المُتَعَلِّق — Prepositional Phrase Attachment
المُتَعَلِّق (from ع-ل-ق, to cling/hang) describes what a شِبهُ الجُملَة (quasi-sentence: a prepositional phrase or ẓarf) is "attached to." A phrase like فِي البَيتِ is incomplete alone — it always clings to something else.
Rule 1 — Most Commonly Attached to a Verb
Most of the time, a prepositional phrase or ẓarf is attached to a verb:
ذَهَبَ عُمَرُ مِن بَيتِهِ إِلَى المَسجِدِ — two mutalliqāt, both attached to ذَهَبَ.
The dictionary tells you which prepositions a given verb takes. Reading full dictionary entries is essential — e.g. ذَهَبَ + بِـ = to carry off/take away (different from ذَهَبَ + إِلَى).
Rule 2 — Can Attach to Certain Derivative Nouns (Waṣf)
A شِبهُ الجُملَة can attach to a noun that functions like a verb — specifically:
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| اسم الفاعل (active participle) | أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى المَسجِدِ — attached to ذَاهِب |
| اسم التفضيل (elative/comparative) | أَنتَ أَعلَمُ مِنِّي بِهِ — attached to أَعلَم |
| المصدر (verbal noun) | بِالله تَوَكُّلِي — attached to the masdar تَوَكُّل |
The masdar may also appear as a muḍāf ilayh: بِسمِ اللهِ — the بِـ is attached to the hidden masdar اِبتِدَائِي (my beginning).
Rule 3 — Can Attach to a Hidden Khabar
When a شِبهُ الجُملَة appears in a nominal sentence with no visible verb or waṣf, it attaches to an assumed/hidden word — typically a general verb of existence/presence:
| Hidden word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| كَائِن | existing, present |
| مَوجُود | present |
| اِستَقَرَّ | settled / established itself |
عُمَرُ فِي البَيتِ — underlying form: عُمَرُ مَوجُودٌ فِي البَيتِ — the فِي البَيتِ is attached to the hidden مَوجُود.
This is why grammarians insist every شِبهُ الجُملَة must be attached to something — even if that something is implied.
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ
The phrase implies: there is no god in existence except Allah — the existence/presence verb is assumed.
Ambiguous Attachment — Multiple Possibilities
In complex sentences (especially Quran and poetry), a شِبهُ الجُملَة may plausibly attach to more than one word. This creates variant interpretations. For Quran and Hadith, scholarly tafsīr sources adjudicate; for poetry, the reader chooses the reading that makes most sense.
Session References
- Both These Lights Session 7: Introduction — Rule 1 (attachment to verb); dictionary usage.
- Both These Lights Session 8: Rule 2 — attachment to اسم فاعل, اسم تفضيل, مصدر.
- Both These Lights Session 9: Rule 3 — attachment to hidden khabar; لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ analysis.