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The substitution of أ
The أ can be substituted for following letters:
ا و ي ( Many examples of such substitutions via conversions and many examples found in the Qur'an also. )
ه ( Very few examples of such substitutions and 1 word مَآء with this substitution found in the Qur'an also. )
ع ( Extremely few examples of such substitutions provided by some scholars. )
1. The أ is necessarily substituted for و and ي when they are final ل of a root and pattern in a word after an augmentative ا , whether the initial of the word is pronounced with fatha, kasra or damma. This substitution is done for a ل of a root and pattern in a word, not with ع as final with elided/dropped ل . Conversion is also done with adventitious/separable ة but not with inseparable ة . Conversion is allowably also done with separable ان of dualization (when the word is not originally formed as a dual). Separable ة etc. can be simply explained that the word with it and without it both exist, while inseparable means that only word with it exists and word without it does not exist at all or does not exist in the same sense or meaning shade.
Note: ا أ = آء
Examples:
بَنَّآء with أ substituted for ي , was originally بَنَّاي and has pattern فَعَّال and root ب ن ي .
سَمَآء with أ substituted for و , was originally سَمَاو and has pattern فَعَال and root س م و .
تِلْقَآء with أ substituted for ي , was originally تِلْقَاي , and has pattern تِفْعَال and root ل ق ي .
دُعَآء with أ substituted for و , was originally دُعَاو , and has pattern فُعَال and root د ع و .
شِفَآء with أ substituted for ي , was originally شِفَاي , and has pattern فِعَال and root ش ف ي .
بَنَّآءَة with أ substituted for ي , was originally بَنَّايَة , and has pattern فَعَّالَة and root ب ن ي .
كِسَآءَان with أ substituted optionally for و i.e. original form كِسَاوَان can also be written, was originally كِسَاوَان , and has pattern فِعَالَان and root ك س و .
Advanced Notes on point 1 (Optional reading) :
First, ا is substituted for و and ي via conversion and then changed to أ .The و and ي are mobile after fatha with no barrier except quiescent and augmentative ا which is not an insuperable barrier because of its quiescence and augmentativeness. Moreover, they are in the seat of alteration i.e. end of the word. The 2 quiescents then occurring together, the 2nd of them is converted to أ . The ا and أ are from the same outlet.
2. The أ is necessarily substituted for و and ي when they are ع of a pattern and root in a form I active participle فَاعِل , for which the corresponding perfect form I verb has its و or ي at ع location converted to ا giving فَالَ . This conversion in فَاعِل is still done even if there is ة or plural augments ون / ين / ات etc or dual augments ان / يْن attached to the active participle.
This substitution is also current in patterns فَاعِل and فَاعِلَة etc. even when they are not active participle.
Examples:
قَآئِل with أ substituted for و , was originally قَاوِل , and has pattern فَاعِل and root ق و ل .
غَآئِبِين with أ substituted for ي , was originally غَايِبِين , and has pattern فَاعِلِين and root غ ي ب .
قَآئِمَة with أ substituted for و , was originally قَاوِمَة , and has pattern فَاعِلَة and root ق و م .
مَآئِدَة with أ substituted for ي , was originally مَايِدَة , and has pattern فَاعِلَة and root م ي د .
Advanced Notes on point 2 (Optional reading) :
First, ا is substituted for و and ي via conversion and then changed to أ .The و and ي are mobile after fatha with no barrier except quiescent and augmentative ا which is not an insuperable barrier because of its quiescence and augmentativeness.
3. The أ is necessarily substituted for augmentative ا and و and ي when they occur after ا in plural patterns similar to مَفَاعِل in terms of letters and harkaat e.g. patterns like فَعَاوِل and فَعَايِل which are converted to فَعَآئِل , while in singular they are augmentative letter of prolongation as 3rd letter in the word like فَعُول and فَعِيلَة .
Examples:
شَعَآئِر on pattern فَعَآئِل converted from فَعَايِل which is plural of شَعِيرَة on pattern فَعِيلَة with root ش ع ر .
قَلَآئِد on pattern فَعَآئِل which is plural of قِلَادَة on pattern فِعَالَة with root ق ل د .
عَجَآئِز on pattern فَعَآئِل converted from فَعَاوِل which is plural of عَجُوز on pattern فَعُول with root ع ج ز .
4. The أ is necessarily substituted for و and ي which occur as 2nd of 2 soft letters separated by ا in plural patterns similar to مَفَاعِل in terms of letters and harkaat. With ع of root and pattern also a و or ي , the possible substitutions can be explained like below :
فَوَآئِل which can be originally فَوَاوِل or فَوَايِل .
فَيَآئِل which can be originally فَيَاوِل or فَيَايِل .
5. When 2 و come together at the beginning of a word i.e. as 1st and 2nd letter of a word.
1st of them is of course mobile i.e. has a vowel and is not quiescent.
If 2nd is also mobile OR
is quiescent or letter of prolongation but :
original as a و /
a و inseparable from the formation /
a و that is not an augmentative letter of prolongation converted from another letter i.e. is not an unoriginal letter of prolongation
Then the 1st و is necessarily converted to أ .
In most other cases of 2 و together, it is allowed to convert 1st و to أ .
Example:
أَوَاصِل with أ substituted for و , was originally وَوَاصِل and has pattern فَوَاعِل and root و ص ل . It is plural of وَاصِل on pattern فَاعِل .
