Lesson 52
The Prepositions Full Coverage
حروف الجر
A comprehensive review of all Arabic prepositions, their specific meanings, idiomatic uses, and the genitive case they govern. Prepositions with specific semantic ranges appear frequently in Quranic and classical texts.
All Arabic Prepositions
Prep.Core meaningQuranic / Classical use
بِwith / by / inبِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
لِfor / to / belonging toلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْض
مِنْfrom / of / some ofمِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا
إِلَىto / towards / untilوَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُون
عَنْabout / from / away fromيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّة
عَلَىon / upon / overوَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا
فِيin / within / aboutفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
كَlike / as (simile)كَالشَّمْسِ فِي رَابِعَةِ النَّهَار
حَتَّىuntil / evenحَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْر
مُنْذُ / مُذْsinceمُنْذُ يَوْمَيْن (since two days)
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ صَلَّيْتُ فِيهِ سَأَلَتْ عَنْكَ
Dhahabtu ilā l-masjidi Ṣallaytu fīhi Saʾalat ʿanka
I went to the mosque. I prayed in it. She asked about you.
لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ
Lillāhi mā fī s-samāwāti wa-mā fī l-arḍ
"To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth." (2:284)
- All prepositions govern genitive the noun or pronoun after any preposition takes kasra (or its equivalent).
- بِ has the widest semantic range instrumental (with a pen), locative (in/at), oath (by Allah), adjacency (بِجَانِبِه).
- مِنْ has a partitive use: مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُول (among the people, there are those who say) مِن before an indefinite noun signals a subset.
- حَتَّى can introduce both a preposition phrase (genitive noun) and a subjunctive clause (حَتَّى + أَنْ + subjunctive verb).
- Weak prepositions كَ and تَ (oath: تَاللَّهِ) can only attach to nouns, never pronouns unlike the major prepositions.