I'rab of Surah An-Naba Ayah 29: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Naba (النبأ) · Meccan · Ayah 29
وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَٰهُ كِتَٰبًۭا Transliterationwa-kulla shay'in aḥṣaynāhu kitābā(n)
MeaningAnd everything We have recorded in a book.
This verse affirms God's total record-keeping: everything has been enumerated in writing. Kulla shay'in is the fronted object of an implied verb explained by the following verb, ahsaynahu is the verb "We have counted it," and kitaban is an absolute object meaning "as a written record."
Word by word i'rab
fronted object (maf'ul bihi) of an implied verb
It is the object of an understood verb explained by the following "We have counted it," placed in the accusative in the busy-object construction.
accusativesecond term of a genitive construction (mudaf ilayhi)
It is in a possessive construction with kulla, taking the genitive as "every thing."
genitivepast verb with subject and object pronoun
The verb "We have counted" carries the subject "We" and the object pronoun "it," which refers back to "every thing."
indeclinableabsolute object standing for the verbal noun
It takes the accusative as a substitute for the verbal noun, meaning the counting was done thoroughly, as a written record.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
This verse uses the well-known "busy verb" (ishtighal) construction. Kulla ("every") is the fronted object of an implied verb whose meaning is supplied by the explicit verb that follows; it stands in the accusative, and shay'in ("thing") completes it as the second term of a genitive construction, hence genitive. The verb ahsaynahu ("We have counted it") then appears with the subject "We" and the object pronoun "it" referring back to "everything." The final word kitaban is an absolute object substituting for the verbal noun, in the accusative, conveying that the enumeration is fixed and recorded "as writing." The whole verse asserts that nothing escapes God's precise, written reckoning.
Frequently asked
Why is kulla accusative rather than nominative?
It is the object of an implied verb that the following verb ahsaynahu explains. This "busy verb" pattern fronts the object in the accusative, then restates the action with a pronoun.
What does kitaban add to the meaning?
As an absolute object standing in for the verbal noun, it stresses that the counting is complete and permanent, recorded as a written register.