Comprehensive Translation and Sentence-Building Practice

Read the bilingual lesson for Comprehensive Translation and Sentence-Building Practice and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. What Will We Learn in This Section?

● In this section, we will apply all the rules learned so far, including the nominal sentence, iḍāfah, and attached pronouns, to one paragraph.
● We will learn to translate the given paragraph into Arabic sentence by sentence.
● We will learn the dual and plural muḍāf spelling forms used with the names of the family of the Messenger ﷺ and the noble Companions.
● We will study the grammatical explanation of the paragraph in detail.

2. Grammatical Review of the Paragraph, Sentence by Sentence

● Let us review the spelling and case endings of the first sentences of the paragraph:
1. Allah is our Lord: اَللهُ (subject) | our Lord (predicate: iḍāfah) -> اَللهُ رَبُّنَا۔
2. He is our Creator: He (subject: third-person pronoun) | our Creator (predicate: iḍāfah) -> هُوَ خَالِقُنَا۔
3. We are His servants: We (subject: first-person plural pronoun) | His servants (predicate: muḍāf عِبَادُ plus attached pronoun as muḍāf ilayh) -> نَحْنُ عِبَادُهُ۔
4. We are Muslims: We (subject) | Muslims (predicate: sound masculine plural) -> نَحْنُ مُسْلِمُونَ۔
5. Islam is our religion: اَلْإِسْلَامُ (subject) | our religion (predicate: iḍāfah) -> اَلْإِسْلَامُ دِينُنَا۔

3. Mention of the Prophet ﷺ and His Family

● Let us learn the translations of sentences about the Prophet's family:
6. Muḥammad ﷺ is our Prophet: مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ (subject) | our Prophet (predicate: iḍāfah) -> مُحَمَّدٌ ﷺ نَبِيُّنَا۔
7. He is the son of ʿAbdullāh: He (subject) | the son of ʿAbdullāh (predicate: complex iḍāfah) -> هُوَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ۔
8. Fāṭimah and Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with them both, are his two daughters: Fāṭimah and Zaynab (a subject made of two feminine nouns) | his two daughters (predicate: the final nūn of the dual muḍāf بِنْتَانِ is dropped to make بِنْتَا, followed by the attached third-person pronoun as muḍāf ilayh) -> فَاطِمَةُ وَزَيْنَبُ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا بِنْتَاهُ۔

4. Mention of the Noble Companions and the Prophet's Sons-in-Law

● Let us learn the Arabic translations concerning the Rightly Guided Caliphs and relatives of the Prophet ﷺ:
9. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, are his two fathers-in-law: Abū Bakr and ʿUmar (subject) | his two fathers-in-law (predicate: the Arabic word is حَمٌ; the final nūn of its dual حَمَوَانِ is dropped to make حَمَوَا, followed by the attached pronoun as muḍāf ilayh) -> أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا حَمَوَاهُ۔
10. ʿUthmān and ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with them both, are his two sons-in-law: ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (subject) | his two sons-in-law (predicate: the Arabic word is صِهْرٌ; the final nūn of its dual صِهْرَانِ is dropped to make صِهْرَا, followed by the attached pronoun as muḍāf ilayh) -> عُثْمَانُ وَعَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا صِهْرَاهُ۔

5. Lesson Summary

● The Arabic translation of this paragraph has taught us to:
○ First identify the basic nominal-sentence order, subject and predicate, when forming Arabic sentences from English.
○ Then apply the dual and plural rules for dropping the final nūn of a muḍāf and attaching a pronoun.
○ We have practised these rules with dual muḍāf forms such as بِنْتَاهُ, 'his two daughters,' حَمَوَاهُ, 'his two fathers-in-law,' and صِهْرَاهُ, 'his two sons-in-law.'

Practice questions

Question 1

Allah is our Lord

Question 2

We are His servants

Question 3

Islam is our religion

Question 4

He is the son of ʿAbdullāh

Question 5

ʿUthmān and ʿAlī are his two sons-in-law

Question 6

What spelling change occurs in بِنْتَاهُ, 'his two daughters,' when an attached pronoun joins the dual muḍāf?

The final nūn of بِنْتَانِ is dropped, and the pronoun attaches to the alif
It becomes بَنَاتٌ
It becomes بِنْتُهُ

Question 7

Match the following English sentences with their correct Arabic translations:

Question 8

Sort the following muḍāf predicates according to number into dual and plural groups:

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