I'rab of Surah At-Takwir Ayah 18: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah At-Takwir (التكوير) · Meccan · Ayah 18
وَٱلصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ TransliterationWas-subhi idha tanaffas
MeaningAnd by the morning as it breathes out light.
The final sworn-by item is the dawn. "And by the morning as it breathes." Al-subh is joined by wa to the earlier oath nouns and is genitive. Idha is a time adverb attached to uqsimu, and tanaffasa is its verb, picturing the dawn as it breaks and breathes out light, parallel to the night verse before it.
Word by word i'rab
connective particle plus noun joined to the oath
The wa joins al-subh to the preceding oath nouns, so al-subh is genitive as another coordinated object of the oath.
genitivetime adverb (zarf) attached to the verb of swearing
As in the previous verse, idha here is a time adverb without conditional force, linked to uqsimu to mark the time meant.
indeclinablepast verb within the adverbial clause
Tanaffasa is a past-tense verb meaning the dawn breathes out or breaks; its hidden subject refers to al-subh.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
Verse 18 closes the list of sworn-by phenomena with the dawn, and its structure mirrors the night verse before it. The wa is a coordinating conjunction joining al-subh to the earlier objects of the oath, so al-subh is genitive as a coordinated noun (ma'tuf) governed ultimately by bi. Idha is again a time adverb (zarf) without its conditional sense, attached to the verb uqsimu and specifying the time the oath points to. The verb tanaffasa, "as it breathes," is past tense with a concealed pronoun subject referring to al-subh; the image is of the morning exhaling its light as it breaks. Grammatically the verse is parallel to verse 17, "and by the night as it departs," forming a balanced pair of night and dawn. With this the oath's series of sworn-by items is complete, and the response of the oath follows in verse 19.
Frequently asked
How does this verse parallel the previous one grammatically?
Both verses coordinate a genitive noun (al-layl, then al-subh) to the oath, follow it with idha as a plain time adverb attached to uqsimu, and then a past verb ('as'asa, then tanaffasa) describing the noun. The structures are deliberately matched.
What is the subject of tanaffasa?
Tanaffasa has a hidden pronoun subject that refers back to al-subh, the morning. The verb pictures the dawn breathing out, that is, breaking and spreading its light.