I'rab of Surah At-Takwir Ayah 19: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah At-Takwir (التكوير) · Meccan · Ayah 19
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍۢ كَرِيمٍۢ TransliterationInnahu la-qawlu rasulin karim
MeaningIndeed it is the word of a noble messenger.
This verse opens the answer to the preceding oaths. The particle inna with its attached pronoun affirms the truth being asserted, and the predicate begins with the emphatic lam followed by qawl in the nominative as a possessive head. Rasul is the genitive possessed noun, and karim is its adjective, also genitive.
Word by word i'rab
emphatic particle inna with its noun (the attached pronoun)
Inna is a particle of emphasis that puts its noun in the accusative, and the attached pronoun -hu serves as its noun referring to the Qur'an.
accusative (for the pronoun) / indeclinable particlepredicate (khabar) of inna, preceded by emphatic lam
The lam is the emphatic lam of inna, and qawl is the nominative predicate functioning as the head of a possessive construction.
nominativepossessed noun (mudaf ilayh)
Rasul is genitive because it is the second term of the idafa governed by qawl.
genitiveadjective (na't) of rasul
Karim describes rasul and follows it in the genitive case as an agreeing attribute.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with inna, an emphatic particle that governs its noun in the accusative; here the noun is the attached pronoun -hu, referring back to the Qur'an. The predicate of inna is qawl, which carries the emphatic lam (lam al-muzahlaqa) and stands in the nominative. Qawl is also the head term of a genitive construction (idafa), so the following noun rasul takes the genitive as the possessed element. Finally, karim is an adjective qualifying rasul and therefore matches it in the genitive case. The whole sentence forms the answer to the oaths sworn in the preceding verses, affirming the noble origin of the revelation.
Frequently asked
Why does qawl carry a lam at its start?
That lam is the emphatic lam associated with inna, added to the predicate to strengthen the affirmation; it does not change the noun's nominative case.
Why is rasulin in the genitive?
Because qawl and rasul form a possessive construction (idafa); the possessed noun stays nominative as predicate while the possessor noun rasul becomes genitive.
What does the pronoun in innahu refer to?
It refers to the Qur'an, the subject being affirmed as the speech delivered by a noble messenger.