Demonstrative Pronouns — Ism al-Ishārah

Summary: Arabic demonstrative pronouns vary by gender, distance, and addressee; تِلْكَ is broken into three structural components: pointer, distance marker, and addressee marker.

Structure of تِلْكَ

تِلْكَ (that — feminine, distant) is composed of three parts: (source: Surah Yusuf Session 2)

Part	Element	Function
تِ	ism al-ishāra	the actual pointer — feminine form of ذَا
لَ	lām al-buʿd	indicates greater distance (same lām as in ذَلِكَ vs. ذَاكَ)
كَ	ḥarf al-khiṭāb	indicates the addressee — changes based on who is being spoken to

Variant Forms

Form	Meaning
تِلْكَ	feminine, distant — addressing one person
تِلْكُمَا	addressing two people
تِلْكُمْ	addressing a group
تِيكَ	without lām al-buʿd (shorter distance)

Example from hadith al-ifk: تِيكُمْ — teacher addressing a group, referring to a feminine subject. Found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāri. (source: Surah Yusuf Session 2)

Resolving the Two Sukūns in تِلْكَ

When lām al-buʿd enters upon تِيكَ, we get تِيْلْكَ — two adjacent sukūns (yāʾ with sukūn + lām with sukūn). Rule: when yāʾ with sukūn is adjacent to another sukūn, drop the yāʾ → تِلْكَ. (source: Surah Yusuf Session 2)

When lām does not enter, تِيكَ remains as is.

Parallel: ذَاكَ / ذَلِكَ

The masculine pair follows the same logic:

ذَاكَ — near/moderate distance (no lām al-buʿd)
ذَلِكَ — greater distance (with lām al-buʿd)

From Surah Yusuf Session 8 — ذَٰلِكَ in Detail

The masculine form was taken apart the same way as تِلْكَ:

Piece	Name	Function
ذَا	The demonstrative proper	this
لَ	لَام البُعْد	marks distance
كَ	كَاف الخِطَاب	addresses the listener

How Far Is Far?

A star is ذَٰلِكَ — maximum distance, so the لَام البُعْد is present. A tree you can see down the road is ذَاكَ — the lām drops away.

The كَاف Agrees with the Addressee, Not the Referent

Form	Addressee
ذَٰلِكَ	one male
ذَٰلِكُمْ	a group
ذَٰلِكُنَّ	a group of females (uncommon)

ذَٰلِكُمْ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْ — Sūrat al-Baqarah

ذَٰلِكُمْ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

The context: divorced women who have completed their ʿiddah and wish to remarry their former husbands — a first or second divorce that both parties have come to regret. Allah instructs their guardians not to prevent them.

Plural كَاف ≠ Plural Referent

Only one thing is being pointed at in that āyah. ذَٰلِكَ becoming ذَٰلِكُمْ means the people addressed are now more than one — not that the referent has become plural. Pointing at several things requires أُولَٰئِكَ.

For the use of كَذَٰلِكَ as a deputy for the absolute object, see Mafʿūl Muṭlaq — Absolute Object.

From Surah Yusuf Session 11 — تِلْكُمُ for a Nearby Jannah

وَنُودُوا أَن تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (al-Aʿrāf 43)

Why the Far Demonstrative?

The people addressed are already in Jannah — so why تِلْكُمُ and not هَٰذِهِ?

Distance of Place → Height of Status

The far demonstrative shows respect and the grand status of Jannah — as one keeps a respectful distance from a very honourable person. مَكَان is place; مَكَانَة is status: distance of place can point to a status that is far above. Some likewise read ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ as expressing respect for the Quran.

The Lesson

Jannah is so grand that no one enters it by deeds alone — even a lifetime in sajdah could not earn it. It is inherited through Allah's mercy.

Session References

Surah Yusuf Session 11: تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ (al-Aʿrāf 43) — the far demonstrative for honour; مَكَان vs مَكَانَة.