Liana

15th June, 2011

Asalaamu Alaykum,

I'm confused about why "atharna" is conjugated in the 3rd person feminine form. What exactly is it referring to? Is it the horses that are raising the dust? Or the horses' hooves? And if it's referring to either of these things, aren't non-human plurals supposed to be conjugated in the feminine singular form? I'm really confused, so any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!

Asim Iqbal 2nd

16th June, 2011

Wa'alaykum assalaam!

Following is just an attempt, And ALLAH Knows the Exact Truth

Root is tha war ra . Weight of perfect 3rd person feminine plural in form IV is af'alna but since a weak letter has come as 2nd letter, the word is written as atharna (derivation: athwarna->athawrna->atharna)

It is written with weight of feminine plural since feminine weight is also used to increase intensity, e.g. khaleefat (Also see Wright's Arabic Grammar Vol 1, Page 139 where he comments on this very weight (faa'il and faa'ilat) and that ta is also

used to signify intensiveness or strenghthen the intensiveness further. since faa'il is not intensive, faa'ilat here is used to signify intensiveness i.e. 'aadiyaat. And remaining qualities are also described in feminine plural after 'aadiyaat. If weight

was fu'laan like furqaan, the ta may have increased the intensiveness further.

Rule of Grammar you asked about :

for ghair 'aaqil creations' (Other than humans, angels and jinn) broken plural, only fail is usually feminine singular, but this is not broken plural and nor are the horses described by name, rather the qualities are described.

2 options either the horsemen, since they are driving the horses and the producing of sparks via swords at high speeds when they strike the enemies swords or shileds, or protective metal clothing etc. looks more probable than assuming the

reference to sparks produced by horses' hoofs striking on rocks etc. or horses is the 2nd option , but still horses ridden by warriors.

Asim Iqbal 2nd

16th June, 2011

Lane's Lexicon giving the 2 options for 'aadiyaat,

1. The 1st, of the horsemen, that charge, or assault, in a hostile, or predatory, incursion, especially. (I prefer 1st)

2. or horses making a hostile, or predatory, incursion.

Reference:

Lane's Lexicon, V5, Page 1980, Column 3.

Wright's Arabic Grammar, Volume 1, page 139

See also, Tafsir Ibn Kathir:

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=100&tid=59035

Others may add to discussion and correct me if I am wrong at any place.

By the way what is the meaning of your name liana as I saw this name for the 1st time?

Mazhar A. Nurani

16th June, 2011

Pl relate it to "Harmattan winds" and see if it portrays complete scene when they start blowing.

Liana

16th June, 2011

SubhanAllah. I thought I had a pretty good foundation in Arabic grammar, but I guess when it comes to the Qur'an I've barely scratched the surface. jazakAllahu khayr for your answer, it is much appreciated.

In answer to your question, my name, Liana, is a type of vine that winds around things. I'm a convert, and I didn't change my name, which is probably why you haven't seen it before amongst Muslims.

Asim Iqbal 2nd

17th June, 2011

When we start to read the Qur'an, we start with bismillah in which Ar Rahmaan and Ar Raheem come. Both come from the root ra ha miim. One on the weight fa'laan and one on the weight fa'eel. Both are intensive but what is the shade of intensiveness. Which Arabic grammar book tells the difference in satisfactory detail like they tell the difference for verbal forms? So I mean if arabic grammar books don't cover rules to better interpret weights, students will have very little knowledge in some areas while gain much experience in other basics areas, but isn't bismillah the basics also? So 1 solution is that some works be done gathering same weight words together , this specially has to be done for intensive weights to understand better how Qur'an uses the weight.