Selections from the Glorious Quran — Study Session 21
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Ajwaf bāb rule confirmed — bāb au → ḍamma on first radical; all other bābs → kasra
- Evening before morning — rhetorical observation; hadith on the brevity of the dunya
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 21 — Spouses — vocabulary and grammar; مَوَدَّة vs حُبّ
- سَكَنَ + إِلَى — verb extended by tadmeen (double-meaning incorporation)
- جَعَلَ — four meanings reviewed
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 22 — Languages and Colors — لِسَان and أَلسُن; اِختَلَفَ (Form VIII)
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 23 — Sleep — مَنَام vs حُلُم; فَضل; نُزُول vs تَنزِيل
- سَمِعَ vs اِستَمَعَ — passive hearing vs active listening
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 24 — Lightning — أَرَى Form IV; أَن مُضمَرَة
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 25 — Standing by command; one call
- كُلٌّ — always muḍāf; singular and plural in meaning
- Sūrat al-Rūm Āyāt 26–27 — بَدَأَ vs خَلَقَ; recreation
- Broken plural + feminine singular pronoun — literary usage for animate broken plurals
- Homework assigned: Lesson 7 (Sūrat ʿAbasa), Lesson 8 (Sūrat al-Balad)
1. Ajwaf Bāb Rule — Confirmed
A correction from Session 20: when an ajwaf verb reaches the mutaḥarrik pronouns and the weak letter is dropped, the first radical's vowel depends on the bāb, not on whether the dropped letter was a wāw or yāʾ:
| Bāb | First radical vowel (mutaḥarrik pronouns) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bāb au (يَفعُلُ) | ḍamma | مَاتَ يَمُوتُ → مُتُّم |
| All other bābs (يَفعِلُ, يَفعَلُ) | kasra | نَامَ يَنَامُ → نِمنَا; قَالَ يَقُولُ → قُلنَا |
Correction
The teacher clarified this rule after noting confusion in Session 20. The determining factor is the bāb (conjugation family), specifically whether the muḍāriʿ vowel pattern is au (u-vowel). Bāb au → ḍamma; everything else → kasra.
2. Evening Before Morning — A Rhetorical Observation
In Sūrat al-Rūm, Allāh mentions the evening (تُمسُون) before the morning (تُصبِحُون), which is the reverse of the typical Quranic order. Scholars' observation (not from ḥadīth or Companions directly):
The context of the surrounding āyāt speaks of the end of the world, Yawm al-Qiyāmah. The evening is the end of the day — just as the Day of Judgment is the end of this world. Allāh draws the parallel by mentioning the evening first.
Hadith on the brevity of life
"What remains of your day (dunya) is like the time between ʿAṣr and Maghrib."
Compare this world to the Ākhirah, and even a life of 100 years is but an afternoon.
3. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 21 — Spouses
وَمِن آيَاتِهِ أَن خَلَقَ لَكُم مِن أَنفُسِكُم أَزوَاجاً لِتَسكُنُوا إِلَيهَا وَجَعَلَ بَينَكُم مَوَدَّةً وَرَحمَةً "And from His signs is that He created for you spouses from yourselves so that you may find rest in them, and He placed between you love and mercy." (30:21)
3.1 مِن أَنفُسِكُم — From Your Own Selves
أَنفُسِكُم = plural of نَفس (soul, self, being). Here it means: spouses are from the same species — human beings, not a different kind of creation. Men and women are both fully human.
3.2 سَكَنَ + إِلَى — Tadmeen
The verb سَكَنَ (to become still, calm, find rest) normally does not take a preposition. Yet the Quran uses إِلَيهَا with it. This is تَضمِين (tadmeen) — the verb has absorbed the meaning of a second verb:
سَكَنَ (to find rest) + مَالَ إِلَى (to incline toward) = "to incline toward and find rest in"
Because مَالَ takes إِلَى, the combined meaning carries that preposition. The word مَالَ is not written — only its preposition appears, signalling that its meaning is embedded.
Same pattern in another verse
رَأَى (to see) does not take إِلَى, but نَظَرَ (to observe/contemplate) does. When the Quran uses رَأَى + إِلَى, the meaning of نَظَرَ (attentive observation) is incorporated.
3.3 مَوَدَّة vs حُبّ vs عِشق
| Arabic | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| مَوَدَّة | Love rooted in goodwill and pure affection | Not tied to physical attraction; can exist between parent/child, siblings |
| حُبّ | Love (general); includes emotional attachment | Broader; can refer to physical attraction |
| عِشق | Passionate romantic love / infatuation | Specifically tied to physical/romantic longing |
Allāh describes the husband-wife bond using مَوَدَّة and رَحمَة — not عِشق. Marriage is comradeship, mutual support, and mercy — not the Hollywood/Bollywood romance paradigm.