6. Some allowable conversions of و to أ are explained via examples below:
أَثْؤُب with أ substituted for و , was originally أَثْوُب and has pattern أَفْعُل and root ث و ب . It is plural of ثَوْب on pattern فَعْل .
سُؤُوق with أ substituted for و , was originally سُوُوق and has pattern فُعُول and root س و ق. It is plural of سَاق .
Note: ؤ is written in word instead of أ due to damma on it and it being 1 of the middle letters in a word. Similarly قَائِل is written instead of قَاإِل (can't write it like this in Arabic) due to kasra on it and it being 1 of the middle letters in a word.
7. أَحَد and إِحْدَى used in The Qur'an with substitution of أ for و . See below.
أَحَد with أ substituted for و , was originally وَحَد , and has pattern فَعَل and root و ح د .
إِحْدَى with أ substituted for و , was originally وِحْدَى , and has pattern فِعْلَى and root و ح د .
The remaining words from the same root و ح د used in The Qur'an are used without substitution and these include:
وَحْد on pattern فَعْل .
وَحِيد on pattern فَعِيل .
وَاحِد on pattern فَاعِل .
وَاحِدَة on pattern فَاعِلَة .
8. مَآء used in the Qur'an with substitution of أ for ه and substitution via conversion of ا for و was originally مَوَه and has pattern فَعَل and root م و ه .
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Substitution can be recognized by :
1. Usage of original letter instead of substitute letter in some of the variations of the word containing the substitute. This return (reversion) to original letter in a word or words can be:
i. Always (invariably) e.g. plural of a word always with original letter.
OR
ii. Mostly (prevalently) e.g. form of the word with original used more frequently than form of the word with the substitute letter. By rarity (paucity) of usage of word with substitute instead of the original letter.
The word with the original letter and with the substitute letter are synonyms
Example:
دَنَانِير plural of دِينَار (Islamic gold coin) which is originally دِنَّار and its root is د ن ر and ي is substitute for the 1st ن in the singular, while in the plural, the ن is restored.
And if this reversion is not established, then these are 2 original forms with different root letter in 1 location of the root. None is substitute for the other, both are different roots with 1 root letter different in both. All variations occur with both letters and none of the 2 can be proven to be substitute for the other.
2. When 1 letter is contained in a derivative of a root, while a different letter in all the other derivatives of the root or paradigms of its derivation, then that letter in the word is a substitute.
Example:
مُهَيْمِن (Controller, Watcher over, Guardian over, Granter of Security/Safety/Protection) of pattern مُفَيْعِل from root أ م ن with ه substituted for أ . Only this word and its related words like هَيْمَنَ and مُهَيْمَن etc. are used with ه while almost all other words from this root are used with أ . Proving ه is substitute for أ .
3. When the word containing the substitute is derived from another word in which the original letter was an augmentative letter, then that letter is a substitute for an augmentative letter.
Example:
ضُوَيْرِب (small/tiny striker) which is diminutive of ضَارِب (striker) with root ض ر ب has و substituted for augmentative ا .
4. Sometimes original letter appears in derivative while in the original form substitute is used.
Example:
مَآء (water) is original form which has substitute letters while its derived form i.e. diminutive مُوَيْه has original root letters which are م و ه , while the original form has substituted (via conversion) ا for و and substituted أ for ه . The diminutive usually restores original root letters in it.
Do you see importance of this concept now? You can't even know water's original root letters without understanding concept of substitution. Is it an advanced topic or one of the basics?
5. When an unknown pattern will be there if a letter in the word is not judged to be a substitute.
Example:
اِصْطَبَرَ (he took/acquired patience) which is originally اِصْتَبَرَ has ط substituted for ت and root is ص ب ر . This is easily identifiable as there is no such pattern اِفْطَعَلَ in Arabic.
Substitution is used for various reasons which may include:
1. Lightening the pronunciation of a word.
2. Conformity of the letters, and their approximation in : outlet or qualities
InshaALLAH more details to be discussed in coming posts.
InshaALLAH! in this series these 3 important features of Arabic will be discussed. This is not an advanced topic, but one of the basics, since these 3 concepts have been used in the Qur'an. Knowing these concepts is important for identifying roots also.
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Substitution and Conversion:
The term Conversion is only used for conversions between these 4:
أ ا و ي
and examples of conversion into each of them are found in The Qur'an. Conversion is also a kind of Substitution. Conversion is transmutation of the letter into the form of another letter.
Substitution in its main sense is used for substituting a letter in the place of another letter. It is replacement by removal. The original letter is removed and in its place, the substitute letter is placed. Different lists exist on letters that can become substitute for another letter. Different scholars have presented different lists. 1 such list is:
أ ا ت ج د ز س ص ط ل م ن ه و ي
Some of the letters used in The Qur'an as substitute for another letter, in other than conversion role include :
أ ت ص ه ي
Every conversion is a substitution, but every substitution is not a conversion. Conversion is a type and subcategory of substitution.
Incorporation:
2 similar letters are combined together, making one doubled letter, represented by shaddah above it.
ـّ Shaddah شَدَّة is used to indicate doubling of a letter .
Substitution for the Sake of Incorporation:
In some cases, the 2 letters are not the same and 1 of the 2 letters is substituted for the other also and then both letters combined together.
Substitution : Replacement by Removal
Conversion : Transmutation
Incorporation: Combining/Doubling
Substitution for Incorporation : Replacement by Removal , then combining the similar letters.
Alteration is more appropriate/suitable in the final and least appropriate/suitable in the initial, i.e. the more a letter is towards the end, the more chances of alteration in it.
Relevant details of all will inshaALLAH be discussed in coming posts on this series.
The main books used while preparing this series are Howell's Arabic Grammar Book 6 and Book 7.
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Both ه and ل have very limited examples in which some consider them as augmentative letters.
1. Examples of ه include the following according to the scholars who consider it augmentative in them. These are not agreed upon since differing opinions of scholars exist on them.
فُعْلَهَات - أُمَّهَات - أ م م
فَهْعَال - أَهْرَاق - أ ر ق
هِفْعَالَة - هِلْقَامَة - ل ق م
فَعْهَل - سَلْهَب - س ل ب
2. Examples of ل include the following according to the scholars who consider it augmentative in them. These are not agreed upon since differing opinions of scholars exist on them.
فَعْلَل - طَيْسَل - ط ي س
فَعْلَل - هَيْقَل - ه ي ق
Further study:
The interested readers can study more on:
Roots and Patterns in Pattern wise, Root wise and Letter wise Concordance of The Qur'an .
Augmentativeness in Howell's Arabic Grammar , Book 6, Chapter VIII, The Augmentativeness of Letters, pages 1091 to 1181.
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The س as Augmentative Letter
The س can be judged to be augmentative in cases like below. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to س
مُسْتَفْعِل - مُستَكْبِر - ك ب ر
مُسْتَفْعَل - مُسْتَضْعَف - ض ع ف
مُسْتَفْعِلَة - مُسْتَبْشِرَة - ب ش ر
ٱسْتَفْعَل - ٱسْتَبْرَق - ب ر ق
ٱسْتِفْعَال - ٱسْتِبْدَال - ب د ل
ٱسْتَفْعَلَ - ٱسْتَحْوَذَ - ح و ذ
ٱسْتَفْعِلْ - ٱسْتَخْلِصْ - خ ل ص
نَسْتَفْعِلُ - نَسْتَدْرِجُ - د ر ج
تَسْتَفْعِلُ - تَسْتَرْضِعُ - ر ض ع
يَسْتَفْعِلُ - يَسْتَصْرِخُ - ص ر خ
فِعْلَاس - قِسْطَاس - ق س ط
فُعْلُوس - قُدْمُوس - ق د م
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The ت as Augmentative Letter
The ت can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
1. The augmentative ت comes as 1st letter of a word. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ت .
تِفْعَال - تِبْيَان - ب ي ن
تَفْعِيل - تَبْدِيل - ب د ل
تَفَعُّل - تَحَصُّن - ح ص ن
تَفَاعُل - تَكَاثُر - ك ث ر
تَفْعَئِلُّ - تَقْشَعِرُّ - ق ش ر with ع substituted for augmentative أ
تَفْعِلُ - تَحْلِقُ - ح ل ق
تَفْعُلُ - تَحْرُثُ - ح ر ث
تَفْعَلُ - تَسْرَحُ - س ر ح
تُفَعِّلُ - تُصَعِّرُ - ص ع ر
تُفَاعِلُ - تُخَالِطُ - خ ل ط
تُفْعِلُ - تُصْعِدُ - ص ع د
تَفَعَّلُ - تَجَسَّسُ - ج س س
تَفَاعَلَ - تَبَارَكَ - ب ر ك
تَفَعَّلَ - تَقَبَّلَ - ق ب ل
تَفَعْلُل - تَدَحْرُج - د ح ر ج
تَفَعْلَلَ - تَدَحْرَجَ - د ح ر ج
2. The augmentative ت comes as 1st letter and 2nd letter of a word. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ت .
تَتَفَعَّلُ - تَتَقَلَّبُ - ق ل ب
تَتَفَاعَلُ - تَتَجَاوَزُ - ج و ز
3. The augmentative ت comes as one of the middle letters of a word. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ت .
ٱسْتِفْعَال - ٱسْتِغْفَار - غ ف ر
ٱفْتِعَال - ٱنْتِقَام - ن ق م
4. The augmentative ت comes as last letter of a word. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ت .
فَعَّالَة - نَضَّاخَة - ن ض خ
فَعَلَات - عَرَفَات - ع ر ف
فَعَلُوت - مَلَكُوت - م ل ك
فِعْلِيت - عِفْرِيت - ع ف ر
فَعَالَة - شَهَادَة - ش ه د
فِعَالَة - رِسَالَة - ر س ل
فَعِيلَة - خَبِيثَة - خ ب ث
فَعِيلَات - خَبِيثَات - خ ب ث
فَعْلَة - خَيْرَة - خ ي ر
فَعْلَات - خَيْرَات - خ ي ر
فَاعِلَة - قَاصِرَة - ق ص ر
مَفْعُولَة - مَقْصُورَة - ق ص ر
فَنْعَلُوت - عَنْكَبُوت - ع ك ب
فَعَلْتَ - ضَرَبْتَ - ض ر ب
فَعَلَتْ - ضَرَبَتْ - ض ر ب
فُعِلَتْ - ضُرِبَتْ - ض ر ب
5. The augmentative ت comes as 1st letter and also as one of the middle letters of a word.
تَفْتَعِلُ - تَغْتَسِلُ - غ س ل
تَسْتَفْعِلُ - تَسْتَضْرِعُ - ض ر ع
6. The augmentative ت comes as 1st letter and also as last letter of a word.
تَفْعُلَة - تَهْلُكَة - ه ل ك
تَفْعِلَة - تَبْصِرَة - ب ص ر
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The ن as Augmentative Letter
The ن can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
1. When ن is the last letter of a word and 3 or more root letters come before it. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ن .
فَعْلَان - رَحْمَان - ر ح م
فُعْلَان - بُرْهَان - ب ر ه
فِعْلَان - عِصْيَان - ع ص ي
فَعَلَان - رَمَضَان - ر م ض
فَعِلَان - قَطِرَان - ق ط ر
فَعْلُون - زَيْتُون - ز ي ت
فِعْلِين - غِسْلِين - غ س ل
فِعْلُون - عِشْرُون - ع ش ر
فُعْلُون - عُرْجُون - ع ر ج
فَاعِلُون - سَاجِدُون - س ج د
فَاعِلِين - سَاجِدِين - س ج د
فَاعِلَان - سَاجِدَان - س ج د
فَاعِلَيْن - سَاجِدَيْن - س ج د
فَعْلَلَان - زَعْفَرَانَ - ز ع ف ر
2. The ن also comes as augmentative letter in locations other than last letter location in a word.
مُنْفَعِل - مُنْفَطِر - ف ط ر
مُنْفَعَل - مُنْقَلَب - ق ل ب
ٱنْفِعَال - ٱنْقِلَاب - ق ل ب
فَنْعَلُوت - عَنْكَبُوت - ع ك ب
فِنْعَال - قِنْطَار - ق ط ر
فِنْعِيل - خِنْزِير - خ ز ر
فُنْعُل - سُنْدُس - س د س
فَعَنْلَل - عَضَنْفَر - ع ض ف ر
نَفْعَلُ - نَسْلَخُ - س ل خ
نَفْعِلُ - نَضْرِبُ - ض ر ب
نَفْعُلُ - نَعْبُدُ - ع ب د
3. Doubled augmentative ن also comes in few words.
فَعَنَّل - جَهَنَّم - ج ه م
فَعَنَّل - ضَفَنَّط - ض ف ط
فَعَنَّل - زَوَنَّك - ز و ك
فَعَنَّل - عَجَنَّس - ع ج س
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The م as Augmentative Letter
The م can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
1. When م is 1st letter of a word, and is followed by 3 or 4 root letters. This is the most common place for م as augmentative letter. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to م
مِفْعَل - مِرْفَق - ر ف ق
مِفْعَال - مِثْقَال - ث ق ل
مِفْعِيل - مِسْكِين - س ك ن
مَفْعَل - مَعْشَر - ع ش ر
مَفْعَلَة - مَرْحَمَة - ر ح م
مَفْعِل - مَسْجِد - س ج د
مَفْعُول - مَعْلُوم - ع ل م
مُفَعِّل - مُصَدِّق - ص د ق
مُفَعَّل - مُفَصَّل - ف ص ل
مُفَاعِل - مُهَاجِر - ه ج ر
مُفَاعَل - مُبَارَك - ب ر ك
مُفْعِل - مُخْلِص - خ ل ص
مُفْعَل - مُنْكَر - ن ك ر
مُتَفَعِّل - مُتَفَرِّق - ف ر ق
مُتَفَاعِل - مُتَشَابِه - ش ب ه
مُنْفَعِل - مُنْقَلِب - ق ل ب
مُفْتَعِل - مُخْتَلِف - خ ل ف
مُفْتَعَل - مُحْتَضَر - ح ض ر
مُفْعَلّ - مُصْفَرّ - ص ف ر
مُسْتَفْعِل - مُسْتَكْبِر - ك ب ر
مُسْتَفْعَل - مُسْتَخْلَف - خ ل ف
مُفْعَالَّة - مُدْهَامَّة - د ه م
مُفَعْفِع (مُفَعْلِل) - مُزَحْزِح - ز ح ز ح
مُفَعْفَع (مُفَعْلَل) - مُذَبْذَب - ذ ب ذ ب
مُفَنْعَلَة - مُقَنْطَرَة - ق ط ر
مُفْعَئِلَّة - مُطْمَئِنَّة - ط م ن
مُفَيْعِل - مُهَيْمِن - أ م ن
In last example above, the ه is substituted for أ . So, in root أ is mentioned while in word ه is mentioned. The substitution issues will be discussed in a separate series inshaALLAH!
2. The م is augmentative in nouns only, not in verbs usually. But, see below case where the verb is derived from a noun which has an augmentative م . Such cases are very rare.
مَفْعَلَ - مَسْكَنَ - س ك ن
تَمَفْعَلَ - تَمَسْكَنَ - س ك ن
3. The م also comes as augmentative letter in locations other than 1st letter location in a word, but such cases are few.
فُعْلُوم - حُلْقُوم - ح ل ق
فِعْمِيل - قِطْمِير - ق ط ر
فَمْعَلِيل - زَمْهَرِير - ز ه ر
فَمْعَلِيل - قَمْطَرِير - ق ط ر
فَعْمَل - سَرْمَد - س ر د
فِعْلِمَة - شِرْذِمَة - ش ر د
The ذ is substituted for د in the above example.
4. In reduplicated roots in which a 2 letter root is repeated to make a 4 letter root, the م is not augmentative.
فَعْفَع (فَعْلَل) - مَرْمَر - م ر م ر
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و as Augmentative Letter
The و can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
When the و is accompanied by 3 or more root letters. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to و
فُعُّول - قُدُّوس - ق د س
فَعُّول - زَقُّوم - ز ق م
فَعْلُون - زَيْتُون - ز ي ت
فَعْلُونَة - زَيْتُونَة - ز ي ت
فَعَلُوت - مَلَكُوت - م ل ك
فَنْعَلُوت - عَنْكَبُوت - ع ك ب
يَفْعُول - يَحْمُوم - ح م م
أُفْعُول - أُخْدُود - خ د د
فَعُول - شَكُور - ش ك ر
فَعُول - طَهُور - ط ه ر
فُعُول - خُرُوج - خ ر ج
فُعُول - خُشُوع - خ ش ع
فَاعُول - فَارُوق - ف ر ق
فَاعُول - قَارُون - ق ر ن
فُعْلُوم - حُلْقُوم - ح ل ق
فُعْلُول - خُرْطُوم - خ ر ط م
فُعْلُون - عُرْجُون - ع ر ج
فَعْوَلَة - قَسْوَرَة - ق س ر
فِعْلَوْل - فِرْدَوْس - ف ر د س
فَوْعَل - كَوْثَر - ك ث ر
مَفْعُول - مَعْرُوف - ع ر ف
مَفْعُولَة - مَعْرُوفَة - ع ر ف
Notes:
1. The و is not considered augmentative when 1st letter of a word.
2. In following case, و is not augmentative since only 2 other root letters are in the word, and it is 3rd root letter, while 2 augmentative letters come at the end.
فِعْلِيت - عِزْوِيت - ع ز و
3. With only 2 other root letters, it is also root letter and not an augmentative letter.
فَعْل - قَوْل - ق و ل
4. in reduplicated roots in which a 2 letter root is repeated to make a 4 letter root, the و is not augmentative.
فَعْفَع (فَعْلَل) - وَعْوَع - و ع و ع
5. If the و is accompanied by 2 root letters and a أ or م as 1st letter then usually that أ or م is judged to be augmentative while the و is judged to be root letter.
أَفْعَل - أَوْسَط - و س ط
مَفْعِل - مَوْبِق - و ب ق
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The ي as Augmentative Letter
The ي can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
When the ي is accompanied by 3 or more root letters. There can be other augmentative letters in the word in addition to ي
فِعِّيل - صِدِّيق - ص د ق
فِعِّيلَة - صِدِّيقَة - ص د ق
فَعْلَانِيّ - نَصْرَانِيّ - ن ص ر
فَعْلَانِيَّة - رَهْبَانِيَّة - ر ه ب
فِعْلِين - غِسْلِين - غ س ل
فِعْلِيَآء - كِبْرِيَآء - ك ب ر
فِعْلِيت - عِفْرِيت - ع ف ر
يَفْعُول - يَنْبُوع - ن ب ع
يَفْعِيل - يَقْطِين - ق ط ن
إِفْعِيل - إِدْرِيس - د ر س
إِفْعِيل - إِبْلِيس - ب ل س
فَعِيل - نَذِير - ن ذ ر
فَعِيل - شَهِيد - ش ه د
فَعِيلَة - خَلِيفَة - خ ل ف
فُعَيْل - رُوَيْد - ر و د
فِنْعِيل - خِنْزِير - خ ز ر
فِعْمِيل - قِطْمِير - ق ط ر
فَعْلَلِيل - زَنْجَبِيل - ز ن ج ب ل
فَعْلَلِيل - سَلْسَبِيل - س ل س ب ل
فَمْعَلِيل - زَمْهَرِير - ز ه ر
يَفْعَلُ - يَجْهَلُ - ج ه ل
يُفَعَّلُ - يُبَصَّرُ - ب ص ر
يُفَاعِلُ - يُحَافِظُ - ح ف ظ
يُفْعِلُ - يُقْصِرُ - ق ص ر
يَتَفَعَّلُ - يَتَدَبَّرُ - د ب ر
يَتَفَاعَلُ - يَتَعَارَفُ - ع ر ف
يَسْتَفْعِلُ - يَسْتَقْدِمُ - ق د م
مُفَيْعِل - مُصَيْطِر - س ط ر
Notes:
1. In last example above, root is written with س while in word ص is written. This is substitution of ص for س . InshaALLAH more will be discussed in series on substitution.
2. in reduplicated roots in which a 2 letter root is repeated to make a 4 letter root, the ي is not augmentative.
فُعْفُع (فُعْلُل) - يُؤْيُؤ - ي أ ي أ
3. With only 2 other root letters, it is also root letter and not an augmentative letter.
فَعْل - بَيْت - ب ي ت
4. If the ي is accompanied by 2 root letters and a أ or م as 1st letter then usually that أ or م is judged to be augmentative while the ي is judged to be root letter.
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ا as Augmentative Letter.
The ا can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
When the ا is accompanied by 3 or more root letters.
Other augmentative letters may also accompany the ا , e.g., ن
The ا at the end of last 3 examples is written ى but spoken like ا and is called ألف مقصورة
فَعَّال - تَوَّاب - ت و ب
فُعَّال - كُبَّار - ك ب ر
فِعَّال - كِذَّاب - ك ذ ب
فَعْلَان - حَيْرَان - ح ي ر
فُعْلَان - سُلْطَان - س ل ط
فِعْلَان - رِضْوَان - ر ض و
فَعَلَان - رَمَضَان - ر م ض
فَعِلَان - قَطِرَان - ق ط ر
فَعْلَآء - نَعْمَآء - ن ع م
فُعْلَآء - عُشْرَآء - ع ش ر
فُعَلَآء - كُبَرَآء - ك ب ر
فِعْلِيَآء - كِبْرِيَآء - ك ب ر
فُعْلَا - دُنْيَا - د ن و
تِفْعَال - تِبْيَان - ب ي ن
فَعَال - سَلَام - س ل م
فُعَال - تُرَاب - ت ر ب
فِعَال - كِتَاب - ك ت ب
فَعْفَاع (فَعْلَال) - صَلْصَال - ص ل ص ل
فِعْفَاع (فِعْلَال) - زِلْزَال - ز ل ز ل
فَاعُول - كَافُور - ك ف ر
مِفْعَال - مِثْقَال - ث ق ل
فَاعَل - خَاتَم - خ ت م
فَاعِل - كَاتِب - ك ت ب
فُعَالِل - سُرَادِق - س ر د ق
فَاعَلَ - جَاهَدَ - ج ه د
تَفَاعَلَ - تَكَاثَرَ - ك ث ر
فَعْلَى - دَعْوَى - د ع و
فُعْلَى - يُسْرَى - ي س ر
فِعْلَى - ذِكْرَى - ذ ك ر
Note:
In قَالَ it is not augmentative since it is accompanied by only 2 root letters.
The ا و ي can be converted between each other in words, like قَالَ , in which 2nd root letter is converted from و to ا . A separate series on conversion will inshaALLAH cover more on this conversion issue.
فَعَلَ (فَالَ) - قَوَلَ (قَالَ) - ق و ل
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أ as Augmentative Letter.
The أ can be judged to be augmentative in following cases:
1. When أ is 1st letter of a word, and is followed by 3 root letters. This is true for both verbs and nouns.
أَفْعِلُ - أَجْلِسُ - ج ل س
أَفْعَلَ - أَنْزَلَ - ن ز ل
أَفْعَل - أَكْبَر - ك ب ر
Note: Some cases to be careful about. When 3 letters follow أ but one of them can also be an augmentative letter, in such cases, أ may be an augmentative letter or root letter. In all below cases أ is root letter.
فُعْلَى - أُنْثَى - أ ن ث
فِعْلِيّ - إِنْسِيّ - أ ن س
فَاعَلَ - آمَنَ - أ م ن
2. When أ is 1st letter of a word, and is followed by 2 root letters, then أ is also a root letter. Note in all the following, it is followed by 2 root letters OR 2 root letters + augmentative letters, i.e. some other letter is augmentative, not أ
فِعْلَان - إِنْسَان - أ ن س
فِعَال - إِمَام - أ م م
فَعَال - أَثَاث - أ ث ث
فَعِيل - أَصِيل - أ ص ل
فَعْل - أَرْض - أ ر ض
فَعَل - أَجَل - أ ج ل
3. Some other cases of أ as 1st letter and augmentative letter are given below, these can be studied to understand its role better.
أَفْعَلَة - أَرْبَعَة - ر ب ع
أَفْعَلِيّ - أَعْجَمِيّ - ع ج م
أُخْدُود - أُفْعُول - خ د د
إِعْصَار - إِفْعَال - ع ص ر
4. Most common place for أ as augmentative letter is at beginning of word, i.e. as 1st letter of a word, but there are few cases when it is augmentative at other location also. See below examples to understand better. In 1st example, it is used in plural. In 2nd and 3rd the ٱ is augmentative as 1st letter while the أ is augmentative and comes after (1 augmentative letter) and 2 root letters and is followed by 1 root letter (which is doubled)
فَعَائِل - شَمَآئِل - ش م ل
ٱفْعَأَلَّ - ٱطْمَأَنَّ - ط م ن
ٱفْعَأَلَّتْ - ٱشْمَأَزَّتْ - ش م ز
5. When it is the last letter of a word and occurs immediately after augmentative ا and before this ا there are 3 root letters.
فَعْلَآء - نَعْمَآء - ن ع م
فُعْلَآء - عُشْرَآء - ع ش ر
فِعْلِيَآء - كِبْرِيَآء - ك ب ر
فُعَلَآء - كُبَرَآء - ك ب ر
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Arabic Roots:
In Arabic most words are made of root letters, mostly of 3 letters, sometimes of 4 and very rarely of 5 letters. Root is the basic building block of a word. From same root different words are made.
Root can be obtained from pattern by replacing the ف of the pattern by the letter in the word that comes at its place, the ع of the pattern by the letter in the word that comes at its place, and the ل of the pattern by the letter in word that comes at its place.
Arabic Patterns:
Arabic words come on various patterns. Pattern is obtained by replacing the 1st root letter by ف , the 2nd root letter by ع and the 3rd (and remaining root letters for words with more than 3 root letters) by ل .
Augmentative Letters:
The following usually come as Augmentative Letters in a word:
أ ا ت س ل م ن ه و ي
Instead of giving few examples like most books and sites, I will inshaALLAH! try to explain this in a new way by discussing 1 Augmentative letter and its examples at a time, so that viewers can learn how to identify roots and patterns better.
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This method can be used to search an Arabic Word in 5 popular Arabic Dictionaries and the 1st few headings may give the required root.
1. Go to www.baheth.info
2. Type in the required word without harkaat using the yamli enabled search box given on the site, or copy paste after typing in eiktub.
3. After searching, it displays the word highlighted in all entries from the books 1st giving the more relevant entries usually.
4. Suppose you want to know the root for the word قُدُّوس
5. You type the word using yamli on same site or type in eiktub as قدوس and then paste in search box and search.
6. On searching you find the results in all 5 books giving all entries containing this or similar word with different harkaat. See below screenshot. 1st 4 results clearly indicate that its root is ق د س and to make sure further, see whether the words are used in قُدُّوس and you find out that they are used.
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Sometimes you hear a Qur'anic Word but don't know the exact Surah number and Ayat number for it. And once you know the Surah number and Ayat number, you can use the 4 earlier posts Identifying the Root for an Arabic Word 1, 2, 3 and 4 to get the root for it. And after you get the root you can study dictionaries and Arabic research tools quickly.
1. To type the Arabic word and copy and paste it, see earlier posts Typing Arabic with English Keyboard 1 and 2. I have typed with harkaat and without harkaat. You can do any of the 2. See below screenshot
2. After typing the Arabic word and copying it, go to http://tanzil.net/
3. In its search box paste the word, and then press search button, the magnifying glass symbol is made on it. After searching you get the results, to know the Surah number and Ayat number of each of the results simply move the mouse cursor over them and a box will appear containing Surah number and Ayat number.
4. Once you get Surah number and Ayat number, use any of the 4 methods Identifying the Root for an Arabic Word 1, 2, 3 and 4 , to get the root.
5. Once you get the root, you can study any good dictionary or research tool in detail.
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Another tool to allow typing Arabic using English keyboard is given below, this one auto guesses and provides option, but does not write harkaat.
Yamli
1. Go to www.yamli.com/arabic-keyboard/
2. Start typing letters in english in transliteration style without vowels since it doesn't give harkaat.
3. e.g. you type 3nkbwt to get 3 suggestions عنكبوت
4. With practice, you can learn how to quickly get the required word inshaALLAH!
5. After typing the word or words, you can copy and then paste in your sites, documents, or study and research tools to study and research further.
6. Also see https://writearabickeyboard.blogspot.com/2017/04/online-arabic-keyboard-type-arabic-using-english.html for detailed Arabic Keyboard.
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Being able to type Arabic is important and some tools allow typing Arabic quickly and easily using common English keyboard also.
Eiktub
This tool can be accessed online and can also be downloaded. Downloaded version gives more options and is recommended instead of online option.
1. Go to www.eiktub.com
2. See conversion table at the bottom and start practicing typing.
3. The downloaded version gives more options. See screenshots of downloadable version on:
http://www.eiktub.com/screen_shot.html
4. To download visit link and see instructions:
http://www.eiktub.com/download.html
5. Here is guide to downloading:
Click the link circled in below images:
opera browser
Firefox or internet explorer
6. Now is tricky part since downloadable file is not hosted on same site, see below screenshot to see which link to click and which link to not click
7. Download will start automatically and if in case it doesn't click link circled in below.
8. When the file is downloaded, run the setup program to install it on your computer.
9. The downloaded version looks like this:
10. After typing the word or words, you can copy and then paste in your sites, documents, or study and research tools to study and research further.
11. Also see https://writearabickeyboard.blogspot.com/2017/04/online-arabic-keyboard-type-arabic-using-english.html for detailed Arabic Keyboard.
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In this post, another method for identifying Root for an Arabic Word is discussed.
This method can be used for identifying Roots used in the Qur'an, but since this website is not complete, some of the data may be inaccurate or incomplete.
1. In your browser type the following:
http://www.openburhan.net/ob.php?sid=3&vid=170
Note: The yellow highlighted locations in the link above, in the 1st you type the Surah number, and in the 2nd you type the Ayat number.i.e. sid=&vid= , sid=3&vid=170
2. Suppose you want to know the root of the Word يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ used in 3:170. You type in your browser the above link.
Now click the word يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
3. On clicking يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ , you should get below result.
4. You get بشر , separate the 3 letters to get the root ب ش ر
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Since the important and serious dictionaries are arranged according to roots, it is very important to identify root of a word. In this post, another method to get most probable root will be shared inshaALLAH! via which people with little or no experience also can identify roots.
This method can be used for trying to identify Roots for Words used in The Qur'an:
1. Note down the Surah number and Ayah number in which the Word comes.
2. Go to site : http://qurandev.github.io/corpus/
3. On this choose Surah Name , e.g. Surah 2 "Al-Baqara"
(click images in this post to see them in full size.)
4. Unlike the site in 1st post on identifying roots, in this site you can't directly go directly to Ayaat. You have to navigate or guess page number. Suppose you want the root for
ٱلْقَيُّوم used in 2:255, there will be 2 methods:
i. navigating by clicking next page button again and again till you see the Ayah in which the required word comes.
ii. Guessing the page number and then going nearest to the page containing the Ayah. Suppose you guess page 50. You type the page number after this
http://qurandev.github.io/corpus/#!/quran-corpus/
i.e. 50 after "/" in above address will give
http://qurandev.github.io/corpus/#!/quran-corpus/50
and you press enter or go. A little ahead as this has taken to Surah 3, so you try page 40.
http://qurandev.github.io/corpus/#!/quran-corpus/40
Now you see Ayah 2:248 and you are very close to 2:255
Now 1 by 1 you check page 41 then 42, and on page 42 you find the required Ayah and Word.
5. Now take the mouse arrow over the word and you will see a box containing some information including the root
6. In this box it is mentioned
Root ق و م
(660 times)
Now you got the root!
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Since the important and serious dictionaries are arranged according to roots, it is very important to identify root of a word. In this post, one of the simplest methods to automatically get most probable root will be shared inshaALLAH! via which people with little or no experience also can identify roots very quickly.
Using Qur'anic Arabic Corpus
This method can be used for trying to identify Roots for Words used in The Qur'an.
1. Note down the Surah Number and Ayat Number in which the Word for which you want the Root comes.
2. Go to http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp
3. Using drop down menu for Surah, select the Surah in which the word came.
4. Using drop down menu for Ayat (on the site mentioned as Verse), select the Ayat in which the word came.
For example, you see the word ٱلْفُرْقَان in Surah 25: Ayat 1
You use drop down menus to select Surah 25 and Ayat 1, (click images in this post to see them in full size.)
5. Then you scroll down till you find the word ٱلْفُرْقَان and then click it
6.Now you are taken to link http://corpus.quran.com/wordmorphology.jsp?location=(25:1:4)
25:1:4 means Surah 25: Ayat 1: Word 4.
7. On this page the root is mentioned as "The noun's triliteral root is fā rā qāf ( ف ر ق )".
Now you got the root!
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Being able to identify root for any word is very important, since by knowing root, you can easily study mature dictionaries, you can study basic meaning shades of the root, study related words from the same root, and then understand the word being studied even better.
So a word has 2 parts, a Root and a Pattern.
Briefly both will be explained inshaALLAH and guide for different levels can be provided at the end. You can't know root without pattern and you can't know pattern without root, and both verify each other. And with experience and effort the skill improves.
After experience and regular study, users can start learning the patterns and by knowing patterns roots can be easily identified and by identifying root in a word, pattern can be easily identified. Then to verify whether the pattern is correct or some other pattern is there, root can be studied further and meaning shade, should be linked to basic root meaning in some way, otherwise another pattern may be applicable.
For example lets start with words every one knows :
مُسْلِم
سَلِيم
سَالِم
Roots of most words are of 3 letters, in all the above letters, the 3 common letters are س ل م
To get pattern for all the above words, simply replace 1st root letter with ف and 2nd root letter with ع and 3rd root letter with ل
مُسْلِم مُفْعِل
سَلِيم فَعِيل
سَالِم فَاعِل
Now in reverse, فَاعِل is a common pattern, using which root of سَالِم can be identified as س ل م
Augmentative Letters :
In a word not all letters, are root letters. The letters in a word which are not root letters are called augmentative letters. Usually, the following come as augmentative letters.
أ ا ت س ل م ن ه و ي
All letters can come as root letters but the above also come as augmentative letters. So this is another indicator.
Practice:
1. Learn the Arabic alphabets in sequence, see 1st post.
2. Visit following tools, beginners and intermediate visit: http://ejtaal.net/aa and advanced visit http://baheth.info
3. Using above start studying words and their roots along with words of the root.
4. If beginners can't identify root, as a 1st step they can study some basic word based dictionaries in which words are arranged alphabetically instead of arrangement according to root. The better method to study words in Arabic is studying according to roots and not according to alphabetical arrangement of words.
5. 1 way for beginners may be to focus on Qur'anic words first, and for that they can note down Surah number and Ayat number in which a word comes. They can then visit word by word Qur'an site and then select the Surah number and Ayat number in which the word is found. Then they can click the word they are studying and this will take to a page where the root for the word will be given. They can also click Qur'an Dictionary on this page to study the words from that root used in the Qur'an.
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Arabic Letters : Learn the following in sequence from right to left as this is very important.
ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي
Above letters screenshot taken from Wright's Arabic Grammar.
As Letters of Root :
All Arabic letters are used as letters of root. Arabic words are usually made of 3 letter roots, some of 4 letters and few of 5 letters. Some 4 letter roots are formed by forming a 2 letter root twice. Some 3 letter roots are made by repeating 2nd root letter.
ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي
Augmentative Letters:
In a word not all letters, are root letters. The letters in a word which are not root letters are called augmentative letters. Only the following can come as augmentative letters.
أ ا ت س ل م ن ه و ي
Letters of Substitution :
Agreement is not there on letters of substitution and different lists are provided by different scholars. In substitution a letter is put in place of another letter. Here is1 such list.
أ ا ت ج د ز س ص ط ل م ن ه و ي
The term used for shifts between أ ا و ي is conversion and is a kind of substitution.
Long Vowels :
Following 3 letters are used as long vowels
ا must be preceded by fatha and must not have any vowel itself. With vowel, ء is also written on it.
ي must be preceded by kasra and must not have any vowel itself.
و must be preceded by damma and must not have any vowel itself.
ا is lightest of long vowels and fatha is lightest of short vowels و is heaviest of long vowels and damma is heaviest of short vowels.
Hamza :
Written like cut ayn. cut ع to get ء
Spoken by sound starting from ه , unlike all 28 Arabic letters whose name starts with their own sound.
Remaining 2 letters of long vowels mentioned above come both as long vowel and as letter with vowel, while ا is only used as long vowel but when used otherwise, it has ء written on it.
In Seal of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in which ALLAH is written with alif only and no hamza mentioned above it. Similarly Qur'an's حُرُوفُ الْمُقَطَّعَة don't have any hamza written above alif e.g. الٓمٓ . In my posts, I have used أ in root letters like most of the sites and works today.
Short vowels :
ـَ Fatha فَتْحَة
ـِ Kasra كَسْرَة , the Kasra is nearest to Sukoon and sometimes converted to sukoon e.g. لَيْسَ from لَيِسَ
ـُ Damma ضَمَّة
Some other important signs :
ـْ Sukoon سُكُون
ـّ Shadda شَدَّة to indicate doubling of a letter.
