Question: In the text of al-Aajurroomiyyah, the author mentions the noun that is Laa Yansarif and takes al-Khafdh by placing a Fathah vowel over the last letter of the Arabic noun. What is he referring to?
Answer: The author, may Allah have mercy upon him, is referring to what is known in an-Nahw terminology as al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarfالمَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ or what has been translated by more knowledgeable people than myself as the “Un-Nunated Noun”. This noun is a category found in the section of al-Mu’rabaatالمُعْرَبَات. It belongs to the first category of nouns and verbs that are declined by the four Arabic vowel signs; Fathah, Kasrah, Dhammah, and Sukoon, as opposed to the second category which are declined by the three Arabic vowel signs represented by the Arabic letters; Alif, Waw, and Yaa.
An easy way to remember the meaning is to think of the word المَمْنُوعُ as something that is prohibited. The word مِنَ should be familiar to everyone as we have covered its explanation in previous posts. The word الصَّرْفِ has many meanings but here I would say it means to go about or move freely. Literally translated we could say, ‘the prohibition of movement”. Of course other suggestions are always welcomed on this blog.
The author, may Allah have mercy upon him, explains that there are four types of words that are declined by way of the Arabic vowel signs. They are:
1 -The singular noun الإسم المفرد
2 -The broken plural جمع التكسير
3 -The sound feminine plural جمع المؤنث السالم
4 -The present tense verb that does not have any particles attached to it الفعل المضارع الذي لم يتصل بآخره شيئ
The area of focus here is with the first type which the author calls al-Ism al-Mufradالإسم المفرد. Allah willing, maybe in a future post, I can go into detail about the singular noun and what the scholars of the Arabic language wrote regarding it as the subject itself is vast and would take up a lot of time.
At any rate, the author says that all four of these types of words are made nominative (being in the state of ar-Raf’), by placing a Dhammah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, made into the accusative (being in the state of an-Nasb) by placing a Fathah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, made into the genitive (being in the state of al-Khafdh or al-Jarr depending on the school of grammar you follow) by placing a Kasrah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, and finally by placing a Sukoon sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, it enters into the state of al-Jazm.
He then mentions that there is an exception to this rule. The exception here is that three of these words have different rules that apply to them. Since our focus is with the singular noun we will only comment on what the author says about it. He says that the singular noun that is non-nunated, meaning that it does not have a Tanween over it, becomes genitive (being in the state of al-Khafdh or al-Jarr depending on the school of grammar you follow, I know I already said it before!) by placing a Fathah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word as opposed to placing a Kasrah like all the other words.
The Yemeni scholar of an-Nahw, Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Muhammad ar-Ra’eenee al-Maalikee, better known as al-Hattaab (died in 954 A.H.) beautifully summed this up in his Mutammimah, by saying, “There are three categories of nouns that are excluded from this rule, the noun that does not decline, whether it is singular or a broken plural. It therefore is rendered into the state of al-Khafdh by the Fathah sign, as long as it is not made possessive by another noun or if the definite article is added to it.”
This now brings us to another question that is about to open up a whole new can of whoop butt…how do we know the difference between a nunated noun and a un-nunated noun? The scholars went into great lengths about this, but since this is just a rinky-dink blog run by a non-Arab Mexican-American Muslim, I will attempt to briefly break down for you just a portion of what they left for us to benefit from, may Allah have mercy upon them and grant them the highest place in paradise.
The scholars of the Arabic language tell us that when it comes to the singular noun, it consists of two categories:
The first is the nunated noun الإسم المعرب المنصرف which has the Tanween and Kasrah written above it, and can be in the state of ar-Raf’ الرفع indicated by the Dhammah sign, or can be in the state of an-Nasbالنصب indicated by the Fathah sign, or can be in the state of al-Jarrالجر or al-Khafdhالخفض indicated by the Kasrah sign. Some quick examples include the following singular nouns:
ولدٌ -boy
كتابٌ-book
محمدٌ –Muhammad (a male Muslim name)
مسجدٌ –mosque
The second is the un-nunated noun الأسم المعرب الممنوع من الصرف which does not have the Tanween and Kasrah and is in the state of ar-Raf’ indicated by the Dhammah sign. As for the state of an-Nasb and al-Jarr or al-Khafdh, then this is indicated by a Fathah sign.
