اِسْم كَانَ
ism kana
Subject of kana & sisters
Nahw · syntaxSyntactic rolecore term1,198+ in the Qur'an
Also written: Kana wa Akhawatuha · Kana · Defective verbs
In one line
The subject of kana and her sisters — raised to raf' by the verb.
Classical definition
كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا تَرْفَعُ الاسْمَ وَتَنْصِبُ الخَبَرَ.
(الآجرّومية)
How to spot it
Recognition test
After كان / أصبح / ظلّ …, the first noun, in raf', is the ism kana.
In the Qur'an
وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Al-Ahzab 33:73 — “And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful”
ٱللَّهُ is the ism of كان, in raf'; غَفُورًا is its khabar, in nasb.
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