I'rab of Surah An-Nazi'at Ayah 35: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Nazi'at (النازعات) · Meccan · Ayah 35
يَوْمَ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ مَا سَعَىٰ TransliterationYawma yatadhakkarul-insanu ma sa'a
MeaningThe Day when man will remember what he strove for.
The day when the human being will recall what he strove for. Yawma is an accusative time adverb linked to an implied verb. Yatadhakkar is a present-tense verb, al-insan is its subject, and ma sa'a forms the object: ma introduces a clause, and the whole stands in the accusative as the direct object.
Word by word i'rab
time adverb (zarf zaman)
An accusative adverb of time, 'the day,' attached to an implied verb such as 'he will be brought to account.'
accusativepresent-tense verb (fi'l mudari')
A present-tense verb 'remembers/recalls,' nominative by default and governing the subject and object after it.
nominativesubject (fa'il)
The doer of yatadhakkar, nominative, meaning 'the human being.'
nominativeparticle introducing the object clause
The particle ma here opens a clause that together functions as the direct object of yatadhakkar; it is read either as a masdari (infinitival) particle or as a relative pronoun.
indeclinablepast-tense verb (fi'l madi)
A past-tense verb 'he strove/worked,' completing the ma clause, with a hidden subject referring to the human being.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
Yawma ('the day') is an accusative adverb of time (zarf zaman) connected to an implied verb whose sense is 'he will be brought to account.' The present-tense verb yatadhakkar ('he recalls') stands in the nominative as the default for an unaffected imperfect verb. Its subject is al-insan ('the human being'), in the nominative as the fa'il. The combination ma sa'a serves as the direct object of yatadhakkar: the particle ma opens a clause, and the past-tense verb sa'a ('he strove') completes it with a concealed subject pronoun referring back to the human being. The particle ma may be read as an infinitival (masdari) particle, so that ma sa'a equals 'his striving,' or as a relative pronoun meaning 'what he strove for'; either way the whole construction occupies the accusative position as the thing remembered, namely the deeds one pursued in life.
Frequently asked
Why is yawma in the accusative case?
It is an adverb of time (zarf zaman), and such adverbs are placed in the accusative; here it attaches to an implied verb of reckoning.
What is the direct object of yatadhakkar?
The clause ma sa'a ('what he strove for') as a whole serves as the object, standing in the accusative position.