Al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarfالمَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ is divided into three categories:
A – Name types الأعلام
B – Adjective types الصِّفَات
C – Neither a name nor an adjective type مَا لَيْسَ عَلَمًا وَ لاَ صَفَة
I will now go into each category along with examples, Allah willing.
A – Name types الأعلام are further divided into six:
1 – The name that is based upon the Arabic noun form فُعَلُ Fu’al such as the names:
2 – Names that are based upon Arabic nouns that indicate action taken from the forms أفْعَلُ and يَفْعَلُ and يَفْعِلُ such as:
3 – Feminine names ending with Taa Marbootahتاء المربوطة:
This type of name is known as a pronounced and actual feminine name تأنيثا لفظيا و حقيقيا معًا.
Then there are the feminine names that are purely feminine but without the Taa Marbootahتأنيثا حقيقيا:
In addition to these two there are also male names that end with Taa Marbootah which are considered feminine in pronunciation but not in meaning تأنيثا لفظيا, such as:
4 – Nouns that have Alif and Noon attached to them, such as:
5 – Foreign names that consist of four or more Arabic letters such as:
So the name of our father Adam آدم, peace be upon him, would be Mamnoo’ min as-Sarf, since it consists of four letters but the name of Prophet Noah نُوْحٌ, peace be upon him would not.
6 – The name consisting of two part nouns such as:
B – Adjective types الصِّفَات are divided into three:
1 – The adjective name that ends in Alif and Noon such as from the root form فَعْلاَنُ for masculine:
And فُعْلَى for the feminine:
2 – The adjective name based on numbers and from the root forms of مَفْعَل and فُعَال such as:
3 – The adjective name based on the form of أفْعَلُ for masculine, such as:
And فَعْلاَءُ or فُعْلَى for feminine:
C – Neither a name nor an adjective type مَا لَيْسَ عَلَمًا وَ لاَ صَفَة
This last type consists of three:
1 – The word that ends with what is known as the short feminine Alif ألف التأنيث المقصورة:
2 – The two plural forms known here as صيغة منتهى الجموع which is from the root form مَفَاعِلُ and مَفَاعِيْلُ or that is from the plural that has two letters or three in the middle that are written with a Sukoon on it, such as:
3 – The word that ends with what is known as the long feminine Alif ألف التأنيث الممدودة:
So in short, al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarf is the noun that does not have a Tanween or Kasrah written on the last letter. When the word is in the state of an-Nasb or al-Khafdh, then the Fathah will take the place of the Kasrah.
The only two exceptions when Kasrah is written on the last letter of the verb as we previously mentioned, is when the noun has the definite article ال, such as in the following sentences:
Or when it is the Mudhaaf of the Idhaafah construction, as in the following sentence:
I am in the process of putting together a chart that I hope will be used as reference for this particular grammatical issue. In the chart I will include example sentences so you can see how the non-nunated words have the vowels written over them. I hope that this response benefited those brothers and the one sister who asked me about this, and Allah knows best.![]()
Answer: The author, may Allah have mercy upon him, is referring to what is known in an-Nahw terminology as al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarfالمَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ or what has been translated by more knowledgeable people than myself as the “Un-Nunated Noun”. This noun is a category found in the section of al-Mu’rabaatالمُعْرَبَات. It belongs to the first category of nouns and verbs that are declined by the four Arabic vowel signs; Fathah, Kasrah, Dhammah, and Sukoon, as opposed to the second category which are declined by the three Arabic vowel signs represented by the Arabic letters; Alif, Waw, and Yaa.
An easy way to remember the meaning is to think of the word المَمْنُوعُ as something that is prohibited. The word مِنَ should be familiar to everyone as we have covered its explanation in previous posts. The word الصَّرْفِ has many meanings but here I would say it means to go about or move freely. Literally translated we could say, ‘the prohibition of movement”. Of course other suggestions are always welcomed on this blog.
