I'rab of Surah An-Naba Ayah 17: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Naba (النبأ) · Meccan · Ayah 17
إِنَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَصْلِ كَانَ مِيقَٰتًۭا TransliterationInna yawma l-faṣli kāna mīqātā
MeaningIndeed, the Day of Decision is an appointed time,
Allah affirms that the Day of Decision is an appointed time. 'Inna' is an emphatic particle whose subject is 'the Day of Decision,' which is accusative. Its predicate is the verbal sentence 'was an appointed time,' where 'kāna' takes its subject as a hidden pronoun and 'an appointed time' as its accusative predicate.
Word by word i'rab
emphatic particle (ḥarf tawkīd wa naṣb)
An emphatic particle meaning 'indeed' that puts its noun in the accusative and its predicate in the nominative.
indeclinablesubject of inna (ism inna)
The noun of 'inna,' in the accusative; it is in a construct (iḍāfa) with the following noun.
accusativesecond term of construct (muḍāf ilayhi)
Genitive as the second term of the iḍāfa with 'yawm,' giving 'the Day of Decision/Separation.'
genitivedefective past verb (kāna)
A past verb of being whose subject here is a hidden pronoun referring to the Day; the whole 'kāna' sentence is the predicate of 'inna.'
indeclinablepredicate of kāna (khabar kāna)
The predicate of 'kāna,' in the accusative, meaning 'an appointed time/fixed term.'
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with inna, an emphatic particle that governs its noun in the accusative and its predicate in the nominative. Its noun is yawma ('Day'), accusative, standing as the first term of a construct with al-faṣli ('the Decision/Separation'), which is genitive as the second term. The predicate of inna is the verbal sentence kāna mīqātan. The verb kāna ('was/is') takes as its subject a concealed pronoun referring back to the Day of Decision, and its predicate is mīqātan ('an appointed time'), in the accusative. This entire kāna-clause occupies the syntactic position of the nominative predicate of inna. The verse thus emphatically declares that the Day of Decision is a fixed, predetermined moment.
Frequently asked
What is the noun (ism) and predicate (khabar) of إِنَّ here?
The noun of إِنَّ is يَوْمَ ('Day'), in the accusative. The predicate is the verbal sentence كَانَ مِيقَٰتًا ('was an appointed time'), which sits in the position of a nominative predicate.
Why is مِيقَٰتًا in the accusative case?
Because it is the predicate (khabar) of the verb كَانَ. The verb كَانَ raises its subject to the nominative and puts its predicate in the accusative.