lesson 7 - Arabic Gems

Lesson 7: Idafa ‫اإلضافة‬
This lesson covers Idafa’s – what they are and how they are used.
What is an idafa?
It is a way of denoting the association of one noun to another (most commonly possession –
although not always so).
the / a /
example:
(noun 2)
(noun 1)
The ______________ of
his / her
______________
their / your
Noun 1 is Known as mudaaf
ُ ‫ال‬
ُ
ُ‫مضاف‬
etc

It is the thing which is possessed by noun 2

Does not display ‫ ال‬or tanween. (due to it being the thing which is possessed or dependant in its
relationship to the 2nd part – therefore it is always definite in meaning)
Case will differ according to its grammatical position in the sentence (subject/object/after
preposition etc)

Noun 2 is known as Mudaaf ilay
ُ ‫ال‬
‫مضاف إليه‬
ُُ

That which possesses noun 1

Can be definite or indefinite, therefore will display tanween, ‫ ال‬or be a suffix pronoun accordingly.

Must always be
‫مجرور‬
Important
Nothing can come between a mudaaf and mudaf ilay except a demonstrative adjective
Ie: The book of that boy
There are 2 keys to recognise an idafa sentence:
1. 2 nouns in succession
2. The 1st noun has no tanween and no def article and the 2 nd noun is majroor case.
‫ِكتاب الولد‬
The book of the boy
Noun 1 of noun 2
Arabic Gems Lesson 7 page: 1
Examples
Example 1:
The book of the mother of the boy
There are 2 idaafas in this construction above:
2.
1.
The book of the mother
is mudaf ilay to
The mother of the boy
because she possess the book – yet also at the same time mudaf to
because the boy possess the mother (or the mother belongs to the boy).
To show
is mudaf ilay she takes kessrah (majroor case) and also to show she is mudaf she has
no definite article or tanween.
We translate as “the mother of the boy” because here
ilay) and mudaf is always definite in meaning.
is mudaf (although at same time is mudaf
Example 2:
If I want to say the book in example 1 above, is long If I put
at the end of the sentence, how do I know that I am referring to describing the book
and not the mother of the boy?
We know that the adjective must agree with the noun in 4 things:
1. In/definiteness
2. Gender
3. Number
4. Case
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1. In/definiteness
Is
Yes – because it is Mudaf.
definite?
Therefore
must also be definite
2. Gender
Is
masculine or feminine?
Masculine.
singular, dual or plural?
Singular
3. Number
Is
4. Case
What case is
?
marfu – so
must be marfu
The long book of the mother of the boy
Example 3:
What if I wanted to describe the mother as being the tall one instead?
Again, as with the previous example,
can not come in the middle besides
because
nothing can come between an idaafa accept a demonstrative. So we must place it as the end –
but we need to show that it refers to and is describing
and not the book or the boy.
So, we know the adjective must agree with the noun in 4 things:
1. In/definiteness
Is
definite?
Therefore
Yes – because it is Mudaf.
must also be definite
2. Gender
Is
masculine or feminine?
Feminine. So
must be also
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3. Number
Is
singular, dual or plural?
Singular
4. Case
What case is
majroor – so
?
must be majroor
The book of the tall mother of the boy
Example 4:
What if I want to write “in the long book of the mother of the boy” –
Write
again at the end.
‫ في‬is a preposition, so it will change
How do I know that
to majroor case.
refers to the book or the boy? – CONTEXT!
Making 1st noun indefinite
What if I don’t want the first (possessed) noun to be definite?
In this case, you wouldn’t actually use an idafa construction. Instead you will write a more literal
translation using
For example:
‫ ِمن‬or ‫ل‬
ُِ .
ُ‫ار‬
ِ ّ‫حُفرةُ ِمنُ الن‬
Instead of writing
A pit from the fire
The pit of the fire
‫ع ُدوُ ُلِي‬
An enemy for me
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Idiomatic uses of the idafa
An idiom is a phrase that you should not take literally – rather it has a special combined meaning
that has evolved that is different to the meaning of the individual words themselves. For example,
“raining cats and dogs” to mean its raining heavily. (see slide 6)
When you come across this in the Qur’an, look at the Tafseer to understand the correct meaning.
Sound masculine plural as an idafa
Sound masculine plural, when in the position of a
definite article, but also, it looses its final
‫المضاف‬, then we know it can not display the
ُ‫( ن‬in the same way that other words loose tanween).
For example, if I want to say “The Muslims of the city”:
1. Make sure the
‫ المضاف‬does not have‫ ال‬or tanween / final ُ‫ن‬
‫ُمسلِمو‬
2. Make sure the mudaf ilay is correct (definite, majroor)
ُ‫ُمسلِموُالمدين ِة‬
The Muslims of the city
Example:
Majroor with a fatha
– because it is a Type 2 partially inflected
word (as is a proper noun so can not take a
tanween- )
It is a proper noun so definite in meaning,
however it is not displaying the definite
article therefore takes the partially inflected
“indefinite” fatha not the partially inflected
definite kesra
ُ‫ إسرائي ُل‬+
ُ‫بنون‬
ُ‫بنو إِسرائيل‬
Drops the
ُ‫ن‬
The children of Israel
Example:
What happens with a preposition?
‫ إسرائيل‬+ ‫ بنون‬+‫من‬
ُ‫ِمن بني إِسرائيل‬
‫ ِمن‬makes ‫ بنون‬majroor – therefore ends
‫ن‬
- then because it is mudaf it looses the
leaving it as
‫بني‬
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Note about
The word
‫أُولو‬
‫( أولو‬masculine plural for ‘possessor of’ acts like a sound masculine plural.
However, it will never ever be seen with its
sentence as a
‫ ن‬on the end because it can only ever function in a
‫ مضاف‬and therefore drops the ‫ن‬
Arabic Gems Lesson 7 page: 6
Lesson 7: Quick revision summary
the / a /
Idaafa
(noun 1)
The ______________ of
his / her
(noun 2)
______________
their / your
etc
Noun 1

ُ‫ال‬
ُ
ُ‫مضاف‬
No ‫ ال‬or tanween
Case will alter depending upon grammatical position in sentence (ie object, subject, following
a preposition etc)
Noun 2 -
ُ ‫ال‬
‫مضاف إليه‬
ُُ

Definite or indefinite

Must always be
‫مجرور‬

.
Nothing can come between a mudaaf and mudaf ilay except a demonstrative adjective
Ie: The book of that boy
There are 2 keys to recognise an idafa sentence:
1. 2 nouns in succession
2. The 1st noun has no tanween and no def article and the 2 nd noun is majroor case.
Making that which is possessed indefinite – you would not use an idaafas construction, instead write
a more literal sentence using
Ie
‫ ِمن‬or ‫ل‬
ُِ .
ُ‫ار‬
ِ ّ‫حُفرةُ ِمنُ الن‬
A pit from the fire
Sound masculine plural as
ُ‫مسلِمون‬
‫ المضاف‬looses its final ُ‫ن‬
‫مسلِمو المدين ِة‬
Arabic Gems Lesson 7 page: 7