The author, may Allah have mercy upon him, explains that there are four types of words that are declined by way of the Arabic vowel signs. They are:
1 -The singular noun الإسم المفرد
2 -The broken plural جمع التكسير
3 -The sound feminine plural جمع المؤنث السالم
4 -The present tense verb that does not have any particles attached to it الفعل المضارع الذي لم يتصل بآخره شيئ
The area of focus here is with the first type which the author calls al-Ism al-Mufradالإسم المفرد. Allah willing, maybe in a future post, I can go into detail about the singular noun and what the scholars of the Arabic language wrote regarding it as the subject itself is vast and would take up a lot of time.
At any rate, the author says that all four of these types of words are made nominative (being in the state of ar-Raf’), by placing a Dhammah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, made into the accusative (being in the state of an-Nasb) by placing a Fathah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, made into the genitive (being in the state of al-Khafdh or al-Jarr depending on the school of grammar you follow) by placing a Kasrah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, and finally by placing a Sukoon sign on the last letter of the Arabic word, it enters into the state of al-Jazm.
He then mentions that there is an exception to this rule. The exception here is that three of these words have different rules that apply to them. Since our focus is with the singular noun we will only comment on what the author says about it. He says that the singular noun that is non-nunated, meaning that it does not have a Tanween over it, becomes genitive (being in the state of al-Khafdh or al-Jarr depending on the school of grammar you follow, I know I already said it before!) by placing a Fathah sign on the last letter of the Arabic word as opposed to placing a Kasrah like all the other words.
The Yemeni scholar of an-Nahw, Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Muhammad ar-Ra’eenee al-Maalikee, better known as al-Hattaab (died in 954 A.H.) beautifully summed this up in his Mutammimah, by saying, “There are three categories of nouns that are excluded from this rule, the noun that does not decline, whether it is singular or a broken plural. It therefore is rendered into the state of al-Khafdh by the Fathah sign, as long as it is not made possessive by another noun or if the definite article is added to it.”
This now brings us to another question that is about to open up a whole new can of whoop butt…how do we know the difference between a nunated noun and a un-nunated noun? The scholars went into great lengths about this, but since this is just a rinky-dink blog run by a non-Arab Mexican-American Muslim, I will attempt to briefly break down for you just a portion of what they left for us to benefit from, may Allah have mercy upon them and grant them the highest place in paradise.
The scholars of the Arabic language tell us that when it comes to the singular noun, it consists of two categories:
The first is the nunated noun الإسم المعرب المنصرف which has the Tanween and Kasrah written above it, and can be in the state of ar-Raf’ الرفع indicated by the Dhammah sign, or can be in the state of an-Nasbالنصب indicated by the Fathah sign, or can be in the state of al-Jarrالجر or al-Khafdhالخفض indicated by the Kasrah sign. Some quick examples include the following singular nouns:
ولدٌ -boy
كتابٌ-book
محمدٌ –Muhammad (a male Muslim name)
مسجدٌ –mosque
The second is the un-nunated noun الأسم المعرب الممنوع من الصرف which does not have the Tanween and Kasrah and is in the state of ar-Raf’ indicated by the Dhammah sign. As for the state of an-Nasb and al-Jarr or al-Khafdh, then this is indicated by a Fathah sign.
Al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarfالمَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ is divided into three categories:
A – Name types الأعلام
B – Adjective types الصِّفَات
C – Neither a name nor an adjective type مَا لَيْسَ عَلَمًا وَ لاَ صَفَة
I will now go into each category along with examples, Allah willing.
A – Name types الأعلام are further divided into six:
1 – The name that is based upon the Arabic noun form فُعَلُ Fu’al such as the names:
عُمَرُ ـ زُفَرُ - قُزَحُ - مُضَرُ
زُحَلُ - هُبَلُ
زُحَلُ - هُبَلُ
2 – Names that are based upon Arabic nouns that indicate action taken from the forms أفْعَلُ and يَفْعَلُ and يَفْعِلُ such as:
أحْمَدُ - أنْوَرُ - أسْلَمُ - أكْرَمُ
يَزِيْدُ - يَثْرِبُ - يَنْبَعُ - يَعْرِبُ
يَزِيْدُ - يَثْرِبُ - يَنْبَعُ - يَعْرِبُ
3 – Feminine names ending with Taa Marbootahتاء المربوطة:
عَائشةُ - فاطمةُ - خديجةُ
This type of name is known as a pronounced and actual feminine name تأنيثا لفظيا و حقيقيا معًا.
