There are six ''irregular'' nouns in Arabic which are a bit odd because when they change their

state
and I`raab (final Harakat), they glue on matching letters too.

Let's take a look.

THE 5 (or 6) NOUNS

We have learnt these words at Al-Markaz ul Islami in Bradford

UK, as:
(1) ‫ أ ٌخ‬- Brother
(2) ٌ‫ – أب‬Father
(3) ‫ َح ٌم‬- Father in-law  
(4) ‫ – فُ ْو‬Mouth
(5) ‫ ٌذ ْو‬- Owner/having

Note: the word ‫ هن‬is more commonly ended with normal vowel
endings and not these extra ones, that's why it's extra in my
notes. Some people do use the rare irregular case ending for it.
==============================================
THE GOLDEN RULE
When these five nouns are Mudaf to any noun - except 'Ya
Mutakkalim' (representing 'my') - they take a matching vowel letter
(‫ )ا وي‬to represent their states.
==============================================

ADDING 'ME' Ya Mutakallim (‫)ي‬

If these five words are Mudaf to the 'Ya Mutakallim' they always
look like this, no matter whether they are Marfoo, Mansoob or
Majroor:
(1)  ‫ اخي‬  Akhi = My Brother
 (2) ‫ابي‬ Abi = My Father
(3)   ‫ حمي‬ Hami = My Father in-law
(4)  ‫ فمي‬ Fami/Fai = My Mouth
(5)  ‫ذي‬  Dhi = Mine/Belongs to me
When a single Ya is added to any of these words by itself without
any other Mudaf it means 'My... such and such'. No matter what
position the word takes in the sentence, this word will remain
unchanged with the Ya Mutakallim.

3 STATES
What are these states for normal nouns?

1. When a normal noun is Rafa (the default, natural state), it

automatically takes 1/2 Dammahs.
2. When it's Nasab in a sentence, it swaps the Dammah for 1/2
Fathas.
3. When it's Jarr, it takes 1/2 Kasras. That's it for normal nouns.
But...
3 SITUATIONS
...These five nouns change with Harakat and letters too.

1. When all five words are in a RAFA state, a Waw is added.

2. When all five words are in a NASAB state, an Alif is added.
3. When all five words are in a JARR state, a Ya is added.

This is an oddity because all other regular nouns just take a

matching Harakat to denote the state they are in - A Dammah for
Rafa, Fat'ha for Nasab and Kasra for Jarr. This is mostly the case
for verbs too.

But these five nouns just ain't takin' it.

Examples
MUDAF STUFF
When these five words are the Mudaf component in a sentence,
they will take on a suitable letter to show its state in the sentence
as shown above. Just remember the simple concept:
==============================================
THE GOLDEN RULE
When these five nouns are Mudaf to any noun - except 'Ya
Mutakkalim' (representing 'my') - they take a matching vowel letter
(‫ )ا وي‬to represent their states.
==============================================

The ‫ ما‬is one of the most powerful devices

in Arabic. The main issue is to know and
identify whether the ma is a ism (‫ )اسم‬or
harf (‫)حرف‬. Let’s see why.
The ten different types of ma/‫ ما‬in Arabic

1. Ma used to negate sentences

2. Ma used to ask questions
3. Ma for relative clauses
4. Ma for conditional clauses
5. Ma to strengthen the meaning
6. Ma to produce a masdar
7. Ma to introduce adverbs of time
8. Ma to express vagueness
9. Ma used to neutralize grammatical effects
10. Ma used to express surprise

11. In my opinion the letter ‫ ل‬and the ‫ ما‬are the key to understanding Arabic properly.
It is essential to understand the various meanings of ‫ما‬.
12. ‫ ما‬is a genuine jack-of-all-trades. By throwing this tiny word into a sentence, you
can change the meaning dramatically.
13. Here is a list of some possibilities:
14. Ma used to negate sentences
negation particle ‫َحرْ ف‬ ‫ما النَّافِية‬

