I'rab of Surah At-Takwir Ayah 8: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah At-Takwir (التكوير) · Meccan · Ayah 8
وَإِذَا ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ سُئِلَتْ Transliterationwa-idha l-maw'udatu su'ilat
MeaningAnd when the buried infant girl is asked,
Another idha-conditional in the chain. The noun al-maw'udah ("the buried infant girl") is the grammatical subject (deputy-doer) of the passive verb su'ilat ("is asked"). The whole clause remains adverbial, still pointing forward to the delayed main answer in verse 14, like every idha-clause before it.
Word by word i'rab
conjunction + adverbial time particle (zarf)
The wa coordinates this condition with the preceding ones, and idha is a future-time adverb linked to the passage's delayed main answer.
indeclinablesubject / deputy-doer (na'ib al-fa'il)
A nominative noun (a passive participle used as a noun, 'the one buried alive') serving as the grammatical subject of the passive verb that follows.
nominativepassive past-tense verb
A built past-tense passive verb meaning 'was/is asked,' with al-maw'udah as its subject and the final ta' marking feminine agreement.
indeclinableDetailed i'rab
This verse repeats the structure of the surrounding idha-clauses. The wa is a coordinating particle joining this condition to those that precede it. Idha is a future-time adverb (zarf li-l-mustaqbal), built and occupying the accusative position, and it is linked to the delayed main answer of the whole passage. Al-maw'udah is a noun in the nominative serving as the deputy-doer (na'ib al-fa'il) of the passive verb that follows; it is itself a passive participle (the female infant who was buried alive in pre-Islamic Arabia) functioning here as a definite noun. The verb su'ilat is a past-tense passive, built on its ending, with the kasra on the second radical signaling the passive voice, and the trailing quiescent ta' indicating feminine agreement. The verbal clause has no syntactic case position; it merely fills out the time-frame of the condition.
Frequently asked
What is the grammatical role of ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ?
It is the deputy-doer (na'ib al-fa'il) of the passive verb su'ilat, standing in the nominative case as the one to whom the questioning is directed.
Is ٱلْمَوْءُۥدَةُ a verb or a noun?
It is a passive participle (ism maf'ul) used as a definite noun, meaning 'the buried-alive girl,' and it takes the nominative as the subject of the clause.