1

QA 101: Fundamentals of

Quranic Arabic

Introductory Concepts of Ism and

Harf (Compiled from the sources cited in References)

Quran-al Fajr Study group

2

ا فعنا بما علمتن اللهم عل منا ما ينفعنا وان

لما دنا ع وز(O Allah teach us that which shall bring us benefit and let

us benefit from what you have taught us and increase to

our Knowledge)

ه الملك الحق ن قب ول فتعالى اللـ ل أن تعجل بالقرآن مب وقل يقضى إليك وحيه لمازدنير ع [20:114]

يم ح ن الر ـ حم ه الر بسم اللـ

Dignity of Learning and

Teaching Quran

خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمهThe best of you are those who learn the

Qur'an and teach it [Bukhari]

3

Right Intention

د ولقد يسرنا القرآن ل ن م كر فهل م ر لذ ك

People who want to remember Allah(SWT) , He will make it easy for them to

learn Quran. So our goal will be to remember Allah when we read Quran.

Let’s make that as part of our Niyah. The second part of this ayat says that we

have to make some effort to learn this.

[Qamar:40] And we have certainly made

this Qur’an easy for remembrance: so, is

there any one who will remember?

5

Why, What….

• Why do some words sometime end with Fatha, other time Damma, and yet other time Kasra?

• How do I know who is subject and who is object?

• How to recognize fragments (phrases)?

• How come in Arabic, verbs also change according to Gender?

• Ism vs Fi’l? Which form is used when ?

﴾١﴿القدر ليلة إنا أنزلناه في

﴾٢﴿القدر ليلة وما أدراك ما

نسان خلق ال

تب يدا أبي لهب و تبت

م ه ين هم لفروج حافظون والذ

م ين هم على صلواته يحافظون والذ

ه لـ ين الحمد ل رب العالم

6

Why, what….

• What phrases/ constructs are used for emphasis?

• How do I know whether one or two, or more being considered?

• How to recognize commands?

• How to tell whether the sentence is something about the past or present or future?

تاب لك الك هدى ل لمتقين فيه ل ريب ذ

رب ك و صل ف انحر ل

بان رب كما تكذ آلء فبأي

ه أفواجايدخلون النا رأيت و ين اللـ في د

What a subtle difference,

• Sura Ala

• ئك فل ﴾ ٦﴿نسى ت سنقر

• الدار وابتغ فيما آتاك للا

رة ول يبك م ن تن الخ ن ص

ن ك نيا وأحس الد ما أحسن للا

لفساد في إليك ول تبغ ا

ب ل يح الرض إن للا

ين د [28:77]المفس

7

8

Arabic Words• Arabic words: Ism, F’il, Harf

• Ism اسم typically covers noun, Pronoun, adjective, adverb, and more– Properties of Ism (Status, Number, Gender, Type)

– Fragments (Phrases) based on Ism

– Pronouns (Attached and detached pronouns)

• F’il فعل- similar to verb, but not exactly the same

• Harf حرف doesn’t have any meaning, unless there is another word after it– Harf al Jarr

– Harf al Nasb

9

Properties of Ism

• Covers Noun, (Pronoun), Adjective, Adverb

• Status (Iraab): Whether Ism is ‘Raf, Nasb, or Jarr.

• Number: Whether Ism is singular, dual, plural, or broken plural

• Gender: Whether masculine, feminine or fake feminine

• Type: Whether common or proper

Ism vs Verb (Permanent vs

Temporary)ين آمنوا قالوا م قالووإذا خ آمناوإذا لقوا الذ ينه ا إنا لوا إلى شياط

ئون معكم إنما نحن مستهز [2:14]

So it says, when the Munafikoons meet the

believers, they say they ‘believed’, (in verbal

form which implies temporariness). But

when they secretly meet their Shayatins,

they say ‘we are only mocking’ or we are

only mockers (in noun form), which implies

permanence, exposing their true situation10

ه لـ الحمد ل• Gem-1-the timeless independent praise of

Allah http://www.bayyinah.tv/posts/gem-1-

the-timeless-praise-of-allah• Fil has past, present, and future tense, but Ism is

timeless.

