First Steps To Understanding

Nahw
Hashim Mohamed

Al-Qalam Publications
First Steps To Understanding Nahw
First Edition April, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-9576534-6-7

Compiler Hashim Mohamed

Contact: Al-Qalam Institute

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Leicester, LE5 3SN,
United Kingdom

Email info@alqalaminstitute.org
Website http://alqalaminstitute.org

If you see any mistakes in this book, have any

comments or suggestions, please feel free to
contact us. Jazakallah.

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may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
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electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the author.
 Contents
Introduction ............................................................... 4
SECTION 1 Types Of Words ............................................ 6
Arabic Words .............................................................. 7
Nouns ......................................................................... 8
Characteristic 1 Definite and Indefinite .................. 8
Characteristic 2 Gender .......................................... 9
Characteristic 3 Singular, Dual and Plural ............. 10
Characteristic 4 I‘rab............................................. 12
Verbs ........................................................................ 13
Particles .................................................................... 13
SECTION 2 Sentences ................................................... 14
‫ اجلملة اإلمسیة‬...................................................................... 15
‫ اجلملة الفعلیة‬...................................................................... 16
Recap........................................................................ 17
SECTION 3 Phrases ....................................................... 18
Descriptive Phrase .................................................... 19
Demonstrative Phrase .............................................. 20
Possessive Phrase ..................................................... 22
Conjunction .............................................................. 22
‫ ِشْبه ا ْجل ْملَ ِة‬........................................................................ 23
SECTION 4 Pronouns .................................................... 25
SECTION 5 Sentences within Sentences ....................... 28
SECTION 6 Joining Sentences Together ........................ 31
Conjunctions............................................................. 32
3
 Introduction
﷽
Reason for Writing This Book
Many books on the subject of Nahw have been written
in English. However, to the best of my knowledge, most
of them are based on classical Arabic texts on Nahw or
translations of these texts. However, I felt there was a
need for a book to be written specifically for English
speakers.
I have laid out the contents of this book, to the best of
my ability, in a manner which will, insha’allah, appeal to
an English speaker and relate in some way to English
grammar.
Note for Teachers
This book is meant to be an introduction to Nahw. It is
not a comprehensive text book which covers all the
technical issues of the language. Hence, we have tried to
simplify this book as much as possible. We have omitted
many things and in many cases we have simplified the
rules to a very basic level. We humbly request you not to
overburden the student with additional information.
This would completely negate the point of this book.
Similarly, we beseech the teachers not to make students
memorise this book word for word. It is not a holy script
that needs to be preserved; Nahw is a science which
needs to be understood!

4
Note for Students
As mentioned above, this is an entry level book. You will
need to study other texts to fully understand the
language properly. The objective of this book is to give
you a brief overview of how the Arabic language works.
Secondly, the rules in this book are all simplified rules to
which you will find more details and exceptions as you
study Nahw in more detail.

5
SECTION 1
Types Of
Words

6
 Arabic Words
In Arabic a word is called ٌ‫ َكلِ َمة‬. The plural is ٌ‫ َكلِ َمات‬. Words
are divided into three categories: nouns, verbs and
particles.
1) Noun: a thing e.g. pen, paper.
A noun is called an ٌ‫اِ ْسم‬. The plural is ٌ‫أ َْْسَاء‬.
Nouns will have either an ‫ ال‬at the beginning or a ‫تنوين‬
at the end.
‫َرس ْول‬ ‫اَلَّرس ْول‬
2) Verb: an action. e.g. run, sat.
A verb is called a ٌ‫فِ ْعل‬. The plural is ٌ‫أَف َْعال‬.
Verbs will come on one of the following patterns:
‫اِفْ تَ ْح‬ ‫يَ ْفتَح‬ ‫فَتَ َح‬
3) Particle: usually a two letter word which is added to
nouns and verbs. e.g. ‫ِ ْف‬, ‫إِٰلی‬.
A particle is called a ٌ‫ َح ْرف‬. The plural is ٌ‫ ُح ُرْوف‬.