15. Normally ‫ ما‬is used to negate a past tense verb (‫)الماضِ ي‬. ْ Theoretically, however, it
is also possible to negate a ‫ ُج ْملة اِسْ ِميّة‬with ‫ما‬.
16. You could even negate the present tense (‫ُضارع‬ ْ with ‫ما‬. This is very rare and
ِ ‫)الم‬
occasionally used with the expression: ‫( ما َيزا ُل‬still)

The students did not show up yesterday. ِ ‫الطاّل بُ أَ ْم‬

‫س‬ ُّ ‫ض َر‬
َ ‫ما َح‬

17. Ma used to ask questions

Interrogative pronoun ‫ما ااْل ِ ْستِ ْفها ِميّة اِسْم‬

What is your name? ‫ما ا ْس ُمكَ ؟‬
What are you thinking about? ‫فِي َم تُفَ ِّكرُ؟‬

19. Ma for relative clauses

Definite conjunctive pronoun ‫ما ْال َموْ صُولة اِسْم‬

I do understand what you say. ُ‫إِنَّني أَ ْفهَ ُم ما تَقُولُه‬
Read what I wrote. Nُ‫إِ ْق َر ْأ ما َكتَ ْبتُه‬

21. Ma for conditional clauses

Conditional clause ‫ما ال َّشرْ ِطيّة اِسْم‬

22. Notice the ‫ ُس ُكون‬at the end of the verb (‫ – ) َمجْ ُزوم‬it is a ‫ َشرْ ط‬.

Whatever good that you do comes back to you. ُ‫ما تَ ْف َعلْ ِم ْن َخي ٍْر ت َِج ْد جا َءه‬
 23. ‫ ما‬to strengthen the meaning

Used to strengthen
‫ما لِتَأْ ِكي ِد َم ْعنَى‬
the conditional ‫َحرْ ف‬
‫ال َّشرْ ط‬
meaning
If you had worked hard, you would have
‫إِذا ما َع ِم ْلتَ بِ ِج ٍّد‬
succeeded.
َ‫نَ َجحْ ت‬
(Notice that it is not a negation!)

25. ‫ ما‬to produce a masdar

Used to introduce a clause

equivalent to a ‫صدَر‬
ْ ‫َم‬ ِ ‫ما ْال َمصْ د‬
‫َريّة َحرْ ف‬

26. It is used like the particle ْ‫ أَن‬and has the same meaning and
implications.

The student came after the lesson had started. ُ‫الطاّل بُ بَ ْع َد ما بَدَأَ ال َّدرْ س‬
ُّ ‫ض َر‬
َ ‫َح‬

27. ‫ ما‬to introduce adverbs of time

Used to introduce a clause equivalent

‫َريّة الظَّرْ فِيّة َحرْ ف‬
ِ ‫ما ْال َمصْ د‬
to a N‫ َمصْ َدر‬in the adverb of time.

َ ‫َسأَظَلُّ أَتَ َذ َّك ُر‬

ُ ‫ك ما َحيِي‬
I will think of you as long as I live. ‫ْت‬

28. ‫ ما‬to express vagueness

This ‫ ما‬denotes generality and vagueness ‫ما اإْل ِ بْها ِميّة اِسْم‬
Notice: In this application ‫ ما‬has to be at the end of the sentence.
The man who sat next to me in the plane was ‫كانَ ال َّر ُج ُل الَّ ِذي جانِبِي فِي‬
reading (a kind of) a book. ‫ائر ِة يَ ْق َرأُ ِكتابًا ما‬
َ َّ‫الط‬
some day; sometime in the future ‫يَوْ ًما ما‬
I lost something. ُ ‫ضع‬
‫ْت َش ْيئًا ما‬ َ َ‫أ‬

29. ‫ ما‬used to neutralize grammatical effects

The hindering ‫ما ْالكافّة َحرْ ف ما‬

This ma is a neutralizer and gets rid of all grammatical implications that
otherwise may occur (for example, if you have ‫)إِ َّن‬. With the ma, inna
does lose its governing power – so you won’t have the typical mixed up
case endings with inna anymore.
In life hope doesn’t go away. ‫إِنَّما ْال َحياةُ أَ َم ٌل اليَ ْنتَهي‬

