Lesson 75
Prepositions Review and Extensions
حروف الجر مراجعة وتوسع
Rare prepositions, unusual usages of common prepositions, and an in-depth look at how prepositions govern meaning including Quranic prepositional idioms.
Extended Preposition Meanings
PrepositionCore meaningExtended meaningQuranic example
بِby / withCausal: because ofبِمَا كَسَبَتْ (3:25)
بِby / withAccompanimentبِسْمِ اللَّهِ
مِنْfromPartitive: some ofمِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ (33:23)
مِنْfromExplanatory (tabyīn): namelyالرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ (22:30)
فِيinTemporal: duringفِي الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِر
لِforCausation: in order toلِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ (40:67)
عَنْfrom / away fromSubstitution: on behalf ofلَا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ (2:48)
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Wa-nunazzilu mina l-Qurʾāni mā huwa shifāʾun wa-raḥmatun lil-muʾminīn
"And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers." (17:82) مِنَ here is partitive: some of the Quran (= all of it as healing).
فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ
Fa-jtanibū r-rijsa mina l-awthān
"So avoid the abomination, namely the idols." (22:30) مِنَ here is explanatory (tabyīn): it clarifies what الرِّجْس refers to not partitive "some idols."
- The partitive مِنْ: مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ expresses a subset of a larger group (some of the believers).
- The explanatory مِنْ (tabyīnī): الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَان "the abomination, namely the idols" clarifies the vague noun, not a subset.
- Causal بِ: بِذُنُوبِهِمْ (because of their sins) among the most productive Quranic prepositional patterns.
- لِ of causation (lām al-ʿilla) explains purpose: لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ "so that you may reach your full strength" (40:67).
- Prepositions often carry two or three valid meanings in context parsing the right one requires understanding the sentence's overall semantic field.