Arabic Words ٌ‫َكلِ َمات‬

Nouns ‫اِ ْسم‬ Verb ‫فِ ْعل‬ Particle ‫َح ْرف‬
Name, Thing Action Two Letter Words
‫ال‬ ‫تنوين‬ ‫اِفْ تَ ْح‬ ‫يَ ْفتَح‬ ‫فَتَ َح‬ ‫ إِلی‬،‫ِ ْف‬

7
 Nouns
Nouns can be studied from different perspectives. Here,
we are going to look at four important characteristics of
nouns: 1) Definite – Indefinite 2) Gender 3) Number 4)
I‘raab.
Characteristic 1
Definite and Indefinite
1) Definite: a name or a thing with the before it.
Muhammad the pen
In Arabic, the ‫ اَ ْل‬at the beginning of a noun is equal
to the English word the.
‫اَلنِ ي‬
‫َّب‬ ‫اَلَّرس ْول‬
the prophet the messenger
A definite noun is called ‫ َم ْع ِرفَة‬.
2) Indefinite: a noun with the letter a before it.
a pen
In Arabic, the ‫ تنوين‬at the end of a word is equal to
the English word a.
‫نَِبي‬ ‫َرس ْول‬
a prophet a messenger
An indefinite noun is called ‫نَکِ َرة‬.
Look at the following verse and see how a noun has
been used first as ‫ نكرة‬then ‫معرفة‬.
﴾‫ول‬ َّ ‫صى فِْر َع ْون‬
َ ‫الرس‬ ٰ ‫﴿أ َْر َسلْنَا إِ َل فِْر َع ْو َن َرس ًول فَ َع‬
We sent a messenger to Fir‘awn. Then, Fir‘awn
disobeyed the messenger.

8
 Characteristic 2
Gender
All living things have a natural gender i.e. they will be
either masculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
‫َولَد‬ ‫بِْنت‬
boy girl
In Arabic, non-living things also have a grammatical
gender i.e. even though they are neither male nor
female, for grammatical purposes they are considered as
eithier masculine or feminine.
Feminine Nouns
Nouns will be considered feminine in the following
cases:
1. By natural gender i.e. if it refers to a female
person.
‫أمي‬ ‫َم ْرَي‬
mother Maryam
2. If it has a round ‫ ة‬at the end:
‫أ َّمة‬
a nation
The Arabic term for feminine is ‫ ُم َؤنَّث‬.

Masculine Nouns
Apart from these two types of nouns, all other nouns are
masculine. The Arabic name for masculine is ‫ ُم َذَّکر‬.

9
 Characteristic 3
Singular, Dual and Plural
A noun can be singular, dual or plural. You already know
what singular and plurals are, as these terms are also
used in English.
Singular
Singular nouns are called ٌ‫ َوا ِحد‬.

Duals
In Arabic, there is another form of noun that shows two.
This is known as dual. Duals are made from the ‫ َو ِاحد‬by
placing a ‫ فَتْ َحة‬on the last letter of the word and then
adding ‫ ِان‬.
‫َرج َل ِن‬ ‫َرجل‬

two men man
A dual word will never have a ‫تنوين‬. It can however have a
‫ال‬. Therefore, if it has ‫ ال‬it will be ‫ معرفة‬and if it does not
have ‫ ال‬it will be ‫نکرة‬, even though it does not have a ‫تنوين‬.
ٌ‫نكرة‬ ٌ‫معرفة‬
‫َرج َل ِن‬ ‫الرج َل ِن‬
َّ
two men the two men
If ‫ ان‬is added to a word ending with a round ‫ة‬, it will be
written like a normal ‫ت‬.
ِ َ‫جنَّت‬
‫ان‬ ‫َجنَّة‬
َ

two heavens heaven
A dual is called ٌ‫تَثْنِيَة‬.

10
Plurals
There are two types of plurals in Arabic; regular and
irregular.
1) A regular plural is one that follows a fixed pattern.
This type is called ‫الس ٌِال‬
َّ ٌ‫اَ ْْلَ ْم ٌُع‬. This is used for both ‫ مذکر‬and
‫ مؤنث‬words.
The masculine version, ٌُ‫السٌ ِال‬ َّ ٌ ٌ‫ا ٌََ ٌْْلَ ٌْم ٌُعٌ ٌاٌلْ ٌُمٌَذ ٌَّک ٌُر‬, is made by
placing a ‫ ضمة‬on the last letter of the ‫ ;واحد‬and then by
adding ‫ ْو َن‬.
‫م ْسلِم ْو َن‬ ‫م ْسلِم‬

believers a believer
ِ َّ ٌ ٌٌ‫ث‬
ُ َّ‫ا ٌََ ٌْْلَ ٌْم ٌُعٌ ٌاٌلْ ُمٌ ٌَؤٌن‬, is made by
The feminine version, ٌُ‫السٌال‬
removing the ‫ة‬, placing a ‫ فتحة‬on the last letter, and
then by adding ‫ات‬.
 ‫م ْؤِمنَات‬
‫م ْؤِمنَة‬
Remember, the round ‫ ة‬/ ‫ لة‬is a sign of a singular word
being ‫ ;مؤنث‬and the ‫ ات‬is a sign of a plural word being
‫مؤنث‬.
‫م ْسلِ َمات‬ ‫م ْسلِ َمة‬

believing women a believing woman
2) An irregular plural is one that is formed irregularly,
i.e. it has no fixed pattern. This is called ‫اَ ْْلَ ْم ٌُع ال ُْم َک َّس ٌُر‬.
‫رسل‬  ‫َرس ْول‬ ‫أ َْْنار‬  ‫َْنْر‬
There is no rule to these plurals; they have to be
learnt.

