Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
حَرْف عَطْف
harf 'atf
Conjunction (harf 'atf)
Nahw · syntaxParticle typecore term9,727+ in the Qur'an
In one line
A conjunction — one of the ten linking particles (و، ف، ثُمَّ، أَوْ…) that make what follows share the case of what precedes.
The classical list
وَحُرُوفُ الْعَطْفِ عَشَرَةٌ وَهِيَ: الْوَاوُ، وَالْفَاءُ، وَثُمَّ، وَأَوْ، وَأَمْ، وَإِمَّا، وَبَلْ، وَلَا، وَلَكِنْ، وَحَتَّى فِي بَعْضِ الْمَوَاضِعِ.
“The conjunctions are ten: waw (and), fa (so/then), thumma (then, later), aw (or), am (or, in questions), imma (either), bal (rather), la (not), lakin (but), and hatta (even — in some contexts).”
(الآجرّومية)
Key words in the Arabic
ثُمَّthen — with a gap in time
بَلْrather — correcting course
فِي بَعْضِ الْمَوَاضِعِin some contexts only
Understand it
Each connector links — but each adds its own flavour: و joins without order, ف joins in immediate sequence, ثُمَّ after a pause, أَوْ offers choice, بَلْ corrects. The grammar is uniform (the ma'tuf copies the case); the meaning is where these ten differ, and Quranic reasoning often turns on exactly which one was chosen.
How to spot it
Recognition test
A small linker between two words of matching case, or two clauses — a harf 'atf.
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