Selections from the Glorious Quran — Study Session 14
Overview (Parts a + b)
The main topics covered in this session are:
Part a: - أَصبَحَ — three meanings; when it is a kāna-sister vs a full verb - إِخوَان vs إِخوَة — two plurals of أَخ (blood brotherhood vs faith brotherhood) - شَفَا / شَفَوَان — the brink/edge; Quranic imagery of the pit - كَذَلِكَ as mafʿūl muṭlaq
Part b: - مَفعُول مُطلَق — four uses; eight deputies of the maṣdar - الأمر للغائب — Amr for third person (lā amr); لِتَكُن - مَعرُوف / مُنكَر — Islamic legal terminology - Verb agreement with female fāʿil — biological vs grammatical feminine - Form IX (اِفعَلَّ) — for physical colors and defects: اِبيَضَّ / اِسوَدَّ - ذَاقَ — to taste; ajwaf verb; ism fāʿil ذَائِق
Part a
1. أَصبَحَ — Three Meanings
| Meaning | Type | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| To become in the morning | Nāqiṣ (kāna sister) | Takes ism + khabar (ism manṣūb) |
| To enter the time of morning | Tāmm (full verb) | Takes a fāʿil |
| To become (general, no time reference) | Nāqiṣ (kāna sister) | Takes ism + khabar |
فَأَصبَحتُم بِنِعمَتِهِ إِخوَاناً — "So you became, by His blessing, brothers" → أَصبَح here = to become (nāqiṣ); تُم = ism; إِخوَاناً = khabar (manṣūb)
سُبحَانَ اللهِ حِينَ تُمسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصبِحُون — "Glory to Allāh when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning" → تُصبِحُون = full verb (tāmm); وَاو = fāʿil
2. إِخوَان vs إِخوَة
Both are plurals of أَخ (brother):
| Plural | Usage | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| إِخوَان | Blood brothers (biological family) | Al-Baqarah 9:24 |
| إِخوَة | Brothers in faith | Al-Ḥujurāt 49:10 |
This distinction is attributed to al-Jauharī in his dictionary al-Ṣiḥāḥ. Not universally applied; exceptions exist even in the Quran, but it represents the preferred usage according to this tradition.
3. شَفَا — The Brink
شَفَا = the brink, the very edge of something
- Dual: شَفَوَان
- Plural: شِفَاه
Quranic imagery: The Quran uses the word شَفَا in two powerful contexts: 1. "Hold fast to the rope of Allāh" — you are on the brink of a pit of fire; the rope is your lifeline 2. "...on the brink of a crumbling bank of a valley" (Al-Tawbah 9:109) — describing the hypocrites' "masjid" being built on crumbling ground, destined to fall
The recurrent imagery across multiple passages: a pit of fire below, and you hanging above it — by a rope (ḥabl), a handle (ʿurwah), or teetering on a bank (shafā). In all cases, the lifeline is Iman.
4. كَذَلِكَ as Mafʿūl Muṭlaq
كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللهُ لَكُم آيَاتِه — "Thus does Allāh make clear to you His āyāt"
كَذَلِكَ = ismu ishārah pointing back to the manner of clarification = مَفعُول مُطلَق (deputising for the actual maṣdar: يُبَيِّنُ اللهُ تَبيِيناً كَذَلِكَ).
The ishu ishārah points to the previous act of clarification — the āyāt themselves — and says: "in this very manner, Allāh clarifies."
Part b
5. مَفعُول مُطلَق — Full Treatment
Why "absolute" (مُطلَق)? Unlike other mafʿūls (بِه، لَه، فِيه، مَعَه), this one takes no preposition — it stands alone, "absolute."
Four Uses
| # | Use | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emphasis | ضَرَبتُهُ ضَرباً | I really hit him |
| 2 | Number (marrah) | سَجَدتُ سَجدَةً | I made one prostration |
| 3 | Type of action | مَاتَ مَوتَ الشَّهِيدِ | He died the death of a martyr |
| 4 | Substituting the verb | شُكراً (from أَشكُرُكَ شُكراً) | Thank you (verb dropped, maṣdar stands) |
Eight Deputies of the Maṣdar (نُوَّاب المَصدَر)
When a word other than the verb's own maṣdar substitutes for the mafʿūl muṭlaq:
| # | Type | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | كُلّ/بَعض/نِصف (partials) | عَرَفتُهُ كُلَّ المَعرِفَة | "I know him fully well" |
| 2 | Numbers | اِجلِدُوهُم ثَمَانِينَ جَلدَة | Number deputises; maʿdūd = tamyīz (manṣūb singular) |
| 3 | Naʿt/Adjective | مَاتَ مَيِّتاً شَرِيفاً | Actual maṣdar dropped, only its adjective remains |
| 4 | Ism maṣdar | كَلَّمتُهُ كَلَاماً | Shorter form deputises for the regular maṣdar |
| 5 | Maṣdar muʾawwal (أَن/مَا) | أُحِبُّ أَن تَقُومَ | أَن-phrase takes the role |
| 6 | Ismu ishārah | كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللهُ | هَذَا/كَذَلِكَ deputises for the maṣdar |
| 7 | Pronoun | اِجتَهَدتُ لَا يَجتَهِدُ أَحَدٌ مِثلَهُ | هُ refers back to the implied maṣdar اِجتِهَاد |
| 8 | Synonym (murādif) | عِشتُ حَيَاةً (from رَشَدتُ حَيَاةً) | A word with similar meaning deputises |
6. الأمر للغائب — Amr for Third Person
Arabic has commands for all persons: - 2nd person (you): regular imperative — اِذهَب (go!) - 3rd person (he/she/they): لَام الأَمر + muḍāriʿ majzūm — لِيَذهَب (he should go) - 1st person plural (we): لَام الأَمر + muḍāriʿ — لِنَذهَب (let us go)
وَلتَكُن مِّنكُم أُمَّةٌ — "And let there arise from among you a group"
لَام الأَمر (lām al-amr) properties: - Takes a kasrah when it starts a sentence: لِيَذهَب - Takes a sukūn when something precedes it (wāw, fāʾ, thumma): وَلتَكُن
Shortening of Kāna in Amr: لِتَكُن → لتَكُن (nūn of the plural can also be dropped in some forms: لتَكُ)
7. مَعرُوف and مُنكَر
| Word | Root | Literal | Islamic Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| مَعرُوف | ع-ر-ف (to recognize/know) | the recognized/known thing | That which is recognized as good by Sharia |
| مُنكَر | ن-ك-ر (to deny/disown) | the disowned/unrecognized | That which Sharia does not recognize/accepts |
أَمَرَ covers a spectrum from gentle suggestion to outright command — it does not necessarily mean "to order" but rather to direct, encourage, or command depending on context.
