I'rab of Surah An-Nazi'at Ayah 15: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nazi'at (النازعات) · Meccan · Ayah 15
هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰٓ TransliterationHal ataka hadithu Musa
MeaningHas the story of Moses reached you?
This verse opens the story of Moses with a question: has the account reached you? Hal is the interrogative particle, ataka is a past verb with an attached object pronoun, hadithu is the subject in a possessive construction, and Musa is the possessed noun in the genitive though its sign is hidden.
Word by word i'rab
interrogative particle (harf istifham)
This particle introduces a yes/no question and has no case inflection.
indeclinablepast-tense verb (fi'l madi)
This verb 'came/reached' is built on an estimated fathah at the end because of the final weak letter.
indeclinableobject pronoun (maf'ul bih)
This attached pronoun 'you' is the direct object of ataka and sits in the accusative position.
accusativesubject (fa'il)
This noun 'account/story' is the doer of ataka and is the first term of a possessive construction (mudaf).
nominativepossessed noun (mudaf ilayh)
This proper name 'Moses' completes the construction with hadithu; its genitive sign is hidden because the word ends in a fixed alif.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
This verbal sentence is framed as a rhetorical question. The particle hal introduces a yes/no interrogative and bears no inflection. The verb ataka ('it came to you / reached you') is a past-tense verb built on an estimated final vowel because it ends in a weak letter; the attached pronoun ka ('you') is its direct object in the accusative position. The subject (fa'il) of the verb is hadithu ('the account, the story'), which appears in the nominative and is the governing term of an idafah (possessive) construction. The proper name Musa ('Moses') functions as the possessed term (mudaf ilayh) and is grammatically genitive, although its case marker is not visible because the word ends in a fixed maqsurah alif. The verse rhetorically draws the listener into the narrative that follows.
Frequently asked
Why does Musa not show a genitive ending?
Musa ends in a fixed alif maqsurah, so its genitive case marker is estimated and not pronounced, even though it is the mudaf ilayh of hadithu.
What is the subject of the verb ataka?
The subject is hadithu ('the story'), which is nominative; the attached ka ('you') is the object.