I'rab of Surah Al-Masad Ayah 3: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Masad (المسد) · Meccan · Ayah 3
سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًۭا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍۢ TransliterationSa-yaslaa naaran dhaata lahab
MeaningHe will soon burn in a Fire full of flames.
A simple future verbal sentence. The prefix sa- marks futurity on the verb yaslaa ("will burn in"), whose hidden subject pronoun refers to Abu Lahab. Naaran is the accusative direct object, and dhaata is its accusative adjective in a genitive construction with lahab, which is itself the genitive second term of that annexation.
Word by word i'rab
future particle + present-tense verb (fi'l mudari')
The prefixed sa- marks future time, and the verb yaslaa is grammatically nominative (marfu') with its subject a hidden pronoun referring back to Abu Lahab.
nominativedirect object (maf'ul bihi)
An indefinite noun in the accusative, taking fathah as the sign of its case because it is the object of the verb yaslaa.
accusativeadjective (na't) and first term of annexation (mudaf)
It describes naaran and so follows it in the accusative, while also being the possessing term governing the noun that follows it.
accusativegenitive noun of the annexation (mudaf ilayh)
It is the second term of the construct with dhaata and therefore stands in the genitive, shown by the kasrah and tanwin.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
This ayah is a verbal sentence built on the future. The particle sa- attached to the verb shifts it into future time, and the verb yaslaa ("he will burn in / be roasted by") is a present-tense verb in the nominative case; its doer is an unstated pronoun understood to refer to Abu Lahab from the preceding verses. The noun naaran ("a fire") is the direct object of this verb and carries the accusative, marked by fathah and tanwin since it is indefinite. The word dhaata serves as a descriptive adjective for naaran, agreeing with it in the accusative, and at the same time it heads a genitive construction (idafah). The final word lahab ("flame") is the second term of that construction, so it takes the genitive, indicated by kasrah and tanwin. Together dhaata lahab means "possessing flame," qualifying the fire.
Frequently asked
Why is the verb here translated as future even though it looks like a present-tense verb?
The verb yaslaa is morphologically a present-tense verb (fi'l mudari'), but the prefixed particle sa- specializes it for future meaning, so it reads as 'he will burn' rather than 'he burns.'
Where is the subject of the verb sayaslaa?
There is no separate subject word. The subject is a concealed pronoun built into the verb (taqdiruhu huwa), referring back to Abu Lahab, who was named in the opening verse of the surah.
What is the grammatical relationship between dhaata and lahab?
They form an idafah (possessive construction). Dhaata is the possessing term (mudaf) and is accusative because it describes naaran, while lahab is the possessed term (mudaf ilayh) and is therefore genitive.