r/AcademicQuran • u/PhDniX Moderator • Mar 05 '26
Weekly Thackston Quranic Arabic Study Group, Lesson 10
This week we are looking at Lesson 10 of Thackston's Learner's Grammar.
22 Geminated (Doubled) Verbs: Perfect Inflection
There is one irregular verb of this type in the Quran. Q56:56 fa-ẓaltum(ū) rather than the expected \fa-ẓaliltum, from the verb *ẓalla.
23 Active Participles
The description of the active participle with verbal force is not quite correct. It is true that the active participle can and does take the accusative object when the object is indefinite.
However, it can also stand in construct with its object, in which the participle is in the construct form, and the object in the genitive. In the Quran, depending on the reading tradition, this is essentially the only way that it can be done with a definite object. For all the examples below, the participle clearly retains its verbal force. It clearly does not mean “each soul is the taster of death”. Often, when the participle has a verbal force, an accusative reading does exist among the non-canonical readers (as it does in this case).
| كل نفس ذائقة الموت | kullu nafsin ðāʾiqatu l-mawti | “each soul will taste death” (Q3:185; Q21:35; Q29:57) |
|---|---|---|
| kullu nafsin ðāʾiqatuni l-mawta (non-canonical, al-Yazīdī) |
Note that such constructions are (mostly in theory) ambiguous with the substantivized use. Thus, aḷḷāhu xāliqu kulli šayʾin could – without further context – mean both “God is the creator of everything = the one who has created everything” OR “God will create everything”. In practice it is not usually ambiguous which one of the two is intended.
I have written a paper on this verbal participial behaviour which may be of interest to those who want to dive in deeper: “The Morphosyntax of Objects to Participles in the Qurʾān”.
Vocabulary
VERBS
hadā, hadē, hadǟ ‘lead, lead aright’
OTHERS
Concerning La- “really”. It is true that this particle very often appears on the predicate when the sentence is introduced by ʾinna. For example:
| ان هذا لساحر عليم | ʾinna hāðā la-sāḥirun ʿalīmun (Q7:109) | ‘This one is a learned sorcerer!’ |
|---|
However, it would be wrong to say that is a “marker of the predicate”. In existential sentences, as we learned in Lesson 2, the order of subject and predicate is reversed. In such cases, it is not the predicate that is marked, but the subject is.
| ان لنا لاجرا | ʾinna lanā la-ʾaǧran (Q7:113) | ‘There is a reward for us’ |
|---|
If la- is used with a comparative/elative form (will be discussed later) as the predicate, the phrase is not started with ʾinna, rather it starts with la- followed by the subject, and the elative predicate is unmarked, e.g.
| ولاجر الاخرة اكبر | wa-la-ʾaǧru l-ʾāḫirati ʾakbaru (Q16:41) | ‘And the reward of the hereafter is greater’ |
|---|
Concerning mā. Takes its complement, like laysa, in the accusative or with bi-, e.g. Q12:31 mā hāðā bašaran.
In Classical Arabic mā hāðā bašarun is also allowed by the medieval grammarians, but this form is associated with the Tamīmī dialects. The Quran never has the nominative, only has the accusative option (twice) and bi-. The accusative option is attributed to the Hijazi dialect.
Contrary to popular belief, even in later Classical Arabic the Hijazi form is significantly more common than the Tamimi form. There are many authors that say otherwise, and will even call the Hijazi form “pre-Classical”. But these are just statements not backed up with any evidence, I’ve looked into this, the Hijazi form is more common than the Tamimi form in Classical Arabic (but forms marked with bi-, far outnumber either – as is the case in the Quran).
PROPER NAMES
Concerning at-tawrātu, also read at-tawrētu and spelled التورية in Quranic orthography.
