From Esfahaan to Madinah — Study Session 3
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Story recap: Salman encounters a Christian church and is drawn to their prayer
- Grammar: لَمَّا — the temporal particle and its two possible jawābs
- Grammar: نَائِب عن الظَّرف — elements that deputize for a zarf (adverb of time/place)
- Demonstratives (هَذَا، ذَلِكَ) deputizing
- Numbers deputizing
- كَم as kināya deputizing
- Grammar: الرابط في جملة الحال — the connector in a ḥāl clause (jumla)
- Grammar: الجملة بعد النكرة = صفة ؛ بعد المعرفة = حال
- Etymology: بَال — the mind (from the movement of a stallion)
- Discussion: Arabic culture and vocabulary — language cannot be separated from culture
1. Story: Salman Passes a Church
Salman's father, occupied with a building project, sends him for the first time to look after the family estate. On the way, Salman passes a Christian church and hears voices of people praying. He enters, is drawn to their prayer, stays till sunset, and completely forgets his father's errand.
"By Allah, it is better than our religion!"
When he asks where the root of their faith lies, they say: الشَّام — the Levant (modern Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon). Salman resolves to go there one day.
Shām — The Blessed Land
Shām was the heartland of Christianity at that time, as Makkah is to Islam today. Allah calls this land مُبَارَكًا in the Quran. Dajjāl will be killed there; major end-times events will unfold in the land of Shām.
2. لَمَّا — The Temporal Particle
لَمَّا introduces a time-conditional structure: "when [X happened], [Y happened]."
2.1 What follows لَمَّا
The part directly after لَمَّا must be a مَاضِي (past tense) verb — either affirmative or negative. The negative form uses لَم (not مَا):
| Correct | Incorrect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| لَمَّا لَم يَرَهُ | ~~لَمَّا مَا رَآهُ~~ | Negative after لَمَّا must use لَم |
| لَمَّا سَمِعتُهُ | — | Affirmative past — fine |
The part before لَمَّا is called the مُلَامَّى (the time clause). What comes after the time clause is the جواب لَمَّا (the response/result).
2.2 Jawāb of لَمَّا
The jawāb (result clause) can be:
- Affirmative past tense: لَمَّا سَمِعتُ الأَذَانَ ذَهَبتُ إِلَى المَسجِد
- Negative past with مَا or لَم: لَمَّا سَمِعتُهُ أَيَّامًا مَا أَعتَقَدتُ أَنَّهُ مُسَافِر
- Nominal sentence (جملة اسمية): also permitted as jawāb
- إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة (the surprise إِذَا): When he came to them — إِذَا هُم يَضحَكُون — and all of a sudden they were laughing!
2.3 Alternative Name
لَمَّا is also called ظَرفُ الزَّمَان by some grammarians — a time-adverb. Different grammar schools use different terminologies, so knowing both names prevents confusion when reading classical texts.
3. نَائِب عن الظَّرف — Elements that Deputize for Zarfs
A ظَرف (adverb of time or place) answers the question when? or where?. Examples: يَومًا، سَاعَةً، سَنَةً، مَكَانًا.
When a demonstrative, number, or كَم appears where a zarf would normally sit, it is said to be نَائِبًا عن الظَّرف (deputizing for the zarf). The original zarf is then called the بَدَل (substitute/appositive).
3.1 Demonstrative Deputizing
Normal: مَشغُولٌ هَذَا الْيَوْمَ — busy today (يومَ = zarf, هذا = demonstrative, يوم = بدل for هذا)
Analysis: - الْيَومَ would normally be the ظَرف, receiving a نصب vowel because zarfs are منصوب - When هَذَا pushes يومَ out of its zarf position, هذا takes the zarf role — but هَذَا is مبني (invariable), so we cannot say it is منصوب - Instead: we say هذا is نائب عن الظَّرف, and يومَ is now the بدل for هذا
Examples
| Sentence | Zarf role | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| أَيْنَ تَذهَبُ هَذَا المَسَاءَ | هذا | هذا is deputizing for the zarf; المَسَاء = بدل |
| كُنَّا فِي مَكَّةَ ذَلِكَ اليَومَ | ذلك | ذلك deputizes; اليومَ = بدل |
| يَجِبُ أَن تَتَّصِلَ بِهِ هَذِهِ الدَّقِيقَةَ | هذه | هذه deputizes; الدَّقِيقَةَ = بدل |
3.2 Numbers Deputizing
A number can also occupy the zarf position:
بَقِيتُ فِي الرِّيَاضِ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ — I stayed in Riyadh for three days.
