لَوْ
A harf; used when you are looking back at events. It is also used for hypothetical statements. ل indicates the start of the second phrase
Example:
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ
Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah. Al-Hashr [59:21]
إِن
A harf; used for connecting two future events. For instance, 'if something happens, something will happen'. If إِن enter on a ماضى (past) verb, then the meaning of the verb changes to present.
انْ جَاءك زيدٌ
here the verb - جَاء - is a ماضى (past) verb, but the translation is, if Zaid comes to you. The verb has changed to مضارى (present)
If it enters on a مضارى (present) verb, then the meaning is restricted to مستقبل (future)
Example:
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا
And if you doubt any part of what We have, bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad]...... 2:23
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Types of "if"
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Rabbi Zidni 'ilma
(20:114) وقُلْ ربِّ زِدْنِي عِلْماً
ربِّ | قُلْ | و |
منادى مضاف لياء المتكلم المحذوفه | فعل امر | عطف |
Evocation (Calling out, hidden “oh”) Rabb is connected to pronoun “my” (which has been dropped) to form “my lord”. The “my” pronoun can be dropped because nasb pronouns are allowed to be omitted. The indication of the drop is with the kasra on "ب" | second person command verb (active) the object of the verb is the rest of the sentence | conjunction |
عِلْما | زِدْنِي |
وعملا ً مفعول به ثان اؤ تميز | فعل امر والنون للوقاية والياء مفعول به اوٌل |
Second object to the command verb تميز is a noun that removes the ambiguity or | Command verb (Active) The “nun” is the “nun” of protection (because it protects the end of the word from any change. It doesn’t hold any meaning)
|
Meaning: and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.
Source: Irab-ul-Quran - Muhuddin Darwish
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Conjunctions in the Qur'an I
ف
Meaning: then, and then, and so, so, but, thus, however, because, so that, and so
فانَّ: for, because
This is a common conjunction that occurs over and over again in the Qur'an, which implies a close connection between sentences before and after it. This connection may be either definite cause and effect or a natural sequence of event.
- Cause and effect:
فَتَلَقَّى آدَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Then Adam learnt from his Lord (certain) words and He repented towards them [2:37] وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا - Natural sequence:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّى
Who hath created and then proportioned [87:2]
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
And a soul and Him who perfected it. And inspired it (with conscience of) what is wrong for it and (what is) right for it [91:7-8] - Junction of two phrases following the particle denoting the result of a condition in the other:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي
Say: If you love Allah follow me [3:31]
فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفْعَلُواْ فَاتَّقُواْ النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِين
And if you cannot do it-and most certainly you cannot do it-then be conscious of the fire whose fuel is human beings and stones which awaits all who deny the truth! [2:24]
And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops. Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him. Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy [110:2-3]
Friday, August 3, 2007
Why Arabic?
- Translations or interpretations are not considered to be the Qur'an itself
- The Qur'an explicitly declares itself an Arabic recital 11 times
- The unanimously agreed upon aspect of the Qur'anic miracle is its language.
- Concentration in prayer is contingent upon the understanding of recitation.
Abu Bakr:
"I'd rather forget a portion of Qur'an than make a grammatical mistake."
Umer:
"Learn Arabic as it increases your dignity"
"Learn Arabic as it is from your way of life. Learn your religious obligations as they also are from your way of life"
"Develop a grammatically sound understanding of the Qur'an, for no doubt it is meant to be in Arabic"
"No one should be teaching the Qur'an except the one who knows the language well."Ibn Abi Ka'b:
"Teach your children Arabic like you teach them to memorize Qur'an"
Sha'bi:
"Learn Arabic as it enhances intellectual capacity"
Ibn Abbas:
"The wishful thinking imposed on the Book in regards to the Sons of Israel mentioned in Al Baqarah actually refers to the fact they knew their Book only in terms of recitation and memorization, not knowing what truly lies therein"
Al Suyooti:
"There is no possibility of a path leading to knowledge of the Qur'an and to a valid inquiry to its meanings except by one diving deep into this language first"
Ibn Taymiyyah:
"It is no secret that the Arabic language is the symbol of Islam and its people"
"On account of the fact that Allah sent His book in the Arabic language, chose its communicator to be an Arab who expounded on its teachings in Arabic, and chose from the Arab people the generation of role models, there remain no alternatives to a deep study of Arabic if a strong grasp, rather even a familiarity of this way of life is sought after."
"The Arabic language is a component of this way of life and its awareness is a binding obligation"
Al Shafi'i:
"It is absolutely mandatory on every Muslim to study the Arabic language to the utmost of his ability. Thereafter whatever he pursues of Islamic knowledge will actually be of significant benefit"
"I spent twenty years in the study of Arabic literature intending nothing from it but assistance in acquiring a truly grounded understanding of Islam"
Source: Why Arabic by The Bayyinah Arabic Studies Institute
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Introducing the authors
Hafsa: QLC opened the door for Hafsa to learn Arabic, three years ago in 2005. Now, for a year, Hafsa has been a student of Mufti Yusuf Mullan, of the Toronto Shariah Program. Hafsa's an avid learner of the language, with a keen interest in Qur'anic Arabic.
Humairah: Hailing from the Middle East, Humairah has a good command on every day Arabic vocabulary. Humairah started off with Quran Learning Course (QLC), and is currently studying with the Toronto Shariah Program. In addition, Humairah is a teaching assistant to an Introductory Arabic course on SunniPath this summer 2007.
Kahkashan: Kahkashan started off with QLC as well, and joined the Toronto Shariah program at the same time as Hafsa and Humairah, in February 2006. She now teaches the QLC course in Pickering.
Introduction
In life, we often learn and experience new things, and often, that creates a desire within us to do something different, to initiate a change that will make an everlasting impact, to spread waves that are as powerful as the waves in the ocean and to open up a new door into an exciting world, colorful, better and... just different :)
That doesn't really have anything to do with Arabic, does it? I thought so!
The purpose of this blog, inshallah, will be to educate ourselves (the authors), and our readers with what we consider interesting and informative in the language. Our goal will be to be resourceful (so you'll find lots of link on the side), diverse (so from time-to-time we'll have guest writers), and educational (we'll teach you what we learn in our style).
We'll talk about verbs (lots of them!), verses from the Qur'an, grammatical complexities, beauty of the language, and if you're lucky, we'll even talk about our exciting journeys to seek knowledge :D
Personally, I'm honored to be part of this blog with 2 of my friends, so we will strive to bring the best in us.
And our dua is...
Allahumma 'allimna ma yanfa 'una, wa anfa 'na bima 'allamtana wa zidna 'ilma. (Ibn Majah)