11
Summary of Number of Nouns
‫مجع‬
ٌ‫تثنية‬ ٌ‫واحد‬
Plural
Dual Singular
ٌ‫مكسر‬ ٌ‫سال‬
‫مؤنث‬ ‫مذكر‬ ‫مؤنث‬ ‫مذكر‬ ‫مؤنث‬ ‫مذكر‬
‫رسل‬
)‫(م ْسلِ َمات‬ )‫ان) (م ْسلِم ْو َن‬
ِ َ‫(مسلِمت‬
َْ
ِ ‫(مُسلِم) (مسلِمة) (مسلِم‬
)‫ان‬ َْ َْ ْ

Characteristic 4
I‘rab
In Arabic, words end with a vowel i.e. ‫فتحة‬, ‫ ضمة‬or ‫ كسرة‬due
to different rules you will study later.
If a word ends with ‫ َض َّمة‬, ُ, it is generally ٌ‫ َم ْرفُ ْوع‬.
‫الرس ْول‬
َّ ‫َرس ْول‬
If a word ends with ‫فَتْ َحة‬,َُ , it is generallyٌ ٌ‫ص ْوب‬
ُ ‫ َم ْن‬.
‫الرس ْو َل‬
َّ ‫َرس ْوًل‬
If a word ends with ‫ َك ْسَرة‬,ُِ , it is generallyٌ ٌ‫ ََْم ُرْور‬.
‫الرس ْوِل‬
َّ ‫َرس ْول‬
These three, ‫مرفوع‬, ‫ منصوب‬and ‫جمرور‬, are grammatical states. In
Arabic this is called ٌ‫إِ ْع َراب‬.
Key Words
Definite / Indefinite Gender Number ٌ ٌ‫إعراب‬
Definite ‫ معرفة‬Masculine ‫ مذكر‬Singular ‫واحد‬ ‫مرفوع‬
Indefinite ‫ نكرة‬Feminine ‫ مؤنث‬Dual ‫تثنیة‬ ‫منصوب‬
Plural ‫مجع‬ ‫جمرور‬
Regular ‫سال‬
Irregular ‫مكسر‬

12
 Verbs
A verb, ‫فعل‬, is a word that shows an action:
hit, run, sleep, etc.
In Arabic, there are three types of verbs:
1. ‫ي‬ ِ ‫الْم‬: the past tense. This shows that an action
ٌْ ‫اض‬ َ
took place in the past.
‫فَتَ َح‬
He opened.
2. ُ‫ِع‬
ٌ ‫ضار‬
َ ‫ال ُْم‬: present or future tense.
‫يَ ْفتَح‬
He opens, he will open.
3. ‫األ َْم ٌُر‬: instruction or command.
‫اِفْ تَ ْح‬
Open!
The rules of each of these will be discussed in ‫ صرف‬in
more detail.
Particles
‫ حرْوف‬are particles which join nouns and verbs to give
additional meaning to them. Different particles will be
discussed when necessary throughout this book.

13
SECTION 2
Sentences

14
Until now we have been studying single words. Now, we
are going to put different types of words together and
make sentences. In Arabic, a sentence is called a ٌ‫مجُْلَة‬.
There are two types of sentences.
1) ٌُ‫اْل ِْْسيَّة‬
ِْ ٌٌُ‫اَ ْْلُ ْملَة‬: This is a sentence that begins with an ‫اسم‬.
2) ُ‫اَ ْْلُ ْملَةٌٌُال ِْف ْعلِيٌَّة‬: This is a sentence that begins with a ‫فعل‬.

