Irab of Surah Al-Kafirun Ayah 4 - word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Kafirun (الكافرون) · Meccan · Ayah 4
وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ Transliterationwa la ana abidun ma abadtum
MeaningAnd I am not a worshipper of what you have worshipped.
This verse is a negated nominal sentence. The particle la negates, ana is the subject (mubtada), and the active participle abidun is the predicate (khabar). The relative noun ma functions as the object of that participle, and the past-tense verb abadtum with its attached subject pronoun forms the relative clause, whose returning pronoun is omitted.
Word by word i'rab
coordinating conjunction (harf atf)
The waw joins this sentence to the preceding verse, continuing the parallel sequence of negations.
indeclinablenegating particle (harf nafy)
This la negates the nominal sentence and, being non-operative here, leaves the following nouns in their normal state.
indeclinablesubject (mubtada)
A detached first-person pronoun, built on sukun but holding the place of nominative as the subject of the sentence.
nominativepredicate (khabar) - active participle
An active participle serving as the predicate, marked nominative by the visible dammah and governing the following object like a verb.
nominativeobject of the participle (maful bihi)
A relative noun built on sukun, occupying an accusative position as the object governed by the participle abid.
accusativeverb + subject of the relative clause (silat al-mawsul)
A past-tense verb built on sukun because it is joined to the subject pronoun tum; the clause is the relatives link, its returning pronoun omitted.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
The verse opens with the conjunction waw, tying it to the previous ayah and sustaining the rhythm of repeated denial. The particle la is purely negating and, unlike inna or its sisters, exerts no grammatical effect on what follows. Ana is a detached pronoun functioning as the subject (mubtada); though built on sukun, it stands in the nominative position. The active participle abidun is the predicate (khabar), clearly nominative by its dammah, and like a verb it takes an object. That object is the relative noun ma, which sits in an accusative position even while built on sukun. The past-tense verb abadtum carries an attached subject pronoun (tum), and together they form the relative clause completing ma; the pronoun referring back to ma is understood and dropped for concision.
Frequently asked
Why does the negating particle la not change the case of ana and abidun?
This is the ordinary negating la used before a nominal sentence; here it is non-operative, so it simply negates the meaning while the subject and predicate keep their normal nominative state. It is not la of absolute negation, which would build a following indefinite noun on fathah.
How can abidun (a noun) take ma as a direct object?
Abidun is an active participle (ism al-fail), and an active participle behaves like its underlying verb: it can govern an object. So just as the verb I worship would take an object, the participle a worshipper (of) governs ma in the accusative position.
Where is the returning pronoun (aid) in the relative clause abadtum?
The relative noun ma needs a pronoun in its clause referring back to it; the full sense is what you have worshipped (it). That pronoun, the object of abadtum, is omitted for brevity, which is common and permissible when the meaning is clear.