I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 21: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 21
ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُۥ فَأَقْبَرَهُۥ Transliterationthumma amatahu fa-aqbarah
MeaningThen He caused him to die and provided him a grave.
The verse continues the sequence of God's acts toward the human being: then He caused him to die and provided him a grave. Both verbs are past tense with a concealed divine subject and an attached object pronoun, joined by 'thumma' and 'fa' to mark ordered stages in the human life cycle.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction (harf 'atf)
A conjunction meaning 'then', linking this stage to the previous ones with a sense of succession.
indeclinablepast-tense verb with object pronoun
A past-tense verb with a hidden subject 'He' (God) and the attached pronoun 'hu' as its direct object.
indeclinableconjoined past-tense verb with object pronoun
The 'fa' joins it in sequence; it is a past-tense verb with a concealed divine subject and 'hu' as object, meaning He had him buried.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
'Thumma' is a conjunction marking ordered succession, connecting this act to the preceding favors. 'Amatahu' is a past-tense verb, built on its ending, derived from the form-IV root meaning 'to cause to die'; its subject is a concealed pronoun 'He' referring to God, and the attached 'hu' is the direct object. The 'fa' in 'fa-aqbarahu' is a conjunction of close sequence joining the next verb to it. 'Aqbarahu' is likewise a form-IV past-tense verb meaning 'He provided a grave for him' or 'had him buried', with a hidden divine subject and the attached pronoun 'hu' as object. Together the verbs trace the divinely ordained stages of death and burial.
Frequently asked
What is the subject of 'amatahu' and 'aqbarahu'?
In both verbs the subject is a concealed pronoun 'He', referring back to God, while the attached 'hu' is the direct object in each.
How do 'thumma' and 'fa' differ as connectors here?
'Thumma' joins with a sense of interval between stages, while 'fa' joins with immediate or close sequence between dying and being given a grave.