Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
حَرْف مَصْدَرِيّ
harf masdari
Subordinating (masdari) particle
Nahw · syntaxParticle typecore term697+ in the Qur'an
In one line
A masdar-maker — a particle (أَنْ, أَنَّ, مَا…) whose clause can be re-read as one verbal noun.
Classical definition
الحَرْفُ المَصْدَرِيُّ مَا يُؤَوَّلُ مَعَ مَا بَعْدَهُ بِمَصْدَرٍ، كَأَنْ وَأَنَّ وَكَيْ وَمَا وَلَوْ.
“The masdari particle is one that, together with what follows it, is interpreted as a masdar — like an, anna, kay, ma and law.”
(بتصرف من ابن هشام)
Key words in the Arabic
يُؤَوَّلُis re-interpreted, resolved into
مَصْدَرa verbal noun
Understand it
أَنْ تَصُومُوا (“that you fast”) can be re-read as one noun: صِيَامُكُمْ (“your fasting”) — and the Quran does the maths for you: وَأَن تَصُومُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ, where the أَنْ-clause serves as mubtada. This “re-reading” (الْمَصْدَر الْمُؤَوَّل) is how whole clauses take noun jobs: subject, object, after prepositions.
How to spot it
Recognition test
أَنْ / أَنَّ / مَا + clause where a noun should be — swap in the masdar and the sentence still reads.
Related terms