I'rab of Surah At-Takwir Ayah 27: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah At-Takwir (التكوير) · Meccan · Ayah 27
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌۭ لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ TransliterationIn huwa illā dhikrun lil-'ālamīn
MeaningIt is nothing but a reminder to all the worlds.
A restrictive statement: the Qur'an is nothing but a reminder for all the worlds. 'In' is a negating particle and 'illa' restricts, so the meaning is exclusive. 'Huwa' is the subject, 'dhikr' the predicate, and 'lil-'alamina' a prepositional phrase relating to 'dhikr'. The construction limits the Qur'an's nature purely to that of a reminder.
Word by word i'rab
negating particle
Here 'in' is a particle of negation, equivalent in sense to 'ma' (not).
indeclinablesubject (mubtada')
The pronoun 'huwa' is the subject, referring to the Qur'an.
nominativerestrictive particle
'Illa' restricts the predicate, producing the exclusive sense 'nothing but'.
indeclinablepredicate (khabar)
'Dhikr' (a reminder) is the nominative predicate of the subject 'huwa'.
nominativeprepositional phrase relating to the predicate
The 'lam' makes 'al-'alamin' genitive; the phrase attaches to 'dhikr', specifying for whom the reminder is.
genitiveDetailed i'rab
This verse forms a restrictive nominal sentence. 'In' is a negating particle carrying the meaning of 'ma' (not), and it has no grammatical effect on what follows. The pronoun 'huwa' is the subject (mubtada') in the nominative, referring to the Qur'an. 'Illa' is the particle of exception used here for restriction (hasr), confining the predicate strictly to what comes next. 'Dhikrun' is the predicate (khabar), nominative and indefinite. The prepositional phrase 'lil-'alamina' consists of the 'lam' of attachment governing 'al-'alamin' in the genitive (its sign being the 'ya' since it is a sound masculine plural); the phrase relates to 'dhikr', clarifying that the reminder is directed to all the worlds. The negation-plus-restriction structure asserts that the Qur'an is purely and exclusively a reminder.
Frequently asked
How do 'in' and 'illa' combine to create meaning here?
'In' negates the sentence and 'illa' restricts it, so together they produce an exclusive statement: 'It is nothing except a reminder.' This pattern of negation followed by exception is a common way Arabic expresses limitation.
Why is 'al-'alamin' in the genitive case?
It is governed by the preposition 'lam' (li-), which always puts the following noun in the genitive. As a sound masculine plural, its genitive marker is the 'ya', seen in the ending '-in'.