Selections from the Glorious Quran — Study Session 4
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Clarification: فَعلان mubālaghah pattern only applies to ism fāʿil — not to maṣdars (e.g. القرآن is a maṣdar, not mubālaghah)
- Verb هدى — three patterns of usage
- Form X اِستَقَامَ from root ق-و-م; Form IV أَقَامَ and its meaning
- إِقَامَة الصَّلَاة — the significance of "establishing" vs "reading" Ṣalāh
- اسم الموصول deep-dive: the ʿāʾid — when it can/cannot be omitted
- Embedded Jūmlah rules — any sentence-within-a-sentence is always nakira
- Rule: Jūmlah after nakira = naʿt; Jūmlah after maʿrifa = ḥāl
- Using ism mawṣūl as the bridge: how to use a sentence as naʿt for a definite noun
- Mubtadaʾ nakirah — conditions under which it is permissible
- التوابع — the four followers (tawkīd, ʿaṭf, badal, naʿt)
- Iʿrāb of Āyah 7 of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah
1. Mubālaghah Pattern Correction — Faʿlān Only for Ism Fāʿil
Last session it was stated that the فَعلان pattern conveys intensity. A clarification was raised: if so, why is قرآن on this pattern but does not imply "intense reading"?
The Rule
The special meanings of the mubālaghah patterns (فَعلان، فَعِيل، فَعُول, etc.) only apply when the word is a ṣīghat al-mubālaghah (intensive ism fāʿil). They do NOT apply to: - Maṣdars (verbal nouns) - Names of months (رمضان، شعبان) - Any other word that happens to share the same consonant pattern
القرآن is the maṣdar of قرأ (to recite/read). The pattern faʿlān here signals a maṣdar, not an intensive participle. The Quran uses the word in this maṣdar sense in Sūrat al-Qiyāmah:
إِنَّ عَلَينَا جَمعَهُ وَقُرآنَه — "Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation."
The word qurʾān = "the recitation/reading" — the act, not the Book. Only later did the word come to refer to the Book by way of name-giving.
2. Verb هدى — Three Patterns
The verb هدى يهدي (to guide) can take its second mafʿūl (the thing guided to) in three ways:
| Pattern | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Direct double mafʿūl | اِهدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ | No preposition; both mafʿūls taken directly |
| With إلى | إِنَّ رَبِّي هَدَانِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُستَقِيم | Common in Quran |
| With لـ | الحمدُ للهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا | Also used in Quran |
All three forms are grammatically and rhetorically valid. Differences between them are a subject of balāghah (rhetoric); they cannot be simply translated the same way without losing nuance.
3. Root ق-و-م — Qāma, Aqāma, Istaqāma
| Form | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Form I | قَامَ يَقُومُ | to stand; to rise |
| Form IV | أَقَامَ يُقِيم | to make stand; to establish; to cause to be upright |
| Form X | اِستَقَامَ يَستَقِيم | to be straight; to be upright; to remain on the right path |
إِقَامَة الصَّلَاة — Establishing the Prayer
Allāh uses أَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ (to establish/set up Ṣalāh), not just to read Ṣalāh or to perform it. The verb أَقَامَ (Form IV) implies making something stand upright — making it complete, proper, and stable.
Why 'Establish' not 'Read'
إِقَامَة الصَّلَاة encompasses the full condition of Ṣalāh: purification, correct timings, khushūʿ (presence of heart), stability of limbs, all outward and inward conditions. It is a broader and more demanding word than simply "performing" or "reading" Ṣalāh.
The Arabic Proverb
"Can the shadow be straight when the stick is curved?"
The word عِوَج (ʿiwaj) = crookedness, the opposite of istiqāmah. Allāh uses this word in Sūrat al-Zumar (39:28):
قُرآناً عَرَبِيَّاً غَيرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ — "A Quran in Arabic, free of any crookedness."
If one is inwardly crooked, the outward deeds will never be straight — like a shadow that cannot be straight when the stick casting it is bent.
