Irab of Surah Al-Fatihah Ayah 6 - word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Fatiha (الفاتحة) · Meccan · Ayah 6
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ Transliterationihdina s-sirata l-mustaqim
MeaningGuide us to the straight path.
This ayah is a supplicatory imperative sentence. The verb ihdi is a command form built on the dropping of its weak final letter, with a hidden you subject. The attached pronoun naa is its first object, al-sirat is its second object in the accusative, and al-mustaqim is an accusative adjective agreeing with it. The whole sentence stands independently.
Word by word i'rab
imperative verb of supplication (fil amr)
A command verb used for petitioning God; because its root ends in a weak letter, it is built on the omission of that letter, and its subject is an implied you (anta).
indeclinablefirst object (maful bihi awwal)
An attached pronoun (us) built into its form and holding the position of the verbs first direct object in the accusative.
accusativesecond object (maful bihi thani)
The second direct object of the verb, in the accusative case marked by the visible fatha on its ending.
accusativeadjective (nat)
An adjective describing al-sirat and following it in the accusative, likewise marked by the fatha.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The ayah forms a complete imperative clause of prayer. Ihdi is a command verb; since its underlying root ends in a weak vowel-letter, that letter is dropped to mark the imperative, and the verb carries a concealed subject pronoun understood as you (referring to God). The pronoun naa (us) is attached to the verb and, though indeclinable in form, occupies the grammatical slot of the first direct object in the accusative. Al-sirat then serves as the verbs second direct object, taking the accusative case shown by the fatha on its final letter. Al-mustaqim is a descriptive adjective qualifying al-sirat; it agrees with the noun it modifies and is therefore also accusative, marked by the fatha. As a whole, this sentence is grammatically independent, beginning a fresh statement with no syntactic position within a larger structure.
Frequently asked
Why does the verb ihdi have no visible ending vowel or letter?
Its root ends in a weak letter (originally a yaa). For verbs whose roots end in a weak letter, the imperative is formed by dropping that final letter, so the absence of the weak letter is itself the sign of the command.
How can one verb take two objects here?
The verb guide governs two direct objects: naa (us) as the first object, attached to the verb, and al-sirat (the path) as the second object. Both are in the accusative, though only the second shows the case visibly with a fatha.
What is the case and role of al-mustaqim?
It is an adjective (nat) describing al-sirat. An adjective matches its noun in case, so since al-sirat is accusative, al-mustaqim is also accusative, marked by the fatha on its ending.