I'rab of Surah Al-Ikhlas Ayah 2: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Ikhlas (الإخلاص) · Meccan · Ayah 2
ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ TransliterationAllāhu al-Ṣamad
MeaningAllah is the Eternal, Self-Sufficient One, upon whom all depend.
This ayah is a complete nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya) built from just two words. The proper name "Allah" serves as the subject (mubtada') in the nominative, and "al-Samad" is its predicate (khabar), also nominative. Both carry the explicit damma ending. The whole clause continues the description begun in ayah 1.
Word by word i'rab
subject (mubtada')
The majestic name Allah is the subject of this nominal sentence, marked nominative by the visible damma on its final letter.
nominativepredicate (khabar)
Al-Samad is the predicate that informs about the subject, also nominative with a visible damma, completing the sentence's meaning.
nominativeDetailed i'rab
Ayah 2 forms one self-contained nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya) made of a subject and a predicate. The word ٱللَّهُ is the mubtada' (subject), and because it is a fully declinable noun it takes the nominative case with a clearly pronounced damma on its last letter. The word ٱلصَّمَدُ functions as the khabar (predicate); it reports something about the subject and therefore agrees with it in the nominative, again shown by a visible damma. Together the two nouns yield a complete, declarative statement requiring no verb. In terms of the surah's flow, this sentence stands as a fresh, independent statement (jumla isti'nafiyya) that elaborates on the description of God introduced in the opening ayah, so it has no formal grammatical position within a larger clause.
Frequently asked
Why is there no verb in this ayah?
Arabic forms complete statements without a verb through the nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya), which simply pairs a subject (mubtada') with a predicate (khabar). Here ٱللَّهُ and ٱلصَّمَدُ together mean "Allah is al-Samad," with the linking "is" understood rather than written.
What case are both words in, and how do we know?
Both ٱللَّهُ and ٱلصَّمَدُ are in the nominative (marfu') case. Each ends in a clearly pronounced damma, which is the standard nominative marker for fully declinable singular nouns, signaling their roles as subject and predicate.
Does this sentence connect grammatically to ayah 1?
Meaning-wise it continues the theme of describing God, but grammatically it is treated as an independent restarting sentence (isti'nafiyya). That means it carries no syntactic position (no i'rab slot) inside another clause; it stands on its own.