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Surah An-Noor — Study Session 6

Overview

The main topics covered in this session are:

  • Deep analysis of the Arabic couplet (mountain goat striking a rock) — iʿrāb of every word
  • Naṭaḥa/Yanṭaḥu — to gore (strike with horns); ism fāʿil = nāṭiḥ; ism mafʿūl via faʿīl pattern
  • Faʿīl as ism mafʿūl — certain words on the فَعِيل pattern carry the meaning of the thing afflicted
  • Wahana/Yahinu (Form I) vs. Ahwana/Yuhinu (Form IV) — to become weak vs. to weaken
  • Miṯāl verbs (first radical weak) — the wāw drops in muḍāriʿ
  • Lām al-taʿlīl with hidden an — lī + (hidden an) + manṣūb muḍāriʿ
  • Ism al-tafḍīl from weak verbs — Ahwanu = weaker/weakest
  • Quranic examples of wahana and ahwana

1. Poetry Couplet — Full Iʿrāb Analysis

The couplet describes a mountain goat (wāʿil/wāʿila) striking a rock with its horns:

"Like the striker of a rock one day in order to weaken it — but the rock was not weakened/disgraced; rather, the horns were."

Key Grammar Points

كَ (particle of resemblance/comparison) — introduces the simile.

نَاطِح (nāṭiḥ) — ism fāʿil of نَطَحَ / يَنطَحُ (to gore, to strike with horns): - Pattern: فَاعِل → نَاطِح - Taking صَخرَةً (manṣūb) as its mafʿūl bihi — confirming the rule that ism fāʿil can take a direct object

صَخرَةً (manṣūb) — the mafʿūl bihi of the ism fāʿil نَاطِح

يَومًا — manṣūb because it is a ẓarf zamān (adverb of time)

لِيُهِينَهَا — لِ (lām al-taʿlīl) + hidden أَن + يُهِينَ (manṣūb muḍāriʿ) + هَا (mafʿūl bihi):

Lām al-Taʿlīl with Hidden An

لِ (of reason/purpose) is technically followed by a hidden أَن. This hidden أَن makes the muḍāriʿ manṣūb — which is why we see يُهِينَ (with fatḥa) rather than يُهِينُ (with ḍamma). So: لِ + (أَن) + يُهِينَ = "in order to weaken it."

2. Faʿīl Pattern as Ism Mafʿūl

Some words on the فَعِيل (faʿīl) pattern carry the meaning of ism mafʿūl (the thing that was acted upon):

Root Verb Faʿīl Form Meaning as Ism Mafʿūl
ن-ط-ح نَطَحَ (to gore) نَطِيح An animal gored to death
ج-ر-ح جَرَحَ (to wound) جَرِيح Wounded person
ق-ت-ل قَتَلَ (to kill) قَتِيل Slain/killed person

Quranic Example

In Surah Al-Māʾidah: وَالنَّطِيحَةُ — "and the one gored to death" — an animal killed by goring (by another animal's horns) is ḥarām to eat.

3. Wahana/Yahinu — Miṯāl Verb (First Radical Weak)

وَهَنَ / يَهِنُ — root و-ه-ن, Form I, miṯāl (first radical = wāw).

Miṯāl Verb: Wāw Drops in Muḍāriʿ

When the first root letter is wāw (called miṯāl wāwī), the wāw drops in the muḍāriʿ: - وَهَنَ (māḍī) → يَهِنُ (muḍāriʿ) — NOT يَوهَنُ

Compare: وَعَدَ → يَعِدُ, وَصَلَ → يَصِلُ, وَلَدَ → يَلِدُ

Meaning: to become weak, feeble, or frail.

Quranic Examples of Wahana (Form I)

وَهَنَ العَظمُ مِنِّي (Surah Maryam 19:4) — "My bones have become brittle/frail." — Zakariyyā ʿalayhi al-salām's duʿāʾ.

وَلَا تَهِنُوا (Surah Āl ʿImrān 3:139) — "Do not become weak/faint-hearted." — Majzūm (after lā al-nāhiya); the wāw drops → تَهِنُوا (with wāw al-jamāʿa replacing the verb's final nūn).

4. Ahwana/Yuhinu — Form IV (Transitive)

أَوهَنَ / يُوهِنُ — Form IV (adding hamza al-taʿdiyya to make it transitive):

  • وَهَنَ = to become weak (intransitive)
  • أَوهَنَ = to weaken something/someone (transitive)

Quranic Example — Surah Al-Anfāl

أَنَّ اللَّهَ مُوهِنُ كَيدِ الكَافِرِين — "Indeed Allah is the weakener of the plans of the disbelievers." (Surah Al-Anfāl 8:18)
مُوهِن = ism fāʿil of Form IV أَوهَنَ.

5. Ism al-Tafḍīl from Wahana — Ahwanu

أَوهَن (ahwan) — ism al-tafḍīl (comparative/superlative) from وَهَنَ: - Comparative: أَوهَنُ مِن... = weaker than... - Superlative: أَوهَنُ الـ... = the weakest of...

Quranic Example — Surah Al-ʿAnkabūt

وَإِنَّ أَوهَنَ البُيُوتِ لَبَيتُ العَنكَبُوت — "And the weakest of all houses is the house of a spider." (Surah Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:41)
أَوهَنَ البُيُوتِ = muḍāf + muḍāf ilayh → superlative meaning; بَيتُ العَنكَبُوت is the khabar.

Ism Tafḍīl: Comparative vs. Superlative

  • After مِن: comparative — أَوهَنُ مِن بَيتِ العَنكَبُوت = weaker than the spider's house
  • After a definite muḍāf: superlative — أَوهَنُ البُيُوتِ = the weakest of houses

6. The Full Couplet — Spiritual Meaning

The couplet of the mountain goat was included to illustrate ism fāʿil taking a mafʿūl bihi. Its deeper meaning:

A creature that persistently strikes a rock, thinking it will weaken the rock — but the rock remains unmoved; only the creature's own horns are damaged. Applied spiritually: whoever persistently challenges the truth (represented by the rock), thinking they will weaken or overcome it, will only harm themselves.

7. Key Lessons

Summary of Lessons

  1. Faʿīl pattern can mean ism mafʿūl for some words: naṭīḥ (gored), jarīḥ (wounded), qatīl (killed).
  2. Lām al-taʿlīl + hidden أَن + manṣūb muḍāriʿ — the fatḥa on the muḍāriʿ after lī is caused by the hidden أَن.
  3. Miṯāl wāwī verbs: the wāw (first radical) drops in muḍāriʿ — وَهَنَ → يَهِنُ.
  4. Form IV adds transitivity: وَهَنَ (become weak) → أَوهَنَ (to weaken something).
  5. Ism al-tafḍīl: comparative when followed by مِن; superlative when muḍāf to a definite noun.

The couplet analysis is now complete; the session resumes the Quranic text in the next session.