‫اْلملةٌاْلْسي ٌة‬
‫ اجلملة اإلمسیة‬is a sentence which is made up of two parts, the
ٌ‫ ُم ْب تَ َدأ‬and the ‫ب‬ٌْ ‫ َخ‬.
The ‫ مبتدأ‬is the subject i.e. the thing you are talking about.
The ‫ خرب‬is the information regarding the ‫مبتدأ‬.
[The Prophet]‫ مبتدأ‬is [truthful]‫خرب‬
The following rules apply regarding ‫خرب‬-‫مبتدأ‬:
1) The ‫ مبتدأ‬is generally ‫معرفة‬,
2) The ‫ خرب‬is generally ‫نكرة‬,
3) The ‫ خرب‬agrees with the ‫ مبتدأ‬in number and gender,
4) Both words are ‫مرفوع‬.
‫ُم َّمد َرس ْول‬ ‫ص ِادق‬
َ ‫اَ َّلرسول‬ ‫ص ِادقَة‬ ِ
َ ‫فَاط َمة‬
Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬is a Prophet. The Prophet is truthful. Fatima is truthful.
ٌ‫الرتکيب‬
The word ‫ تركیب‬literally means to build or to put together.
In Nahw, we do ‫ تركیب‬of sentences i.e. we do a
grammatical breakdown of the structure of a sentence.
Below is the ‫ تركیب‬of a ‫مجلة إمسیة‬.
‫[رس ْول]خرب]مجلة إمسیة‬
َ ‫[[ُم َّمد]مبتدأ‬

15
You would express the ‫ تركیب‬in the following way:
‫ ُممد‬is the ‫ رسول ;مبتدأ‬is the ‫ ;خرب‬and the ‫ مبتدأ‬and ‫ خرب‬join to
become a ‫مجْلَة إِ ِْمسیَّة‬.

‫اْلملةٌالفعلي ٌة‬
‫ اجلملة الفعلیة‬is a sentence which starts with a verb. A ‫مجلة فعلیة‬
has four parts; verb, subject, object and adverb.
Subject
Every ‫ فعل‬must have a subject, someone who is carrying
out the action. In Arabic, the subject in ‫ اجلملة الفعلیة‬is called
ِ َ‫ف‬.
ٌ‫اعل‬
The ‫ فاعل‬comes after the verb and it is ‫مرفوع‬.
‫ٌدٌ]فاعل]مجلة فعلیة‬
ُ ‫[دٌا ُؤٌْو‬
َ ‫[[قَتَ َل]فعل‬
Dawud u killed.
Object
Some verbs may also carry an object, someone upon
whom the action is carried out. This is called ٌ‫ َم ْفعُ ْول‬. The
‫ مفعول‬will be ‫منصوب‬, and it generally comes after the ‫فاعل‬.
‫جالوت]مفعول]مجلة فعلیة‬
ٌَ [ ‫[[قَتَ َل]فعل [داؤود]فاعل‬
(the Prophet) Dawud u killed Goliath.
Note:
In ‫ اجلملة اإلمسیة‬the subject is called ‫مبتدأ‬, and in ‫ اجلملة الفعلیة‬the
subject is called ‫فاعل‬. In English they are both called
subject.

16
Adverb
Along with a ‫ مفعول‬a ‫ مجلة فعلیة‬can also have an adverb i.e.
something to show time or place. This is called ٌ‫ظَْرف‬.
﴾‫﴿لَبِثْنَا يَ ْوًما‬
We have stayed a day.
Recap
We have now covered six main parts of sentences:
1. ‫مبتدأ‬: This is always a noun and is always ‫مرفوع‬.
2. ‫خرب‬: This is always a noun and is always ‫مرفوع‬.

3. ‫فعل‬: The rules of this will be discussed in Sarf.

4. ‫فاعل‬: This is always a noun and is always ‫مرفوع‬.
5. ‫مفعول‬: This is always a noun and is always ‫منصوب‬.
6. ‫ظرف‬: This is always a noun and is always ‫منصوب‬.
)‫خرب (مرفوع‬ )‫مبتدأ (مرفوع‬ ٌ ٌ‫مجلةٌإْسية‬
)‫ظرف (منصوب‬ )‫مفعول (منصوب‬ )‫فاعل (مرفوع‬ ‫فعل‬ ٌ‫مجلةٌفعلية‬

17
SECTION 3
Phrases

18
Phrases
You would have noticed that five of the six main parts of
a sentence are nouns. However, just as they can be
single nouns they can also be phrases. Look at the
following example:
[The boy]‫ مبتدأ‬is [clever]‫خرب‬.
[This boy]‫ مبتدأ‬is [a clever student]‫خرب‬.
In the first sentence we have two nouns, the first is ‫مبتدأ‬
and the second is ‫خرب‬. In the second sentence both the ‫مبتدأ‬
and the ‫ خرب‬are made up of two words. These are called
phrases. These phrases are made up of different nouns
and different forms of nouns. The phrase then takes the
place of one of the main parts of the sentence i.e. in a ‫مجلة‬
‫ فعلیة‬a phrase can take the place of ‫فاعل‬, ‫ مفعول‬or ‫ظرف‬, and in
‫ مجلة إمسیة‬it can take the place of the ‫ مبتدأ‬or ‫خرب‬.
There are five types of phrases:
1. Descriptive.
2. Demonstrative Phrase.
3. Possessive Phrase.
4. Conjunction.
5. ‫ ِشْبه مجْلَة‬.

