What is the circumstance (hal)?
In one line
Classical definition
Understand it
A verb tells you what happened. The حَال tells you the condition of the one it happened to, or by, at that moment.
جَاءَ زَيْدٌ رَاكِبًا (ja'a zaydun rakiban) — Zayd came riding. رَاكِبًا is not who came and not what he came on; it is the state he was in while coming.
The three shapes of a hal
A hal may be one word, a whole sentence, or a preposition with its noun.
The word being described is the صَاحِب الْحَال (sahib al-hal), the owner of the state, and it is normally definite while the hal itself is indefinite.
A hal is not always one word. It comes in three shapes: a single word — رَاكِبًا; a whole sentence — جَاءَ زَيْدٌ يَضْحَكُ, Zayd came laughing; or a quasi-sentence, a preposition with its noun.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Don't confuse it with the na't
Do not confuse the حَال with the نَعْت (the adjective).
Both describe. The difference is what they attach to and how long the description lasts.
A نَعْت describes a noun as a standing quality, and copies it in everything — definiteness included: جَاءَ الرَّجُلُ الطَّوِيلُ, the tall man came. He is tall whether or not he is coming.
A حَال describes a passing state tied to the moment of the action, is indefinite while its owner is definite, and is always mansub: جَاءَ الرَّجُلُ رَاكِبًا. He was riding only as he came.
Related terms
Common questions
What is the difference between a hal and a description?
A description says what a thing is. A hal says what state it was in at that moment only. A description matches its noun in definiteness; a hal is indefinite and in nasab whatever the noun is doing.
Next in the guideاَلتَّمْيِيزWhat is the specifier (tamyiz)? →Updated