I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 13: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 13
فِى صُحُفٍۢ مُّكَرَّمَةٍۢ TransliterationFee suhufin mukarramah
MeaningIn honored scrolls,
This ayah continues describing the Reminder mentioned just before, saying it is recorded "in honored scrolls." Grammatically, the phrase "in scrolls" is a prepositional phrase attached to a preceding word, and "honored" is an adjective describing "scrolls," so both "scrolls" and its adjective carry the genitive case after the preposition.
Word by word i'rab
preposition (harf jarr)
A preposition meaning "in," which puts the following noun into the genitive case.
indeclinableobject of the preposition (majrur)
The noun "scrolls" is genitive because it follows the preposition "fi," with tanwin showing it is indefinite.
genitiveadjective (na't)
An adjective "honored" describing "scrolls," so it matches it in being genitive and indefinite.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
The verse opens with the preposition فِى ("in"), which governs the noun after it in the genitive case. صُحُفٍ ("scrolls") is therefore the object of the preposition and appears in the genitive with tanwin, marking it as indefinite. Together فِى صُحُفٍ forms a prepositional phrase that connects back to a word in the previous verse describing where the Reminder is kept. مُّكَرَّمَةٍ ("honored") is an adjective qualifying صُحُفٍ; an adjective in Arabic agrees with the noun it describes in case, number, gender, and definiteness, so it too is genitive, singular, feminine, and indefinite. The pairing of a noun followed by a descriptive adjective is one of the most common structures in the Qur'an and here builds a chain of praise for these scrolls.
Frequently asked
Why is صُحُفٍ in the genitive case?
Because it directly follows the preposition فِى ("in"). Any noun governed by a preposition in Arabic takes the genitive case, which is why it ends in kasra with tanwin here.
What is the relationship between صُحُفٍ and مُّكَرَّمَةٍ?
مُّكَرَّمَةٍ is an adjective describing صُحُفٍ. Arabic adjectives follow their noun and agree with it in case, gender, number, and definiteness, so both are genitive and indefinite.