Descriptive Phrase
The descriptive phrase is made by bringing an adjective
i.e. describing word after the noun. In Arabic a
describing word is called a ٌ‫ ِص َفة‬and it comes after the
word it is describing, the ٌ‫صوف‬
ُ ‫ َم ْو‬. The ‫ صفة‬matches the ‫موصوف‬

19
in all four characteristic mentioned in section one i.e.
‫نکرة‬-‫معرفة‬, ‫مؤنث‬-‫مذكر‬, ‫مجع‬-‫تثنیة‬-‫ واحد‬and ‫جمرور‬-‫منصوب‬-‫مرفوع‬.
ِ
‫َمة]موصوف [م ْؤمنَة]صفة‬
ِ
َ ‫[أ‬ ‫[عَبْد]موصوف [م ْؤمن]صفة‬

a believing servant a believing servant

As mentioned before, a ‫صفة‬-‫ موصوف‬can be used wherever a
single noun can be used.
ِ ‫هللا [إِٰله و‬
]‫احد‬ ‫[اَلْ َعْبد الْم ْؤِمن]مبتدأ َخ ْي‬
‫خرب‬ َ
Allah is a [single deity]. [The believing slave] is better.
َ ْ‫قَ َرأَ َخالِد [الْقرآ َن ال‬
‫ك ِرْيَ]مفعول‬ ‫م ْؤمن]فاعل‬
ِ ‫ال [رجل‬
َ َ َ‫ق‬
Khalid read the noble Quran. The believing man said
Demonstrative Phrase
The demonstrative phrase is made by adding a pointing
ٌِْ ‫ٌاِ ٌْس ٌُم‬, before the noun.
word, ِ‫اْل ٌَش ٌَارٌة‬
This is very similar to an adjective in the way it describes
the noun.
this man smart man
However there are a few differences:
1. There are innumerable adjectives. However there
are only twelve ‫اسم اإلشارة‬. There are six for pointing
to close things, these are called ‫ ;اَلْ َق ِريْب‬and there are
six for pointing to far things, these are called ‫الْبَعِْید‬.

20
 ُ َّ‫اٌَلْ ٌُم ٌَؤٌن‬
ٌ ٌ‫ث‬ ٌ‫اٌَلْ ٌُمٌَذ ٌَّك ُر‬

‫مجع‬ ٌ‫واحدٌ ٌ تثنية‬ ‫مجع‬ ٌ‫واحدٌ ٌ تثنية‬
‫هاَت ِن ٰهؤَل ِء‬
َ ِ‫ٰه ِذه‬ ‫ٰهؤَل ِء‬ ‫ٰه َذ ِان‬ ‫ٰه َذا‬
ُ ْ‫اَلْ َق ِري‬
ٌ‫ب‬
These This These This This /These

ِ
َ ِ‫أ ْوٰلئ‬
‫ك‬ َ ِ‫ََتن‬
‫ك‬ َ ْ‫تِل‬
‫ك‬ َ ِ‫أ ْوٰلئ‬
‫ك‬ ‫ذَانِك‬ َ ‫ٰذل‬
‫ك‬ ٌ‫البَعِ ْي ُد‬
Those That Those That That /Those
2. In ‫صفة‬-‫ موصوف‬the noun comes first and the adjective
second; however, in ‫مشار إلیه‬-‫ اسم اإلشارة‬the noun comes
after the ‫اسم اإلشارة‬.
‫[هذا]اسم اإلشارة [القرآن]مشار إلیه‬
ٰ
this Qur’an
3. The ‫ اسم اإلشارة‬is ‫( معرفة‬without the need for an ‫ )ال‬so the
word after it, ‫مشار إلیه‬, must always have the definite
article )‫(ال‬.
4. The ‫ اسم اإلشارة‬are fixed words. i.e. they don’t take
‫کسرة‬-‫ضمة‬-‫فتحة‬, they remain the same in all cases. Any
word that behaves like this is called ‫ني‬ ٌ ِ ‫ َم ْب‬.
Here are some examples of ‫مشار إلیه‬-‫ اسم اإلشارة‬being used in
different places in the sentence.
‫ن]مفعول‬
َ ‫أَنْ َزلْنَا [ َه َذا الْقْرآ‬ ‫ص ِادق‬
َ ‫َّب]مبتدأ‬ ‫[ ٰه َذا النِ ي‬
We revealed this Qur’an. This Prophet is truthful.

