What is the khabar of inna (khabar inna wa akhawatiha)?
In one line
Classical definition
Understand it
Take a plain nominal sentence: زَيْدٌ قَائِمٌ (zaydun qa'imun), Zayd is standing. Both words are marfu'.
Now put إِنَّ in front of it: إِنَّ زَيْدًا قَائِمٌ (inna zaydan qa'imun), indeed Zayd is standing. زَيْد has moved into nasab — it is now the اِسْم of إِنَّ. قَائِمٌ has not moved. It is still marfu', and it is now called the خَبَر إِنَّ.
What inna does
إِنَّ takes hold of a nominal sentence: the noun drops into nasab, the khabar stays in rafa.
إِنَّ is one of the نَوَاسِخ (nawasikh), the abrogators — words that enter upon a ready-made nominal sentence and change its ruling.
It is one of six particles, and each carries its own meaning.
إِنَّ and its five sisters
| # | Meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | إِنَّ | inna | emphasis — it confirms that the khabar belongs to the mubtada' and removes doubt about it |
| 2 | أَنَّ | anna | emphasis too, but it must follow an expression its clause depends on — سَرَّنِي، عَلِمْتُ |
| 3 | كَأَنَّ | ka'anna | comparison, or resemblance |
| 4 | لَكِنَّ | lakinna | correction — it removes a misunderstanding created by what came before |
| 5 | لَيْتَ | layta | wishing — for what is impossible, or hard to reach |
| 6 | لَعَلَّ | la'alla | hope or expectation — and sometimes apprehension, when the thing is feared |
All six work the same way — the noun goes into nasab, the khabar stays in rafa. Only the meaning changes.1
All six do the same grammatical work, whatever they mean: nasab on the noun, rafa on the khabar.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Don't confuse it with khabar kana
Do not confuse إِنَّ with كَانَ. They do the exact opposite of one another.
إِنَّ puts its noun in nasab and leaves its khabar in rafa — إِنَّ زَيْدًا قَائِمٌ.
كَانَ puts its noun in rafa and its khabar in nasab — كَانَ زَيْدٌ قَائِمًا.
That is why the noun of إِنَّ and the khabar of كَانَ both appear in the list of mansubat, while the khabar of إِنَّ and the noun of كَانَ both appear here among the marfu'at. One pair of particles, two mirror-image effects.
Related terms
Common questions
Why does the khabar stay in rafa after inna?
Because inna governs the noun, not the information. Its effect reaches the first word and stops there. The khabar keeps the rafa it already had, which is why such a sentence ends up nasab first and rafa second.
Next in the guideاِسْمُ كَانَ وَأَخَوَاتِهَاWhat is the ism of kana (ism kana wa akhawatiha)? →Notes
- The six particles and their meanings follow اَلنَّحْو التَّطْبِيقِي (an-Nahw at-Tatbiqi). ↩
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