I'rab of Surah An-Nazi'at Ayah 32: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nazi'at (النازعات) · Meccan · Ayah 32
وَٱلْجِبَالَ أَرْسَىٰهَا TransliterationWal-jibala arsaha
MeaningAnd the mountains He anchored firmly.
And the mountains He set firm. The noun al-jibal is fronted as the object of an implied verb explained by the following verb arsa-ha, a construction grammarians call ishtighal. The wa is a resumptive conjunction, and arsa-ha is a past-tense verb with God as its hidden subject and -ha as its object.
Word by word i'rab
object of an implied verb (ishtighal)
The wa is resumptive, and al-jibal is accusative as the object of an omitted verb that the following verb arsa-ha explains.
accusativepast-tense verb with object (fi'l + maf'ul)
A past-tense verb 'He fixed firmly' with a hidden subject referring to God and the attached pronoun -ha as its object.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
This verse uses the grammatical pattern known as ishtighal, in which a noun is placed first and an explicit verb later 'occupies' itself with a pronoun standing for that noun. Al-jibal ('the mountains') is accusative because it is the object of an estimated verb of the same meaning as arsa, which the visible verb arsa-ha then clarifies. The opening wa is a resumptive conjunction linking this statement to the previous verses. Arsa-ha ('He anchored it') is a past-tense verb whose subject is a concealed pronoun referring to God, and the suffix -ha is its direct object pointing back to the mountains. This fronting gives emphasis to the mountains as a sign of God's design.
Frequently asked
Why is al-jibal accusative rather than nominative?
Because of the ishtighal construction: it is the object of an implied verb that the following explicit verb arsa-ha mirrors, so it takes the accusative.
What does the suffix -ha in arsa-ha refer to?
It is the direct object pronoun referring back to al-jibal, 'the mountains,' which was fronted at the start of the verse.