21
 Possessive Phrase
َ ‫اَِْْل‬, is made by placing the
The possessive phrase, ُ‫ضافٌَة‬
owner after the item that is owned.
ِ
‫[بَْیت]املضاف [هللا]املضاف إلیه‬

The house of Allah

The first word is called ٌ‫ضاف‬ َ ‫ ُم‬, and the second word is
called ‫ضافٌ إِلَْي ٌِه‬َ ‫ ُم‬.
‫ضاف‬ َ ‫ اَلْم‬will never have an ‫ ال‬nor a ‫تنوين‬. The ‫ املضاف إلیه‬will be
‫جمرور‬.
Here are some examples of ‫مضاف إلیه‬-‫ مضاف‬being used in
different places in the sentence.
َِّ ‫تَ ْقت لو َن [أَنْبِیاء‬
‫اّلل]مفعول‬
َِّ ‫ُم َّمد [رسول‬
‫اّلل]خرب‬
ََ َ َ
You are killing the Prophets of Allah. Muhammad Q is the Messenger of Allah.

Conjunction
The particle ‫( َو‬and) can be used to join two words or
phrases together to make a single phrase. This is called
ِ ْ‫حرف الْعط‬.
ٌ‫ َعطْف‬. The ‫ َو‬is called ‫ف‬ َ َْ
ِ َّ‫[ُمَ َّمد ون وح]مبتدأ نَبِی‬
‫ان‬ َْ
Muhammad Q and Nooh u are two prophets.
The first word is called ٌ‫ َم ْعطُوفٌ عَلَْي ِه‬and the second is called
ٌ‫ َم ْعطُْوف‬.
ِ َّ‫[[ُمَ َّمد]معطوف علیه [و]حرف العطف[ن وح]معطوف]مبتدأ نَبِی‬
‫ان‬ ْ َ

22
 ‫ِش ْبهٌُا ْْلُ ْملٌَِة‬
Another type of phrase is called ٌ‫ ِشْب ٌهٌُا ْْلُ ْملَة‬. Unlike the other
phrases, this is not made up of two nouns, rather it
consists of a particle and a noun. These particles are
called ‫فٌا ْْلَ َّارة‬
ُ ‫اَ ْْلُُرْو‬. The word after ‫ احلروف اجلارة‬is ٌ‫ ٌََْم ٌُرٌْور‬.
These particles are:
ْ ِ: in
‫ف‬
ِ ‫ِف ٰه َذا الْقر‬
‫آن‬ْ
in this Qur’an
‫ َع ٰلی‬: on
‫عَلَ ٰى سرر‬
on couches
‫إلی‬
ٰ : to, until
‫إِ َ ٰل ِحي‬
until a time
‫ ِم ْن‬: from
‫ِم ْن ََنر‬
from fire
ِ : with
‫ب‬
ِ‫بِس ِم هللا‬
ْ
with the name of Allah.
‫ َح ٰتی‬: until, till
‫َح َّ ّٰت َمطْلَ ِع الْ َف ْج ِر‬
till the debut of dawn

23
‫ ِل‬: for, belongs to
‫لَِرسول‬
for a messenger
‫ َع ْن‬: regarding, from
‫عَ ِن ا ْْلَ ْم ِر‬
regarding alcohol
The ‫ تركیب‬of a ‫ شبه اجلملة‬is as follows:
ْ ِ[[
ِ ‫ف]حرف جار [الَْر‬
‫ض]جمرور]شبه مجلة‬

Even though the ‫ شبه اجلملة‬is a phrase it cannot replace any

noun, unlike the other phrases. Rather it is limited to
two places in a sentence:
1) The ‫ خرب‬in ‫اجلملة اإلمسیة‬.
ِ
‫حلَ ْمد]مبتدأ [لل]خرب‬
ْ َ‫[ا‬
Praise is for Allah.
2) The adverb of a ‫ فعل‬in ‫اجلملة الفعلیة‬. In this case the ‫شبه‬
‫ اجلملة‬is called a ٌ‫ ُمتَ عَلِق‬.
ِ
‫الْ َق ْوم]متعلق‬ ‫وحا [إِ َل‬
ً ‫أ َْر َس ْلنَا ن‬
We sent Nuh u to the nation.
Now we have learnt five parts of a ‫مجلة فعلیة‬.
‫متعلق‬ ‫ظرف‬ ‫مفعول‬ ‫فاعل‬
‫فعل‬ ٌ‫مجلةٌفعلية‬
)‫(شبه اجلملة‬ )‫(منصوب‬ )‫(منصوب‬ )‫(مرفوع‬