30. ‫ ما‬used to express surprise

‫ – ما‬as expressive of surprise ‫ما التَّ َعجُّ بِيّة اِسْم‬

What a nice spring! ‫ما أَجْ َم َل ال َّربِي َع‬

What fortunate I got ‫ما أَ ْس َع َدنِي بِ ُوجُودي‬
here! ‫هُنا‬

18 Jazm-izers of Verbs
February 6, 2017 by ultimatearabic 2 Comments
‫السالم عليكم‬,

We’ve looked into why a verb will be in the state of nasb.  Today,
we’re going to see what can change it into the state of jazm.

The Jazm-izers of the present tense verb

ِ‫ َو ((ال)) فِي ال َن ْهي‬,‫ُعاء‬ ْ ‫ َوال ُم‬,‫ َوأَ َل َما‬,‫ َوأَ َل ْم‬,‫ َو َل َّما‬,‫ َوه َِي َل ْم‬,‫ش َر‬
ِ ‫األم ِر َوا ْلد‬ َ ‫از ُم َث َما ِن َي َة َع‬
ِ ‫َوا ْل َج َو‬
‫ َوإِذا‬,‫ َو َك ْي َفما‬,‫ َو َح ْي ُثما‬,‫ َوأَ َنى‬, َ‫ َوأَ َّيان‬, َ‫ َوأَ ْين‬,‫ َو َم َتى‬,‫ي‬
ٌّ َ‫ َوأ‬,‫ َوإِ ْذما‬,‫ َو َم ْهما‬, ْ‫ َو َمن‬,‫ َو َما‬, ْ‫ َوإِن‬,‫ُعاء‬ ِ ‫َوا ْلد‬
‫خاص ًة‬
َّ ِّ ‫ف ِْي ال‬
‫ش ْع ِر‬

The influences that cause jazm are 18, and they are:

1. ‫َل ْم‬
2. ‫َلمَّا‬
3. ‫أَ َل ْم‬
4. ‫أَ َلمَّا‬
5. The ‫ ل‬of commanding and beseeching
6. ‫ ال‬in prohibition and beseeching
7. ْ‫إِن‬
8. ‫َما‬
9. ْ‫َمن‬
10. ‫َم ْه َما‬
11. ‫إِ ْذ َما‬
12. ٌّ‫أَي‬
13. ‫َم َتى‬
14. ‫أَي َْن‬
 15. َ ‫أَي‬
‫َّان‬
16. ‫أَ َّنى‬
17. ‫َحي ُْثما‬
18. ‫َك ْي َفما‬
And in poetry only: ‫إِ ْذا‬

There are 18 tools used to put a verb in jazm, and they are divided
into 2 groups below.  If a verb is attached to a pronoun, I bring it out.
Otherwise, you should be able to figure out how it looked like
in raf’ before becoming jazm-ized.

1. Puts one verb into jazm – All of these

are harf‘s by consensus
1. ‫ – َل ْم‬Used for negation and changes the
meaning to the past tense (i.e. something
didn’t happen in the past)
]Quran 98:1[ )”…The ones who disbelieved were not“(  ‫ا َّل ِذ ْينَ َك َف ُر ْو‬ ‫َل ْم َي ُك ِن‬
]49:14[ )”You have not believed“( ‫َل ْم ُت ْؤ ِم ُن ْوا‬
2. ‫ – َلمَّا‬Like ‫ َل ْم‬, (NAGATION N MEANING
INTO PAST for something hasn’t
happened yet (i.e till now)
Rather they have not yet tasted“( ‫ َعذاب‬ ‫ َل َّما َي ُذ ْوقُ ْوا‬ ْ‫َبل‬
]38:8[ )”tasted my punishment
 3. ‫ – أَ َل ْم‬It’s the same as ‫ َل ْم‬, but with a ‫أ‬
used to ask a yes/no question
[ )”?Have we not opened your breast for you“( َ ‫ َل َك‬ ‫ش َر ْح‬
‫صدْ َر َك‬ ْ ‫أ َل ْم َن‬
]94:1

