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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