1.1.

17 ISM- NUMBER PART I

Learning - Understand the singular, dual, and first three parts of plural s

Objectives

Lesson Review

There are three different categories of numbers: singular, dual, and plural. The singular and
dual are very easy as weve already done it:
1. Singular examples: , ,
, ,
2. Dual examples:
a. Remember: the and forms look the same for dual s

The plural is where things get a little more detailed. There are six kinds of plurals:
1. Masculine Plural , (oona, eena)
a. Used for humans, angels, and jinns
b. Includes women
i. Example: includes both male and female believers
2. Human Feminine Plural ,
(aatun, aatin)
a. Used for female humans
i. Examples: (female Muslims), (female believers)
3. Non-Human Feminine Plural , (aatun, aatin)
a. Plurals of things that arent human are treated as she (feminine singular words)
i. Examples: (skies), (cars)
b. Instead of saying they are books, the Arabs would say she is books. It sounds
strange in English but it is appropriate in Arabic. Thus, for Non-Human Plurals,
they are treated like a she even though theyre plural. In other words, the
gender and number for a Non-Human Plural would be Feminine & Singular.
i. Examples: Toys, I love her, She is beautiful buildings
4. Human Broken Plural
5. Non-Human Broken Plural
a. Just like the Non-Human Feminine Plural, this Non-Human Broken Plural is
treated like a she, and thus its gender and number would be Feminine and
Singular

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6. Ism Jama

Important note to remember: ALL non-human plurals are treated as she (feminine singular
words) in Arabic.

Quran Gem

Allah is talking about Maryam (AS). He says about her:

that she was from
amongst who were devoutly obedient. The word has an ending combination, which is
used for men. The masculine plural has ending combinations of / while feminine plurals
/
have ending combinations of . Remember, the masculine plural encompasses both men
and women, while the feminine plural encompasses only women.
Maryam (AS) was a female so it would make sense to say:
. But her faith in and
devotion to Allah was so vast, so beautiful, and so encompassing that Allah wanted to point out
that she is a role model to all of mankind: both men and women. This is why the masculine
plural is used:
.

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