Using Attached Pronouns as the Muḍāf Ilayh and Their Spelling Rules

1. What Will We Learn in This Section?

● In this section, we will learn to use attached pronouns as the muḍāf ilayh instead of an explicit noun.
● We will learn the complete grammar chart of attached accusative and genitive pronouns used as the muḍāf ilayh.
● We will study in detail the spelling and pronunciation rules of the third-person masculine singular pronoun ـهُ.
● We will learn the important changes caused by the first-person singular yāʾ (yāʾ al-mutakallim), ـي, and the special rules for dual and plural muḍāf forms.

2. Introduction to Pronouns in the Iḍāfah

● In an iḍāfah, a pronoun may be used in place of an explicit noun as the muḍāf ilayh.
● For example:
○ Zayd's book -> كِتَابُ زَيْدٍ (An explicit noun is the muḍāf ilayh.)
○ His book -> كِتَابُهُ (A pronoun is the muḍāf ilayh.)
● Since the muḍāf ilayh is always genitive, the pronouns used in an iḍāfah are called attached accusative and genitive pronouns because they are written joined to the muḍāf.

3. Chart of Accusative and Genitive Pronouns

● Compare all the pronouns that attach to the muḍāf:

PersonGenderSingularDualPlural
Third personMasculineـهُ (his/its)ـهُمَا (theirs, two)ـهُمْ (theirs)
Third personFeminineـهَا (hers/its)ـهُمَا (theirs, two)ـهُنَّ (theirs)
Second personMasculineـكَ (your)ـكُمَا (yours, two)ـكُمْ (yours, all)
Second personFeminineـكِ (your)ـكُمَا (yours, two)ـكُنَّ (yours, all)
First personMasculine/feminineـي (my/me)ـنَا (our/us, two)ـنَا (our/us, all)

● Note: The same pronoun ـنَا is used for first-person dual and plural, for both masculine and feminine.

4. Spelling Rules for the Third-Person Masculine Singular Pronoun (ـهُ)

● The third-person masculine singular pronoun ـهُ follows these four rules in writing and pronunciation:
1. Long ḍammah on the pronoun (ُ): If the preceding letter has a ḍammah or fatḥah, as in كِتَابُهُ, 'his book' in the nominative, and كِتَابَهُ in the accusative.
2. Long kasrah on the pronoun: If the preceding letter has a kasrah, as in كِتَابِهِ, 'his book' in the genitive.
3. Long kasrah after a silent yāʾ: If the pronoun follows a silent yāʾ, as in كِتَابَيْهِ, 'his two books' in the genitive.
4. Regular ḍammah on the pronoun: If the pronoun follows an alif or another silent letter, as in كِتَابَاهُ, 'his two books,' and مِنْهُ, 'from him.'

5. Spelling Rules for Dual, Plural, and First-Person Pronouns

● Changing the pronoun vowel to kasrah: If هُمَا, هُمْ, or هُنَّ follows a kasrah or a silent yāʾ, its ḍammah changes to kasrah for easier pronunciation. They are read as هِمَا, هِمْ, and هِنَّ, as in بِهِمَا, بِهِمْ, بِهِنَّ, عَلَيْهِمَا, عَلَيْهِمْ, and عَلَيْهِنَّ.
● First-person singular yāʾ (yāʾ al-mutakallim), ـي: This pronoun requires a kasrah on the preceding letter, so the form appears the same in all three grammatical cases, as in كِتَابِي.
● Dropping the final nūn of dual and plural forms: When a dual or sound masculine plural becomes a muḍāf, its final nūn is dropped, and a fatḥah appears on the alif or silent yāʾ before the first-person singular yāʾ. For example: كِتَابَا + ي -> كِتَابَايَ, 'my two books,' and بَنُونَ + ي -> بَنِيَّ, 'my sons.'