I'rab of Surah An-Naba Ayah 16: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Naba (النبأ) · Meccan · Ayah 16
وَجَنَّٰتٍ أَلْفَافًا TransliterationWa jannātin alfāfā
MeaningAnd gardens of dense foliage.
Continuing the products of the rain, Allah mentions gardens of dense, intertwined growth. 'Gardens' is joined by the conjunction wāw to the preceding objects 'grain' and 'vegetation,' so it shares their accusative case. 'Luxuriant' is its adjective, agreeing in case and indefiniteness, describing thickly entangled foliage.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction + noun joined to the object
The wāw conjoins 'jannāt' ('gardens') to the earlier objects; it takes the accusative case but, as a sound feminine plural, shows it with kasra as its marker.
accusativeadjective (na't)
An adjective describing 'gardens,' meaning densely intertwined and luxuriant, agreeing in case and indefiniteness.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse is grammatically a continuation of the objects begun in the previous verse. The conjunction wāw links jannātin ('gardens') to ḥabban and nabātan, so it is among the direct objects of nukhrij and is therefore in the accusative case. Because jannāt is a sound feminine plural, its accusative is marked by kasra (-in) rather than fatḥa, which is the regular rule for this class of plural. The following word alfāfan is an adjective qualifying jannāt, meaning thickly clustered, intertwined foliage. It is accusative and indefinite to agree with the noun it describes. The image completes the list of what the rain produces: grain, plants, and luxuriant gardens.
Frequently asked
Why does جَنَّٰتٍ end in kasra if it is accusative?
Because it is a sound feminine plural (jam' mu'annath sālim). This class of noun takes kasra instead of fatḥa as its marker in the accusative case, while still functioning as accusative.
What is جَنَّٰتٍ connected to grammatically?
It is joined by the conjunction wāw to حَبًّا and نَبَاتًا in the previous verse, making it another direct object of the verb نُخْرِجَ ('We bring forth').