Grammar term · Sarf · morphology
جَمْع مُذَكَّر سَالِم
jam' mudhakkar salim
Sound masculine plural
Sarf · morphologyNumber & plural typecore term2,297+ in the Qur'an
Also written: Jam' · Broken plural · Sound plural · Plurals
In one line
The sound masculine plural: the singular stays intact and ونَ / ينَ goes on the end — rafa' by waw, nasb and jarr by ya.
Definition (modern)
هُوَ مَا دَلَّ عَلَى أَكْثَرَ مِنَ اثْنَيْنِ بِزِيَادَةِ وَاوٍ وَنُونٍ أَوْ يَاءٍ وَنُونٍ فِي آخِرِهِ. إِعْرَابُهُ: يُرْفَعُ بِالْوَاوِ، وَيُنْصَبُ وَيُجَرُّ بِالْيَاءِ.
“It is what indicates more than two by the addition of waw and nun, or ya and nun, at its end. Its i'rab: rafa' with waw, nasb and jarr with ya.”
(النحو التطبيقي)
Key words in the Arabic
سَالِمsound — the singular survives intact
بِزِيَادَةِby the addition of
Understand it
It is called salim — sound, unbroken — because the singular sits whole inside it: مُسْلِم survives untouched in مُسْلِمُونَ. The pattern is reserved for male rational beings (and their attributes), which is why the Qur'an's people-words live here: مُؤْمِنُونَ، كَافِرُونَ، صَابِرُونَ. Like the dual, its نَ drops in idafa: مُسْلِمُو مِصْرَ.
How to spot it
Recognition test
ونَ or ينَ on a person-word: waw-ending = rafa', ya-ending = nasb or jarr. The kasra before the ya (ـِينَ) separates it from the dual's ـَيْنِ.
In the Qur'an
لَا يَتَّخِذِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Al Imran 3:28 — “The believers should not take the disbelievers as allies instead of the believers”
One ayah, all three states: ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ rafa' by waw, ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ nasb by ya, ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ jarr by ya.
Related terms
الجَمْع · al-jam'
جَمْع مُؤَنَّث سَالِم · jam' mu'annath salim
جَمْع تَكْسِير · jam' taksir
مُثَنَّى · muthanna
الْأَفْعَال الْخَمْسَة · al-af'al al-khamsa
▶ Watch the lessons
From the free course The Language of Quran — Easier than English (Book 1) (LoQ1), taught by Ustad Muhammad Arjan Ali.