Understanding جِنْس (jins : gender) in Nouns and Body Parts with Examples from the Qurʾān
This session focuses on determining جِنْس (jins : gender) of Arabic nouns, particularly for body parts and nouns lacking تَاء مَرْبُوطَة (tāʾ marbūṭah : the feminine marker ة). The teacher covers لَامُ الْجَرّ (lāmu l-jarr : the preposition lam — لِـ), which assigns كَسْرَة (kasrah), and distinguishes between سَمَاعِي (samāʿī : heard/memorized) gender rules and those predictable from word endings.
Original Recording
Original class recording
Key Points
- 1لَامُ الْجَرّ (lāmu l-jarr : the preposition lam — لِـ) assigns كَسْرَة (kasrah) to the following noun: لِلَّهِ (lillāhi : for/belonging to Allah).
- 2تَاء مَرْبُوطَة (tāʾ marbūṭah : the feminine marker ة) generally marks a noun as مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine), but some مُؤَنَّث nouns lack it and must be memorized (سَمَاعِي — samāʿī : heard).
- 3هَٰذِهِ (hādhihi : this [fem.]) is the مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine) counterpart to هَٰذَا (hādhā : this [masc.]).
- 4Body parts with pairs — e.g., يَد (yad : hand), عَيْن (ʿayn : eye), رِجْل (rijl : foot) — are generally مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine); body parts without pairs are generally مُذَكَّر (mudhakkar : masculine).
Quiz
Why is the word سَبِيل (sabīl, path) in the Qur'an sometimes referred to with the feminine demonstrative هَٰذِهِ (hādhihi)?
Discussion Questions
- [00:10:00] Q: How do we identify مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine) nouns that lack تَاء مَرْبُوطَة (tāʾ marbūṭah)? — A: They must be memorized as سَمَاعِي (samāʿī : heard) exceptions, such as شَمْس (shams : sun), نَار (nār : fire), and أَرْض (arḍ : earth).
- [00:25:00] Q: Why are paired body parts مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine)? — A: This is a سَمَاعِي (samāʿī : heard) rule in Arabic: paired body parts like يَد (yad : hand) and عَيْن (ʿayn : eye) are treated as مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine) by convention.
- [00:35:00] Q: What is هَٰذِهِ (hādhihi : this [fem.])? — A: هَٰذِهِ (hādhihi) is the مُؤَنَّث (muʾannath : feminine) demonstrative pronoun corresponding to مُذَكَّر (mudhakkar : masculine) هَٰذَا (hādhā : this [masc.]).
Quranic Examples
قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى ٱللَّهِ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۠ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِي
Qul hādhihi sabīlī adʿū ilā Allāhi ʿalā baṣīrah anā wa mani ittabaʿanī
Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me.'
Surah Yusuf 12:108 ↗ — Illustrates the feminine demonstrative هَٰذِهِ (hādhihi) used with سَبِيل (sabīl), as discussed in the lecture.