I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 18: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 18
مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُۥ TransliterationMin ayyi shay'in khalaqah
MeaningFrom what thing did He create him?
This ayah poses a rhetorical question: "From what thing did He create him?" It is built on a fronted prepositional phrase "from what thing," where the interrogative governs a following noun, attached to the verb "He created him," prompting reflection on the humble origins of the human being.
Word by word i'rab
preposition (harf jarr)
The preposition "from," introducing the interrogative phrase and putting the next noun into the genitive.
indeclinableinterrogative noun (ism istifham), object of preposition
"What/which": an interrogative noun governed by مِنْ, hence genitive, and itself the first term of a construct phrase.
genitivepossessor (mudaf ilayh)
"Thing" is the second term of the construct with أَىِّ, so it is genitive and indefinite.
genitiveverb + object (fi'l madi + maf'ul bih)
"He created him": a past verb with hidden subject "He" and attached pronoun هُ as object; the phrase "from what" relates to this verb.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
The verse opens with the preposition مِنْ ("from"), which governs the following interrogative noun أَىِّ ("which/what") in the genitive case. أَىِّ is itself the first term (mudaf) of a possessive construct, and شَىْءٍ ("thing") is its second term (mudaf ilayh), so شَىْءٍ is genitive and indefinite, marked by kasra with tanwin. The whole interrogative phrase مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ ("from what thing") is fronted before the verb for emphasis and attaches grammatically to خَلَقَهُ. That final word is a past-tense verb ("He created") whose subject is an implicit "He" (referring to the Creator), with the attached pronoun هُ functioning as its direct object ("him," i.e., man). The fronting of the question word lends the verse a rhetorical, reflective force, inviting consideration of the lowly material from which the human is made.
Frequently asked
Why are both أَىِّ and شَىْءٍ in the genitive case?
أَىِّ is genitive because it follows the preposition مِنْ. شَىْءٍ is genitive because it is the possessor (mudaf ilayh) in the construct phrase "which thing." Two different rules give the same case.
Where is the subject of خَلَقَهُ?
The subject is a hidden pronoun "He," understood from context to mean the Creator. The visible attached pronoun هُ ("him") is the object of the verb, referring to the human being.