8. Verb Agreement with Female Fāʿil
Three rules:
| Scenario | Rule |
|---|---|
| Fāʿil = biological female (a woman, a female name) | Feminine verb is compulsory |
| Fāʿil = grammatical feminine (a word treated as feminine but not a living being — e.g. شَمس، سَيَّارَة) | Feminine or masculine verb both allowed |
| Biological female but separated from verb by another word | Feminine is better but masculine is also allowed |
جَاءَتِ السَّيَّارَةُ OR جَاءَ السَّيَّارَةُ — both valid (car is not a biological female) جَاءَتْ زَينَبُ — required (Zaynab is biological female coming directly after verb) جَاءَ اليَومَ زَينَبُ — allowed (another word separates verb from fāʿil)
9. Form IX (اِفعَلَّ) — Colors and Physical Defects
Form IX is specifically used for verbs describing physical colours and physical defects/conditions. Pattern: اِفعَلَّ (double the last radical with shadda).
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| اِبيَضَّ يَبيَضُّ | to become white |
| اِسوَدَّ يَسوَدُّ | to become black |
| اِحمَرَّ يَحمَرُّ | to become red |
| اِعوَجَّ يَعوَجُّ | to become crooked |
| اِحوَلَّ يَحوَلُّ | to become cross-eyed |
Ism fāʿil: مُبيَضّ، مُسوَدّ (pattern مُفعَلّ)
يَومَ تَبيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ — "On the day when some faces will whiten and some faces will blacken."
Tafsīr note: The whitening = light of Iman; the blackening = darkness of kufr. Deeds take physical form on the Day of Judgment.
10. ذَاقَ — To Taste (Ajwaf Verb)
ذَاقَ يَذُوقُ = to taste (root ذ-و-ق; ajwaf wāwī)
When forming the ism fāʿil from an ajwaf verb: if the wāw/yāʾ meets certain conditions, it turns into a Hamza → ذَائِق (not ذَاوِق).
كُلُّ نَفسٍ ذَائِقَةُ المَوتِ — "Every soul is a taster of death"
Using the noun ذَائِقَة (ism fāʿil) rather than the verb تَذُوق emphasizes: - Permanence: this is not a momentary event — death is each soul's inherent appointment - Certainty: being the "taster of death" is what every soul IS, not just what it will do once
11. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| اِعتَصَمَ (form VIII) | to hold fast; to take firm hold | Root ع-ص-م; takes بِـ |
| حَبل الله | the rope of Allāh | Metaphor for Quran/Islam |
| تَفَرَّقُوا (form V) | to split apart; to scatter | Reflexive/reciprocal of فَرَّقَ |
| بَيِّنَات | clear proofs | Plural of بَيِّنَة (ism fāʿil pattern فَيِّعَة) |
| لِتَكُن | let there be / let there arise | Lām al-amr + تَكُن (kāna, shortened) |
| مَعرُوف | recognized good | Ism mafʿūl from عَرَفَ |
| مُنكَر | denied/rejected evil | Ism mafʿūl from أَنكَرَ |
| أَمَرَ بِـ | to enjoin/command | Broad: suggestion to command |
| نَهَى عَن | to forbid | Opposite of أَمَرَ |
| مُفلِحُون | the successful ones | Ism fāʿil (Form IV from فَلَحَ) |
Key Lessons from Session 14
Summary of Lessons
- أَصبَحَ can be a kāna-sister (taking ism + khabar) or a full verb; check the context.
- إِخوَان = blood brothers; إِخوَة = brothers in faith (per al-Jauharī).
- مَفعُول مُطلَق has 4 uses and 8 types of deputies that can substitute for the actual maṣdar.
- لِيَفعَل / لِتَفعَل = Amr for 3rd person (lā al-amr); takes kasra alone, sukūn after wāw/fāʾ.
- Biological female fāʿil requires feminine verb; grammatical feminine allows either.
- Form IX (اِفعَلَّ) = verbs for colours and physical conditions only.
- Using an ism (ذَائِقَة) instead of a verb (تَذُوق) adds permanence/certainty.
Next session: Lesson 4 — Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 3:103-110, exercises.