- بَقِيتُ = فعل، فاعل مستتر
- ثَلَاثَة = deputizing for the zarf (the actual time-unit أَيَّامٍ is its مُضَاف إليه)
- The number is منصوب because it is a زرف/نائب
3.3 كَم as Kināya Deputizing
كَم (how many) is a كِنَايَة (allusion) about a number — it references the number without naming it. When used in a question, كَم moves to the start of the sentence:
كَم سَاعَةً مَكَثتَ فِي المَطَار؟ — How many hours did you stay in the airport?
Analysis: - مَكَثتَ = فعل، فاعل (أنت) - كَم is now the deputizing zarf (nā'ib ʿan al-ẓarf) - سَاعَةً is now the بدل for كَم
Grammar of questions with adverbs
Even though the sentence starts with a question word, the underlying sentence structure (jum'a fiʿliyya vs. jum'a ismiyya) is determined by what comes after it — not by the question word itself.
4. الرابط في جملة الحال — The Connector in a Ḥāl Clause
When a جملة حالية (circumstantial clause) is itself a full sentence, it must contain something that links it back to the صَاحِب الحال (the person or thing the ḥāl describes).
Simple ḥāl (one word): جَاءَ مُحَمَّدٌ رَاكِبًا — Muhammad came riding. Here, رَاكِبًا directly describes Muhammad — no connector needed.
Ḥāl as a sentence: When the ḥāl is a full clause, it must contain a pronoun referring back to the صاحب الحال:
Applied
رَجَعتُ إِلَى أَبِي وَهُوَ يُرسِلُ فِي طَلَبِي I returned to my father while he was sending [people] in search of me.
- Main sentence: رَجَعتُ إِلَى أَبِي
- Ḥāl clause: وَهُوَ يُرسِلُ فِي طَلَبِي
- رابط (connector): the pronoun هُوَ — which refers back to أَبِي (the صاحب الحال)
- The وَاو before the ḥāl clause is also part of the connector (required when the ḥāl is a جملة اسمية starting with a مضارع)
Multiple pronouns in a ḥāl clause: Identify which pronoun refers back to the صاحب الحال — it is not always obvious when both fāʿil and mafʿūl appear in the clause.
5. الجملة بعد النكرة = صفة ؛ بعد المعرفة = حال
This is a fundamental rule for embedded sentences:
| Embedded sentence follows | Role of the sentence |
|---|---|
| نكرة (indefinite noun) | صفة (adjective/relative clause) |
| معرفة (definite noun) | حال (circumstantial clause) |
Examples
| Sentence | Analysis |
|---|---|
| جَاءَنِي وَلَدٌ يَبكِي | يَبكِي = صفة for وَلَدٌ (indefinite) → "a crying boy came to me" |
| جَاءَنِي الوَلَدُ يَبكِي | يَبكِي = حال for الوَلَدُ (definite) → "the boy came to me, crying" |
The difference is subtle in simple sentences but becomes significant in complex texts.
Jumla always counts as nakira
An embedded sentence (جملة) always occupies the grammatical position of an indefinite noun. So: if the noun before the embedded sentence is definite, the sentence is a ḥāl; if indefinite, it is a naʿt.
6. Etymology of بَال — The Mind
The word بَال (bāl) means the mind or thought — as in:
لَم يَخطُر بِبَالِي — It never occurred to my mind / It never crossed my mind.
6.1 How the Meaning Developed
The original meaning traces through these steps in Lane's Lexicon:
- A stallion moves his tail (swings it), either in threat, pride, or courtship — this motion is called بَال
- Warriors brandishing swords or spears at each other before battle — same root, same motion
- The shaking of a stone before throwing to test one's strength
- The raising of a finger in supplication (as in tashahud)
- General movement, vibration, or quivering
- Something moving across the mind — a thought or idea that "crosses" you
بَالَ → the stallion's motion → danger/seriousness → something stirring in the mind
Language and culture are inseparable
Arabic vocabulary cannot be understood by dictionary definitions alone. A word like بَال carries within it the entire image of the Arabian stallion — its threats, its movements, its pride. When we understand this, "it never crossed my mind" becomes a vivid metaphor, not just an idiom.
This also explains another meaning of بَال: serious, weighty, grave — because the stallion's movement was a sign of imminent danger.
7. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- لَمَّا always takes a past tense directly after it; negative form must use لَم, not مَا.
- Demonstratives, numbers, and كَم can all deputize for a zarf — the original zarf becomes a بدل.
- A ḥāl clause (جملة) must contain a رابط (connector pronoun) pointing back to the صاحب الحال.
- Embedded sentence after indefinite noun = naʿt; after definite noun = ḥāl.
- Arabic vocabulary cannot be separated from Arab culture — knowing the cultural background anchors the meaning.
Next session: Page 8 — Salman in chains; he sends word to the caravan; تصغير (4 reasons); verb agreement with feminine fāʿil (5 scenarios); rules of jawāb al-qasam.