وَدَّ = to wish / to want (root of مَوَدَّة). In Syrian/Lebanese dialect, بِدِّي (I want) is a colloquial descendent of بِوُدِّي (it is my wish).
Allāh's name: الوَدُود = the One who loves abundantly.
3.4 جَعَلَ — Four Meanings Reviewed
| Meaning | Mafāʿīl | Example |
|---|---|---|
| To create | 1 mafʿūl | جَعَلَ اللهُ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّور |
| To think/consider as (mental) | 2 mafāʿīl | أَجَعَلتَنِي لِلنَّاسِ إِمَاماً |
| To turn/change into (physical) | 2 mafāʿīl | جَعَلتُ بَيتِي مَدرَسَةً |
| To begin doing (inchoative) | verb + following action | Like أَخَذَ and صَارَ in inchoative use |
In Āyah 21, جَعَلَ بَينَكُم مَوَدَّةً وَرَحمَةً = meaning 1 (to create/place). Allāh placed love and mercy between spouses — these feelings are not self-generated; they are Allāh's gift.
4. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 22 — Languages and Colors
وَمِن آيَاتِهِ خَلقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرضِ وَاختِلَافُ أَلسِنَتِكُم وَأَلوَانِكُم إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلعَالِمِين
4.1 لِسَان — Tongue and Language
| Word | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لِسَان | أَلسُن | Language |
| لِسَان | أَلسِنَة | Tongue (organ) |
In Modern Standard Arabic, لُغَة is the common word for language, but لِسَان is used in both senses in classical Arabic and the Quran.
Tongue as organ (Sūrat al-Balad)
أَلَم نَجعَل لَهُ عَينَيْنِ وَلِسَاناً وَشَفَتَيْن — "Did We not make for him two eyes and a tongue and two lips?"
Tongue as language (Sūrat Ibrāhīm)
وَمَا أَرسَلنَا مِن رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَومِهِ — "We never sent a messenger except speaking the language of his people."
Daʿwah is most effective when delivered in the language and culture of the target audience.
4.2 اِختَلَفَ (Form VIII) — To Differ
اِختَلَفَ = to differ, to be different (intransitive Form VIII). Root: خ-ل-ف.
4.3 أُولُو العِلم vs العَالَمِين
The final phrase of the āyah is read two ways depending on the recitation: - لِلعَالِمِين — for the worlds / the universe - لِلعَالِمِين (with kasra on lām) — for the people of knowledge
Both meanings are valid and intended.
5. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 23 — Sleep
وَمِن آيَاتِهِ مَنَامُكُم بِاللَّيلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَابتِغَاؤُكُم مِن فَضلِهِ "And from His signs is your sleep by night and by day, and your seeking of His bounty."
5.1 مَنَام vs حُلُم
| Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|
| مَنَام | The state of sleep; anything that happens during sleep (mafʿūl mīmī from نَامَ) |
| حُلُم | A dream (specifically the mental experience); used in Sūrat Yūsuf for the king's dream |
مَنَام is broader — it includes both conscious dreams and the unconscious sleep state. When the Quran says Ibrāhīm عليه السلام saw in a مَنَام that he was sacrificing his son, it uses this word because it refers to the broader sleep-vision state, not just a regular dream.
5.2 نُزُول vs تَنزِيل — All at Once vs Gradual
| Arabic | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| إِنزَال / نُزُول (Form IV) | Coming down all at once | Quran sent to the first heaven in one night (Laylat al-Qadr) |
| تَنزِيل (Form II masdar) | Gradual, piece by piece | Quran revealed over 23 years to the Prophet ﷺ |
Applied here to rain: يُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً — the rain comes as steady, gradual rainfall (beneficial); not a sudden deluge.
5.3 سَمِعَ vs اِستَمَعَ
| Verb | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| سَمِعَ | Passive hearing | Sound reaches the ears without deliberate attention |
| اِستَمَعَ (Form X) | Active listening | Paying attention; deliberately tuning in to hear |
اِستَمِع لِمَا يُوحَى إِلَيكَ — "Listen attentively to what is being revealed to you."
5.4 فَضل — Bounty and Earning
Allāh consistently uses فَضل (favour/bounty) for livelihood and material provision, never كَسب (earning). The message: rizq is Allāh's gift — what we truly "earn" are our deeds in the Ākhirah. كَسب in Quran always refers to moral/spiritual actions and their consequences.
6. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 24 — Lightning
وَمِن آيَاتِهِ يُرِيكُمُ البَرقَ خَوفاً وَطَمَعاً "And from His signs is that He shows you the lightning as fear and as hope."
6.1 أَرَى (Form IV of رَأَى) — To Show
| Form | Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| رَأَى يَرَى | Form I | To see |
| أَرَى يُرِي | Form IV | To show (takes two mafʿūls) |
Conjugation of Form IV أَرَى (muḍāriʿ):
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| هُوَ | يُرِي |
| أَنَا | أُرِي |
| With lām | لَا يُرِيَ (yāʾ drops with jāzim) |
Two-mafʿūl usage
وَكَذَلِكَ نُرِي إِبرَاهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرضِ — "And thus We showed Ibrāhīm the kingdom of the heavens and the earth."
6.2 أَن المُضمَرَة — Implied أَن
The āyah reads وَمِن آيَاتِهِ يُرِيكُم — yet the pattern of previous āyāt is وَمِن آيَاتِهِ أَن خَلَقَ (مَصدَر مُؤَوَّل). Here أَن has been dropped. The underlying structure is still a maṣdar muʾawwal: أَن يُرِيَكُمُ البَرقَ — but the أَن is implied (muḍmarah). Its omission causes the muḍāriʿ to revert from manṣūb to its regular form.
6.3 بَرق and رَعد
| Arabic | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| بَرق | Lightning | Plural: بُرُوق |
| رَعد | Thunder | Name of a Sūrah; one opinion: also a name for the angel that controls clouds |
The animal Burāq that carried the Prophet ﷺ on the Night Journey is named from the same root — it was lightning-fast.
7. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyah 25 — Heavens and Earth Standing By His Command
وَمِن آيَاتِهِ أَن تَقُومَ السَّمَاءُ وَالأَرضُ بِأَمرِهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُم دَعوَةً مِنَ الأَرضِ إِذَا أَنتُم تَخرُجُون
7.1 قَامَ + بَاء — To Function By
قَامَ بِأَمرِهِ = to stand by / function according to His command. The heavens and earth operate exactly as Allāh commanded — they do not deviate.
7.2 دَعوَة — Mafʿūl Muṭlaq
دَعَاكُم دَعوَةً — He calls you one call. دَعوَة here is a mafʿūl muṭlaq expressing the number (once) — a deputy maṣdar showing the count of the action. On the Day of Resurrection, Allāh calls just once, and all emerge from the earth.
7.3 إِذَا الفُجَائِيَّة Again
ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُم تَخرُجُون — "and — suddenly — you come out." The same surprise إِذَا as in Āyah 20 (dust → human beings). Here the astonishment is: from dead in the earth to standing at the resurrection, with one call.
8. كُلٌّ — Always Muḍāf
كُلٌّ (all, every) is always a muḍāf — even if the muḍāf ilayhi is not written, it is implied. It is always grammatically definite because it points to a totality.
كُلٌّ can be treated as singular (view of its form) or plural (view of its meaning):
كُلٌّ يَجرِي لِأَجَلٍ مُسَمَّى — All of them run to an appointed term. (singular agreement: يَجرِي, not يَجرُون)
كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسبَحُون — Each one swims in its orbit. (plural agreement: يَسبَحُون — based on the plural meaning)
Both forms appear in the Quran.
9. Sūrat al-Rūm Āyāt 26–27 — بَدَأَ vs خَلَقَ
| Verb | Meaning | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| خَلَقَ | To create | From existing material (Allāh created man from dust — the dust already existed) |
| بَدَأَ | To originate / start creation from nothing | Absolute origination; no prior material |
Biblical parallel
The word bada'a (בָּרָא) appears in Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew: "In the beginning God created (bara) the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word bara shares its root origin with Arabic بَدَأَ/بَرَأَ for creation from nothing.
أَعَادَ = to repeat, to redo; here: Allāh will recreate after destroying — this is Yawm al-Qiyāmah.
وَهُوَ أَهوَنُ عَلَيهِ — "And that is easier for Him." (Allāh describes recreation as easy — as a reminder to those who doubted resurrection.)
10. Broken Plural + Feminine Singular Pronoun
In literary Arabic (including the Quran), when you have a broken plural (jam jamʿ taksīr), even if it refers to animate masculine beings, you may use a singular feminine pronoun or verb to refer to it. This is not an error — it is considered eloquent in literary contexts.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| Sound masculine plural → masculine plural pronoun | المُسلِمُونَ يَفعَلُونَ |
| Broken plural → singular feminine pronoun (literary) | الرِّجَالُ فَعَلَتهَا (though رِجَال is masculine people) |
In Sūrat al-Rūm 30:21
لِتَسكُنُوا إِلَيهَا — هَا refers to أَزوَاج (spouses — broken plural). Although spouses are animate humans, the broken plural أَزوَاج is referred to with singular feminine ها.
