Madina Series Book 1: Lesson 5 (Part 1)

Asslamo Allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,

RECALL THIS LESSON

Grammatical Inflection:

Consider the usage of the word “Khalid” in the English language:

1. Khalid saw me
2. I saw Khalid
3. Khalid’s son

The sequence of the word Khalid in the first two examples indicates that Khalid did something in the first sentence while something happened to Khalid in the second sentence, while the usage of an apostrophe indicates possession in the third sentence. In English the entire meaning changes the minute you rearrange Khalid e.g.:

1. I saw Khalid
2. Khalid saw I

Are two completely different scenarios!

In Arabic this is achieved by the vowel on the last letter which gives Arabic unprecedented flexibility in sequencing i.e. as long the “د”on Khalid has the right vowel (e.g. Dammatain, Fathatain or Kasratain) Khalid can be placed anywhere in the sentence and the meaning will be conveyed accurately e.g.:

خالدٌ
 with Fathatain (two Fathaas) an Alif is added and the vowels are placed on itخالداً  
خالدٍ

This Level 1 course will primarily deal with the following three (3) states described below:

• State of Rafa or Marfoo = كتابٌ
• State of Nasab or Mansoob  كتاباً , with Fathatain (two Fathaas) an Alif is added and the vowels are placed on it
• State of Jaar or Majroor كتابٍ

Rule 1 (Arabic Nouns are Marfoo):

By default, Arabic Nouns Marfoo and something happens to the word for it to become Mansoob or Majroor so it is safe to pronounce most words with a Dammatain on the last letter e.g. مسجدٌ, رسُولٌ , رَبٌّ , مَدرَسِةٌ

It is essential that the vowel on the last letter is pronounced and in our experience, this is a critical mistake that many students make!

Definite vs. Indefinite:

In English, consider the following two cases:

• (An) Apple
• The Apple

The first case is about any apple while the second is about a particular apple.

Rule 2 (How to make a Noun definite):

By default a noun in Arabic is always indefinite and it is made definite by prefixing “ال” to it and when “ال”is added one of the vowels (e.g. one of the Dammas, Fathas or Kasras) drops out e.g. المسجدُ, الرسُولُ , الرَبُّ , المَدرَسِةُ

It is essential that the second vowel on the last letter is dropped and in our experience, this is a critical mistake that many students make by having “ال” and also Dammatain, Fathatain & Kasratain on the last letter.

NEW LESSON BEGINS HERE:

So far we have learned about the simple nominal sentence in the Arabic consists of two words (two nouns) classified as follows (lets' recap, Insha'Allah):

Al-Idfaha (Possessive phrase): These are two "Nouns" in Arabic with one posessing the other. In English "Pen of Bilal", "Book of Aisha". To convert into Arabic there are two rules:

1. The item which is the possession comes first e.g. “Pen”, “Book”. Interestingly this first (noun) in Arabic will neither have Tanween nor “ال” and thats the sign that this phrase is Al-Idfaha (Possessive phrase). This first noun of the phrase is called "Mudaf" مُضَاف
   1. قَلَمُ
   2. كتابُ
2. The item which is the possessor comes second e.g. “Bilal”, “Aisha”. Interestingly this secon (noun) in Arabic will ALWAYS be Majroor. This second noun of the phrase is called "Mudaf Ileh" مُضَاف إلَيْه
   1. بَلالٍ
   2. عائشةِ

Recall that Masculine names always get Tanween on the letter and Feminine names always get a single Harakah on the last letter

So together the Al-Idfaha (Possessive phrase) will be:

1.  "Pen of Bilal" قَلَمُ بَلالٍ
2. كتابُ عائشةِ "Book of Aisha"

Please note that I want you to use "Pen of Bilal" in English instead of "Bilal's Pen"!

Exercise:

Translate the following into Arabic and indicate "Mudaf" مُضَاف and "Mudaf Ileh" مُضَاف إلَيْه

1. Kitaab of Allah
2. Rasool of Allah
3. Religion of Allah
4. Masjid of Rasool
5. Jannah of Allah

Remember:

1. Reverse the order of the words i.e. possessed item will come first
2. Possessed item i.e. Mudaf" مُضَاف will neither have Tanween nor “ال”
3. Possesser i.e. "Mudaf Ileh" مُضَاف إلَيْه will be Majroor. 

Asslamo Allaikum All,

I had forgotten to add the vocabulary last week, it has now been added.

Sorry.