I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 23: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 23
كَلَّا لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَآ أَمَرَهُۥ Transliterationkalla lamma yaqdi ma amarah
MeaningNo indeed! He has not yet fulfilled what He commanded him.
This verse rebukes humanity: by no means has he yet fulfilled what God commanded him. 'Kalla' is a particle of deterrence, 'lamma' is a negating, jussive particle covering the past up to now, and 'ma' is a relative noun functioning as the object, with its referent pronoun omitted.
Word by word i'rab
particle of deterrence (harf rad' wa-zajr)
A particle of rebuke and restraint, rejecting humanity's arrogance and persistent denial.
indeclinablenegating jussive particle
A particle that negates, converts the verb's time to the past extending up to the present, and puts the verb in the jussive.
indeclinablepresent-tense verb in jussive (majzum)
It is jussive because of 'lamma', shown by dropping the final weak letter; its subject is a hidden 'he' referring to the human being.
jussiverelative pronoun as direct object (maf'ul bihi)
A relative noun in the accusative as object of 'yaqdi', with the returning pronoun omitted, i.e. 'what He commanded him to do'.
accusativepast-tense verb in the relative clause
A past-tense verb with a hidden subject 'He' (God) and 'hu' as object, forming the clause that completes the relative 'ma'.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
'Kalla' is a particle of deterrence and rebuke, rejecting the human being's ingratitude and denial. 'Lamma' is a particle that negates the verb, shifts its meaning to a past stretching to the present, and renders it jussive. 'Yaqdi' is a present-tense verb made jussive by 'lamma', its jussive marked by the elision of the final weak letter, with a concealed subject 'he' referring to the human being. 'Ma' is a relative noun standing in the accusative as the direct object of 'yaqdi'; its returning pronoun is suppressed, the sense being 'what He commanded him to do'. 'Amarahu' is a past-tense verb with a hidden divine subject and the attached pronoun 'hu' as its object, forming the relative clause that completes 'ma'.
Frequently asked
Why does 'yaqdi' lose its final letter?
Because the jussive particle 'lamma' governs it, and a present-tense verb ending in a weak letter shows the jussive by dropping that letter.
What does 'lamma' add beyond simple negation?
It negates the action while implying that the action's time extends from the past up to the present moment, meaning 'he has not yet done it'.