24
SECTION 4
Pronouns

25
Just as a phrase can take the place of a noun, a pronoun
can also take the place of a noun. A pronoun, ‫مي‬ ٌْ ‫ض‬
َ , is a
word which takes the place of a noun.
Pronouns As ٌ‫مبتدأ‬ Pronoun As ‫مفعو ٌل‬ Pronoun As ‫مضافٌإلي ٌه‬
Zaid is clever. Ahmad saw Yunus. Bilal’s book
He is clever. Ahmad saw him. His book
There are three sets of fourteen pronouns.
ٌْ ‫لض ٌِم‬
ٌُ‫يٌُاٌلْ ٌَمٌْرفٌٌُْوع‬ ٌَّ َ‫ٌا‬ ٌ ٌ‫ب‬ ُ ‫صٌ ٌْو‬ ٌْ ‫لض ٌِم‬
ُ ‫يٌُاٌلْ ٌَمٌْن‬ ٌَّ َ‫ٌا‬ ٌ ٌ‫ج ٌُرٌْوُر‬ ٌْ ‫لض ٌِم‬
ٌْ ‫يٌُاٌلْ ٌَم‬ ٌَّ َ‫ٌا‬
ٌ ‫ ُه ٌَو‬He ٌَُ ‫ه‬ Him ٌَُ ‫ ه‬His
ٌ‫ُُهَا‬ They ٌ‫ُُهَا‬ Them ٌ‫ ُُهَا‬Their
‫ُه ٌْم‬They ‫ُه ٌْم‬ Them ‫ ُه ٌْم‬Their
‫ِه ٌَي‬ She ‫َها‬ Her ‫ َها‬Hers
ٌ‫ُُهَا‬ They ٌ‫ُُهَا‬ Them ٌ‫ ُُهَا‬Their
‫ُه ٌَّن‬ They ‫ُه ٌَّن‬ Them ‫ ُه ٌَّن‬Their
ٌَ ْ‫أَن‬
‫ت‬ You ‫ٌَك‬ You ‫ٌَك‬ Your
‫ أَنْ تُ َما‬You ‫ُک َما‬ You ‫ ُک َما‬Your
‫ أَنْ تُ ٌْم‬You ‫ُک ٌْم‬ You ‫ ُک ٌْم‬Your
ٌِ ْ‫ أَن‬You
‫ت‬ ‫ٌِك‬ You ٌ ‫ٌِك‬ Your
‫ أَنْ تُ َما‬You ‫ُک َما‬ You ‫ ُک َما‬Your
ٌَُّ ْ‫ أَن‬You
‫ت‬ ‫ُک ٌَّن‬ You ‫ ُک ٌَّن‬Your
ٌ‫ أ ََن‬I ٌ‫ٌي‬/
ْ ٌْ‫ن‬ ٌ ِ Me ٌْ َِ My
‫ي‬
‫ ََْن ٌُن‬We ٌ‫َن‬ Us ٌ‫ َن‬Our
Pronouns are ‫ مبن‬i.e. the end of the word doesn’t change
from ‫ ضمة‬to ‫ فتحة‬etc. Instead, there are three different sets
of pronouns, one for ‫مرفوع‬, one for ‫ منصوب‬and one for ‫جمرور‬.

26
ٌ‫الضميٌاملرفوع‬
The ‫ مرفوع‬pronoun will be used in place of a ‫مبتدأ‬.
ِ ‫ت]مبتدأ َع َّلم الْغی‬
‫وب‬ َ ْ‫[أَن‬
You (Allah) are the knower of the unseen.
ٌ‫الضميٌاملنصوب‬
The ‫ منصوب‬pronoun is used in place of a ‫مفعول‬. However, it is
not used on its own like the ‫ مرفوع‬pronoun. Instead it
comes joined to the ‫فعل‬. In this case, the sentence order
changes to ‫فاعل‬-‫مفعول‬-‫فعل‬.
‫ك هللا‬
َ ‫َخلَ َق‬
Allah created you.
‫الضميٌاجملرور‬
A ‫ جمرور‬pronoun can be used either as the ‫ مضاف إِلیه‬or the ‫جمرور‬
after ‫حرف جار‬. Like the ‫ منصوب‬pronoun, it will not come on its
own; rather it must be joined to the ‫ مضاف‬or ‫حرف جار‬.
َ ‫إِلَْی‬
‫ك‬ َ ِ‫ِف َر ْْحَت‬
‫ك‬
towards you In your mercy