• Fil needs some one to do it. But Ism doesn’t need

anyone to do it.

• Alhamdulillah is in ism form. The meaning is that the

praise of Allah always exists (timeless) and it doesn’t

need anybody for His praise. He is Praised anyway.

Amazing

11

The word سب ح• Root word ب ح means to swim, to float, to keep high

• The past tense as form II is used in the beginning of a

few Surahs. Sura Hadeed, Hashr, Saff, Sura Hadeed :1

يسبح ما في السماوات والرض وهو العز يم لل ز الحك

• Present tense of Form II is used in the first ayat of Sura

Jumuah, Tagabun ما في السماوات وما ف سب ح ي ي الرض الملك لل

القد و

• Command form is used in Sura Ala لىاسم رب ك الع سب ح

• As a Noun in the begining of Sura Isra ي أسرى بحان س ه الذ بعبد

د القصى د الحرام إلى المسج ن المسج ليل م

12

Roots of a word

• ب [17:24] يراني ص ربياارحمهما كما ر غ

– The root of the first word is ر ب ب meaning

Lord

– The root of the second one is ر ب وThat

means to increase, nourish, nurture

13

14

Ism Status

• Raf رفع (Doer, subject) . Ask the verb with

‘who’ and the answer is the Raf

• Nasb نصب (Details of the act, Object). Ask

the verb with details (like what, where,

when, how..)

• Jarr جر (After an Of)

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Why care about Raf, Nasb, and

Jarr? [1]

• A man taught a boy

• A man taught a boy

• A boy taught a man

• A boy taught a man

In Arabic, it is not the sequence, but the

ending sound or ending combination of Isms

determine who is doer

MUTTAQI, 2012 16

Plural

17

Recognizing Status from the

ending sound & Combination [1]

Plural Dual Singular

Raf

Nasb

Jarr

Ending combination are

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Identify the Status of the following words

1. Jarr, Singular, Masculine

2. Raf, Plural, Feminine

3. Raf, Dual, Feminine

4. Nasb/Jarr, Plural, Feminine

5. Nasb/Jarr, Plural, Masculine

6. Nasb/Jarr, Dual, Feminine

7. Raf, Singular, Feminine

8. Raf, Dual, Masculine

9. Nasb/Jarr, Plural, Feminine

10. Jarr, Singular, Masculine

Importance of Rafa, Nasb, Jarr

• Gem 2. http://www.bayyinah.tv/posts/gem-

2-dawood-ibrahim-and-the-scholars

• وقتل داوود جالوت [2:251]What if you change the Raf and Nasb sign of Daud and Jalut?

• يم [2:124] رب ه وإذ ابتلى إبراه Order doesn’t matter in the

subject/object determination. What matters is the ending sound.

Ibrahim didn’t test Allah, Allah tested Ibrahim. Who is the doer of the

testing?

• ه [35:28] باد ن ع ه م علماء ال إنما يخشى اللـWho fears Allah? What ends with Rafa sign? Where is the doer of

Yakhsha?

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Identify the Raf, Nasb

• ه [2:10] رض فزادهم اللـ م م ولهم مرضافي قلوبه

بون عذاب أليم بما كانوا يكذ

• نسان في أحسن ت [95:4] يم لقد خلقنا ال قو

• ن علق [96:2] نسان م خلق ال

• يم رب ه [2:124] وإذ ابتلى إبراه

• http://tanzil.net/#35:28 ه إنما يخشى ال [35:28] لـ

ه العلماء باد ن ع م

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Identify the difference of the use

of ‘Life of Dunya’• [http://tanzil.net/#6:32] نيا وما ب إ الحياة الد ل لع

ي ولهو رة خير ل لذ ل ن يتقون وللدار الخ ون أفل تعق

• [http://tanzil.net/#87:16] نياالحي بل تؤثرون اة الد

• [http://tanzil.net/#18:46] ينة الحياة المال والبنون ز

نيا الحات خير الد ند رب ك ثوابا وخير والباقيات الص أمل ع

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Ism-Light or heavy?• Normally a word is heavy (meaning they have a ن sound

at the end, either for ending sound or ending combination, like the

Muslimoon Table), except the following

– A partly flexible Ism (i.e., name of place or non-Arab)

– A Mudaf

– Addressing someone

– Categorical Denial (Further Light, Lightest)

A word that starts with Al, the heavy/light doesn’t matter

Note that the status doesn’t change with the Light or Heavy

Light Version of the Muslimoon

Tables

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Flexibility-Partly Flexible

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• Partly Flexibile: They are Light and can never have Kasrah

a) Name of Places

b) Non-Arab names

• There are only 4 prophets names in Quran, who are Arab names.

