I'rab of Surah Al-Inshiqaq Ayah 5: word by word Arabic grammar

Surah Al-Inshiqaq (الانشقاق) · Meccan · Ayah 5

وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ

TransliterationWa adhinat li-rabbiha wa huqqat

Meaningand gives ear to its Lord, as it is rightly bound to do.

Grammar in brief

This verse repeats verse 2 but now of the earth: it listens obediently to its Lord and is right to do so. Adhinat is a past-tense verb with a hidden subject referring to the earth. Li-rabbiha is a prepositional phrase attached to it. Huqqat is a passive verb whose understood subject also refers to the earth. This repetition closes the parallel between sky and earth.

Word by word i'rab

وَأَذِنَتْ

conjoined past-tense verb (fi'l madi)

Joined by wa; means 'and it listened/obeyed,' with a hidden subject referring this time to the earth.

indeclinable
لِرَبِّهَا

prepositional phrase (jar wa majrur)

The preposition li puts rabb in the genitive; it attaches to adhinat, and the suffix -ha refers to the earth.

genitive
وَحُقَّتْ

conjoined passive past-tense verb

A passive verb 'and it was made bound to obey,' with its understood subject referring back to the earth.

indeclinable

Detailed i'rab

Verse 5 mirrors verse 2 exactly in structure, but its hidden pronouns now refer to the earth rather than the sky, producing a deliberate parallel between the two great signs of the cosmos. The verb adhinat ('it gave ear, obeyed') is joined by wa and carries a concealed subject pronoun referring to the earth. The phrase li-rabbiha is the preposition li placing rabb in the genitive, with the pronoun -ha ('its') referring to the earth, and the phrase relates to adhinat. The closing word huqqat is a passive past-tense verb meaning the earth was made obligated to obey, and it was only right that it do so; its deputy-subject is again a hidden pronoun pointing to the earth. The repetition seals the imagery of total cosmic submission.

Frequently asked

Why does this verse repeat verse 2?

Verse 2 described the sky's obedience and verse 5 describes the earth's; the deliberate repetition draws a parallel between the two and stresses that all creation submits utterly to its Lord.

What does the pronoun -ha refer to here?

In verse 5 the attached pronoun -ha refers to al-ard (the earth) from verse 3, whereas in verse 2 the same pronoun referred to the sky.

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