What is a manqus ism, and why does its fatha show?
In one line
Definition
Key words in the Arabic
Understand it
الْقَاضِي، الدَّاعِي، السَّاقِي، الْمُهْتَدِي — a ya' at the end, a kasra before it.
The manqus — how it shows its i'rab
| State | Sign | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rafa | damma | الْقَاضِي | understood — too heavy to say |
| nasab | fatha | الْقَاضِيَ | heard — a fatha is light |
| jarr | kasra | الْقَاضِي | understood — too heavy to say |
Two of the three are estimated. Only the nasab is pronounced.
The special cases
Seven categories that express i'rab their own way — by letters instead of vowels, or by not showing it at all.
The reason is not impossibility this time but الثِّقَل (al-thiqal), heaviness. A damma or a kasra on a final ya' is heavy to say, so it is left understood. A fatha is light, so it comes out.
Indefinite, the ya' disappears altogether in rafa and jarr, and the word takes tanwin instead: قَاضٍ in rafa, قَاضٍ in jarr, but قَاضِيًا in nasab — the ya' returning the moment the light fatha needs it.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Two states, one appearance
قَاضٍ is not majrur — and the tanwin is not a tanwin of jarr.
An indefinite manqus loses its ya' in both rafa and jarr, and looks identical in the two: جَاءَ قَاضٍ and مَرَرْتُ بِقَاضٍ.
Only the role separates them. The ending cannot, because the ending is the same.
And in nasab the ya' comes straight back: رَأَيْتُ قَاضِيًا.
Related terms
Common questions
Why is the final ya sometimes missing in writing?
Because it drops when the word is indefinite and in rafa or jarr. The ya returns in nasab, and it stays throughout when the word is definite. What you see on the page depends on the case and the definiteness together.
Next in the guideاَلِاسْم الْمَمْدُودWhat is a mamdud ism? →Updated