Grammar term · Nahw · syntax
مُتَعَلِّق بِـ
muta'alliq bi-
Attached/related to (ta'alluq)
Nahw · syntaxClause/structurecore term552+ in the Qur'an
In one line
Ta'alluq is the hook: every jarr phrase or zarf hangs off a verb or verb-like word that completes its meaning.
The rule (modern)
شِبْهُ الْجُمْلَةِ لَيْسَ هُوَ الْخَبَرَ عَلَى الْحَقِيقَةِ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِمَحْذُوفٍ تَقْدِيرُهُ (اسْتَقَرَّ) أَوْ (مُسْتَقِرٌّ)، هَذَا الْمَحْذُوفُ هُوَ الْخَبَرُ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ، وَشِبْهُ الْجُمْلَةِ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِهِ.
“The quasi-sentence is not really the khabar itself; rather it attaches to an omitted word, understood as istaqarra ('is situated') or mustaqirr ('situated'). That omitted word is the true khabar, and the quasi-sentence attaches to it.”
(النحو التطبيقي)
Key words in the Arabic
مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِـattached to, hanging from
مَحْذُوفٍ تَقْدِيرُهُomitted, understood as
Understand it
A jarr phrase never floats free: فِي الْبَيْتِ means nothing until something anchors it — sat in the house, hidden in the house. That anchor is its muta'allaq: a verb or verb-like word (masdar, participle), stated or hidden. The pin shows the famous hidden case — say مُحَمَّدٌ فِي الْبَيْتِ and the real khabar is an unspoken مُسْتَقِرٌّ to which the jarr phrase attaches. The i'rab formula is: shibh al-jumla muta'alliq bi-mahdhuf khabar.
How to spot it
Recognition test
For every jarr-majrur or zarf, ask 'attached to what?'. A stated verb nearby usually answers it; where a khabar, sila, hal or sifa is just a jarr phrase, supply the hidden اسْتَقَرَّ / مُسْتَقِرٌّ.
In the Qur'an
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
Al-Fatihah 1:2 — “All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds”
لِلَّهِ attaches to a hidden khabar — praise IS established for Allah — the muta'allaq the i'rab must name.
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