Selected Ayaat of Surah al-Israa — Study Session 2
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Review of كِلَا (kilā) declension — pronoun vs. noun muḍāf
- Deep dive into الاسم المقصور (ism al-maqṣūr) — why alif cannot take a harakah
- أُفّ (uff) — its nature as an اسم الفعل (ism al-fiʿl) and its Quranic meaning
- نَهَرَ / انتَهَرَ — to rebuff, reproach
- قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا — kind speech — as mafʿūl muṭlaq or mafʿūl bih
- Introduction to الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة بِاسمِ الفاعِل (ṣifat al-mushabbaha) — the first difference from ismu al-fāʿil: ثُبُوت (thubūt) vs. حُدُوث (ḥudūth)
1. Review of Ayah 23 and كِلَا
The session opened with a brief review of Ayah 23 and the rule for كِلَا from the previous session:
| Muḍāf Ilayh of كِلَا | How كِلَا behaves |
|---|---|
| Pronoun (e.g., هُمَا) | Declines like a dual: ا → ي in manṣūb/majrūr |
| Noun (not pronoun) | Stays كِلَا — treated as maqṣūr/diptote |
Example: وَإِن كِلَا الطَّالِبَيْنِ غَائِبٌ — كِلَا stays كِلَا because الطَّالِبَيْنِ is a noun, not a pronoun.
2. الاسم المقصور — Why Alif Cannot Take a Ḥarakah
2.1 Vowels vs. Consonants in Arabic
A key principle was laid out carefully:
| Arabic letter | Type | Can it take a ḥarakah? |
|---|---|---|
| ا (alif) | Pure vowel — only elongates the sound before it | No — it is a vowel itself |
| و (wāw) | Can be vowel OR consonant | As a consonant: yes. As a vowel (long ū): no |
| ي (yāʾ) | Can be vowel OR consonant | As a consonant: yes. As a vowel (long ī): no |
| Regular consonants | Consonants only | Yes |
Alif ≠ Hamza
A common confusion: the letter ء (hamza) is sometimes written on a chair that looks like alif. But alif and hamza are two different letters. Hamza is a consonant and can take a harakah; alif is a vowel and cannot.
- أَكَلَ — the hamza here is the consonant; the alif is its seat (chair/throne = كُرسِي)
- كَتَبَا — the alif at the end is a pure vowel (dual marker); it takes no harakah
2.2 Why Maqṣūr Nouns Cannot Show Their Ḥarakāt
Since ism al-maqṣūr ends in alif (whether the standard alif or alif maqṣūra written as ى without dots), and alif cannot take a harakah, the ḥarakāt of all three cases are muqaddar (مُقَدَّر) — implied, latent, known to the reader from context.
| State | What you see | What to say in iʿrāb |
|---|---|---|
| Marfūʿ | مُوسَى | مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمة المقدرة على الألف |
| Manṣūb | مُوسَى | منصوب وعلامة نصبه الفتحة المقدرة على الألف |
| Majrūr | مُوسَى | مجرور وعلامة جره الكسرة المقدرة على الألف |
Maqṣūr ≠ Mabnī
Mabnī (مَبنِي) nouns (like هَذَا, الَّذِي, أَمسِ) are truly frozen — they have no grammatical declension at all. Maqṣūr nouns ARE muʿrab — they fully decline — the ḥarakāt are simply invisible because alif cannot carry them.
2.3 Practice Sentences
| Sentence | Analysis of maqṣūr noun |
|---|---|
| جَاءَ مُوسَى | مُوسَى: فاعل، مرفوع، علامته الضمة المقدرة على الألف |
| رَأَيْتُ عِيسَى | عِيسَى: مفعول به، منصوب، علامته الفتحة المقدرة على الألف |
| اتَّكَأْتُ عَلَى الْعَصَا | الْعَصَا: اسم مجرور، علامته الكسرة المقدرة على الألف |
| سَقَطَ النَّدَى عَلَى الزَّهْرَى | النَّدَى: فاعل مرفوع (مقدرة); الزَّهْرَى: مجرور (مقدرة) |
Poetry (Imam al-Shāfiʿī):
مَن طَلَبَ العُلَا سَهِرَ اللَّيَالِي — "Whoever seeks greatness spends his nights awake."
