I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 25: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 25
أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا ٱلْمَآءَ صَبًّۭا TransliterationAnnā ṣababnā al-māʾa ṣabbā
MeaningThat We poured down the water in abundant pouring.
This verse continues God's pointer to His provision: "That We poured down the water in abundance." Grammatically it opens with the particle anna plus its noun and verb, forming a maṣdar (verbal-noun) clause read in the genitive place as a clarifying substitution (badal ishtimāl) from "his food" in the prior verse. The verb ṣababnā governs al-māʾ as direct object, and ṣabban is an absolute object stressing the manner.
Word by word i'rab
emphatic particle anna with attached subject pronoun
Anna is a particle of emphasis that puts its noun in the accusative; here its noun is the attached pronoun -nā ("We"), and the whole clause forms an interpreted verbal noun (maṣdar muʾawwal).
indeclinablepast-tense verb with subject pronoun (predicate of anna)
A past-tense verb built on sukūn because of the attached subject -nā; this verb plus its clause serves as the predicate (khabar) of anna.
indeclinabledirect object (maf'ul bihi)
The thing poured, marked accusative by the fatḥah as the object of the verb ṣababnā.
accusativeabsolute object (maf'ul mutlaq)
A cognate verbal noun from the same root as the verb, accusative, intensifying the act of pouring.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse is governed by أَنَّ, a particle of emphasis that takes a noun in the accusative and a predicate in the nominative position. Its noun here is the attached pronoun ـنا ("We"), and its predicate is the verbal clause صَبَبْنَا. The verb صَبَبْنَا is past tense, built on sukūn because the subject pronoun ـنا is attached to it, and that pronoun is the doer in the nominative place. ٱلْمَآءَ is its direct object in the accusative (fatḥah). صَبًّا is an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq) from the same root, accusative, reinforcing the verb's meaning of an abundant, deliberate pouring. The entire أَنَّ-clause yields an interpreted verbal noun standing in the genitive place as a badal ishtimāl (clarifying substitution) from طَعَامِهِ in the previous verse.
Frequently asked
Why is صَبًّا in the accusative?
It is an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq), a verbal noun from the same root as the verb, used to emphasize the action, so it takes the accusative fatḥah.
What role does أَنَّ play here?
أَنَّ is an emphatic particle; with its noun (the pronoun -nā) and predicate (the verb clause) it forms an interpreted verbal noun (maṣdar muʾawwal) that links back to "his food" in the prior verse.