They are fully flexible

• Non-Flexible. Words that never change (same in Raf, Nasb, Jarr)

Remember the Darud we read in Salah Allahumma salli ala….

Provide Status and Flexibility of the following; See first if it

is partly flexible

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1. Raf, fully flexible

2. R/N/J Non-flexible

3. Raf, Partly Flexible

4. Jarr, Fully flexible

5. N/J, Partly flexible

6. Wrong; trick question

7. N/J, Fully Flexible. Its not light

8. Raf, Partly flexible

9. Raf, Fully Flexible

10. Raf, Fully Flexible. It is heavy

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Number• Memorize Muslimoon Table

• Six kinds of plural– Masculine plural is inclusive. مسلمون includes both men and

women.

– Human Feminine Plural. Muslimatoon table

– Non-Human Feminine Plural. Treated as feminine singular

– Human Broken Plural. Broken Plurals don’t follow sound plural format كتب is plural of تاب ك

– Non-Human Broken Plural

– Ism Jamaa (Look singular, but they are plural). Example قوم ناقرن

• Non-human broken plural must be treated as Singular Feminine. It’s a ‘May be’ for human broken plural هم ل

رو ن بهاقلوب ل يفقهون بها ولهم أعين ل يبص

• لنا بعضهم على بعض سل فض تلك الر

Provide status and number of the following

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1. Nasb/Jarr, Masculine Plural

2. Raf, Masculine Plural

3. Nasb/Jarr, Human faminine Plural

4. Jarr, Non-human Broken plural

5. Raf, Singular

6. Nasb/Jarr, Dual

7. Raf, Human broken plural

8. Jarr, non-human Broken plural

9. Raf, Human feminine plural

10. Nasb/Jarr, feminine plural

More practice on Numbers, Indicate s,d, or p and which category of

plural

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1. Human Broken plural

2. Plural, Ism Jamaa

3. non-human Broken plural

4. Singular

5. non-human Broken Plural

6. Dual

7. Human Broken plural

8. Non-human Feminine Plural

9. Ism Jamaa

10. Masculine Plural

Gem 3:

• http://www.bayyinah.tv/posts/gem-3-one-

man-team

إنا رسول فأتيا فرعون فقول ين رب العالم

[26:16]

• Musa (As) took Haroon (As) with him to

Firaun’s palace. Security guard only tried

to allow Musa not Haroon. Musa (AS) has

to make the case by using singular version

of ‘Rasul’. “We are the Messenger’ !!.

Inseparability by using singular29

Person

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person

• 1st person is used to show closeness

ن خلق نسان م علق ال [96:2] - 3rd person referring

نسان في أحسن خلقنالقد يال م تقو – [95:4] 1st person

used in presenting the best form of Human

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31

Gender [1, 3]• Every اسم is either Masculine and Feminine (and Fake

Feminine); No Common/Neutral Gender

• Things are masculine, unless they specifically follow a

‘Feminine’ sign.

• Real feminine – mother, sister, daughter, cow etc.

• A common sign of Feminine is a at the end.

Similarly ‘atoon’ ‘ateen’.

