Singular ‫اثنان و عشرون رجال‬ ‫اثنتان و عشرون رجال‬

23-29 Nasab Singular ‫ثالثة و عشرون رجال‬ ‫ثالث و عشرون امراة‬

‫أربعة و عشرون‬ ‫اربع و عشرون‬
...‫رجال‬ ...‫امراة‬
‫تسعة و عشرون رجال‬ ‫تسعة و عشرون‬
31 Nasab Singular ‫أحد و ثالثون رجال‬ ‫احدي و ثالثون امراة‬

32 Nasab Singular ‫اثنان و ثالثون رجال‬ ‫اثنتان و ثالثون رجال‬

33-39 Nasab. Singular. As 23-29 As 23-29

20/30/40/…90 Nasab. Singular. ‫عشرون رجال‬ ‫عشرون امراة‬

116
Exercises.
Complete the following table.

Number Will the actual no. Will the Tamyiz be Will the Tamyiz be
be maculine or singular or given a Jarr or
feminine? plural? Nasab?
4 boys
88 watches
43 boys
12 watches
99 boys
41 watches
18 boys
11 watches
61 boys
9 watches
5 boys
91 watches
36 boys
76 watches
53 boys
3 watches
17 boys

Exercises.

Write down the Arabic translation for the following. Include all the I’raab.

One day. ___________________

39 dogs. ___________________

Four books. ___________________

Six days. ___________________

22 pens. ___________________

7 female Muslims. ___________________

45 watches. ___________________

Two female believers. ___________________

12 prophets. ___________________

117
Sixty-six men. ___________________

Four traders. ___________________

76 covers. ___________________

7 Muslims (female) ___________________

63 watches. ___________________

Two books. ___________________

One cover. ___________________

Eighteen days ___________________

Five covers. ___________________

Eight Muslims (female) ___________________

Vocabulary.

‫يوم‬ ‫ايام‬ day(s)

‫كلب‬ ‫كالب‬ dog(s)
‫كتاب‬ ‫كتب‬ book(s)
‫ساعة‬ ‫ساعات‬ watch(es)
‫رجل‬ ‫رجال‬ man/men
‫تاجر‬ ‫تجار‬ trader(s)
‫قلم‬ ‫أقالم‬ pen(s)
‫مسلمة‬ ‫مسلمات‬ Female Muslim(s)
‫غالف‬ ‫غلف‬ cover(s)

Exercises.

Accurately translate the following; add the I’raab on all words.

10 pens. _________________

14 stars. _________________

23 houses. _________________

98 Muslims. _________________

65 books. _________________

118
42 notebooks _________________

31 doors. _________________

52 Ahadith _________________

75 papers. _________________

56 doctors. _________________

40 days. _________________

72 companions _________________

25 students. _________________

66 men. _________________

19 stories. _________________

12 Imams. _________________

18 surahs. _________________

11 watches. _________________

49 covers. _________________

22 female students. _________________

119
 The Particles of Exception ‫حروفٌاالستثناء‬
In Arabic, there are six letters that give the meaning of ‘except’. They are collectively
called the ‫حروف االستثناء‬. These letters are;

‫حاشا‬ ‫عدا‬ ‫خال‬ ‫سوي‬

ِ ‫غير‬ ‫اال‬

For example,

ً ‫جاء الطالب اال زيدا‬ The students came except Zaid.

In this sentence, there are three important elements;

1. ‫اال‬ This is the letter of exception and thus gives the meaning of ‘except’.

2. ‫زيدا‬ Zaid in this sentence is the exception. In grammar, we call this part the
‫المستثني‬, which means the ‘exception’.

3. ‫الطالب‬ In Arabic, this part is called the ‫المستثني منه‬. It explains where the
exception (in this case, ‘Zaid’) came from.

‫جاء الطالب اال زيدا‬

‫مستثني‬ ‫حرف استثناء‬ ‫مستثني منه‬ ‫فعل‬

‫فاعل‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل‬

The Omission of the ‫مستثنيٌمنه‬

Ideally, a sentence will contain the above elements in words. But sometimes, the
‫ مستثني منه‬is omitted. Consider the following example;

‫ ما رايت اال زيدا‬I did not see but Zaid.

In this sentence, we have two elements; the ‫( مستثني‬Zaid) and the particle of exception
(‫)اال‬. However, there is no ‫مستثني منه‬. In reality, it should have read;
‫ما رايت احدا اال زيدا‬ I did not see anyone but Zaid.
So we say that word ‫ احدا‬is the omitted ‫مستثني منه‬. When doing the ‫تركيب‬, we insert this
as a virtual word.

120
The Types of ‫مستثني‬

There are two types of ‫;مستثني‬

‫َصل‬ِ ‫مستثني مت‬

This is where the ‫ مستثني‬is from the same genus as the ‫مستثني منه‬. For example,
‫جاء الطالب اال زيدا‬. Here Zaid belongs to the same genus as the students. In other words,
he is one of the students.

‫مستثني منقطع‬
This is where the ‫ مستثني‬does not come from the same genus as the ‫مستثني منه‬. For
example, ‫( جاء الناس اال الحيوانات‬The people came except the animals).
This type of ‫ مستثني‬will always get a Nasab.

The I’raab of the ‫مستثني‬

According to which particle of exception is used, whether the sentence is in the

affirmative or not and whether the ‫ مستثني منه‬is present or not, the ‫ مستثني‬gets a different
I’raab.

‫اال‬
a*If the sentence is in the affirmative, then the ‫ مستثني‬gets a Nasab. For example,
ً ‫جاء الطالب اال زيدا‬

b*If the sentence is not in the affirmative (this means it is a negation, prohibition or
question implying the negative (‫نهي نفي‬ ‫)استفهام انكاري‬, then there are two
possibilities.
i. If the ‫ مستثني منه‬is (physically) present, then it can be read;
-the same as the ‫مستثني منه‬
-or with a Nasab.
For example,
‫جاء الطالب اال واحد‬
ً‫جاء الطالب اال واحدا‬

c*If the ‫ مستثني منه‬is not present, then we read the ‫ مستثني‬with the same I’raab the
(omitted) ‫ مستثني منه‬would have been. For example,

‫ما جاء اال زيد‬ (‫)ما جاء احد اال زيد‬

ً ‫ما رايت اال زيدا‬ (ً ‫)ما رايت احدا ً اال زيدا‬
‫ما سلمت اال علي زيد‬ (‫)ما سلمت علي احد اال علي زيد‬

‫غير‬ ‫سوي‬
With these two particles, the ‫ مستثني‬will always be Majrur. For example,
‫جاء القوم غير زيد‬
‫جاء القوم سوي زيد‬

121
Note; ‫ سوي‬is Mabni and thus does not change. ‫ غير‬is Mu’rab and thus can change. The
I’raab of ‫ غير‬itself will be exactly the same as the ‫ مستثني‬of ‫) اال‬i.e. rules a,b,c
mentioned above).