وَمَن أَرَادَ العُلَا بِغَيرِ الكَدِّ أَضَاعَ العُمُرَ فِي طَلَبِ الْمُحَالِ "And whoever seeks greatness without hard work has wasted his life pursuing the impossible."
العُلَا — maqṣūr, manṣūb (muqaddar fataḥ) as mafʿūl bih.
3. أُفّ — The Forbidden Utterance (Ayah 23)
فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ "Do not say to them 'Uff!'"
3.1 أُفّ as اسم الفعل (Ism al-Fiʿl)
أُفّ is not a regular noun — it is an اسم الفعل (ism al-fiʿl) — a word that: - Is a noun in form - Carries the meaning of a complete verb sentence - Is mabnī (frozen — never declines)
| Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| أُفّ / أُفٍّ / أُفَّ | I am fed up / I am disgusted / I detest this |
These variant forms are all valid; the word does not follow morphological derivation rules because it is an organic, primitive expression.
| With tanwīn | Without tanwīn |
|---|---|
| أُفٍّ | أُفَّ / أُفّ |
| "I'm fed up of everything (in general)" | "I'm fed up of this specific thing" |
Ismu al-Fiʿl
Ism al-fiʿl belongs to a category of "frozen words" that pack an entire verbal meaning into one expression. Compare in Urdu: اُف (uf), which carries the same emotional weight. In Arabic: آمِين is another example — not derived from any verb, yet it functions as "May Allah accept it" (the force of a whole duʿāʾ sentence).
3.2 The Lesson of the Ayah
Allah acknowledges that elderly parents can become difficult and may behave unreasonably. The prohibition is not against feeling frustrated (that is human), but against expressing that frustration — even through a single syllable like أُفّ.
Key Rule on Obeying Parents
لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخلُوقٍ فِي مَعصِيَةِ الخَالِق — There is no obedience to the creation in disobeying the Creator. Parents are not obeyed when they command something ḥarām — but that does not permit treating them with disrespect.
4. نَهَرَ / انتَهَرَ — To Rebuff, Reproach
وَلَا تَنهَرهُمَا "And do not rebuff/reproach them."
نَهَرَ / يَنهَرُ (Form I) and انتَهَرَ / يَنتَهِرُ (Form VIII) both mean: to rebuff, to scold, to speak to someone harshly and dismissively.
This verb appears in only two places in the Quran:
| Ayah | Context |
|---|---|
| Surah al-Israa 23 | Do not rebuff your parents in old age |
| Surah al-Ḍuḥā 9 | فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقهَر (Do not overpower the orphan) — thematically parallel |
5. قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا — Kind Speech (Ayah 23)
وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا "And speak to them a kind word."
قَوْلًا here has two grammatical interpretations:
| Interpretation | Analysis | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| مفعول مطلق | قَوْلًا = maṣdar of قَالَ, expressing manner of the speech | "Speak to them kindly" |
| مفعول به | قَوْلًا = the thing said (the actual word/speech) | "Speak to them a kind word" |
A maṣdar can function as a مفعول به when used with the sense of اسم مفعول (the thing produced by the action). Example: دَرَسْتُ دَرسًا — darasa as mafʿūl muṭlaq (manner) vs. dars as the lesson itself (mafʿūl bih).
Grammatical Difference, No Meaning Difference
Both readings yield essentially the same meaning. The nuance is purely grammatical; it does not change what Allah is commanding.
كَرِيم is a word of the family we will study as ṣifat mushabbaha (below). Its root is ك-ر-م (karuma) — to be generous/noble.
| Noun | Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كَرِيم | فَعِيل | noble, generous (permanent quality) |
| كَرَم | فَعَل | generosity (abstract noun) |
| Plural كُرَمَاء | فُعَلَاء | noble/generous people |
| Feminine كَرِيمَة | فَعِيلَة | noble woman |
6. الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة بِاسمِ الفاعِل — The Adjective Resembling the Active Participle
6.1 Four Attributes Derivable from a Verb
From any verb, up to four types of descriptive attributes can be derived:
| Term | Arabic | Example (from كَتَبَ) |
|---|---|---|
| Active participle | اسم الفاعل | كَاتِب (one who is writing) |
| Passive participle | اسم المفعول | مَكتُوب (something written) |
| Intensive pattern | صِيغَة المُبَالَغَة | كَتَّاب (prolific writer) |
| Adjective-like participle | الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة | (not applicable to كَتَبَ — see below) |
6.2 The First Difference: ثُبُوت vs. حُدُوث
| Concept | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ḥudūth (حُدُوث) | The maṣdar of حَدَثَ | An action that occurs at a particular time — has a beginning and end |
| thubūt (ثُبُوت) | The maṣdar of ثَبَتَ (to be firm) | A quality that is continuous and not bound by time — an inborn attribute |
اسم الفاعل (active participle) signifies ḥudūth — an action happening at a specific time. الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة signifies thubūt — a permanent, timeless attribute.