4. ‫ – أَ َلمَّا‬Same as ‫ َلمَّا‬, but with the added ‫أ‬

)”?Haven’t I yet been good to you“( ‫إ َل ْي َك؟‬  ْ‫أ َل َّما أ ُ ْحسِ ن‬

5. The ‫ ل‬of commanding and beseeching –  You’re seeking
that someone do something

1. Commanding is from the higher one to the lower

Then he should say good or keep“(  ْ ‫لِ َيصْ م‬ ‫ َخيْرً ا أو‬ ‫َف ْل َيقُ ْل‬
‫ُت‬
]al-Bukhari and Muslim[ )“silent

2. Du’a is from the lower to the higher

]43:77[ )”!Let your Lord put an end to us“( ‫ك‬ ِ ‫لِ َي ْق‬

َ ‫ َع َليْنا َر ُّب‬ ‫ض‬
2. ‫ ال‬in prohibition and beseeching – You’re seeking that
someone not do something
1. Like the command, prohibiting is from the higher to
the lower
1. ْ‫“( ال َت َخف‬Don’t fear”) [20:68]
2. ‫ َراعِ نا‬ ‫“( ال َتقُ ْولوُ ا‬Don’t say Raai’inaa”) [2:104]
3. ‫ ِفيْ ِد ْي ِن ُك ْم‬ ‫“( ال َت ْغلُ ْوا‬Don’t commit excess in your
religion”) [4:171]
4.
2. Du’a is from the lower to the higher
1. ‫ال ُتؤاخ ِْذنا‬ ‫ َربَّنا‬ (“Our Lord, don’t punish us“) [2:186] –
‫“( ُتؤاخ ِْذ‬you punish”)
 2. ‫ َع َليْنا إصْ رً ا‬ ‫“( ال َتحْ ِم ْل‬Don’t impose on us a burden”)
[2:186]
 Puts two verbs into jazm – The first is
called shart (condition) and the second is called
its jawaab (response) and its jazaa (consequence). There are
12 jazm-izers in this group, and it breaks down into four sub-
sections:
1. There is a consensus that it’s a harf (particle):

1. ْ‫ – إن‬For example: ْ‫“( إنْ ُتذا ِكرْ َت ْن َجح‬If you revise, you will
succeed”).  ‫ إن‬is a particle used for conditional
statements.  The condition ( ْ‫“ – ُتذا ِكر‬you study”) and the
consequence ( ْ‫“ – َت ْن َجح‬you succeed”) are both
in jazm because of ْ‫إن‬
2. There is consensus that it’s an ism (noun) – These are
nine:
1. ْ‫“( َمن‬who”) – used for intelligent beings