• Fake Feminine – not biologically feminine

– Words ending with ة or ى (alif maksura) or آء. Not always though

– Broken plurals

– Body parts in pair

– Special words (Arab said so)

Arab-said-so Feminine

• حرب (war), سماء (Sky), شم (Sun), نف

(soul), دلو (Bucket), بءر (Well), سبىل (Way),

ارض (earth), ريح (Wind), دار (House), كء

(cup), خمر (wine), نار (Fire), جهننم (hell), عصئ

(Stick)

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Gender Drill

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1. Arab-said-so Feminine

2. Fake feminine, broken plural

3. Fake Feminine, feminine Plural

4. Real Feminine

5. Fake Feminine (ending with )

6. Feminine, Broken Plural

7. Masculine

8. Masculine

9. Fake Feminine

10.Feminine, body-parts-in-pair

Status, Number, Gender Drill

• Bayyinah Status, Gender, Number Drill

34

Gem 4

• Maryam AS : A role model for women

and men

ن [66:12] القانتين وكانت م

Talking about Maryam (AS) Allah (SWT)

uses a masculine plural قانتين (which by

default covers both men and women in

Arabic) and thus she is a role model for

both men and women. قانيتات is not used

35

Type• Common- by default

• Proper. 7 characteristics of proper

– Proper names

– Words with ال

– Pronouns

– Pointers- this, that, these

– Ism Mowsool

– The one being called with يا

– If the Mudaf Ilaihi is proper, then Mudaf is

proper36

Ism: Comprehensive Review Drill

37

38

Ism-based Fragments [1,3]

• Mudaf-Mudaf Ilaihi مضاف& مضاف إليه

• Sifat and Mowsuf فة موصوف& ص

• Harf Jarr حرف الجر

• Harf Nasb حرف النصب

• Pointing Noun اسم الشارة

ينة الحياة الد ن ياالمال والبنون ز

ند ر الحات خير ع ل ب ك ثوابا وخير أم والباقيات الص18:46

39

Sentence vs Fragment (Sifat

Mausuf) [2]

40

• The first Ism of Idafa (before ‘of’)is called Mudaf and the second Ism (after ‘of’) is called (مضاف)Mudaf Ilaihi (مضاف إليه)

• Mudaf must be light and without Alif-Lam

وقراأذنيه كأن في [31:7]

• Mudaf Ilaihi must be Jarr (ending with Kasra for example)

• Examples:– ‘of’ in translation.

– Pronoun attached to an Ism. And that pronoun doesn’t have to end with Jarr

– Special Mudaf (does not necessarily make ‘of’ meaning

Mudaf-Mudaf Ilaihi مضاف& مضاف إليه

Example

• 18:82 http://www.bayyinah.tv/posts/gem-7-

the-treasure-of-two-orphans

دار فكان لغلمين يتيمي ا الج ينة وكان تحته وأم كنز ن في المد

جا أن يبلغا أشدهما ويس وكان أبوهما صالحا فأراد رب ك لهما تخر

ب ك كنزهما ن ر يوما فعلته رحمة م لك عن أمر يل ذ ما تأو

ع عليه صبرا لم تسط

41

42

Idaf Examples [1,2]

Special Mudaf

43

44

Sifat and Mowsuf فة موصوف& ص

• Mowsuf (the word being

described) must be the

first and only one

• The Sifat (Adjective)

comes after Mowsuf and

may be more than one.

• Sifat and Mowsuf

correspond to each other

in terms of Gender,

Number, Type, and

Status (Iraab)

45

Preposition [2]- Harf Jarr حرف الجر

A Harf that forces the Ism after that to Jarr form

46

Harf Nasb حرف النصب

A Harf that forces the Ism after that to Nasb form [1]

سول سبييا ليتني اتخذت م ل ع الر

رصحوص ا كأنحم بحنيان م ب الذين ي حقاتلحون ف سبيله صف إن الل يح

يبا يك لعل الساعة تكون قر وما يدر [33:63

اعة لتية ل ريب فيها ولكن أكث ر الناس ل ي حؤمنحون إن الس

نسان لفي خسر إن ال

يحسب أن ماله أخلده

47

Ismul Ishara اسم الشارة

• If any of the Ismul Ishara words is followed by that doesn’t have ال then the combination is a sentence. Otherwise the second word is a mushara Alaihi

• If the word after the pointing word is a pronoun, then it will be a sentence with ‘the’ instead of ‘a’.

