Selections from the Glorious Quran — Study Session 20
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- أَشِيٌّ and أَظهَرَ — time words in Sūrat al-Rūm; أَظهَرَ is always tāmm (never nāqiṣ)
- أَشِيٌّ as a noun (not a verb) — and why it is mentioned differently from the other time words
- حَمد review — the element of gratitude embedded in hamд vs ordinary praise
- مَات / مَيِّت — ajwaf verb in two bābs (yamutu and yamātu); how the ajwaf changes with mutaḥarrik pronouns
- مَيِّت vs مَيتٌ — original ism fāʿil vs the lighter contracted form
- لَيسَ — its khabar can optionally take a بَاء (then becomes majrūr)
- مُتَوَارَة — the concept of reciprocal verb forms (Form I↔VII and Form II↔V)
- Words for creation from dust — تُرَاب, طِين, صَلصَال, حَمَأ مَسنُون
- بَشَر etymology — "one whose skin is exposed"
- ثُمَّ vs فَ — delayed succession vs immediate succession
- إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة — the "surprise إِذَا" meaning "and suddenly / surprisingly"
1. Time Words in Sūrat al-Rūm — أَشِيٌّ and أَظهَرَ
The passage being studied mentions four time periods:
| Arabic | Meaning | Salāh Link (one opinion) |
|---|---|---|
| تُمسُون | you enter the evening | Maghrib / ʿIshāʾ |
| تُصبِحُون | you enter the morning | Fajr |
| أَشِيٌّ | evening (noun) — late afternoon/noon to sunset | ʿAṣr |
| تُظهِرُون | you enter the noon time | Ẓuhr |
1.1 أَظهَرَ — Tāmm Only
Unlike أَمسَى and أَصبَحَ, the verb أَظهَرَ (to enter the noon time) does not function as a nāqiṣ/kāna-sister. It only takes a fāʿil — no khabar.
1.2 أَشِيٌّ — A Noun Among Verbs
The other three time references appear as verbs (تُمسُون, تُصبِحُون, تُظهِرُون), but أَشِيٌّ appears as a noun. Two possible reasons:
- Linguistic gap: there may be no equivalent verb form for "to enter the evening" in Arabic (no verb parallel to asā functioning like amsā).
- Quranic emphasis: if أَشِيٌّ refers to the ʿAṣr prayer, this mirrors the Quranic pattern of singling out ʿAṣr for special emphasis — as in وَالصَّلَاةِ الوُسطَى (Al-Baqarah 2:238), where the middle prayer is mentioned separately alongside the command to guard all prayers.
1.3 The Parenthetical Sentence — وَلَهُ الحَمدُ
Between the time references, the phrase وَلَهُ الحَمدُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرضِ is a jumlah muʿtaraḍah (parenthetical sentence). All praise in the heavens and earth belongs to Him. It is structurally set aside while the chain of time words connects around it.
Parenthetical sentence in everyday speech
Arabic (and other languages) routinely insert parenthetical sentences mid-utterance. The Sūrat al-Aʿrāf example is striking: from Āyah 59 to Āyah 65, the entire story of Nūḥ appears between لَقَد أَرسَلنَا نُوحاً and وَإِلَى عَادٍ أَخَاهُم هُوداً — yet the second sentence picks up the same verb أَرسَلنَا by ellipsis across six āyāt.
2. حَمد — Praise With Gratitude
A brief review: حَمد is not simple praise. It carries within it the element of شُكر (gratitude). To say الحَمدُ للهِ is not just to praise — it is to praise Allah out of gratitude for His blessings. Other Arabic praise words (مَدح, ثَنَاء) lack this gratitude component.
| Word | Meaning | Gratitude element? |
|---|---|---|
| حَمد | Praise rooted in thankfulness | Yes |
| مَدح | Praise (general) | No |
| ثَنَاء | Extended praise / commendation | No |
مُحَمَّد = one who has been praised excessively (مَفعُول) — the one upon whom abundant praise is bestowed. مَحمَد = one who is constantly offering praise (فَاعِل pattern).
3. مَات — An Ajwaf Verb in Two Bābs
مَات (to die) is an ajwaf verb (hollow verb) with a wāw as the second radical (م-و-ت). It belongs to two bābs simultaneously:
| Bāb | Māḍī | Muḍāriʿ | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bāb 1 | مَاتَ | يَمُوتُ | فَعَلَ يَفعُلُ (au-group) |
| Bāb 2 | مَاتَ | يَمَاتُ | فَعَلَ يَفعَلُ (ai-group) |
In the Quran, the muḍāriʿ يَمُوتُ is always used. يَمَاتُ does not appear.