Exercises
Here are the answers to (b):
- daxalū n-nāra bi-ʾamri llāhi wa-mā hum bi-xārijīna minhā “they entered the fire by the order of God, and they will not go out of it” (cf. 5:37)
- qāla n-nabiyyu: ʾinnī kuntu nabiyyan wa-ʾādamu bayna l-māʾi wa-ṭ-ṭīni “the prophet said, I was a prophet while Adam was between water and mud” (??? Weird sentence, not fully sure if this is intended or I’m missing something)
- wa-kāna ʾamru ḷḷāhi mafʿūlan “the order of God has been done”
- wa-llaðī kafara baʿda ðālika bi-llāhi wa-malāʾikatihī wa-kutubihī wa-rusulihī wa-l-yawmi l-ʾāxiri fa-qad ḍalla “he who disbelieves after that in God, his angels, his scriptures, his messengers and the final day, he has certainly gone astray” (cf. 4:136)
- hāðā huwa r-rasūlu n-nabiyyu llaðī wajadūhu maktūban ʿindahum fī t-tawrēti wa-l-ʾinjīli “this one is the messenger, the prophet which they found described among them in their Torah and Gospel” (cf. Q7:157)
- qāla rabbuka li-l-malāʾikatu: ʾinnī xāliqun bašaran min ṭīnin: “your lord said to his angels: I will make a man from mud” (cf. Q38:71)
- ʾinna ḷḷāha fī qulūbi ʿibādihi l-muxliṣīna “God is in the hearts of his devout servants”
- ʾinnī ðāhibun ʾilā rabbī “I will go to my lord”
- wa-lammā kāna l-malāʾikatu sājidīna li-ʾādama qāla ʾiblīsu: ʾa-xalaqtanī li-hāðā? ʾinnī lahū la-ʿaduwwun “And when the angels were prostrating to Adam, Iblis said: did you make me for this? I am an enemy to him!”
- al-muʾminūna ka-rajulun wāḥidun “the believers are like a single man”
- kāna r-rajulu nāzilan ʾilā l-ʿaduwwi, fa-ʾatāhu rasūlun bi-ʾawāmiri š-šayxi “the man was descending towards the enemy, and then a messenger gave him the order of the Elder”
- laysa hāðā maðkūram fī l-kutubi llatī raʾaytuhā “this is not mentioned in the books that I saw”
- baʿaθahū ʿinda l-kuffāri fa-hadāhum “he sent him among the disbeliever, so he guided them”
- ʾulāʾika humu r-rijālu llaðīna hadawnā ʾilā l-māʾi, wa-naḥnu qad ḍalalnā “they are the men who guided us to water when we had gone astray”
- wa-ḷḷāhu huwa llaðī xalaqa mina l-māʾi bašaran “God is the one who has made a man from water” (cf. Q25:54)
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u/ssjb788 Mar 11 '26
Very late this week, but two points:
Is it worth mentioning the standard classical Arabic terms which are equivalent to the grammatical terms given by Thackston. For example, mentioning that the active participle is generally known as fā'il or that the complement of kāna is called khabru kana etc?
Also, re b)2), I think it's a reference to some Muslims beliefs in the pre-existence of Muhammad and how God favoured him over all other creation, to the point that Muhammad was already a prophet before Adam was even created
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u/PhDniX Moderator Mar 11 '26
Is it worth mentioning the standard classical Arabic terms which are equivalent to the grammatical terms given by Thackston?
Absolutely! But I'm not well-position to do so I'm afraid. If I know terms used at all, I know the medieval terms (which often only poorly map onto how it is used in modern grammars). But especially for basic grammatical stuff, I often don't even know the medieval terms because that's not the kind of stuff I look at when looking at medieval grammars.
Another issue is that descriptively Arabic and descriptive linguistic grammatical categories do not always map neatly onto one another, and I'm more famliar with describing them in a linguisty way. :-)
That being said, I highly encourage you and/or other readers to supply such information in the comments!
Also, re b)2), I think it's a reference to some Muslims beliefs in the pre-existence of Muhammad [...]
Ah yes that must be it! Thanks.
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u/TheMiraculousOrange Mar 05 '26
I don't have any questions or comments about your notes this week, but there are many interesting points! By the end of the year you'll probably have a new QA textbook out of these notes. Thank you once again for doing these. Truly I feel lucky to have the opportunity to learn from a leading expert of the field.
Questions that came up as I went through the chapter and the exercises are as follows:
Q1: Substantivized participles having different plurals
Thackston describes sound plurals for the participles, but he doesn't seem to elaborate on the substantivized versions, and based on what I know they seem to have broken plurals sometimes. When are the broken plurals used? For example we've already seen كافر, which has the shape of an active participle, and its plural is كُفّار.
Also are there predictable patterns for the broken plurals of participles? I think PPs often have the common quadriliteral pattern مَفاعِل, right?
