I'rab of Surah An-Naba Ayah 8: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Naba (النبأ) · Meccan · Ayah 8
وَخَلَقْنَٰكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًۭا TransliterationWa khalaqnakum azwaja
MeaningAnd We created you in pairs,
Here the address shifts to humankind: "And We created you in pairs." The conjunction waw connects this statement to the preceding list of creative acts. The verb carries an attached subject pronoun (We) and an attached object pronoun (you), while "in pairs" functions as a circumstantial accusative describing the state in which people were created.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction (harf 'atf)
The connecting waw joins this sentence onto the previous acts of creation in the list.
indeclinableverb with attached subject and object pronouns
A past-tense verb whose attached "na" is the subject (We) and attached "kum" is the direct object (you).
indeclinablecircumstantial accusative (hal)
It is an accusative describing the state of the object pronoun "you," meaning created as pairs or kinds.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse opens with the conjunction waw, joining it to the chain of divine acts of creation described before. The verb "We created" (khalaqna) is a past-tense verb; its attached pronoun "na" serves as the doer (We), and the attached pronoun "kum" is the direct object (you). The closing word "pairs" (azwajan) is in the accusative case and functions as a circumstantial qualifier (hal), describing the state or manner in which the object "you" were created, namely as paired kinds, male and female. The sentence as a whole is connected by the conjunction to the list of God's signs and remains within the rhetorical reminder of His power and provision.
Frequently asked
Is "in pairs" an object or a description here?
It is best read as a circumstantial accusative (hal) describing the state of the object pronoun "you." It explains the manner of creation, telling us people were brought into being as pairs or kinds rather than naming a second thing made.
How does one verb contain both "We" and "you"?
Arabic verbs can carry attached pronouns. In khalaqnakum, the "na" attached after the verb stem is the subject (We), and the "kum" at the end is the object (you), so a single word expresses subject, verb, and object together.