هذا هذه ذلك تلك أولءك هؤلء

اجعل و [2:126] يم رب إذ قال إبراه نا هـذا بلدا آم

اجعل يم رب ناوإذ قال إبراه هـذا البلد آم [14:35]

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Pointing words [2]

Singular and Plural Pointing words are non-flexible, while dual pointing words are flexible

MUTTAQI, 2012 49

Pointing fragment

• If the word right after the pointing word has

an ال, it will be a fragment; otherwise it will

be a sentence

50

Gem 10: In the name of Allah

حمـن بسم للا يم الر الر ح• Bismillahir rahmanir Raheem is not a full

sentence; it is a complex fragment

– بسم للا is a recursive Idafa construct

– يم للا ح حمـن الر الر is a mawsuf, sifat, sifat

construct

• The notion is when we say this before any

act, it comes a full sentence

51

Fragments or Sentence Drill

52

53

Pronouns [2]

• A Pronoun is a kind of

proper Ism. Independent

pronouns (All Personal

Pronouns) are Raf;

Attached pronouns

(Possessive Pronouns)

are Nasb or Jarr.

• When attached

pronouns are attached

to Ism, they make Idafa

Example

• Change the following Dua (of the guest for

the host) to other pronouns

ك ل اللهم هم فيما رزقت هم بار -هم وارحم هم فر ل وا

54

55

Interrogatives [2]

Sentence vs Fragments

• Main difference is sentence has ‘is’, which

fragments don’t have

• But in Arabic ‘is’ is hidden. There are 5 ways to

find that invisible ‘is’.

– Proper word followed by common ه أحد اللـ

– Presence of an original pronoun يم ح حمن الر هو الر

– After Harf Nasb and its victim ين وإنها لكبيرة إل ع ع لى الخاش

– Ismu Ishara followed by anything other than ذا .ال ـ ه

ظة ل لمتقين بيان ل لنا وهدى وموع

– Break in the chain ين ه رب العالم لـ الحمد ل 56

Sentence vs Fragments Drills

57

Indicate the

location of

invisible ‘is’

• Compile a FAQ section

58

Sample Ayat

• ل وما كان لنف أن تموت إل بإذن ال ؤج تابا م ه ك ن وم لـ

نها ومن ي نيا نؤته م د ثواب الد رة نؤته ير د ثواب الخ ر

نها ين م ر ي الشاك وسنجز [3:145]

• The above has example of

• Ism: Ism Status (Raf, Nasb, Jarr);

Number-Singular, Plural; Gender-

Masculine, Feminine; Type- Proper,

Common

• Fragments: Idafah, mausuf-Sifat, Harf Jarr,

• Fi’l: Past, Present, Future Tense, Lightest

form of verb,

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What a balance between Dunya

and Akhirah!!• رة ابتغ و ه الدار الخ ن ول تن فيما آتاك اللـ يبك م نص

نيا ن و الد ه إل أحس ي الفساد ف ول تبغ يك كما أحسن اللـ

د الرض ب المفس ه ل يح ين إن اللـ [28:77]• But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the

home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your

share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good

to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed,

Allah does not like corrupters."

• Example of Command and Prohibition

60

Difference between Simple

Negation and Prohibition

• [part of 28:77] ن تن ول يبك م نيانص الد “…forget not your portion (of legal enjoyment) in

this world…”

• ئك تنسى فل سنقر [87:6] We shall make you to

recite (the Quran), so you (O Muhammad (Peace be

upon him)) shall not forget (it),

61

28:77

• رة ه الدار الخ ن تن ول وابتغ فيما آتاك اللـ يبك م نص

نيا ه إل الد ن كما أحسن اللـ ي ول تبغ الفساد ف يك وأحس

د الرض ب المفس ه ل يح ين إن اللـ• But seek, with that (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on

you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your

portion of legal enjoyment in this world, and do good as

Allah has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the

land. Verily, Allah likes not the Mufsidun (those who

commit great crimes and sins, oppressors, tyrants,

mischief-makers, corrupts).

62

Verb vs Noun

ي ون قل إن الموت الذ نه فإ تفر إلى ثم ترد ون ملقيكم نه م

ما كنتم تعملون عالم الغيب والشهادة فينب ئكم ب [62:8]

Peoples fleeing away from the death is a

verb– temporary, not permnanent; But

death’s hugging with everyone is a fact of

life– a permanent feature that’s why Noun is

used

63

Anatomy of Sura Fatiha

64

Iman (http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=Amn#(103:3:3))

• The root word of Iman is أمن meaning ‘to feel secure’.

