I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 27: word by word Arabic grammar

Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 27

فَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّۭا

TransliterationFa-anbatnā fīhā ḥabbā

MeaningSo We caused grain to grow therein.

Grammar in brief

"So We caused to grow therein grain." The verse is connected by the fāʾ to the preceding acts. Anbatnā is a past-tense causative verb with the subject -nā; fīhā is a prepositional phrase ("in it," referring to the earth) attached to the verb; and ḥabban (grain) is the direct object in the accusative, the first item in a list of what God grows from the split soil.

Word by word i'rab

فَأَنۢبَتْنَا

connective fā' plus past-tense verb with subject pronoun

The fāʾ joins this clause to the previous action; anbatnā is a past-tense causative verb built on sukūn with the attached subject -nā ("We").

indeclinable
فِيهَا

prepositional phrase (jarr wa-majrur)

The preposition fī with the genitive pronoun -hā ("it," the earth); the phrase is attached to the verb anbatnā as an adverbial of place.

genitive
حَبًّا

direct object (maf'ul bihi)

Grain, the thing made to grow, accusative by the fatḥah as the object of anbatnā and the first of several listed crops.

accusative

Detailed i'rab

The فَ is a coordinating particle joining this clause to the preceding verses in sequence. أَنۢبَتْنَا is a past-tense causative (form IV) verb built on sukūn because the subject pronoun ـنا is attached, and that pronoun is the doer in the nominative place. فِيهَا is a prepositional phrase: the preposition فِي governs the attached genitive pronoun ـها (referring to the earth), and the phrase is grammatically attached (mutaʿalliq) to the verb أَنۢبَتْنَا as an adverbial of place. حَبًّا is the direct object in the accusative, marked by fatḥah; it heads the list of vegetation that follows in the next verses, all sharing the accusative case as objects of "We caused to grow."

Frequently asked

What does فِيهَا refer to?

The pronoun -hā in فِيهَا refers to ٱلْأَرْض (the earth) from the previous verse; the phrase means "in it" and attaches to the verb as an adverbial of place.

Why is حَبًّا accusative?

It is the direct object (mafʿūl bihi) of the verb أَنۢبَتْنَا ("We caused to grow"), so it takes the accusative fatḥah, and the later crops are coordinated onto it.

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