Then there are the feminine names that are purely feminine but without the Taa Marbootahتأنيثا حقيقيا:
زينب -مريم - سعاد - سوسن
In addition to these two there are also male names that end with Taa Marbootah which are considered feminine in pronunciation but not in meaning تأنيثا لفظيا, such as:
حمزة - معاوية - طلحة - حذيفة
4 – Nouns that have Alif and Noon attached to them, such as:
عثمان - حمدان - صفوان - سليمان
عدنان - مروان - لقمان -نعمان
عدنان - مروان - لقمان -نعمان
5 – Foreign names that consist of four or more Arabic letters such as:
إبراهيم - إدريس - إسماعيل - جورج
So the name of our father Adam آدم, peace be upon him, would be Mamnoo’ min as-Sarf, since it consists of four letters but the name of Prophet Noah نُوْحٌ, peace be upon him would not.
6 – The name consisting of two part nouns such as:
بعلبك - حضرموت - معديكرب
B – Adjective types الصِّفَات are divided into three:
1 – The adjective name that ends in Alif and Noon such as from the root form فَعْلاَنُ for masculine:
عطشان - سكران - جوعان - شبعان
And فُعْلَى for the feminine:
عطشى - سكرى - جوعى - شبعى
2 – The adjective name based on numbers and from the root forms of مَفْعَل and فُعَال such as:
مَثْنَى- ثُلاَث- رُبَاع
3 – The adjective name based on the form of أفْعَلُ for masculine, such as:
أحْمَرُ - أزْرَقُ - أخْضَرُ - أكْبَرُ - أحْسَنُ - أصْغَرُ
And فَعْلاَءُ or فُعْلَى for feminine:
حَمْرَاءُ - زَرْقَاءُ - خَضْرَاءُ - كُبْرَى - حُسْنَى - صُغْرَى
C – Neither a name nor an adjective type مَا لَيْسَ عَلَمًا وَ لاَ صَفَة
This last type consists of three:
1 – The word that ends with what is known as the short feminine Alif ألف التأنيث المقصورة:
كُبْرَى - صُغْرَى - عُلْيَا - حُبْلَى - دعوى
2 – The two plural forms known here as صيغة منتهى الجموع which is from the root form مَفَاعِلُ and مَفَاعِيْلُ or that is from the plural that has two letters or three in the middle that are written with a Sukoon on it, such as:
مساجد - مدارس - شوارع - رسائل - أكارم
مصابيح - مفاتيح - أناشيد - قنابيل - أباريق
مصابيح - مفاتيح - أناشيد - قنابيل - أباريق
3 – The word that ends with what is known as the long feminine Alif ألف التأنيث الممدودة:
صَحْرَاءُ - حَسْنَاءُ - عُلَمَاءُ - أصْدِقَاءُ
So in short, al-Mamnoo’ min as-Sarf is the noun that does not have a Tanween or Kasrah written on the last letter. When the word is in the state of an-Nasb or al-Khafdh, then the Fathah will take the place of the Kasrah.
The only two exceptions when Kasrah is written on the last letter of the verb as we previously mentioned, is when the noun has the definite article ال, such as in the following sentences:
الكتابُ فيِ الغلاَفِ الأحْمَرِ
يَعِيشُ الأعْرَابُ فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ
يَعِيشُ الأعْرَابُ فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ
Or when it is the Mudhaaf of the Idhaafah construction, as in the following sentence:
ذَهَبْتُ إلَى أفْضَلِ العُلَمَاءِ
I am in the process of putting together a chart that I hope will be used as reference for this particular grammatical issue. In the chart I will include example sentences so you can see how the non-nunated words have the vowels written over them. I hope that this response benefited those brothers and the one sister who asked me about this, and Allah knows best.
