I'rab of Surah Al-Mutaffifin Ayah 10: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah Al-Mutaffifin (المطففين) · Meccan · Ayah 10
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ TransliterationWaylun yawma'idhin lil-mukadhdhibeen
MeaningWoe, that Day, to the deniers.
'Woe, that Day, to the deniers.' Wayl is a subject parallel to the opening of the surah, yawma'idhin is an adverb of time, and li-l-mukadhdhibin is the prepositional phrase forming the predicate. The structure mirrors 'woe to the defrauders' from verse 1.
Word by word i'rab
subject (mubtada')
It is a subject in the nominative, parsed like waylun lil-mutaffifin at the start of the surah.
nominativeadverb of time (zarf zaman)
It is an adverb of time specifying 'on that Day,' related to the sense of the woe pronounced; some also parse it as a substitute (badal) for 'the Day people stand.'
accusativepreposition (lam al-jarr)
It is the prefixed preposition governing the following noun in the genitive.
indeclinableobject of preposition forming the predicate
Together with the lam it forms the prepositional phrase serving as the predicate of wayl.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
The verse parallels the opening verse of the surah grammatically. Wayl is a subject (mubtada') in the nominative, even though it is indefinite, because it carries the sense of an invocation of woe and is permissible as a subject when followed by a qualifying phrase. The prepositional phrase li-l-mukadhdhibin, where the lam governs al-mukadhdhibin in the genitive, serves as the predicate. Between them stands yawma'idhin, accusative as an adverb of time (zarf) meaning 'on that Day,' which relates to the meaning of the woe being declared; some parse it instead as a substitute (badal) for 'the Day people stand' in the earlier verse. The construction thus pronounces doom upon the deniers specifically on the Day of Judgment, echoing the earlier condemnation of the fraudsters.
Frequently asked
How can wayl be a subject when it is indefinite?
Although indefinite, wayl functions as a subject (mubtada') because it carries the meaning of an invocation and is specified by the following prepositional phrase.
What case is yawma'idhin and why?
It is accusative as an adverb of time (zarf zaman), pointing to 'that Day' on which the woe falls; it may also be read as a substitute (badal) for the earlier 'Day people stand,' which is likewise accusative.