Conditions
- The noun must be a broken plural (not a sound plural like مُسلِمُون).
- This is appropriate in literary/Quranic language but sounds unusual in everyday conversation — where the regular plural pronoun is preferred.
Allāh's use of this construction in the Quran is a mark of its literary excellence.
11. مَنَام and حُلُم — A Distinction
As a summary of the teaching in Session 23 discussion:
مَنَام = a mafʿūl mīmī from نَامَ (to sleep) — it means "the state of sleep" broadly, including what is seen, heard, or experienced during sleep. The famous Quranic use is Ibrāhīm عليه السلام's vision:
إِنِّي أَرَى فِي المَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذبَحُكَ — "I see in sleep/the dream state that I am slaughtering you." (Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt 37:102)
حُلُم = specifically a dream as a mental experience; the word used in Sūrat Yūsuf for the king's dream interpretation. Prophetic visions use مَنَام because they are more than ordinary dreams.
12. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Root | Pattern / Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَزوَاج | ز-و-ج | Broken plural | Spouses, pairs |
| نَفس (pl. أَنفُس) | ن-ف-س | فَعل | Soul, self, being |
| سَكَنَ | س-ك-ن | Form I | To find rest / become still |
| مَوَدَّة | و-د-د | مَفعَلَة (mafʿalah) | Goodwill love; pure affection |
| رَحمَة | ر-ح-م | فَعلَة | Mercy, kindness |
| لِسَان (pl. أَلسُن / أَلسِنَة) | ل-س-ن | فِعَال | Tongue / language |
| لَون (pl. أَلوَان) | ل-و-ن | فَعل | Color |
| اِختَلَفَ | خ-ل-ف | Form VIII | To differ, be different |
| مَنَام | ن-و-م | مَفعَال (mafʿāl) | Sleep state; dream |
| فَضل | ف-ض-ل | فَعل | Bounty, grace, favour |
| اِبتَغَى | ب-غ-ي | Form VIII | To seek |
| سَمِعَ | س-م-ع | Form I | To hear (passive) |
| اِستَمَعَ | س-م-ع | Form X | To listen (active) |
| بَرق (pl. بُرُوق) | ب-ر-ق | فَعل | Lightning |
| رَعد | ر-ع-د | فَعل | Thunder |
| أَرَى يُرِي | ر-أ-ي | Form IV | To show (takes two mafʿūls) |
| خَوف | خ-و-ف | فَعل | Fear |
| طَمَع | ط-م-ع | فَعل | Hope, desire |
| بَدَأَ | ب-د-أ | Form I | To originate (create from nothing) |
| أَعَادَ | ع-و-د | Form IV | To repeat, recreate |
13. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- Ajwaf mutaḥarrik rule: bāb au → ḍamma on first radical; all other bābs → kasra.
- Tadmeen in سَكَنَ + إِلَى: the verb absorbs the meaning of مَالَ and inherits its preposition; no second verb is written but its preposition appears.
- مَوَدَّة ≠ عِشق: Allāh describes the husband-wife bond as مَوَدَّة and رَحمَة — goodwill love and mercy, not infatuation.
- جَعَلَ has four meanings: create, think-as, turn-into, begin-doing.
- لِسَان = tongue (organ) with plural أَلسِنَة; language with plural أَلسُن.
- نُزُول = all at once; تَنزِيل = gradual — both used for rain and for Quran revelation.
- سَمِعَ = passive hearing; اِستَمَعَ = active attentive listening.
- أَرَى (Form IV) = to show; takes two mafʿūls.
- أَن مُضمَرَة: when أَن is dropped after لِ or مِن, the muḍāriʿ reverts to rafʿ in form but is still a maṣdar muʾawwal behind the scenes.
- كُلٌّ is always muḍāf; can have singular or plural agreement with its verb.
- بَدَأَ = create from nothing; خَلَقَ = create from existing material.
- Broken plural + singular feminine pronoun/verb is correct and eloquent in literary/Quranic Arabic; does not apply to sound plurals.
Homework for the three-week break: Lesson 7 (Sūrat ʿAbasa) — do the exercises; Lesson 8 (Sūrat al-Balad) — begin if possible (main topic: qasam and jawāb al-qasam). Next class: first Saturday of November. Opening session: Q&A on exercises.