I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 12: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 12
فَمَن شَآءَ ذَكَرَهُۥ Transliterationfa-man shā'a dhakarahu
MeaningSo whoever wills may remember it.
Whoever wills, let him remember it. The fa connects to the prior statement, man is a conditional pronoun acting as subject, shaa'a is the conditional verb in the jussive position, and dhakarahu is the response, the whole forming a conditional sentence that serves as the predicate of man.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction (harf 'atf)
This fa connects the verse to the preceding statement that the revelation is a reminder.
indeclinableconditional pronoun acting as subject (mubtada')
Man is a jussive conditional pronoun standing in the nominative place as the subject of the sentence.
nominativeconditional verb (fi'l al-shart)
This past-tense verb sits in the place of the jussive as the condition, with a concealed subject referring to man.
jussiveresponse of the condition (jawaab al-shart)
This past-tense verb is the response of the condition, in the jussive position, with hu as its object referring to the reminder.
jussiveDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with the connective fa joining it to the previous affirmation. Man is a conditional pronoun (ism shart jaazim) that takes two verbs; here it stands in the nominative position as the subject (mubtada'). The verb shaa'a is past-tense functioning as the condition (fi'l al-shart); though past in form, it occupies the place of the jussive, and its subject is concealed, referring to man. The verb dhakarahu is likewise past-tense functioning as the response of the condition (jawaab al-shart) in the jussive position, its attached pronoun hu being the object that refers back to the reminder. The conditional sentence as a whole, condition plus response, occupies the place of the predicate (khabar) of man.
Frequently asked
What kind of word is man here?
Man is a jussive conditional pronoun (ism shart jaazim); it is the subject in the nominative and governs both the condition verb and its response.
Why are shaa'a and dhakarahu described as jussive when they are past tense?
Although they are past-tense in form, they fall in the places of the condition and its response, so they are said to be in the jussive position.
What completes the predicate of man?
The entire conditional sentence, shaa'a dhakarahu, fills the place of the predicate (khabar) of the subject man.