3.1 Ajwaf Verbs With Mutaḥarrik Pronouns
When an ajwaf verb is conjugated and the pronoun suffix becomes mutaḥarrik (carries a ḥarakah), the third radical takes a sukūn — which forces the middle weak letter to be dropped. After dropping, the first radical changes its vowel:
- If the dropped weak letter was a wāw → first radical takes ḍamma: مُتُّم
- If the dropped weak letter was a yāʾ → first radical takes kasra: نِمتُم (from نَامَ يَنَامُ)
Conjugating قَالَ (ajwaf wāw)
- قَالَ، قَالُوا، قَالَت — pronoun has sukūn; the alif (from wāw) remains
- قُلنَا — pronoun نَا is mutaḥarrik; alif dropped; first radical takes ḍamma → قُلنَا
Because مَاتَ belongs to two bābs, the mataḥarrik forms appear in two ways:
| Bāb | Mataḥarrik Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| يَمُوتُ (wāw bāb) | مُتُّم | ḍamma on mīm |
| يَمَاتُ (alif bāb) | مِتُّم | kasra on mīm |
Both occur in the Quran: مُتُّم (twice), مِتُّم and مِتنَا (more frequently).
Key rule
When the dropped weak letter was a wāw → ḍamma on the first radical. When it was a yāʾ → kasra on the first radical. The teacher noted this needs verification from Madinah Arabic Book 2 — both outcomes are correct forms; the rule for which applies in which context will be confirmed.
4. مَيِّت vs مَيتٌ — Original and Lighter Ism Fāʿil
مَيِّت (dead) is the ism fāʿil of مَات. It is originally on the pattern of فَاعِل → فَيعِل → مَيوِت → مَيِّت (the wāw merges into a shaddah on the yāʾ).
The lighter form is مَيتٌ — both are valid and occur in the Quran.
| Form | Plural |
|---|---|
| مَيِّت (original) | مَوتَى |
| مَيتٌ (lighter) | أَموَات |
A line of Arabic poetry
لَيسَ مَن مَاتَ فَاستَرَاحَ بِمَيِّتٍ — إِنَّمَا المَيِّتُ مَيِّتُ الأَحيَاءِ
"Not the one who died and found rest — he is not the truly dead. The truly dead is the dead one among the living."
This uses both مَيِّت and مَيتٍ in the same line (the lighter form takes the bāʾ of khabar lays).
4.1 لَيسَ — Khabar With Bāʾ
لَيسَ functions like كَانَ (nāqiṣ) — it takes an ism (marfūʿ) and a khabar (manṣūb). However, the khabar of لَيسَ may optionally take a بَاء:
لَيسَ زَيدٌ بِمَيِّتٍ — Zayd is not dead (khabar مَيِّت becomes majrūr due to the bāʾ)
This extra بَاء is called بَاء الزَّائِدَة في خَبَر لَيسَ (zāʾidah = extra, does not change meaning, only affects case).
5. مُتَوَارَة — Reciprocal Verb Forms
مُتَوَارَة (from tawāra, reciprocity) describes when one verb form takes the reciprocal meaning of another verb form — not through passive voice, but through a different Form.
The main mutawāra pairs:
| Form I | Form VII | Example |
|---|---|---|
| نَشَرَ (to scatter X) | اِنتَشَرَ (to scatter — intr.) | نَشَرتُ التُّرَابَ → اِنتَشَرَ التُّرَابُ |
| كَسَرَ (to break X) | اِنكَسَرَ (to break — intr.) | كَسَرتُ الزُّجَاجَ → اِنكَسَرَ الزُّجَاجُ |
| قَلَبَ (to overturn X) | اِنقَلَبَ (to overturn — intr.) | قَلَبَ السَّيَّارَةَ → اِنقَلَبَت السَّيَّارَةُ |
| Form II | Form V | Example |
|---|---|---|
| عَلَّمَ (to teach X) | تَعَلَّمَ (to learn) | عَلَّمَنِي بِلَالٌ العَرَبِيَّةَ → تَعَلَّمتُ العَرَبِيَّةَ |
Mutawāra vs Passive Voice
The Form VII (انتشر, انكسر) is not a passive — it is an active intransitive form. The key difference:
- Passive (majhūl): كُسِرَ الزُّجَاجُ — "The glass was broken [by someone]" — implies a deliberate agent.
- Form VII (mutawāra): اِنكَسَرَ الزُّجَاجُ — "The glass broke" — no implied agent; just an event.
Use Form VII when you want to describe the result without implying that someone deliberately caused it.
6. Words for Creation From Dust
The Quran uses several distinct words for the material from which Ādam was created, each representing a different stage:
| Arabic | Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| تُرَاب | Stage 1 | Dry dust / soil |
| طِين | Stage 2 | Mud / clay (dust mixed with water) |
| صَلصَال | Stage 3 | Dried clay (like pottery clay — the stage where it tinkles/rings when struck) |
| حَمَأٌ مَسنُون | Stage 4 | Dark, aged, altered clay (see Sūrat al-Ḥijr) |
أَبُو تُرَاب — Father of Dust
The Prophet ﷺ affectionately called ʿAlī رضي الله عنه أَبَا تُرَاب after finding him lying in the dust of the mosque after a disagreement with Fāṭimah رضي الله عنها. The name does not mean "father of dust" literally but "the one whose clothes are covered in dust."
In Sūrat al-Balad, مَترَبَة (from the same root تُرَاب) describes a homeless person lying in a dusty place — one so poor he has no shelter and whose clothes are covered in dust.