27
SECTION 5
Sentences
within
Sentences

28
Just as a phrase can take the place of a noun, it is also
possible for a sentence to take the place of one of the
five slots of a noun i.e. a sentence can become a ‫مبتدأ‬, ‫خرب‬,
‫فاعل‬, ‫ مفعول‬or ‫ظرف‬.

A Sentence as a ٌ‫خب‬
A ‫ مجلة فعلیة‬can become the ‫ خرب‬of a ‫مبتدأ‬.
‫خرب]مجلة إمسیة‬/‫الس َماءَ]مجلة فعلیة‬
َّ ‫[رفَ َع‬
َ ‫[[هللا]مبتدأ‬
Allah raised the heavens.
The translation of such sentences will be like a normal ‫مجلة‬
‫ فعلیة‬and not a ‫ مجلة امسیة‬i.e. it won’t have is or are.
Note:
A ‫ خرب‬normally ends in a ‫ضمة‬. However, when the ‫ خرب‬is a
sentence it won’t have a ‫ضمة‬.

A Sentence as a ٌ‫مفعول‬
If the verb of a sentence is the word ‫ قَ َال‬or ‫( يَق ْول‬to say)
then the entire quotation becomes the ‫مفعول‬.
‫مجلة فعلیة‬/‫الس َماءَ]مفعول‬
َّ ‫[خلَ َق هللا‬
َ ‫الرجل‬
َّ ‫ال‬
َ َ‫ق‬ ‫مجلة إمسیة‬/‫ب]مفعول‬
‫َر ي‬ ‫الرجل [هللا‬
َّ ‫ال‬
َ َ‫ق‬

A Sentence as ‫مضافٌإليه‬
A ‫ مضاف إلیه‬can also come in the form of a sentence:
‫ل]مفعول]مضاف إلیه‬
َ ‫اّلل]فاعل [اليرس‬
َّ [ ‫[يَ ْوَم]مضاف [[ ََْي َمع]فعل‬
The day Allah will gather the prophets…
ٌ‫االسمٌاملوصول‬
A sentence can also take the position of a noun when an
‫ص ْول‬ ِ
ُ ‫ ا ْس ٌُم ال َْم ْو‬comes before it.
29
The ‫ المساء املوصولة‬are as follows:
ٌ‫مؤنث‬ ‫مذكر‬
‫مجع‬ٌ‫واحدٌ ٌ تثنية‬ ‫مجع‬ ٌ‫واحدٌ ٌ تثنية‬
‫ت‬ ِ َ‫اللَّت‬
ِ َّ
ْ ‫الل‬
‫ان‬ ‫الَِّ ْت‬ ‫الَّ ِذيْ َن‬ ‫الَّ ِذ ْي اللَّ َذ ِان‬
Think of ‫ السم املوصول‬as the ‫ ال‬of sentences i.e. it makes it ‫معرفة‬.
‫ السم املوصول‬changes to agree with the word that is being
spoken about.
The sentence which comes after the ‫ اسم املوصول‬is called the
ِ . The ‫صلة‬-‫ موصول‬then become a ‫صفة‬.
ٌ‫صلَة‬
ِ ِ ‫[جاءَ ِم َن‬ ِ
ٌ‫الْ َمديْنَة]صلة]صفة‬ َ ‫[الرج َل] موصوف [[الَّذ ْي]اسمٌاملوصول‬
َّ ‫ص ْرت‬
َ َ‫ن‬
I helped the man who came from Madeenah.

30
SECTION 6
Joining
Sentences
Together

31
Until now, we have studied sentences on their own.
These were ‫ اجلملة الفعلیة‬or ‫اجلملة اإلمسیة‬. Now we are going to
discuss how to join sentences together.
Conjunctions
Just as a ‫ حرف العطف‬is used to join two words together to
make a phrase, it is also used to join two complete
sentences together.
The main particle of ‫ عطف‬is ‫ َو‬, (and)
] ‫صلَبوه‬
َ ‫[ما‬
َ ‫[ما قَتَلوه] َو‬
َ
They did not kill him, and they did not crucify him.

32