I'rab of Surah At-Takwir Ayah 20: word by word Arabic grammar

Surah At-Takwir (التكوير) · Meccan · Ayah 20

ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍۢ

TransliterationDhi quwwatin 'inda dhi al-'arshi makin

MeaningPossessor of strength, secure with the Lord of the Throne.

Grammar in brief

This verse continues describing the noble messenger. Dhi quwwah is a genitive adjective phrase qualifying rasul, with dhi as a noun of the 'five nouns' inflected by the ya. The adverb 'inda is an accusative adverb of time attached to makin, and makin itself is a further genitive adjective of rasul.

Word by word i'rab

ذِى

adjective (na't) of rasul

Dhi means 'possessor of' and qualifies rasul from the previous verse; as one of the five nouns it shows genitive case by the letter ya.

genitive
قُوَّةٍ

possessed noun (mudaf ilayh)

Quwwah is genitive as the second term of the idafa governed by dhi.

genitive
عِندَ

adverb of time (zarf zaman)

'Inda is an accusative adverb (zarf zaman) linked to the adjective makin, indicating the messenger's standing and nearness.

accusative
ذِى

possessed noun (mudaf ilayh) of 'inda

This second dhi is genitive as the possessed term after the adverb 'inda.

genitive
ٱلْعَرْشِ

possessed noun (mudaf ilayh)

Al-'arsh is genitive as the second term of the idafa governed by dhi.

genitive
مَكِينٍۢ

adjective (na't) of rasul

Makin is a further attribute of rasul and matches it in the genitive case.

genitive

Detailed i'rab

This verse supplies more adjectives for rasul from the preceding verse. Dhi is one of the 'five nouns', so it is inflected with the letter ya for the genitive, and it heads a possessive construction whose possessed noun is quwwah, also genitive. The adverb 'inda is an accusative adverb (zarf zaman) that is linked semantically to the later adjective makin; it heads its own idafa, where the following dhi is genitive, and that dhi in turn governs al-'arsh in the genitive. Finally, makin is another adjective describing rasul and therefore stands in the genitive to agree with it. All these descriptive terms keep the genitive because they ultimately qualify the genitive noun rasul.

Frequently asked

Why is dhi spelled and inflected with ya here?

Dhi belongs to the 'five nouns', which take the letter ya as their marker of the genitive case instead of the ordinary kasra.

What does the accusative adverb 'inda attach to?

It attaches to the adjective makin, meaning the messenger is firmly stationed and honored 'with' the Lord of the Throne.

Why are quwwah and al-'arsh genitive?

Each is the possessed second term of a possessive construction (idafa), so each takes the genitive case.

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