‫خال‬ ‫عدا‬ ‫حاشا‬

The ‫ مستثني‬when used with these three will be Majrur, as these three are considered as
part of the ‫حروف الجر‬.
However, another opinion is that these three are actually verbs, and thus the ‫مستثني‬
will be read with a Nasab.
Sometimes, ‫ ما‬does appear before these three letters. If it does, then the ‫ مستثني‬will be
read with a Nasab. For example, ً ‫جاء القوم ما خال زيدا‬.

Exercises.

Add the letters of exception and make the correct changes to the I’raab. Also, translate
each sentence.

‫اال‬ ‫جاء الناس ____ قليل‬ _____________________________________

‫غير‬ ‫الطعام ___ التفاح‬

َ ‫اكلت‬ _____________________________________

‫سوي‬ ‫قام الرجال ____ زيد‬ _____________________________________

‫خال‬ ‫الكواكب ___ واحد‬

َ ‫رايت‬ _____________________________________

‫اال‬ ‫حفظت القران __ سورتان‬ _____________________________________

‫غير‬ ‫ال تكتبْ شيئا ً ___ العنوان‬ _____________________________________

Explain in your own words what the difference between ‫ مستثني متصل‬and ‫مستثني منقطع‬
is. Give an example of each.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

What I’raab does the ‫ مستثني منقطع‬get? (i.e. the ‫ مستثني‬from it)

___________________________________________________________________

Explain what I’raab the actual word ‫ غير‬gets. Give an example of where this word will
be Marfu’.
_________________________________________________________

122
‫‪Translate and do the Tarkibs of the following.‬‬

‫ذهب المسلمون اال الطالب‬

‫نصرت االوالد اال خالدا‬

‫أكلت زينب الطعام اال التفاح‬

‫سجد المالئكة اال ابليس‬

‫حفظت القران غير سورة البقرة‬

‫ذهب الناس الي السوق خال حامد‬

‫رأيت الطالب اال ثالثة طالب‬

‫‪123‬‬
 ‫توا ِبع‬
َ The Followers.
The word ‫ توابع‬is the plural of ‫تابع‬, which means ‘follower’. In Arabic grammar, it
refers to the categories of words that follow or comply with one another, usually in
terms of I’raab. There are five such categories;
‫موصوف و صفت‬
‫عطف‬
‫مبدل منه و بدل‬
‫م َؤكَد و تأكيد‬
‫عطف بيان‬
With all of these five categories, the first part is called ‫ المتبوع‬and the second part is
called the ‫التابع‬. However, this is only the general terminology used. Otherwise, each
of the five categories has their own specific names for the first and second part.

‫موصوفٌوٌصفت‬
A ‫ صفت‬is a ‫( تابع‬following word) that offers a description of the previous word (the
‫)متبوع‬. The first part is called the ‫( موصوف‬the described) and the second part is called
the ‫( صفت‬the description). For example,

This is a learned man.

‫هذا رجل عالم‬

‫صفت‬ ‫موصوف‬

In this example ‫ رجل‬is the part being described, and thus we refer to it as the ‫موصوف‬.
The description of the man is ‘learned’ and thus this is the ‫صفت‬.

Points to Remember.

No. 1.
The ‫ موصوف‬and ‫ صفت‬will comply and correspond with one another in ten things.
They are;
(i) Singular (ii) Dual (iii) Plural
(iv) Masculine (v) Feminine
(vi) Common (vii) Proper
(viii) Rafa’ (ix) Nasab (x) Jarr

In other words, if the ‫ موصوف‬is masculine and proper (‫)المعرفة‬, then the ‫ صفت‬will also
be masculine and proper. If the ‫ موصوف‬is plural, feminine and Mansub, then the ‫صفت‬
will also be plural, feminine and Mansub.

124
No. 2
However, if the ‫ موصوف‬is the plural of the insensible (i.e. the word is not describing a
person but an object etc., and it is in the plural form), then the ‫ صفت‬can be in the
singular/feminine form. Consider the following example,
‫بروج مشيدة‬
The word ‫( بروج‬towers; singular is ‫ )برج‬is the plural of the insensible. Therefore the
‫ صفت‬has come in the singular/feminine form, ‫مشيدة‬.
Likewise, ‘broken pens’ will be ‫أقالم مكسورة‬.

No. 3
What form will the ‫ صفت‬take?
The ‫ صفت‬describes the ‫ موصوف‬and can take on numerous forms and appearances. For
example;

‫اسم فاعل‬ ‫رجل عالم‬

‫اسم مفعول‬ ‫قوم مظلوم‬
‫صفت مشبهة‬ ‫رجل طويل‬
‫اسم جامد‬ ‫قمري‬
ِ ‫شهر‬
‫اسم تفضيل‬ ‫الحج االكبر‬
‫جملة اسمية‬ ‫هذا رجل بيته جميل‬
‫جملة فعلية‬ َ‫قوم ي ْعقلون‬

Exercises.

Add a suitable word (‫ موصوف‬and/or ‫ صفت‬accordingly) in the gaps.

_________ ‫سلمت علي رجل‬

‫خر َج ______________ الجدَد من المدرس ِة‬

‫_____________ في المسجد‬ ___________ ‫رايت‬

_________ ‫هذا عمل‬

ْ
َ‫سمعت عائشة _________ __________ تقرأ القران‬

‫ق‬
ِ ‫اشتريت _______ _________ من السو‬

ْ
‫جائت م َمرضتان __________ من المستشفي‬

‫هذا __________ طويل‬

‫أولئك _________ مجتهدون‬

‫ان _______ الجميل رخيص‬

‫لعل القميص _________ مفقود‬

125
 ‫ مؤكدٌوٌتاكيد‬Emphasis.
This refers to the words that create stress and emphasis in the sentence. There are two
elements, the ‫ مؤكد‬and the ‫;تاكيد‬
 The first part (the ‫ )متبوع‬is called the ‫مؤكد‬, or the part of the dialogue to
be emphasised.
 The second part (the ‫ )تابع‬is called the ‫تاكيد‬, or the actual words of
emphasis. For example,

‘I read the magazine, all of it.’

‫قرات المجلةَ كلَها‬

‫تاكيد‬ ‫مؤكد‬

‫مفعول‬ ‫ فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫جملة فعلية‬

Note that both the ‫ مؤكد‬and ‫ تاكيد‬correspond in terms of I’raab.

The Types of ‫تاكيد‬

 ‫تاكيد لفظي‬
 ‫تاكيد معنوي‬

‫تاكيد لفظي‬
This is where the meaning of emphasis is provided by the repetition of a word. For
example, in the Qur’an, Allah Almighty says,

‫كال اذا دكت االرض دكا دكا و جاء ربك و الملك صفا صفا‬

By repeating the same word twice, it gives the meaning of emphasis and stress.

