What is a demonstrative (ism ishara)?
In one line
Classical definition
Key words in the Arabic
Understand it
Arabic demonstratives — هَٰذَا (this), ذَٰلِكَ (that), هَٰؤُلَاءِ (these) — are nouns in their own right, and they are mabni: their ending never changes whatever the sentence does. They agree in gender and number with what they point at, and they carry distance: the opening هـ points near, the ك of ذَٰلِكَ points far. When Surat al-Baqara opens ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبُ, the far word honours the Book: “that (exalted) Book”. The demonstratives for near and far are used more than 1,060 times in the Quran — one or two on nearly every page of the mushaf.
Near and far, by gender and number
| Near | Far | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | هَذَا | ذَاكَ / ذَلِكَ |
| Feminine singular | هَذِهِ | تِيكَ / تِلْكَ |
| Masculine dual | هَذَانِ | ذَانِكَ |
| Feminine dual | هَاتَانِ | تَانِكَ |
| Plural, both genders | هَؤُلَاءِ | أُولَئِكَ |
The opening هَا is a separate particle of attention, not part of the demonstrative — which is why ذَا and هَذَا are both correct. The ك on the far forms is not part of it either: it addresses the listener. Only ذَاكَ and تِيكَ may then take the ل of distance, giving ذَلِكَ and تِلْكَ.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
In the language — فِي اللُّغَة
The word إِشَارَة (ishara) in everyday Arabic means a gesture — pointing at something with the hand.
أَشَارَ إِلَيْهِ (ashara ilayhi) — “he pointed at him”
As a grammatical term it means an ism that does the pointing in words instead of with the hand.
Related terms
▶ Watch the lessons
From the free course The Language of Quran — Easier than English (Book One) (LoQ1), taught by Ustadh Muhammad Arjan Ali.
Common questions
How do I know whether هذا الكتاب means “this book” or “this is the book”?
هَٰذَا + definite noun is normally the phrase “this book”; with an INDEFINITE noun (هَٰذَا كِتَابٌ) it is a complete sentence. A pronoun of separation (هَٰذَا هُوَ الْكِتَابُ) or context marks the sentence reading with a definite noun.
Next in the guideالْأَسْمَاء الْمَوْصُولَةWhat is a relative noun (ism mawsul)? →Updated