I'rab of Surah An-Nazi'at Ayah 27: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nazi'at (النازعات) · Meccan · Ayah 27
ءَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ ۚ بَنَىٰهَا TransliterationA-antum ashaddu khalqan ami al-sama'u, banaha
MeaningAre you harder to create, or the heaven? He built it.
This verse challenges the deniers: are you harder to create or the heaven? A-antum is an interrogative hamza of rebuke plus the subject pronoun, ashaddu is the predicate, khalqan is a specification (tamyiz) in the accusative, and al-sama' is conjoined as an alternative with am, then God built it.
Word by word i'rab
interrogative hamza + subject (mubtada')
The hamza is an interrogative of rebuke and antum is a detached pronoun in the nominative position serving as the subject.
nominativepredicate (khabar)
Ashaddu is the predicate of the subject antum, nominative with a final damma, expressing the comparative harder.
nominativespecification (tamyiz)
Khalqan is a specification clarifying in what respect they are harder, in the accusative with tanwin.
accusativeconnective particle of disjunction (am)
Am links the two sides of the interrogative, presenting the heaven as the alternative.
indeclinableconjoined to the subject pronoun (ma'tuf)
Al-sama' is conjoined by am to the pronoun antum and so takes the nominative, marked by the final damma.
nominativepast verb + object pronoun with implied subject
Bana is a past verb fixed on an estimated fatha, -ha is its object pronoun referring to the heaven, and the subject is an understood pronoun referring to God.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
The verse opens with an interrogative hamza of rebuke prefixed to antum, a detached pronoun standing as the subject (mubtada') in the nominative position. Its predicate is ashaddu, nominative with a final damma, conveying the comparative sense harder. The noun khalqan follows as a specification (tamyiz) in the accusative with tanwin, clarifying the respect in which the comparison is made, namely in creation. The particle am then introduces the second member of the interrogative, and al-sama' is conjoined to the pronoun antum, taking the nominative with a final damma as the alternative being weighed. The final word banaha is a past-tense verb fixed on an estimated fatha, with the attached -ha as its object referring to the heaven and an implied subject understood from context as God.
Frequently asked
Why is خَلْقًا in the accusative case?
It is a tamyiz, a specification that removes ambiguity from the comparative ashaddu by stating the respect intended, and such specifications are accusative.
Where is the subject of بَنَىٰهَا?
The subject is an implied pronoun he referring to God, understood from the context; the attached -ha is the object referring to the heaven.