Note;
The Dhamir Marfu’ Munfasil (i.e. .....‫ )هو هما هم هي هما‬is used to give the meaning of
stress to an existing verb. This Dhamir will be mentioned after the actual verb. For
example,

‫الرقيب عليهم‬
َ ‫وكنت انت‬

ْ
َ‫اسكن انت‬ ‫يا ادم‬

126
‫تاكيد معنوي‬
This is where the emphasis is provided by certain words that give the meaning of
stress. Such words are

* ‫نفس‬ self
* ‫عين‬ self
* ‫كل‬ all
* ‫كال‬ both (masculine)
* ‫ِك ْلتا‬ both (feminine)
* ‫اجْ مع‬ all.

Each of these words will be attached with a Dhamir that corresponds with the ‫مؤكد‬.
For example,

‫لقيت عائشة نفسها‬ I met Aisha herself.

‫اكلت الطعام كلَه‬ I ate all of the food.
‫جاء المسلمون اجمعون‬ The Muslims came, all of them.
‫جاء الرجالن كالهما‬ The two men came, both of them.
‫جائت الطالبتان كلتاهما‬ The two students came, both of them.

Example of ‫تركيب‬

‫الطالب كلَهم‬
َ ‫رايت‬

‫ مضاف اليه = تاكيد‬+ ‫مضاف‬ ‫مؤكد‬

‫مفعول‬ ‫ ت فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫جملة فعلية‬

Exercises.

Translate the following sentences accurately.

I saw the children, all of them. ____________________________________

I drank the tea, all of it. __________________________________________

I heard the entire sermon of the Imam. ______________________________

Zaid translated the entire book into English. __________________________

127
‫‪ of the following sentences and translate each one.‬تركيب ‪Do the‬‬

‫أكلت التفا َح كله‬

‫سجد المالئكة كلَهم اجمعونَ‬

‫ادم االسماء كلَها‬

‫علم َ‬

‫يوف كلَهم‬
‫أكرمت الض َ‬
‫ْ‬

‫جاء الطبيبان كالهما‬

‫الوزير نفسِي‬
‫َ‬ ‫لقيت‬

‫‪128‬‬
 )‫معطوفٌعليهٌوٌمعطوفٌ(بالحرف‬
This is a follower (‫ )متبوع‬that shows resemblance in purpose between it and the part
that follows it (‫)تابع‬. In between, a particle appears such as ‫و‬, meaning ‘and’. The first
part is called ‫ معطوف عليه‬and the second is called ‫معطوف‬.
There are several letters that are used as a conjunction (‫)عطف‬.

‫واو‬
ٌ (and) ‫( فا ٌء‬thus) ‫( ث َم‬then) ‫( ْاو‬or)
‫( ا ْم‬or) ‫( اما‬either) ‫( ب ْل‬rather)
ْ (but)
‫لكن‬ ‫( ال‬no, not) ‫( حتي‬up to)

‫واو‬
ٌ (and)
‫جاء زيد و خالد‬

‫( فا ٌء‬thus)
This tells us the order and that it happened immediately.
‫ دخل العلماء فاالمراء‬The scholars entered followed by the leaders.

‫( ث َم‬then)
This tells us the order and that it happened slightly afterwards.
‫ خرج الشبان ثم الشيوخ‬The youngsters left, then the elders.

‫( ْاو‬or)
‫بعض يوم‬
َ ‫ لبثنا يوما او‬We stayed for a day or part of a day.

‫( ا ْم‬or)
‫ أ قريب ا ْم بعيد ما توعدون‬Is what you are promised near or far?

‫( اما‬either)
ً ‫ ادخل المسجدَ اِما ليال او صباحا‬I will enter the mosque either at night or morning.

‫( ب ْل‬rather)
‫ ما سافر محمود بل يوسف‬Mahmud didn’t travel; rather Yusuf (did).

ْ (but)
‫لكن‬
ً‫ ال تكر ْم خالدا ً لكن زيدا‬Don’t respect Khalid, but Zaid.

‫( ال‬no, not)
‫أكر ْم الصال َح ال الطال َح‬
ِ Respect the pious, not the lewd.

‫( حتي‬up to)
‫ قدِم الحجاج حتي المشاة‬The pilgrims arrived, even the pedestrians.

129
 ‫مبدلٌمنهٌوٌبدل‬
Consider the following sentences.

‫اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم‬

‘Guide us on the straight path; the path of those You have favoured.

‫الكتاب الشيخ االمام عبد القاهر الجرجاني‬

َ ‫الف‬
The book was written by the Sheikh, the Imam, Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani.

In both sentences, the bold part is referred to as ‫مبدل منه‬. This part cannot really be
considered the intended part of the sentence. Rather it is acting as an introduction to
the remaining, intended part. This remaining part (which is underlined above) is
called the ‫البدل‬.

Is this similar to ‫?موصوفٌوٌصفت‬

Clearly both ‫ مبدل منه‬and ‫ بدل‬on the one hand and ‫ موصوف‬and ‫ صفت‬on the other do
share some similarities. Both show some description of one form or another.
However, in terms of sentence construction, the actual described part comes first with
‫ موصوف‬and ‫صفت‬. This is not the case with ‫مبدل منه و بدل‬.

The Types of ‫بدل‬

There are four types;

‫بدل مطابق‬
This is also called ‫بدل كل‬. This is where the ‫ مبدل منه‬and the ‫ بدل‬correspond completely.
In other words, the ‫ مبدل منه‬and ‫ بدل‬are directed at the same part. For example,
‫اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم‬
‘Guide us on the straight path; the path of those You have favoured.

‫بدل بعض‬
This is where the ‫ بدل‬is only part of the ‫مبدل منه‬. For example, ‫ِف القمر نِصفه‬
َ ‫( خس‬the moon
eclipsed, half of it).

‫بدل اِشتمال‬
Unlike the two previous types, the ‫ بدل‬here is not in complete compliance with the ‫مبدل‬
‫ منه‬nor is it part of it. Rather, the ‫ بدل‬has some form of affiliation or relationship with
the ‫مبدل منه‬. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an:
‫الحرام قِتال فيه‬
ِ ‫( يسئلونك عن الشهر‬They ask you about the sacred months, killing in it). Here
the part ‫ قتال فيه‬is the ‫بدل‬.

‫بدل غلط‬
This is where the ‫ بدل‬corrects the mistake made previously. For example,
ً‫( رأيت زيدا ً خالدا‬I saw Zaid (I mean) Khalid).

130
Example of ‫تركيب‬

‫خسف القمر نصفه‬

‫بدل‬ ‫مبدل منه‬ ‫فعل مجهول‬

‫نائب الفاعل‬

‫ نائب الفاعل = جملة فعلية‬+ ‫فعل مجهول‬

________________________________

‫عطفٌبيان‬
This is a follower (‫ )متبوع‬that explains the followed (‫)تابع‬, but is not considered its
description (‫)صفت‬. The ‫ متبوع‬here is called ‫ المبَين‬and the ‫ تابع‬is called ‫عطف بيان‬.
For example,
‫جاء زيد ابو عبدِللا‬ Zaid came, the father of Abdallah.
In this example, ‫ ابو عبد للا‬is the ‫عطف بيان‬.

‫ جع َل للا الكعبة البيتَ الحرام‬Allah made the Ka’ba, the Sacred House…
In this example, ‫ البيت الحرام‬is the ‫عطف بيان‬.

In both examples, it cannot be said that the ‫ تابع‬is the description of the ‫متبوع‬.

131
 Revision exercises for the Followers (‫)توابع‬
Fill in a suitable description (‫ )صفة‬for the following sentences. Remember that
the described and the description must follow one another in ten things.

_________ ‫زينب طالبة‬ _________ ‫خالد و زيد تاجران‬

____________ ‫هذا قلم‬ _____________ ‫ذانك امامان‬

‫ذهب المهندس _______ الي السوق‬

َ _____________ ‫هوالء نساء‬

Fill in a suitable ‫ موصوف‬for the following sentences. Remember that the

described and the description must follow one another in ten things.

‫هذه _________ مجتهدة‬ ‫رأيت _______ الطويل‬

‫أكلت ________ اللذيذ‬ ‫هاتان ______ رخيصتان‬

In your own words, explain the main difference between ‫ موصوف و صفت‬and
‫ مبدل منه‬. Give two sentences in English to highlight the difference.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Name the ten things the ‫ موصوف‬and ‫ صفت‬have in common. Also explain the
exception to this rule.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

What are the two types of ‫ ?تأكيد‬Explain your answer.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

In your own words, explain the difference between ‫ بدل مطابق‬and ‫بدل بعض‬

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

132
‫‪Do the Tarkibs of the following and translate them.‬‬

‫دخل المسلمونَ و المسلمات في المسج ِد‬

‫أكلت التفا َح ثم البرتقا َل‬

‫يوم الجمعة‬
‫الخميس أو َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫يوم‬
‫سوف أرجع البيتَ َ‬
‫َ‬

‫سلمت علي المسلمينَ كل ِهم‬

‫هذا عمل باطل باطل‬

‫ضها‬
‫قرأت المجلة بع َ‬

‫التراويح‬
‫ِ‬ ‫قرأ الشيخ االمام خالد القرانَ كله في صالة‬

‫دخلت المدرسة االبتداية فالمدرسة الثانوية‬

‫صالة الجمع ِة واجبة واجبة‬

‫‪133‬‬
 ‫ أسماءٌ ُمشبهةٌبالفعل‬The nouns similar to a verb.
As we have read, the verbs have the ability to force a certain I’raab on other words. It
has the ability to give the subject a Rafa’ and the object a Nasab.
There are some circumstances where certain nouns can have the same effect, namely
to give the ‫ فاعل‬a Rafa’ and the ‫ مفعول‬a Nasab. The nouns that can have this effect are;

 ‫اسم مصدر‬
 ‫اسم فاعل‬
 ‫اسم مفعول‬
 ‫صفت مشبهة‬
 ‫اسم تفضيل‬

‫اسم مصدر‬
If this is ‫ الزم‬then it has the ability to give the ‫ فاعل‬a Rafa’ . If it is ‫ متعدي‬then it can
also give the ‫ مفعول‬a Nasab too. 1
Most of the time, the ‫ مصدر‬will be ‫ مضاف‬towards its subject or object. For example,
‫( أع َجبَني قِيام زيد‬the standing of Zaid impressed me). Though the word ‘Zaid’ in this
example has been given a Jarr by virtue of being ‫مضاف اليه‬, in reality we say it is in
the place of Rafa’, because it is acting as the subject of the ‫ مصدر‬in terms of meaning.

‫اسم فاعل‬
For example, ‫( أذاهب غالمنا؟‬Is our slave going?) Again, this is usually made ‫مضاف‬
towards its subject. For example, ‫( كامل الجو ِد‬complete excellency).

‫اسم مفعول‬
This works similar to ‫ فعل مجهول‬and thus gives a Rafa’ to its ‫نائب الفاعل‬. For example,
‫( المضروب زيد‬the struck Zaid). This too is usually made ‫ مضاف‬towards its subject. For
example, ‫االنف‬
ِ ‫( مقطوع‬one whose nose is cut).

‫صفت مشبهة‬
For example, ‫( زيد حسن وجْ هه‬Zaid’s face is beautiful). Again, this is usually made ‫مضاف‬
towards its subject. For example, ‫النفس‬
ِ ‫( كريم‬noble person).

‫اسم تفضيل‬
This is used primarily in three ways.

ْ (from, than). For example, ‫( زيد احسن من خالد‬Zaid is better than

i. It is used with ‫من‬
Khalid).

ْ For example, ‫( الولد االكبر‬the biggest child).

ii. It is used with ‫ال‬.

iii. It is used as ‫مضاف‬. For example, ‫القوم‬

ِ ‫( افضل‬the best of the people).

1
Laazim is where the verb (or noun similar to the verb) only requires a subject (Faa’il) to complete its
meaning. Muta’addi is where the verb (or noun similar to the verb) requires an object too.
134
‫‪Exercises.‬‬

‫‪Translate these verses from the Holy Qur’an.‬‬

‫رب اجعلني مقيم َ الصال ِة‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫كركم ابا َءكم ْاو اشدَ ذكراً‬

‫______________________________ فاذكروا للاَ كذ ِ‬

‫و الكاظمينَ الغي َ‬
‫ظ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫الدعاء‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ان ربي لسميع‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ب‬
‫ب و قابل التو ِ‬
‫غافر الذن ِ‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫ذكر فيها اسمه‬

‫و َمن أظلم ممن منع مساجدَ للاِ أن ي َ‬ ‫__________________‬

‫و الفتنة أكبر من القت ِل‬ ‫______________________________‬

‫‪135‬‬
 The Different Types of Sentences. ‫أقسامٌالجملة‬
Principally, there are two types of sentences in Arabic;

Nominal Sentence ‫جملة اسمية‬

This is a sentence that begins with a noun. For example, ‫زيد عالم‬. If a particle precedes
the noun at the beginning, it will still be a nominal sentence. For example, ‫انَ زيدا عالم‬.

Verbal Sentence ‫جملة فعلية‬

This is a sentence that begins with a verb. For example, ‫جاء زيد‬. Again, if a particle
precedes the verb at the beginning, it will still be considered a verbal sentence. For
example, ‫أجاء زيد؟‬.

Other types of sentences.

‫جملة شرطية‬
This is a sentence that consists of two parts, a condition (‫ )شرط‬and an answer (‫)جزاء‬.
For example, ْ‫( ان تضربْ اضرب‬If you hit, I will hit).

‫جملة ظرفية‬
This is a sentence that begins with either;
‫ظرف مكان‬
‫ظرف زمان‬
‫جار و مجرور‬
For example, ‫( ِعندي كتاب‬I have a book) ‫ق نجاة‬
ِ ‫في الصد‬, (In truth lies success).

‫جملة معطوفة‬
This is where two or more complete sentences are joined together with a letter of
‫عطف‬, such as ‫و‬. For example, ‫الطعام‬
َ ‫( دخلت المطب َخ و اكلت‬I entered the kitchen and I ate
the food).

‫جملة م ْعترضة‬
Consider the following sentence;
‘The Prime Minister- who celebrates his tenth year in office in a month’s time- was
disappointed with the vote.’
The actual sentence is really ‘The Prime Minister was disappointed with the vote.’ In
between, we are told another piece of information (who celebrates his tenth year in
office in a month’s time) that does not directly have a relationship with the remainder
of the sentence within the actual context. Such a sentence in between is called a
parenthetical sentence. In Arabic, it is called a ‫جملة م ْعترضة‬. For example,
‫االسالم دين للا‬
َ ‫( اِعل ْم – علمك للا علما نافعا ً – أن‬Know- may Allah teach you beneficial
knowledge- that Islam is the religion of Allah).

‫ستأنِفة‬
ْ ‫جملة م‬
This is a sentence that appears at the beginning of a dialogue. For example,
‫الحمد هلل رب العالمين‬.

136
The division of sentences according to its meaning.

According to the context and meaning of the actual sentence, there are two types of
sentences in Arabic, ‫ جملة خبرية‬and ‫جملة اِ ْنشائية‬

‫جملة خبرية‬
This is a sentence where the source of the information (usually the speaker) can be
categorised as truthful or a lie. For example, ‫زيد عالم‬.

‫جملة انشائية‬
This is a sentence where the speaker cannot be categorised as truthful or a liar. If the
sentence consists of the following, then it is categorised as a ‫جملة انشائية‬.

‫امر‬ order/imperative. َ‫اقم الصالة‬

‫نهي‬ prohibition. ‫ال ترفعوا اصواتكم‬
‫استفهام‬ question. ‫َء انك النتَ يوسف؟‬
‫تمني‬ wish. ‫يليتني كنت ترابا‬
‫ترجي‬ hope. ‫لعل الساعة قريب‬
‫عقود‬ agreement. ‫اشتريت الكتاب‬
‫نداء‬ call. ‫يا يحيي خذ الكتاب‬
‫عرض‬ application/request. ‫أالتنزل بنا؟‬
‫قسم‬ oath. ‫تاهلل ماضربته‬
‫تعجب‬ wonder/astonishment. ‫قتل االنسان ما أكفره‬

137
 ‫ أفعالٌالمدحٌوٌالذم‬The Verbs of Praise and Lament.
There are four verbs that are used to either praise or lament a person or object.
Collectively they are called the ‫أفعال المدح و الذم‬. These verbs are;

‫ِن ْع َم‬ used for praise

‫حبذا‬ used for praise

‫ساء‬
َ used for lament.
‫ئس‬
َ ‫ِب‬ used for lament.

For example;

‫نعم الرجل زيد‬ Great a man is Zaid.

‫بئس الرجل زيد‬ Evil a man is Zaid.

‫نعم الرجل زيد‬

‫مخصوص بالمدح‬ ‫فاعل‬ ‫فعل مدح‬

‫ مخصوص بالمدح‬literally means the ‘specified for the praise’. In other words, it is the
part of the sentence that is the recipient of the praise. If, conversely, ‫ ساء‬or ‫ بئس‬are
used, then the recipient of the lament will be called ‫مخصوص بالذم‬.

The detail for how each verb is used as follows;

ٌ‫ِنع َم‬
This is classified as a verb, but it only has one other variation, which is ‫( نِ ْعمت‬used for
feminine). It is used in a very specific manner;

1. Its ‫ فاعل‬is sometimes an ‫ اسم جنس‬with ‫ ال‬on it. For example, ‫نعم الرجل زيد‬.
‫ الرجل‬here is read with a Rafa’ because it is the subject of the verb ‫نعم‬.
2. Its ‫ فاعل‬is sometimes ‫ مضاف‬towards a word with ‫ ال‬on it. For example,
‫( نعم صاحب الرجل زيد‬great a companion of the man is Zaid).
3. Its ‫ فاعل‬is sometimes a hidden Dhamir in the verb ‫ نعم‬that acts as the ‫مميز‬. A ‫نكرة‬
word with a Nasab follows it which acts as its ‫تمييز‬. For example, ‫نعم رجالً زيد‬.

Sometimes, where an indication in the context of the sentence suggests so, the
‫ مخصوص بالمدح‬is omitted. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫( نعم العبد‬great a man).
This was originally ‫( نعم العبد ايوب‬great a man is Ayub).

The ‫ مخصوص بالمدح‬must comply with the ‫ فاعل‬in singularity, duality, plurality,
masculinity and femininity. For example,
‫نعم الرجل زيد‬ ‫نعمت المرأة زينب‬

138
ٌ‫ئس‬
َ ِ‫ب‬
This is used to lament or degrade someone or something. In usage, it is exactly the
same as ‫نعم‬. In other words, its ‫ فاعل‬can be any of the above-mentioned three
possibilities. For example, ‫( بئس الرجل زيد‬evil a man is Zaid).

‫ساء‬
Again, this is a verb of lament. Also, it is exactly the same as ‫نعم‬. In other words, its
‫ فاعل‬can be any of the above-mentioned three possibilities. For example, ‫ساء الرجل زيد‬
(evil a man is Zaid).

‫حبٌذا‬
This verb is actually a compound of two parts; ‫( َحب‬which is a verb) and ‫( ذا‬which is
short for ‫هذا‬. The ‫ ذا‬will act as the ‫ فاعل‬of the verb. The ‫ مخصوص بالمدح‬is mentioned
after it. For example, ‫( حبذا زيد‬great a man is Zaid).

The ‫ تركيب‬of such verbs.

‫نعم الرجل زيد‬

‫مخصوص بالمدح و المبتدا المؤخر‬ ‫فاعل‬ ‫فعل مدح‬

‫ فاعل = جملة فعلية = خبر مقدم‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫ مبتدا مؤخر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫خبر مقدم‬

___________

‫ساء الرجل زيد‬

‫مخصوص بالذم و مبتدا مؤخر‬ ‫ فاعل = خبر مقدم‬+ ‫فعل ذم‬

‫ مبتدا مؤخر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫خبر مقدم‬

139
 ‫نِعم رجالً زيد‬

‫تمييز‬ ‫فعل مدح ‪ +‬هو مميز‬

‫مميز ‪ +‬تمييز = فاعل‬

‫فعل ‪ +‬فاعل = خبر مقدم‬

‫مخصوص بالمدح و مبتدا مؤخر‬

‫خبر مقدم ‪ +‬مبتدا مؤخر = جملة اسمية‬

‫‪Exercises.‬‬

‫;‪Translate the following‬‬

‫نعم العب الكرةِ حامد‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫ساء القرين ابليس‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫حبذا محمد‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫بئس المكان لندن‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫نعم غالم الرجل زيد‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫ساء المأ وي جهنم‬ ‫________________________________‬

‫‪ of the following sentences.‬تركيب ‪Do the‬‬

‫نعم العب الكرةِ حامد‬

‫‪140‬‬
‫ساء القرين ابليس‬

‫حبذا محمد‬

‫بئس المكان لندن‬

‫نعم ناصرا ً خالد‬

‫‪141‬‬
 ٌ‫ب‬
ِ ‫ أفعالٌالتعج‬The Verbs of Wonder.
There are two templates that can be used to describe astonishment and wonder. These
two templates are;

‫ما أ ْفعَله‬
For example, ‫( ما احسن زيدًا‬How beautiful is Zaid). Originally, this was
‫ اي شيئ أحسن زيدا‬. Hence, ‫ ما‬gives the equivalent meaning of ‫اي شيئ‬. In the ‫ تركيب‬this
will become the Mubtada.

‫أ ْف ِع ْل به‬
For example, ‫أحسن بزيد‬. Here, ‫ احسن‬is imperative verb (‫ )امر‬giving the meaning of the
past tense (‫)ماضي‬. ‫ زيد‬is the subject.

Note;
The verb of wonders cannot be made from the following;
•‫افعال ناقصة‬
•Verbs other than ‫ثالثي مجرد‬.
•Verbs that give the meaning of defects and qualities.
If the meaning of wonder is required in such cases, then the word ‫ اشد‬is placed before
its root word (‫)مصدر‬. For example, ‫ما اشد اخضراره‬.

Examples from the Holy Qur’an.

‫أصبرهم علي النار‬

َ ‫فما‬
‘So how bold they are upon the fire?’ (2:175)
‫ْصر‬
ِ ‫أسم ْع بهم و أب‬
ِ
‘How much they willl hear and how much will they see?’ (19:38)
‫أسمع‬
ْ ‫أبصر به و‬ِ ‫له غيب السموات و االرض‬
For Him alone is all of the unseen of the heavens and earth. What excellent He sees
and what excellent He hears. (18: 26).
‫قتِل االنسان ما أ ْكفره‬
‘Killed be man, how unthankful is he.’ (80: 17).

Example of ‫تركيب‬

‫ما أحسن زيدًا‬

‫مفعول به‬ ‫ هو فاعل‬+ ‫فعل‬

‫خبر‬ ‫ مبتدا‬+ ‫ما بمعني اي شيئ‬

‫ خبر = جملة اسمية‬+ ‫مبتدا‬

142
 ‫ شرطٌوٌجزاء‬The Condition and Answer.
This is a form of sentence that describes a certain condition or circumstance, and then
describes the pending result or outcome. For example, ‘if you work hard, you will
pass the exam.’ In this example, if you work hard would be considered the ‫ شرط‬and
you will pass the exam would be considered the ‫جزاء‬. As it is clear, each part (the ‫شرط‬
and the ‫ )جزاء‬is a separate sentence. Together, they form what is called a
‫جملة شرطية‬.

Most of the time (though not always), the sentences will be in the present tense. In
Arabic, there are certain letters and nouns that give the impression of condition and
answer, just like in English with words such as ‘if’, ‘when’, ‘wherever’ and so on.

The words that give the meaning of ‫ شرط‬can be split into two categories.

-‫ جازمة‬These words give a Jazm to both of the imperfect tenses (‫)فعل مضارع‬, the one
in the ‫ شرط‬and the one in the ‫جزاء‬.

-‫ غير الجازمة‬These words do not give a Jazm (‫ )جزم‬to the imperfect tense.

The nouns that give a Jazm

‫َم ْن‬ Whoever.

This is only used for the sensible (i.e. humans). For example,
ْ
‫يعمل سو ًء يجزَ به‬ ‫من‬ (Whoever performs evil, [he] will be punished for it).
‫االمام‬
َ ‫يسمع‬ َ ‫د‬‫المسج‬ ‫يدخل‬ ‫من‬ (Whoever enters the mosque, will hear the Imam).

‫ما‬ Whatever.
This is mainly used for the insensible. For example,
ْ ‫ما تفعلوا ِم ْن خير‬
‫يعلمه للا‬ (Whatever you do from good, Allah knows it).
ْ ‫تأكل‬
‫أأكل‬ ْ ‫ما‬ (Whatever you eat, I will eat).

‫اي‬ Whoever/whichever
This is used for the sensible. It will always be ‫ مضاف‬towards another word. For
example, ‫( ايهم يضْربْني اضربْه‬whoever hits me, I will hit him).

‫متي‬ Whenever.
This is used for time. For example,
ْ‫( متي تذهبْ أذهب‬whenever you go, I will go).

‫ايْنما‬ Wherever.
This is used for place. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,
‫اينما تكونوا يدْرككم الموت‬ (wherever you are, death will find you).
ْ‫اينما تذهبْ أذهب‬ (wherever you will go, I will go).

‫اني‬ Wherever.
This too is used for place. For example, ‫تكن اك ْن‬
ْ ‫( اني‬wherever you will be, I will be).

143
‫ مهْما‬Whenever.
This is used for time. For example, ْ‫( مهما تذهبْ اذهب‬whenever you will go, I will go).

‫ حيْثما‬Wherever.
This is used for place. For example, ‫( حيثما تقع ْد اقع ْد‬wherever you will sit, I will sit).

‫اِﺫما‬ Whatever.
ْ
This is used for the insensible. For example, ‫افعل‬ ْ
‫تفعل‬ ‫( اذما‬whatever you will do, I will
do).
_____________

The word ‫ ا ِْن‬gives a Jazm to the imperfect tense. For example, ْ‫اضرب‬
ِ ْ (if you
ْ‫ان تضرب‬
hit, I will hit). But this is a particle, not a noun.

Rules.

* If the two verbs are ‫فعل مضارع‬, or the first is but not the second (i.e. the one in the
‫)جزاء‬, then giving a Jazm is compulsory.
* If the second verb is ‫ فعل مضارع‬but not the first, then the ‫ مضارع‬can be read normally
(i.e. with a Rafa’) or with a Jazm. For example,
ْ‫( اذما كتبتَ اكتب‬whatever you wrote, I will write). This can also be read
‫اذما كتبتَ اكتب‬

Note.
The following from the above words can be used as a form of question.
‫َمن‬ Who
‫ما‬ What
‫اي‬ Which
‫متي‬ When
‫اني‬ How

In such a case, then they will not require a second sentence acting as the ‫جزاء‬. For
example,
‫من انتَ ؟‬ Who are you?
‫اي شيئ هذا؟‬ Which thing is this?
‫ متي وقت الصالة؟‬What time is prayer?

___________________

The particles that do not give a Jazm.

‫لَو‬ if.
For example, ‫الناس أمة واحدة‬
َ ‫( لو شاء ربك لجعل‬If your Lord willed, he would have made
people one community).

‫لوال‬ ‫لوما‬ if not/were it not.

For example, ‫سدَ الناس‬
َ ‫( لوال االسالم لف‬were it not for Islam, people would become corrupt).

144
‫لما‬ ‫‪when.‬‬
‫‪ (when the heat intensifies, people travel to‬لما يشتد الحر يسافر الناس الي أوربا ‪For example,‬‬
‫‪Europe).‬‬

‫كلما‬ ‫‪whenever.‬‬
‫ْ‬
‫لعنت اختها ‪For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,‬‬ ‫ْ‬
‫دخلت امة‬ ‫‪ (whenever a community‬كلما‬
‫‪enters [the fire] it curses its predecessors).‬‬

‫اﺫا‬ ‫‪when.‬‬
‫فاذا فرغتَ فانصبْ ‪For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,‬‬

‫اما‬ ‫‪however/as for.‬‬

‫‪ (As for those‬فاما الذين امنوا فيعملون انه الحق من ربهم ‪For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,‬‬
‫‪who believe, thus they know it is the truth from their Lord).‬‬

‫تركيب ‪Examples of‬‬

‫متي تذهبْ أذهبْ‬

‫اسم شرط بمعني مفعول فيه‬

‫فعل ‪ +‬انتَ فاعل‪ +‬مفعول فيه =جملة فعلية = شرط‬

‫فعل ‪ +‬انا فاعل = جملة فعلية = جزاء‬

‫شرط ‪ +‬جزاء = جملة شرطية‬

‫ا ِْن ت َجت ِه ْد ت ْنجحْ‬

‫حرف شرط‬

‫فعل ‪ +‬انت فاعل = جملة فعلية = جزاء‬ ‫فعل ‪ +‬انت فاعل = جملة فعلية = شرط‬

‫شرط ‪ +‬جزاء = جملة شرطية‬

‫‪ (Whoever respects me, I will respect him).‬من يكرمني أكرمه‬

‫(من) اسم شرط و مبتدا (يكرمني) فعل ‪ +‬هو فاعل ‪ +‬ني مفعول به = خبر‬
‫مبتدا ‪ +‬خبر = شرط‬
‫(اكرمه) فعل ‪ +‬أنا فاعل ‪ +‬ه مفعول به = جزاء‬
‫شرط ‪ +‬جزاء = جملة شرطية‬
‫‪145‬‬
Note that when the Tarkib is done with ‫شرط و جزاء‬, one must look carefully as to
whether the word giving the meaning of ‫ شرط‬is a noun or particle:

*If the word is a noun (like ‫ ما‬, ‫ َمن‬and the other nouns that give a Jazm) then this
becomes either the Mubtada or the Maf’ul Fihi in the Tarkib.
We know that it will become the Maf’ul Fihi in the sentence when the words gives the
meaning of time or place, such as ‫ مهما‬and ‫حيثما‬.
We know that it will become the Mubtada in the sentence when the word does not
give the meaning of time and place, such as ‫من‬.

* If the word is simply a particle (such as ‫ )لما‬then this does not actually become
something in the Tarkib. We merely need to identify it.

Exercises.

Translate the following verses from the Qur’an.

َ‫و انتم االعلونَ ا ِْن كنت ْم مؤمنين‬ __________________________

ً‫واحدة‬
ِ ‫الناس امة‬
َ ‫ْلو شاء َربك لَ َجع َل‬ __________________________

‫ان تنصروا للاَ ي ْنص ْركم و يثبت أقدا َمكم‬

ْ __________________________

‫َزل عليهم من السماء أية‬ ْ

ْ ‫ان نشأ نن‬ __________________________

َ‫فاذا قضيتم مناسككم فاذكروا للا‬ __________________________

Do the ‫ تركيب‬of the following.

ً ‫واحدة‬
ِ ‫الناس امة‬
َ ‫ْلو شاء َربك لَ َجع َل‬

‫ان تنصروا للاَ ي ْنص ْركم و يثبت أقدا َمكم‬

ْ

146
 ‫لما يشتد الحر يسافر الناس الي أوربا‬

‫فاما الذين امنوا فيعملون انه الحق من ربهم‬

‫لما ينزل المطر يدخل الناس في بيوتهم‬

‫اذا جاء العيد فرح المسلمونَ‬

‫يربحْ جائزة‬
‫ينصر حامدًا ْ‬
‫ْ‬ ‫َمن‬

‫كلما تسمع االذان فال تخرج من المسج ِد‬

‫‪Translate the following sentences.‬‬

‫اذا جاء رمضان فتِ ْ‬

‫حت أبواب الجنة‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫اذا عطسْتَ فاحْ مد للاَ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪147‬‬
‫سه في االخرة‬
‫الحرير في الدنيا فلن يلب َ‬
‫َ‬ ‫لبس‬
‫َمن َ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫لوال الشمس لهلكت االرض‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫اليوم‬
‫َ‬ ‫لوال االمتحان ما حضرت‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫النار‬
‫يدخل َ‬‫ْ‬ ‫َمن ي ْ‬
‫شرك باهللِ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫َم ْن ال يرح ْم ال ير َح ْم‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫تمرض‬
‫ْ‬ ‫ْ‬
‫تأكل طعاما فاسدا‬ ‫ا ِْن‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫اذا رأيتَ خالدا فانص ْره‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ْ‬
‫ندخل الجنة‬ ‫ْ‬
‫نعمل عمال صالحا‬ ‫ان‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫تسمع نصيحةَ والدِك تنجحْ‬

‫ْ‬ ‫ان‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ان يصدق التاجر يربحْ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ْ‬
‫يأكل طعاما كثيرا يمرض‬ ‫من‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫متي يأتي الصيف يذهب الناس الي مصر‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫اِن تجته ْد في االمتحان تنجحْ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫اذا سمعتم اذان الجمعة فادخلوا المسجدَ‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫من يشربْ قائما يخالف سنة النبي‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫ما تكتبْ علي السبورة أكتبْ في الكتاب‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫سوف تسمع حامدًا ان تدخل البيت‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫لوال الشمس لهلك الناس‬ ‫___________________________‬

‫‪Vocabulary.‬‬

‫عطس يعطس‬ ‫‪to sneeze.‬‬ ‫فاسدا‬ ‫‪rotten.‬‬

‫هلك يهلك‬ ‫‪to be destroyed.‬‬ ‫نصيحة‬ ‫‪advice.‬‬
‫يشرك‬
‫أشرك ِ‬ ‫‪to commit polytheism.‬‬ ‫صيف‬ ‫‪summer.‬‬
‫صدق يصدق‬ ‫‪to speak the truth.‬‬ ‫السبورة‬ ‫‪blackboard.‬‬
‫حضر يحضر‬ ‫‪to be present.‬‬
‫نجح ينجح‬ ‫‪to be successful.‬‬
‫خالف يخالف‬ ‫‪to oppose.‬‬

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 ‫ ظروف‬Adverbs
The word ‫ ظروف‬is the plural of ‫ظرف‬. In Arabic, this refers to the words that denote
either time or place. What follows is a brief account of the words (mostly nouns) that
give the meaning of time or place.

‫ستة‬ِ ‫ اسماء ِجهات‬The six nouns of direction.

These six nouns are;
(i) ‫قبل‬ before.
(ii) ‫بعد‬ after.
(iii) ‫تحت‬ beneath.
(iv) ‫فوق‬ above.
(v) ‫قدام‬ ahead/in front.
(vi) ‫خلف‬ behind.

Usually, these words appear as ‫ مضاف‬in a sentence. For example, ‫خلف زيد‬ َ ‫( جلست‬I sat
behind Zaid).
All six are ‫( معرب‬i.e. their I’raab can change) except in one circumstance; when the
‫ مضاف اليه‬is ommitted in words but known in meaning. For example, Allah says in the
Qur’an, ‫( سنة للاِ التي قد خلت من قبل‬the practice of Allah that has passed before). Here
there is no ‫ مضاف اليه‬after ‫قبل‬. It is ommitted in word but is known in the meaning and
context, namely that has passed before this time.

‫َحيث‬ where.
This word is ‫ ;مبني‬in other words it is always read with a Dhamma at the end. Also, it
appears as ‫ مضاف‬in a sentence, and the ‫ مضاف اليه‬is usually a full sentence. For
example, Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫شطر المسجد الحرام‬
َ ‫و ِمن حيث خرجتَ فول وجهك‬.

‫اﺫا‬ when
This gives the meaning of the future, even if a past tense is used with it. It also gives
the impression of a condition. For example, ‫اذا جاء نصر للا‬.
It is used to sometimes give the meaning of ‘suddenly’. In such a case, the part after it
must be in the form of ‫مبتدا‬. For example, ‫سبع واقف‬
َ ‫( خرجت فاذا ال‬I left, when suddenly a
snake was present).

‫اﺫ‬ when.
This gives the meaning of the past, even if it appears with the imperfect tense. For
example, Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫( و اذكروا اذ انتم قليل‬And remember when you were
few).
Again it can give the meaning of ‘suddenly’, when it appears after ‫ بين‬or ‫ بينما‬. For
example, ‫( بين انا جالس اذ جاء زيد‬I was sitting when Zaid suddenly arrived).

‫اين‬ ‫اني‬ where

Both are used to denote place, and both can be used as condition. ‫ اني‬can also be used
for the meaning of ‫كيف‬,َ which means ‘how.’ For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,
‫( اني يكون لي ولد و لم يمسسْني بشر‬How can I have a child when no man has touched me?).

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‫متي‬ where
This is used for place, For example,
‫( متي تسافر‬when will you travel?) Again it can be used for condition.

َ‫ايان‬ when
This is used for the meaning of when in the future tense. For example, Allah says in
the Qur’an, ‫( ايان يوم الدين‬when is the Day of Judgement?).

‫كيف‬
َ how
For example, َ‫( كيف انت‬how are you?).

‫أمس‬
ِ yesterday.
For example, ‫( لقيت زيدا امس‬I met Zaid yesterday).

‫ِعن َد‬ with.

This is usually made ‫ مضاف‬with another noun. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an,
‫( ما عندَكم ينفد و ما عند للا باق‬Whatever is with you will perish and whatever is with Allah
is remaining).

‫لَد ْن‬ ‫لدي‬ with.

Both mean ‘with’, just like ‫عند‬. For example, ‫( الكتاب لديك‬the book is with you).

‫قط‬ ever/never.
This is used to denote an event in the past, negative tense. For example, ‫( ما رايته قط‬I
have never seen him ever).

Exercises.

Translate the following sentences into Arabic.

The cat sat under the table. __________________________

I recited the Qur’an behind Sheikh Khalid. __________________________

Paradise in under the feet of the mothers. __________________________

I returned from Makka a week ago. __________________________

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 ‫ الحروف‬The Particles.
What follows is a brief account of some of the particles used in Arabic. They have
been categorised according to meaning.

‫ حروفٌااليجاب‬The particles of affirmation

These are the particles that give the meaning of ‘yes’. They are;
‫اِن‬ ‫جي ِْر‬ ‫ِي‬
ْ ‫ا‬ ْ
‫اجل‬ ‫بلي‬ ‫نعم‬

‫ بلي‬gives the meaning of ‘of course’. This word is used to when an affirmative answer
is given to a negative question. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an
‫( ألست بربكم قالوا بلي‬Am I not your Lord? They replied, of course).

‫ِي‬
ْ ‫ ا‬is always used before an oath. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an
‫( قل اي و ربي انه لحق‬Say; Yes, by my Lord, indeed it is undoubtedly truth).

‫ حروفٌالتحضيض‬The particles of incitement

These are the particles that give the meaning of ‘why not’. They are;
‫اَال‬ ‫هَال‬ ‫اال‬ ‫لوال‬ ‫لوما‬
When these particles appear on a past tense, then they give the meaning of blame. For
example, ‫( هال اجتهدت؟‬Why did you not work hard?)
And when they appear before the imperfect tense (‫ )فعل مضارع‬then they give the
meaning of incitement. For example, ‫( هال تجتهد؟‬Why do you not work hard?)

‫ حروفٌالتنبيه‬The particles of warning

There are three such particles;
‫ها‬ ‫اَما‬ ‫اال‬
For example, Allah says in the Qur’an, ‫( اال ان اولياء للا ال خوف عليهم‬Behold! The friends
of Allah have no fear).

‫ حروفٌمصدرية‬The particles that give the meaning of ‫( مصدر‬root word)

There are five such particles that give the meaning of the root word (Masdar). They
are;
‫ان‬ ‫كي‬ ‫لو‬ ‫ما‬ ْ
‫ان‬

For example,
‫العالم قادم‬
َ ‫بلغني ان‬ It reached me that the scholar is coming.
‫رايت ما فعلت‬ I saw what you did.
‫يود احدهم لو يعمر الف سنة‬ One of them would wish to live for a thousand years.
‫سافرت كي اتعلم‬ I travelled that I learn.
ْ ‫يسرني‬
ْ‫ان تنجح‬ It pleases me that you succeed.
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‫ حروفٌالتفسير‬The particles of explanation

ْ and ‫أي‬. Both give the meaning of ‘in other words’,

There are two such particles,‫ان‬
‘namely’ or ‘i.e.’. For example, ‫( رايته اي زيدا‬I saw him, in other words, Zaid).

‫ حرفٌالردع‬The particle of repelling

This refers to the particle of ‫كال‬, which gives the meaning of ‘not at all.’ It can also
give the meaning of ‘verily’. For example, ‫( كال سوف تعلمون‬verily, you shall soon
know).

The particle of ‫ال‬

There are three ways this letter can be used;

* For definition (‫)التعريف‬.

* To give the meaning of ‫( الذي‬that, which). For example, ‫( جاء القوم المظلوم‬the
oppressed community came). This is the same as saying ‫جاء القوم الذي هو مظلوم‬.
* An addition. For example, ‫النعمان‬, ‫الذي‬.

152