I'rab of Surah Abasa Ayah 41: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Abasa (عبس) · Meccan · Ayah 41
تَرْهَقُهَا قَتَرَةٌ TransliterationTarhaquha qatarah
MeaningDarkness will cover them.
This verse describes the dust-covered faces as overcast by gloom. The verb 'covers them' takes the attached pronoun as its object, and 'darkness/gloom' is its subject, the whole clause describing the faces of the previous verse.
Word by word i'rab
verb with object pronoun (predicate clause)
An imperfect verb in the nominative; its attached pronoun 'ha' is the direct object, and the clause describes the faces.
nominativesubject of the verb (fa'il)
It is the doer of the verb 'tarhaqu,' in the nominative, meaning a gloom or blackness overspreads them.
nominativeDetailed i'rab
This verse forms a verbal sentence that continues describing the faces of verse 40. 'Tarhaquha' is an imperfect verb in the nominative (nothing makes it accusative or jussive), and the attached pronoun 'ha' is its direct object, referring back to those faces. 'Qataratun' is the subject (fa'il) of the verb, in the nominative, meaning a dark gloom or blackness. The whole verbal sentence functions as a further descriptive predicate of 'wujooh,' so the picture is completed: those faces already have dust upon them, and now a gloomy blackness covers them as well, the opposite of the shining, laughing faces described earlier.
Frequently asked
What is the subject of 'tarhaqu'?
'Qataratun' (gloom/blackness) is the subject, in the nominative, while the attached pronoun 'ha' is the object referring to the faces.
Why is the verb feminine ('tarhaqu')?
The verb agrees with its feminine subject 'qataratun,' so it takes the feminine prefix even though it precedes the subject.
What does this clause describe?
The whole verbal sentence serves as a further description of the dust-covered faces from the preceding verse, depicting gloom overspreading them.