كَاف الخِطَاب — The Address Particle in Demonstratives
In demonstrative pronouns like ذَٰلِكَ (that) and تِلكَ (that [fem.]), the final كَ (or كُم, كِ) is called كَاف الخِطَاب (kāf al-khiṭāb = the address particle). It points to the person being spoken to, not to what is being demonstrated.
The Two Parts of ذَٰلِكَ
ذَٰلِكَ = ذَا (demonstrative — points to the referent) + لِكَ (connector + كَاف الخِطَاب)
| Part | Points To | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ذَا (ذَال) | The THING being demonstrated | That house, that book, that event |
| كَاف | The PERSON being spoken to | The listener/audience |
Forms of كَاف الخِطَاب
| Audience | Demonstrative | كَاف Form |
|---|---|---|
| One male | ذَٰلِكَ | كَ |
| Group of males | ذَٰلِكُم | كُم |
| One female | ذَٰلِكِ | كِ |
| Group of females | ذَٰلِكُنَّ | كُنَّ |
The feminine demonstrative تِلكَ follows the same pattern.
The Key Rule
Changing كَ Does NOT Change the Referent
When you change ذَٰلِكَ to ذَٰلِكُم, you are changing the audience — addressing a group instead of one person. The thing being demonstrated remains the same.
Pointing to a house: - ذَٰلِكَ البَيتُ = "That house" (to one person) - ذَٰلِكُمُ البَيتُ = "That house" (to a group)
In both sentences, the ذَال points to the same house. Only the audience has changed.
Quranic Examples
In Sūrah Al-Baqarah (the golden calf incident), Mūsā (AS) addresses all of Banū Isrāʾīl:
ذَٰلِكُم بَارِئُكُم — "That is your Creator."
Here ذَٰلِكُم uses كُم because Mūsā is addressing the whole group, but the ذَال still points to Allah — the referent does not change.
Emphasis Through كَاف الخِطَاب
A speaker can choose to use ذَٰلِكُم even when addressing one person, to give more emphasis or dignity to the person being addressed. This is similar to using a formal plural in some languages.
Session References
- Surah Al-Hujuraat Session 14: كَاف الخِطَاب introduced in context of Sūrah Al-Baqarah verse; the two-part structure of ذَٰلِكَ; changing كَ vs the unchanged referent.