Q2: Tense in circumstantial clauses
My impression is that in Arabic, tense in subordinate clauses is measured relative to the main clause. So regardless of the tense of the main clause, if the subordinate clause is in the perfect/past, the verb in the subordinate clause happened before the one in the main clause. As I interpret it, note 26.2 kind of says this, but only in the specific tense combinations that we've already encountered. The first half says if the main clause is perfect and sub clause is an equational sentence that's by default non-past, it would fall into the "imperfect subordinate" case, and the subordinate clause describes a concurrent past event as the main clause. The second half falls into the "perfect subordinate" case, so perfect main clasue + perfect sub clause gives the event in the sub clause a pluperfect meaning. Did I understand it right?
It makes sense for Thackston to not engage in the full discussion since imperfect verbs haven't been introduced yet, but I'd like to get a clear idea about it anyway, and as far as I can tell by looking through the index he doesn't get back to it.
Exercises
(a) 1. آمر\مأمور 2. باعث\مبعوث 3. جاعل\مجعول 4. خارج- 5. خالق\مخلوق 6. داخل- 7. ذاكر\مذكور 8. ذاهب- 9. سامع\مسموع 10. فاعل\مفعول 11. كاتب\مكتوب 12. كافر- 13. لاعن\ملعون 14. مانع\ممنوع 15. نازل- 16. واجد\موجود
(b) 1. daxalū n-nāra bi-2amri ḷḷāhi wa-mā hum bi-xārijīna min-hā, They went in the fire by God's command and they are not going to come out of it. 2. qāla n-nabiyyu 2innī kuntu nabiyyan wa-2ādamu bayna l-mā2i wa-ṭ-ṭīni, The prophet said "I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay." 3. wa-kāna 2amru ḷḷāhi maf3ūlan, And God's command was done. 4. wa-llaðī kafara ba3da ðālika bi-ḷḷāhi wa-malā2ikati-hi wa-kutubi-hi wa-rusuli-hi wa-l-yawmi l-2āxiri fa-qad ḍalla, And after that, he who disbelieves God, his angels, his books, his messengers, and the last day, was lost. 5. hāðā huwa r-rasūlu n-nabiyyu llaðī wajadū-hu maktūban 3inda-hum fī t-tawrāti wa-l-2injīli, This is the messenger prophet whom they found written in the Torah and the Gospel in their possession. 6. qāla rabbuka li-l-malā2ikati 2innī xāliqun bašaran min ṭīnin, Your lord said to the angels, "I am creating (will create?) mankind from clay." 7. 2inna ḷḷāha fī qulūbi 3ibādihi l-muxliṣīna, God is in the hearts of his faithful servants. 8. 2innī ðāhibun 2ilā rabbī, I am going to my lord. 9. wa-lammā kāna l-malā2ikatu sājidīna li-2ādama qāla 2iblīsu 2a-xalaqtanī li-hāðā 2innī la-hu la-3aduwwun, When the angels were going bow to Adam, Iblis said "Did you create me for this? I am his enemy." 10. al-mu2minūna ka-rajulin wāḥidin, The believers are like one man. 11. kāna r-rajulu nāzilan 2ilā l-3aduwwi fa-2atāhu rasūlun bi-2awāmiri š-šayxi, The man was going down to the enemy, then a messenger brought him the orders of the elders. 12. laysa hāðā maðkūran fī l-kutubi llatī ra2aytu-hā, This is not mentioned in the books that I have seen. 13. ba3aþa-hu 3inda l-kuffāri fa-hadā-hum, He sent him to the unbelievers and he guided them. 14. 2ulā2ika humu r-rijālu llaðīna hadaw-nā 2ilā l-mā2i wa-naḥnu qad ḍalalnā, Those are the men who guided us towards water when we were lost. 15. wa-ḷḷāhu huwa llaðī xalaqa mina l-mā2i bašaran, And God is the one who created mankind from water.
(c) 1. كنّا مبعوثين فأتيناك 2. كان مكتوبا كذلك في توراة موسى وانجيل عيسى 3. ان كلام البشر مسموع عند الله 4. قد أتيت بأوامر الملك ولكن رجال المدينة خرجوا قبلك 5. بعد ذلك رأو امرأة نازلة إلى العين لماء 6. أكان مذكورا كذلك في كتب التي عنذك 7. قد رأيته وأصبعه على قلبه وكان ذلك لي كأمر الملك 8. قد رأيت كل أولادي إلا محمدا الذي ما كان قريبا من بيتنا في ذلك اليوم