I'rab of Surah Al-Inshiqaq Ayah 19: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Inshiqaq (الانشقاق) · Meccan · Ayah 19
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍۢ TransliterationLatarkabunna tabaqan 'an tabaqin
MeaningYou will surely move from one stage to another.
This ayah is the answer to the preceding oaths: an emphatic statement that humanity will surely pass from one stage to another. The verb carries a double emphasis, the lam of the oath at the front and the heavy nun of emphasis at the end, framing the certainty of passing through successive states.
Word by word i'rab
emphasized imperfect verb (answer to the oath)
The opening lam is the lam of the oath and the final shaddah-nun is the heavy nun of emphasis attached to the present-tense verb; the plural subject 'you' is contained in it.
indeclinableobject / state (stage)
It is in the accusative as the thing passed onto, denoting one condition or stage after another.
accusativepreposition
This preposition conveys succession and transition, 'away from / after'.
indeclinableobject of preposition
It is genitive after the preposition and completes the image of moving from one stage past another.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
The verse functions as the delayed answer to the oaths sworn in the previous verses. The verb لَتَرْكَبُنَّ is doubly reinforced: the prefixed لَ is the lam that introduces the response to an oath, and the final ـنّ is the heavy nun of emphasis (nun at-tawkid ath-thaqilah). Because of this nun the verb is mabni (indeclinable) on fat-h, and its plural subject is the embedded pronoun 'you all'. طَبَقًا stands in the accusative as the object/state being mounted or passed through, here meaning a condition or phase. The preposition عَن joins to طَبَقٍ, which is genitive after it. Together عَن طَبَقٍ describes movement from one stage onward, and the whole picture is of humanity ascending through successive states until the meeting with their Lord.
Frequently asked
Why does the verb begin with lam and end with a doubled nun?
The initial lam is the lam of the oath introducing the answer to the preceding vows, and the doubled nun is the heavy nun of emphasis; together they make the statement maximally certain.
What case is طَبَقًا and why?
It is accusative, functioning as the state or stage that is passed through, the thing the verb acts upon.