I'rab of Surah An-Nasr Ayah 2: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nasr (النصر) · Medinan · Ayah 2
وَرَأَيْتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًۭا Transliterationwa ra'ayta n-nasa yadkhuluna fi dini llahi afwaja
MeaningAnd you saw the people entering the religion of God in crowds.
This verse opens with the conjunction wa joining a past-tense verb ra'ayta (you saw) whose subject is the attached pronoun "you." Its object is al-nas (the people), followed by the present-tense clause yadkhuluna (they enter) functioning as a second object/state. The prepositional phrase fi dini-llah links to "enter," and afwajan is an accusative circumstantial state (hal).
Word by word i'rab
conjunction (harf 'atf)
The connecting particle wa joins this verb to the preceding verb ja'a in ayah 1, both governed by the same conditional idha.
indeclinablepast-tense verb with attached subject pronoun (fi'l madi)
A past-tense verb built on a quiescent ending because it is joined to the subject pronoun ta, which stands as the nominative-position subject "you."
indeclinabledirect object (maf'ul bihi)
The accusative direct object of ra'ayta, marked by the fatha, naming the people who were seen.
accusativepresent-tense verb heading the clause that serves as a state/second object
A present-tense verb in the nominative (its sign being the retained nun), with the waw of the plural as its subject; the whole clause describes the people as entering.
nominativepreposition (harf jarr)
The preposition fi governs the following noun in the genitive and, together with it, attaches to the verb yadkhuluna.
indeclinablegenitive noun governed by the preposition, first term of an idafa
Governed in the genitive by fi (sign: kasra), and itself in construct with the following word as a possessive phrase.
genitivepossessive noun (mudaf ilayh)
The majestic name in the genitive as the second term of the construct, marked by the kasra: "the religion of God."
genitivecircumstantial accusative (hal)
An accusative circumstantial qualifier describing how the subject of yadkhuluna entered: namely "in crowds/throngs," marked by the fatha.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with wa, a conjunction tying this clause to the previous one, both still dependent on the conditional particle idha. Ra'ayta is a past-tense verb resting on a quiescent ending because of the attached pronoun ta, which functions as its nominative subject. Al-nas is the accusative direct object, marked by the fatha. The present-tense verb yadkhuluna, nominative with the plural waw as its subject, heads a clause that functions as a circumstantial state describing the people. The phrase fi dini-llah is a preposition plus a genitive noun in construct with the majestic name, the whole attaching to yadkhuluna. Finally, afwajan is an accusative hal explaining the manner of their entering: in successive crowds.
Frequently asked
What is the grammatical role of yadkhuluna in this verse?
It is a nominative present-tense verb whose subject is the plural waw. The clause it heads (yadkhuluna fi dini-llah) functions as a circumstantial state describing al-nas, or it can be analyzed as a second complement after the verb of perception ra'ayta: "you saw the people [in the state of] entering."
Why is afwajan in the accusative case?
It is a hal, a circumstantial accusative, marked by the fatha. It describes the condition of the people while entering: group after group, in crowds: and answers "how" they entered the religion.
What kind of construction is dini-llah?
It is an idafa (possessive construct). Dini is governed in the genitive by the preposition fi, and the majestic name Allah follows it as mudaf ilayh, also genitive, yielding "the religion of God."