| Ismu al-Fāʿil | Translation | Time-bound? |
|---|---|---|
| جَالِس (jālis) | sitting (right now) | Yes — he will stop sitting |
| شَارِب (shārib) | drinking (now) | Yes — he will finish drinking |
| Ṣifat Mushabbaha | Translation | Time-bound? |
|---|---|---|
| كَرِيم (karīm) | generous (as a permanent quality) | No — it is who he is |
| شَرِيف (sharīf) | noble (as an inherent quality) | No |
| طَاهِر (ṭāhir) | pure (as an attribute of character) | No |
Which Verbs Produce Ṣifat Mushabbaha?
Ṣifat mushabbaha is derived only from intransitive verbs of permanent state — the family called فَعُلَ يَفعُلُ (where both the māḍī and muḍāriʿ second radical takes the same vowel). Verbs like كَرُمَ يَكرُمُ, شَرُفَ يَشرُفُ, طَهُرَ يَطهُرُ. These verbs describe being something, not doing something. Action verbs (like كَتَبَ, جَلَسَ, شَرِبَ) do NOT produce ṣifat mushabbaha.
6.3 Implication for كَرِيم
Technically, كَرِيم is not an ismu al-fāʿil — though it looks like one (فَعِيل pattern resembles a few ismu al-fāʿil patterns). It is a ṣifat mushabbaha from كَرُمَ. When we say Zaydun karīmun, we are not describing an action (like "Zayd is being generous right now") — we are describing a permanent characteristic.
More differences between ismu al-fāʿil and ṣifat mushabbaha to be covered in the next session.
7. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Root | Pattern / Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| قَضَى | ق-ض-ي | Form I | to decree; to complete; to kill |
| قَاضٍ | ق-ض-ي | فَاعِل | judge |
| أُفّ / أُفٍّ | — | اسم فعل (frozen) | exclamation of disgust/boredom |
| نَهَرَ | ن-ه-ر | Form I | to rebuff, reproach, scold |
| انتَهَرَ | ن-ه-ر | Form VIII | same — to rebuff, reproach |
| قَوْل | ق-و-ل | فَعْل | speech; a word; a saying |
| كَرِيم | ك-ر-م | فَعِيل (ṣifat mushabbaha) | generous, noble, kind |
| كَرُمَ | ك-ر-م | Form I (فَعُلَ family) | to be generous/noble |
| كَرَم | ك-ر-م | فَعَل | generosity |
| عُلَا | ع-ل-و | فُعَل (maqṣūr) | heights; greatness; nobility |
| سَهِرَ | س-ه-ر | Form I | to stay awake at night |
| كَدّ | ك-د-د | فَعْل | hard work, toil |
| مُحَال | — | مفعول / اسم | the impossible |
8. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- Alif is a pure vowel — it cannot take a ḥarakah. Ism al-maqṣūr endings carry implied (muqaddar) ḥarakāt. This does NOT make them mabnī.
- أُفّ is an اسم فعل — a frozen word carrying the force of a complete verb sentence. Such words do not follow morphological rules.
- Using أُفّ to parents is forbidden — but this is the minimum; the standard demanded is positive and dignified speech (قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا).
- الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة describes permanent attributes (thubūt); اسم الفاعل describes time-bound actions (ḥudūth). كَرِيم is ṣifat mushabbaha, not ismu al-fāʿil — though it looks similar.
- Ṣifat mushabbaha is derived only from the فَعُلَ يَفعُلُ family of intransitive state verbs.
Next session will continue with additional differences between اسم الفاعل and الصِّفَة المُشَبَّهَة, followed by further grammar analysis of the remaining ayaat.