1. َ  ‫ َمنْ ي ُْك ِر ْم‬ (“Whoever honors his neighbor is

‫يُحْ َم ْد‬ ُ‫جاره‬
thanked“)
2. ‫“( َما‬what”) – used for non-intelligent beings
1. ‫ ِب ِه‬ ‫ ُتجْ َز‬  ْ‫“( ما َتصْ َنع‬Whatever you do, you will be
rewarded for it”
3. َ
ٌّ‫“( أي‬which”) – you might see ‫ ما‬after it
1. ‫ َف َل ُه األسْ ما ُء الحُسْ َنى‬ ‫ َت ْدع ُْوا‬ ‫“( أ ًّيا ما‬Whichever you all call,
for His are the most beautiful names” [17:110]
4. َ
‫“( َمتى‬when”) – it can come with a ‫ ما‬after it
1. ‫ِّك‬َ ‫ ِرضا َرب‬ ‫ َت َن ْل‬ ‫ك‬ َ ‫إلى َوا ِج ِب‬ ‫ِت‬ ْ ‫ َت ْل َتف‬ ‫“( َم َتى‬Whenever you
attend to your duty, you’ll earn the pleasure of your
Lord”
5. َ ‫“( أَي‬when”) – it can come with a ‫ما‬
‫َّان‬
1. َ ‫َّان َت ْل َق ِنيْ أ ُ ْك ِر‬
‫مْك‬ َ ‫“( أَي‬Whenever you meet me, I’ll
honor you”) – ‫“( َت ْل َق‬you meet”)  and ‫“( أ ُ ْك ِر ْم‬I honor”)
6. ‫“( أَي َْن‬where”) – it can come with a ‫ ما‬after it
1. ِ ْ‫ َيأ‬  ‫اَل‬ ‫ي َُوجِّ ه ُّه‬ ‫“( أَ ْي َن َما‬Wherever He directs him, he
‫ ِب َخي ٍْر‬ ‫ت‬
brings no good”) [16:76] – ْ‫“( ي َُوجِّ ه‬he directs”)
 2. ‫ت‬ ُ ‫ ْال َم ْو‬ ‫ي ُْد ِرك ُّك ُم‬ ‫ َت ُكو ُنوا‬ ‫“( أَ ْي َن َما‬Wherever you all may be,
death will overtake you”) [4:78] – ْ‫“( ي ُْد ِرك‬it overtakes”)
7. ‫“( أَ َّنى‬where”)
1. ُ‫الناس‬ ‫ َيأ َم ِن‬ ‫السال ُم فاشِ يًا‬ َ  ‫ َي ُك ِن‬ ‫أ َّنى‬
(“Wherever peace is widespread, the people will feel
safe“)
8. ُ
‫“( َحيْثما‬where”) – Needs to have ‫ ما‬after it to work as
a jazm-izer
1. ‫ك هللاُ َنجاحً ا‬ َ ‫ َل‬  ْ‫ ُي َق ِّدر‬ ‫ َتسْ َتقِ ْم‬ ‫“( َحي ُْثما‬Wherever you stand firm,
Allah will ordain success for you”)
9. ‫“( َك ْي َفما‬however”) – both of the jazm-ized verbs have to
be from the same verb.  In both of the examples below,
the condition and the consequence are both from the
verb ُ‫“( َي ُك ْون‬to be”)
1. ُ‫ ْالوُ الة‬ ‫ َي ُك ِن‬ ‫األ ُ َّم ُة‬ ‫ َت ُك ِن‬ ‫“( َك ْي َفما‬However the nation is, its
rulers will be“)
2. ‫ك‬ ِ ُ‫ َثواب‬  ْ‫ َي ُكن‬ ‫ك‬
َ ‫هللا َل‬ َ ‫ ِن َّي ُت‬  ْ‫ َت ُكن‬ ‫“( َك ْي َفما‬However your
intention is, Allah’s reward for you will be“)
10. ‫ – إِذا‬I know I said “9”, but the Arabs cheated a little bit
and allowed ‫ إذا‬as a jazm-izer in poetry only.  You won’t
find it like that otherwise, so it’s not really considered
a jazm-izer.
1. ‫صاص ٌة َف َت َجم َِّل‬َ ‫ َخ‬ ‫ْك‬ َ ‫ ُتصِ ب‬ ‫“( إذا‬If destitution befalls you,
then adorn yourself”)
 Difference of opinion, but the majority say it’s
a harf (particle)
1. ‫ – ْإذما‬Used for conditions.  Must have a ‫ ما‬after it to
be jazm-izer
 Difference of opinion, but the majority say it’s
an ism (noun)
1. ‫ – َم ْه َما‬Used for conditions
1. ‫ِين‬ َ ‫ك ِبم ُْؤ ِمن‬ َ ‫ ِب ِه ِمنْ آ َي ٍة لِّ َتسْ َح َر َنا ِب َها َف َما َنحْ نُ َل‬ ‫ َتأْ ِت َنا‬ ‫ َم ْه َما‬ ‫”( َو َقالُوا‬And
they said, ‘No matter what sign you bring us with
which to bewitch us, we will not be believers in
you.'”) [7:132]

From the Quran

Below is 6:131-133, with the jazm-izers and the indicators
of jazm highlighted:

 ‫ ل ْم‬gives jazm to ُ‫ َي ُك ْون‬, so it takes a sukun on the final letter and

drops the silent ‫و‬.
 ْ‫إن‬ jazm-izes two verbs, so that’s why have sukun on their final
letters.