Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
عَطْف بَيَان
'atf bayan
Explanatory apposition
Nahw · syntaxSyntactic roleadvanced term41+ in the Qur'an
In one line
Explanatory apposition — a second, clearer name for the same thing, agreeing in case.
Classical definition
عَطْفُ البَيَانِ تَابِعٌ جَامِدٌ يُشْبِهُ النَّعْتَ فِي إِيضَاحِ مَتْبُوعِهِ أَوْ تَخْصِيصِهِ.
“Atf al-bayan is a rigid (non-derived) follower which, like the adjective, clarifies or specifies the word it follows.”
(بتصرف من الألفية)
Key words in the Arabic
جَامِدrigid — not derived from a root pattern
إِيضَاحclarifying
تَخْصِيصspecifying
Understand it
Sometimes a name needs a clearer name beside it: أَبُو حَفْصٍ عُمَرُ — “Abu Hafs, (that is,) Umar”. The second noun explains the first, matching its case, like an adjective that happens to be a noun. It differs from badal mainly in intent: bayan re-labels to clarify; badal re-states to substitute.
How to spot it
Recognition test
Two names for one referent side by side, second clarifying the first, cases matching — atf bayan.
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