4. اسم الموصول — The ʿĀʾid: When It Can and Cannot Be Omitted
Every ṣilat al-mawṣūl must contain an عَائِد — a pronoun connecting back to the ism mawṣūl. This ʿāʾid can be:
| Role of ʿāʾid in the ṣilah | Rule | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Fāʿil (subject) | Cannot be omitted | The sentence needs a subject to be complete |
| Mafʿūl bih (object) | Can be omitted | The sentence is still complete without the object pronoun |
ʿĀʾid as Fāʿil — Cannot Omit
أَيِنَ الرِّجَالُ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا مِنَ المَدِينَة "Where are the men who came from Madina?"
The ʿāʾid is the وَاو (wāw al-jamāʿah) embedded in جَاءُوا — it is the fāʿil. It cannot be omitted.
ʿĀʾid as Mafʿūl — Can Omit
مَا اسمُ الكِتَابِ الَّذِي اشتَرَيتَ؟ "What is the name of the book that you bought?"
The full form is اشتَرَيتَهُ (you bought it). The هُ (ʿāʾid = mafʿūl bih) is omitted. This is standard — even in English we say "the book you bought" rather than "the book that you bought it."
How to Analyze the Omitted ʿĀʾid
In iʿrāb, when the ʿāʾid is omitted, you state: "The ʿāʾid is the pronoun هُ in اشتَرَيتَ which has been omitted (maḥdhūf), and it is the connector returning to الكتاب."
5. Embedded Jūmlah — Always Nakira
Key Rule
Any sentence (jūmlah) that is embedded within another sentence is always considered NAKIRA — indefinite. There are no exceptions to this rule.
This principle is stated explicitly in classical grammar texts: al-jumal nakirāt — sentences are (by their nature) indefinite.
Consequences of This Rule
Since an embedded jūmlah is always nakira, it can only serve as naʿt or ḥāl — never simultaneously as both:
| Context | Result |
|---|---|
| Jūmlah after a nakira noun | Naʿt (adjective — same definiteness) |
| Jūmlah after a maʿrifa noun | Ḥāl (circumstantial — a nakira after a definite) |
Jūmlah as Naʿt (after nakira)
جَاءَ طِفلٌ يَبكِي — "A child came, crying."
يَبكِي is a sentence (jūmlah fiʿliyyah) coming after طِفلٌ (nakira). It is nakira; nakira after nakira = naʿt. Translation emphasis: "A child came — [he was] crying."
Jūmlah as Ḥāl (after maʿrifa)
جَاءَ الطِّفلُ يَبكِي — "The child came crying."
يَبكِي is a sentence coming after الطِّفلُ (maʿrifa). Sentence (nakira) after maʿrifa = ḥāl. Translation emphasis: "The child came [in the state of] crying."
The semantic difference is subtle but real: the first describes what kind of child came; the second describes the state in which the child arrived.
6. Using Ism Mawṣūl to Give a Definite Noun a Sentence-Naʿt
Problem: you want to say "The crying child came" (naʿt for a definite noun), but you cannot use a bare sentence as naʿt after a definite noun (it would become ḥāl).
Solution: use ism mawṣūl (الَّذِي / الَّتِي etc.) to bridge between the definite noun and the relative clause:
❌ جَاءَ الطِّفلُ يَبكِي — "The child came crying" (ḥāl — not naʿt) ✅ جَاءَ الطِّفلُ الَّذِي يَبكِي — "The child who was crying came" (naʿt via ism mawṣūl)
The ism mawṣūl absorbs the definiteness and presents the following clause as a proper naʿt. This is one of the key functions of ism mawṣūl in Arabic.
7. Mubtadaʾ Nakirah — When Is It Permissible?
The mubtadaʾ normally must be maʿrifa (definite). If it is nakira, the sentence is ambiguous (an indefinite noun + indefinite khabar looks like naʿt-manʿūt).
