I'rab of Surah An-Nazi'at Ayah 16: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nazi'at (النازعات) · Meccan · Ayah 16
إِذْ نَادَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى TransliterationIdh nadahu rabbuhu bil-wadil-muqaddasi Tuwa
MeaningWhen his Lord called him in the sacred valley of Tuwa.
This verse sets the scene when Moses' Lord called him in the sacred valley named Tuwa. Idh is an adverb of past time, nadahu is a verb with an object pronoun, rabbuhu is the subject, bil-wadi is a prepositional phrase, al-muqaddasi is its adjective, and Tuwa is an explanatory apposition.
Word by word i'rab
adverb of past time (zarf zaman)
This indeclinable idh denotes past time and is in the accusative position, linked to the word 'story' in the previous verse.
accusativepast-tense verb (fi'l madi)
This verb 'called' is built on an estimated fathah because it ends in a weak letter.
indeclinableobject pronoun (maf'ul bih)
This attached pronoun 'him' is the direct object of nada, referring to Moses.
accusativesubject (fa'il)
This noun 'Lord' is the doer of the calling and is the first term of a possessive construction.
nominativepossessive pronoun (mudaf ilayh)
This attached 'his' completes the construction with rabbu and is genitive in position.
genitiveprepositional phrase (jarr wa majrur)
The preposition bi governs al-wadi in the genitive with an estimated kasrah on the dropped ya; the phrase relates to a circumstantial state of the pronoun in nadahu.
genitiveadjective (na't)
This word 'sacred' describes al-wadi and agrees with it in the genitive case.
genitiveexplanatory apposition or substitution (atf bayan / badal)
This proper name 'Tuwa' clarifies or stands in place of al-wadi and is genitive, though its sign is hidden by the tanwin on the alif.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
This clause begins with idh, an indeclinable adverb of past time in the accusative position, which connects back to the noun 'story' (hadith) in the previous verse, fixing the moment of the narrative. The verb nada ('he called') is a past-tense verb built on an estimated final vowel due to its weak ending, and its attached pronoun hu ('him') is the direct object referring to Moses. The subject (fa'il) is rabbu ('Lord'), nominative and forming a possessive construction with the pronoun hu ('his'), which is genitive. The prepositional phrase bil-wadi ('in the valley') has the preposition bi and the noun al-wadi in the genitive, its case marker estimated on the omitted ya; this phrase relates to a circumstantial state. The adjective al-muqaddasi ('the sacred') qualifies al-wadi in the genitive, and the proper name Tuwa stands as an explanatory apposition or substitute for the valley, also genitive.
Frequently asked
What does idh connect to grammatically?
Idh is a past-time adverb that links back to the noun hadith ('story') in the previous verse, indicating when the story took place.
What is the grammatical relation of Tuwa to al-wadi?
Tuwa is an explanatory apposition (atf bayan) or a substitute (badal) for al-wadi, so it shares its genitive case as a clarifying name for the valley.