7. بَشَر — Etymology
بَشَر means a human being. The root meaning is "an animal whose skin is exposed" — humans are the only creatures on earth whose skin is not covered in fur, feathers, or scales.
قُل إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثلُكُم — "Say: I am only a human being like you" (Sūrat al-Kahf 18:110)
بَشَر can refer to a single person or to all of humanity (collective use).
Derivatives: بَشَرَة = skin (the surface of the body). The Quran uses this root for skin in at least one instance (to be verified).
8. ثُمَّ vs فَ — Delayed vs Immediate Succession
Both ثُمَّ and فَ are ḥurūf ʿaṭf (conjunction particles) expressing succession, but they differ in timing:
| Particle | Timing | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| فَ | Immediate — no gap | "and then (right away)" |
| ثُمَّ | Delayed — some time passes | "and then (after a while)" |
Illustration
أَكَلتُ ثُمَّ خَرَجتُ — I ate and then (after some time) went out.
أَكَلتُ فَخَرَجتُ — I ate and then immediately went out.
In the Sūrat al-Rūm verse, ثُمَّ signals that the transition from dust to a scattered humanity involves a vast span of time and an extraordinary transformation — not an instant change.
9. إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة — The Surprise إِذَا
إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة is a special use of إِذَا that does not mean "when" (temporal). It expresses surprise or unexpectedness:
خَلَقَكُم مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُم بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُون — "He created you from dust, and then — surprisingly — you are human beings, spreading everywhere!"
This إِذَا draws attention to the astonishing gap between the raw material (dust) and the result (billions of diverse, scattered human beings).
إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة — parsing
- إِذَا here is not a jāzim or a temporal particle; it is a ḥarf for surprise.
- It is followed by a jumlah ismiyyah (nominal sentence): أَنتُم بَشَرٌ.
- The particle introduces the shock value of the result.
10. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Root | Pattern / Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَشِيٌّ | أ-ش-و | فَعِيل (noun) | Evening (from noon to sunset) |
| أَظهَرَ | ظ-ه-ر | Form IV | To enter the noon time |
| تُرَاب | ت-ر-ب | فُعَال | Dry dust, soil |
| طِين | ط-ي-ن | فِعل | Mud, clay (dust + water) |
| صَلصَال | ص-ل-ص-ل | — | Ringing/dry clay (pottery stage) |
| حَمَأٌ مَسنُون | ح-م-أ | — | Dark altered clay |
| مَاتَ يَمُوتُ | م-و-ت | Ajwaf wāw, Form I | To die (bāb: au) |
| مَاتَ يَمَاتُ | م-و-ت | Ajwaf wāw, Form I | To die (bāb: ai) |
| مَيِّت / مَيتٌ | م-و-ت | فَيعِل / lighter | Dead (ism fāʿil; original/light forms) |
| مَوتَى / أَموَات | م-و-ت | Broken plurals | The dead (pl. of مَيِّت / مَيتٌ) |
| بَشَر | ب-ش-ر | فَعَل | Human being(s); "one whose skin is exposed" |
| اِنتَشَرَ | ن-ش-ر | Form VII | To scatter/spread (intransitive) |
| تَعَلَّمَ | ع-ل-م | Form V | To learn (mutawāra of عَلَّمَ Form II) |
11. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- أَظهَرَ is always tāmm (no khabar); أَشِيٌّ appears as a noun — possibly because ʿAṣr holds special Quranic emphasis.
- حَمد contains the element of شُكر (gratitude) — it is deeper than ordinary praise.
- مَات has two bābs: يَمُوتُ (au) and يَمَاتُ (ai). Only يَمُوتُ appears in the Quran in the muḍāriʿ.
- When ajwaf verbs reach mataḥarrik pronouns: the weak letter drops; first radical → ḍamma if wāw was dropped, kasra if yāʾ was dropped.
- مَيِّت (original ism fāʿil) and مَيتٌ (lighter form) are both valid; plurals are مَوتَى and أَموَات respectively.
- لَيسَ khabar can optionally take بَاء (زَائِدَة), making it majrūr without changing the meaning.
- مُتَوَارَة = reciprocal verb pairing: Form I↔VII and Form II↔V. Form VII is not passive — it avoids implying a deliberate agent.
- Creation vocabulary: تُرَاب (dry dust) → طِين (clay) → صَلصَال (dried/ringing clay) → حَمَأ مَسنُون (dark aged clay).
- بَشَر = human being; root meaning = "whose skin is exposed" (no fur/feathers/scales).
- ثُمَّ = delayed succession; فَ = immediate succession.
- إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة = surprise/unexpectedness marker, not temporal; followed by a jumlah ismiyyah.
Next session (the final class before a one-month break): completing Sūrat al-Rūm — signs of Allāh in creation: the creation of spouses (وَمِن آيَاتِهِ أَن خَلَقَ لَكُم مِن أَنفُسِكُم أَزوَاجاً), diversity of languages and colours, sleep, and lightning. Homework will be assigned for the break.