Exceptions — a nakira mubtadaʾ is permitted when:
| Condition | Example |
|---|---|
| Mubtadaʾ has a naʿt after it | رَجُلٌ يَقُولُ هَذَا جَاهِلٌ — a man [who says this] is ignorant |
| Khabar is a shibh-jūmlah (prepositional phrase) — then order is swapped | فِي الغُرفَةِ رَجُلٌ — in the room is a man |
When the Khabar is a Shibh-Jūmlah — Swap Order
When the mubtadaʾ is nakira and the khabar is a preposition phrase, the khabar comes first: - ❌ رَجُلٌ فِي الغُرفَةِ — not idiomatic - ✅ فِي الغُرفَةِ رَجُلٌ — correct
8. الكلمة التابعة — The Four Followers (التوابع)
Words that follow another word and share its grammatical case (rafʿ / naṣb / jarr):
| Follower | Arabic | Function |
|---|---|---|
| النعت | naʿt | Adjective — describes the mawṣūf |
| البدل | badal | Substitute — replaces/clarifies the mubdal minhu |
| العطف | ʿaṭf | Conjunction — coordinates two items |
| التوكيد | tawkīd | Emphasis — reinforces the word it follows |
All four agree in iʿrāb with the word they follow (يَتبَع مَا قَبلَه).
9. Iʿrāb of Āyah 7 of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِم *** غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِم وَلَا الضَّالِّين
| Element | Analysis |
|---|---|
| صِرَاطَ | Badal from الصِّرَاطَ in the previous āyah (manṣūb) |
| الَّذِينَ | Ism mawṣūl — muḍāf ilayh of صِرَاطَ (majrūr) |
| أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِم | Ṣilat al-mawṣūl (no iʿrāb); عَلَيهِم is the ʿāʾid (jarr, referring to الَّذِينَ) |
| غَيرِ | Badal from الَّذِينَ (majrūr — following its mubdal minhu) |
| المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِم | Muḍāf ilayh of غَيرِ; مَغضُوب = ism mafʿūl from غَضِبَ which always takes عَلَى → مَغضُوب عَلَيهِم |
| الضَّالِّين | ʿAṭf on المَغضُوبِ; ism fāʿil from ضَلَّ (ḍalla — to go astray); assimilation: الضَّالِّين (lām + lām → shadda) |
Verbs Requiring Compulsory Prepositions
Some verbs always take a specific preposition — the preposition is inseparable from the verb's meaning: - غَضِبَ always takes عَلَى (to be angry with/at) - بَحَثَ always takes عَن (to search for)
When making ism fāʿil or mafʿūl from such verbs, the preposition is retained. And when pluralising, you change only the attached pronoun (not the ism itself): - Singular: المَغضُوبُ عَلَيه - Plural: المَغضُوبُ عَلَيهِم
Tafsīr Note — الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِم
According to many mufassirīn: - المَغضُوبُ عَلَيهِم = those upon whom Allāh's anger fell — the Jews (Banū Isrāʾīl), who knew the truth but rejected it out of pride and jealousy - الضَّالِّين = those who went astray (without arrogance, but through ignorance/misguidance) — the Christians (al-Naṣārā)
10. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- Mubālaghah pattern meanings only apply when the word is an ism fāʿil variant — not for maṣdars or proper names.
- هدى takes three preposition patterns (direct, إلى, لـ) — each has subtle rhetorical differences.
- أَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ = establishing Ṣalāh in full — includes all inward and outward conditions.
- Every embedded jūmlah is always nakira; this governs whether it functions as naʿt or ḥāl.
- Jūmlah after nakira noun = naʿt; Jūmlah after maʿrifa noun = ḥāl.
- To give a definite noun a sentence-adjective: use ism mawṣūl as the bridge.
- ʿĀʾid (fāʿil) cannot be omitted; ʿāʾid (mafʿūl bih) can be — and commonly is.
- Four followers (تَوَابِع): naʿt, badal, ʿaṭf, tawkīd — all agree in case with the word they follow.
- Some verbs require compulsory prepositions; the preposition remains in ism fāʿil/mafʿūl.
Next session: exercises for Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, then moving on to the next Quranic passage.