I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 22: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 22
ثُمَّ إِذَا شَآءَ أَنشَرَهُۥ Transliterationthumma idha sha'a ansharah
MeaningThen, when He wills, He will raise him up.
This ayah closes the life-cycle sequence: then, when He wills, He will raise him up. 'Thumma' continues the succession, 'idha' is a conditional time-adverb whose verb is 'sha'a', and the response to the condition is 'ansharahu' (He resurrects him), affirming the bodily resurrection by God's will.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction (harf 'atf)
A conjunction meaning 'then', continuing the chain of divine acts with a sense of succession.
indeclinableconditional adverb of time (zarf)
An adverb of future time carrying conditional meaning, governed by its response clause 'ansharahu'.
indeclinablepast-tense verb of the condition
A past-tense verb with a hidden subject 'He' (God), forming the conditional clause attached to 'idha'.
indeclinableresponse of the condition (jawab) with object pronoun
A past-tense verb serving as the answer to 'idha', with a concealed divine subject and 'hu' as object, meaning He raises him to life.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
'Thumma' is a conjunction of sequence joining this final stage to the preceding ones. 'Idha' is an adverb denoting future time and bearing a conditional sense; it is grammatically governed by its response. 'Sha'a' is a past-tense verb, built on its ending, with a concealed subject 'He' referring to God, and it constitutes the conditional clause introduced by 'idha'. 'Ansharahu' is a form-IV past-tense verb meaning 'He raised him to life', with a hidden divine subject and the attached pronoun 'hu' as its direct object; it functions as the answer (jawab) to the conditional 'idha'. The construction asserts that resurrection is wholly contingent on God's will and timing.
Frequently asked
What role does 'idha' play in this verse?
It is an adverb of future time with conditional force; 'sha'a' is its condition clause and 'ansharahu' is the response that grammatically governs it.
Why are 'sha'a' and 'ansharahu' past tense if they refer to the future?
After 'idha', past-tense verbs commonly express future events with certainty; the meaning is 'when He wills... He will raise him up'.