What is a descriptive phrase (murakkab tawsifi)?
In one line
Classical definition
Understand it
A noun is named, then a second word describes it. The noun described is the مَنْعُوت (man'ut); the word describing it is the نَعْت (na't).
The two parts
The man'ut is the noun being described; the na't is the word describing it. The na't follows it in definiteness, i'rab, number and gender.
In رَجُلٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ (rajulun mujtahidun), “a hard-working man”, رَجُل is the man'ut and مُجْتَهِد is the na't. Unlike English, the description comes after the noun.
The na't copies the man'ut in four things at once: definiteness, i'rab, number and gender. Change the noun and the description changes with it.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
In the language — فِي اللُّغَة
The word وَصْف (wasf) in everyday Arabic means a description of something.
وَصَفَ الطَّبِيبُ الدَّوَاءَ (wasafa al-tabibu al-dawa') — “the doctor prescribed the medicine”
As a grammatical term it means a word joined to a noun to describe it.
Common questions
How do I know the second word is describing the first, and not starting a new statement?
By agreement. A description matches its noun in definiteness, gender, number and i'rab — all four of them. If the second word is indefinite while the first is definite, it is not describing it, and what you have is a sentence.
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