Most of the usage in Quran of this word is in the iv form

of verb ءامن, which means ‘to believe’.

• This is amazing. So using the linguistic feature of iv form

of verb, we can therefore say—’to believe’ is to cause

someone ‘to feel secure’.

• This cause can happen in two ways– when one believes

on ones own accord, he feels secure. When Allah (SWT)

causes someone to feel secure (Sura Quraish)

65

• ع لك وبارك عليك وجم ير بارك للا بينكما في الخ• Congratulating the groom: Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that when

a man married, Rasul-ullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) would say to him,

“May Allah bless you and bless it for you and may He join you with

goodness!” [Tirmidhi]

66

Sura Munafiqoon: Last three

versesكم أموال ين آمنوا ل تله كر الل يا أي ها الذ ـه كم ول أولدكم عن ذ

ئك هم الخاس ـ لك فأول ا ٩رون ﴿ومن يفعل ذ ن م ﴾ وأنفقوا م

ن قبل أن يأتي أحدكم ال رتني موت فيقول رب لول أ رزقناكم م خ

ن دق وأكن م يب فأص ين ﴿إلى أجل قر الح ر ١٠الص ﴾ ولن يؤخ

ه نفسا إذا جاء أجلها ه خب اللـ ﴾١١ير بما تعملون ﴿ واللـ

67

Other commonly-read ayats by

Imams• Sura Isra 13:17

68

The different ways Allah swt has

used the word خلق• We created

• I created

• He (Your Rabb) created

• They were created

69

WE/I Created. Used when Allah takes

great pride in the dignity of human

being• رناك [7:11] لملئكة ولقد خلقناكم ثم صو اسجدوا م ثم قلنا ل

دم فسجدوا إل إبلي لم يكن م ين ل د ن الساج

• ة يهدون بال [7:181] ن خلقنا أم م لون وم حق وبه يعد

• لك قال رب ك هو علي [19:9]ن هي ن وقد خلقتك م قال كذ

قبل ولم تك شيئا

• http://tanzil.net/#23:10

• نسان في أحسن ت [95:4] يم لقد خلقنا ال قو

70

He Created (In a general

creation sense)

71

• ين م يا أي ها النا اعبدوا ربكم ال [2:21] ي خلقكم والذ ن ذ

قون كم لعلكم تت قبل

• يخلق ما يشاء [3:47] لك للا قال كذ

Passive form is used when Allah wants to

disassociate Himself, because of mankinds

faults

• ه أن يخف ف عنكم [4:28] يد اللـ يف و ير نسان ضع اخلق ال

• م خلق ﴿ [86:5] نسان م اء دافق ٥فلينظر ال ن م ﴾ خلق م

Reminding forgetful mankind of his humble

origin

72

Assignments

• Find all the ayats of commandments by

Allah (SWT) from Juz Amma; Do a

classification of those

• Find all the commandments and or

Questions of Makki and Madani Surahs.

What are some of the differences? Allah

swt is asking a question. Who are those

questions directed to and what are those

questions about?73

Future Goal• Compile the notes into a book

• The focus of the book could be:– Example-based understanding. Examples drawn from mostly-

memorized surahs

– Compare and contrast of use of different styles in Quran

– Zikr-and-Fikr. Research– for example identifying all the

questions or exclamations and then do a taxonomy based on

other aspects of grammar

– Explanation of some ayats based on scientific evidence and

draw a parallel with the linguistic features (already has some

ayats Muminoon 1-11, Hashr etc.)

– Compile all the ayats related to oath and do a taxonomy of the

subjects of paths

– Multimedia-enhanced understanding

– Statistics on Surahs74

75

References

1. Notes from Al Bayyinah Class and other classes

2. Qur’anic Grammar

http://ymsite.com/books/Quran_Dictionary/Grammer.p

df

3. Quranic Language Made Easy, Hafiza Iffath Hasan,

IQRA Foundation

4. Arabic Keyboard http://www.clavier-arab.org/arabic-

keyboard/

5. 30+ Stunning Dazzling Miracles of the Holy Quran

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgbWamEDui8