Both These Lights — Study Session 7
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Grammar: حَتَّى — three grammatical types (jārrā, ʿāṭifa, ibtidāʾiyya) with Quranic examples
- Grammar: حَتَّى الجَارَّة — inclusivity (ghāya) and the hidden أَن
- Grammar: Introduction to المُتَعَلِّق — what prepositional phrases and ẓurūf attach to
- Vocabulary: عَفَّ/عَفَاف (chastity), الأَصنَام (idols), حُرُوف العَطف in comparison to حَتَّى
- Two schools of grammar: Basra vs. Kufa on who is the true nāṣib after حَتَّى
1. حَتَّى — Three Grammatical Functions
حَتَّى is one of the most multi-functional particles in Arabic. Its three grammatical types:
| Type | Name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | حَتَّى الجَارَّة | makes the following noun majrūr (or muḍāriʿ → manṣūb via hidden أَن) |
| 2 | حَتَّى العَاطِفَة | conjunctive, like وَ — joins a noun to the preceding |
| 3 | حَتَّى الاِبتِدَائِيَّة | starts a new sentence; no grammatical effect on what follows |
2. حَتَّى الجَارَّة — The Governing حَتَّى
2.1 Inclusivity (الغَايَة)
When حَتَّى governs a noun (making it majrūr), it always carries the meaning of up to and including — the limit reached is included in the action:
قَرَأتُ الكِتَابَ حَتَّى آخِرِ صَفحَة — I read the book until the last page (including the last page)
Compare with إِلَى: - حَتَّى الصَّفحَة العِشرِين = I read page 20 (included) - إِلَى الصَّفحَة العِشرِين = I stopped before page 20 (excluded)
Rule
حَتَّى has غَايَة — it marks the furthest limit and includes it. إِلَى is exclusive. This distinction matters in fiqh — e.g. in wuḍūʾ, وَأَيدِيَكُم إِلَى المَرَافِق vs. what would be said with حَتَّى.
Sūrat al-Qadr
سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطلَعِ الفَجرِ — It is peace until the break of dawn — the dawning moment itself is included in the peace of that night.
2.2 With a Muḍāriʿ (Hidden أَن)
When حَتَّى is followed by a muḍāriʿ that is manṣūb, the Basrans say there is a hidden أَن after it (the أَن being the real nāṣib), while the Kūfans say حَتَّى itself is the nāṣib.
لَا تَدخُل حَتَّى يُؤذَنَ لَكَ — Don't enter until permission is given — يُؤذَن is manṣūb via hidden أَن after the حَتَّى الجَارَّة.
Sūrat al-Baqara (2:214)
حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصرُ اللهِ — until the Messenger and those who believed with him cried out, "When will Allah's help come?" — the يَقُولَ is manṣūb.
3. حَتَّى العَاطِفَة — The Conjunctive حَتَّى
When حَتَّى acts as a conjunction (like وَ), the word after it follows the ʾiʿrāb of what preceded it:
النَّاسُ يَمُوتُونَ حَتَّى الأَنبِيَاءُ — People die, even the prophets
Here الأَنبِيَاءُ is murfūʿ because it is following the case of النَّاسُ (murfūʿ). The word after حَتَّى العَاطِفَة is not majrūr — it agrees with the preceding word.
Eating a fish
- أَكَلتُ السَّمَكَةَ حَتَّى رَأسَهَا — I ate the fish up to its head (jārrā: رَأسَ is majrūr)
- أَكَلتُ السَّمَكَةَ حَتَّى رَأسُهَا — I ate the fish, even its head (ʿāṭifa: رَأسُ is murfūʿ, following السَّمَكَة)
The grammatical difference creates a subtle meaning difference: حَتَّى الجَارَّة = up to the limit; حَتَّى العَاطِفَة = including (emphatic even).
4. حَتَّى الاِبتِدَائِيَّة — The Sentence-Starting حَتَّى
When حَتَّى starts a new, independent sentence, it has no grammatical effect on what follows. The sentence after it can be: - جُملَة فِعلِيَّة (verbal) — either mādī or muḍāriʿ murfūʿ - جُملَة اِسمِيَّة (nominal)
The meaning is still broadly so that / until — but grammatically, the sentence begins fresh.
Sūrat al-Aʿrāf (7:95)
حَتَّى عَفَوا — the عَفَوا is mādī, not a muḍāriʿ. This tells us حَتَّى here is ibtidāʾiyya — it begins the result clause with a fresh sentence.
Distinguishing the three types
- If what follows is majrūr or manṣūb (muḍāriʿ) → جَارَّة
- If what follows matches the ʾiʿrāb of what precedes → عَاطِفَة
- If what follows is a full sentence with no ʾiʿrāb change → اِبتِدَائِيَّة
5. Introduction to المُتَعَلِّق
مُتَعَلِّق (from the root ع-ل-ق, to hang/cling) describes what a prepositional phrase or ẓarf is "attached to" in a sentence. A phrase like فِي البَيتِ is meaningless alone — it clings to something else.
Key rule (Rule 1 of 3, introduced this session): Most of the time, a شِبهُ الجُملَة (quasi-sentence: حَرف الجَرّ + اسم or a ẓarf + muḍāf) is attached to a verb.
Simple example
ذَهَبَ عُمَرُ إِلَى المَسجِدِ مِن بَيتِهِ — two mutalliqs, both attached to ذَهَبَ: where to (mosque) and from where (his house).
The dictionary tells you which prepositions a given verb takes — this is why reading dictionary entries fully (not just the first meaning) is essential Arabic study practice. For ذَهَبَ + بِـ → to carry off / take away; ذَهَبَ + عَن → to slip away from someone's mind.
6. Vocabulary: Chastity and Idol-Worship
| Arabic | Root | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| عَفَّ / يَعِفُّ | ع-ف-ف | to be chaste, to abstain from indecency |
| عَفَاف | ع-ف-ف | chastity (masdar) |
| عَفِيف | ع-ف-ف | chaste person (ṣifa mushabbaha) |
| الأَصنَام | singular صَنَم | idols, graven images |
| الأَوثَان | singular وَثَن | idols, objects of worship |
| خَلَعَ | خ-ل-ع | to take off (a garment); to shed (a practice) |
خَلَعَ appears in the Quran when Allah commands Mūsā: فَاخلَع نَعلَيكَ إِنَّكَ بِالوَادِ المُقَدَّسِ طُوًى — remove your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Ṭuwā. This verse is the origin of the Islamic practice of respect through removing footwear.
When خَلَعَ is used with a practice (not a physical object), it means to cast it off entirely — the way one removes clothing.
7. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- حَتَّى has three functions: governs (jārrā, with غَايَة/inclusivity), conjoins (ʿāṭifa, following ʾiʿrāb), or starts a new sentence (ibtidāʾiyya).
- Distinguishing the three: check what the word after حَتَّى is — majrūr/manṣūb = jārrā; same ʾiʿrāb as before = ʿāṭifa; independent sentence = ibtidāʾiyya.
- The مُتَعَلِّق is the verb (or noun) that a prepositional phrase "clings to." Rule 1: most of the time it clings to a verb.
- Consulting a dictionary entry in full — including the prepositions listed — is essential for correctly understanding Arabic verb meaning.
Next session: مُتَعَلِّق attached to اسم فاعل, مصدر, and اسم تفضيل; أَمَر with omission of bā before مُضارِع; Najāshī weeps hearing Sūrat Maryam.