Nahw · syntaxSyntactic rolecore term2,894+ in the Qur'an
Also written: Sifah and Mawsuf · Na't · Adjective phrase · Murakkab Tawsifi · Descriptive phrase · Sifa
In one line
The adjective — a follower that describes its noun and copies its case, number and definiteness.
Classical definition
النَّعْتُ تَابِعٌ لِلْمَنْعُوتِ فِي رَفْعِهِ وَنَصْبِهِ وَخَفْضِهِ وَتَعْرِيفِهِ وَتَنْكِيرِهِ.
“The na't follows the described noun in its raf', its nasb, its khafd, its definiteness and its indefiniteness.”
(الآجرّومية)
Key words in the Arabic
تَابِعa follower
الْمَنْعُوتthe noun being described
تَعْرِيفِهِ وَتَنْكِيرِهِits definiteness and indefiniteness
Understand it
An adjective in Arabic trails its noun and matches it in four things at once: case, gender, number, and definiteness. This agreement is how you know which noun an adjective belongs to.
How to spot it
Recognition test
A describing word that comes after its noun and mirrors its case and definiteness is a na't.
In the Qur'an
فِى كِتَٰبٍ مَّكْنُونٍ
Al-Waqi'ah 56:78 — “in a well-protected Book”
مَّكْنُونٍ describes كِتَٰبٍ and copies its jarr and indefiniteness.
Don't confuse it with
A na't describes a fixed quality of its own noun; a حال describes the temporary state of someone during an action.
Related terms
▶ Watch the lessons
From the free course The Language of Quran — Easier than English (Book 1) (LoQ1), taught by Ustad Muhammad Arjan Ali.
Common questions
What can and cannot fill each slot?
The mawsuf cannot be a pronoun, demonstrative or relative noun; the sifa cannot be a proper noun, pronoun, demonstrative or relative noun. The mawsuf MAY be a proper noun: مُحَمَّدٌ الرَّسُولُ.
How do I tell a descriptive phrase from a nominal sentence?
Check definiteness. All four properties match (including definiteness) = phrase: اَلْمَسْجِدُ الْكَبِيرُ, “the big mosque”. First part definite, second indefinite, both raf' = sentence: اَلْمَسْجِدُ كَبِيرٌ, “the mosque is big”.
Domain: Nahw · Category: Syntactic role · Frequency in the Qur'an: 2,894 · Source: الآجرّومية, cross-checked against the Quranic corpus · Reviewed by Ustad M. Arjan Ali