Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
اِسْم شَرْط
ism shart
Conditional noun
Nahw · syntaxWord classcore term325+ in the Qur'an
In one line
A conditional noun — “whoever, whatever, wherever” — tying a condition to its result.
Classical definition
اسْمُ الشَّرْطِ مَا يَرْبِطُ جَوَابًا بِشَرْطٍ وَهُوَ مَبْنِيٌّ، كَمَنْ وَمَا وَمَهْمَا وَأَيْنَ.
“The conditional noun binds a response to a condition, and it is mabni — like مَنْ, مَا, مَهْمَا and أَيْنَ.”
(بتصرف من ابن هشام)
Key words in the Arabic
يَرْبِطُbinds, ties together
جَوَابthe response (result clause)
شَرْطthe condition
Understand it
One word opens two clauses: مَنْ يَعْمَلْ… (“whoever does…”) sets a condition and promises a result. After a jazim conditional both verbs take jazm — that double-jazm is the fingerprint of the conditional nouns, shared with their harf cousin إِنْ. The Quran's promises and warnings lean on this structure again and again.
How to spot it
Recognition test
An “-ever” word followed by two linked clauses; with a jazim conditional, both verbs show jazm.
In the Qur'an
فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُۥ
Az-Zalzala 99:7 — “So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it”
مَنْ is the conditional noun; both verbs — يَعْمَلْ and يَرَ — stand in jazm because of it.
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