I'rab of Surah An-Nasr Ayah 3: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nasr (النصر) · Medinan · Ayah 3
فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْهُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ تَوَّابًۢا TransliterationFa-sabbih bi-hamdi rabbika wa-staghfirhu, innahu kana tawwaban
MeaningSo glorify your Lord with praise and ask Him for forgiveness; indeed He is ever-accepting of repentance.
The verse opens with the connective fa- linking it to the conditional clause as its answer, followed by two imperative verbs (sabbih, istaghfir-hu) addressed to the Prophet. It closes with an emphatic nominal sentence introduced by inna, whose predicate is the past-tense verb kana plus its accusative predicate tawwaban.
Word by word i'rab
connective particle (rabitat al-jawab)
This particle joins the verse to the preceding condition and marks the clause that begins here as the answer to that condition.
indeclinableimperative verb (fi'l amr)
A command verb built on a silent ending, with its subject an obligatorily hidden pronoun referring to 'you' (the Prophet).
jussiveprepositional phrase (jarr wa-majrur)
The preposition bi- governs hamd in the genitive, and the phrase attaches to a circumstantial state, meaning 'while praising.'
genitivegenitive noun (mudaf ilayh)
Rabb is the second term of a possessive construction with hamd and is itself made definite by the attached pronoun ka 'your.'
genitiveconjunction (harf 'atf)
This particle coordinates the second command onto the first, joining the two imperatives.
indeclinableimperative verb with object (fi'l amr + maf'ul bih)
Another command verb with a hidden 'you' subject; the attached pronoun hu is its direct object in the accusative position.
jussiveemphatic particle + noun of inna (ism inna)
Inna asserts emphasis and places the attached pronoun hu as its noun in the accusative position.
accusativedefective past verb (kana al-naqisah)
This past-tense verb takes a hidden subject pronoun referring to Him, and the whole kana clause serves as the predicate of inna.
indeclinablepredicate of kana (khabar kana)
This intensive adjective is the predicate of kana and shows the accusative case through the visible fathah.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with the particle fa-, which connects this sentence to the preceding conditional and marks it as that condition's answer. Sabbih is an imperative verb resting on a silent ending, its doer a concealed pronoun meaning 'you.' The phrase bi-hamdi is a preposition-plus-genitive unit describing the manner of glorifying, with rabbi-ka forming a possessive construction completed by the pronoun 'your.' The conjunction wa- then attaches the second imperative istaghfir-hu, whose suffixed hu is its accusative object. The closing clause is governed by inna for emphasis: the pronoun hu is its accusative noun, and the predicate is the verbal phrase kana tawwaban. Within it, kana carries a hidden subject 'He,' while tawwaban stands as kana's predicate in the accusative, marked by a visible fathah.
Frequently asked
Why does the verse start with the particle fa-?
The fa- here is a linking particle (rabitat al-jawab). The surah's earlier verse set up a condition ('when the help of God comes...'), and this verse is its answer. The fa- ties the answer to that condition and signals the response.
What grammatical role does the kana clause play after inna?
After inna, the pronoun hu (in innahu) is the noun of inna. The full predicate of inna is the verbal sentence kana tawwaban. Inside it, kana holds a hidden subject pronoun 'He,' and tawwaban is kana's own predicate.
Why is tawwaban in the accusative case?
Tawwaban is the predicate of the defective verb kana, and kana places its predicate in the accusative. The accusative is shown by the visible fathah ending, and the final nunation reflects that the word is indefinite.