What Sixteen Words Can Hide: The Grammar of Qur’an 41:11

• Function: حَرْفُ عَطْفٍ (coordinating particle)

Classical grammarians call ثُمَّ a حَرْفُ عَطْفٍ (a coordinating device). It links the opening of verse 11 back to the creation sequence already under way in verse 10.

Does ثُمَّ force a simple “first this, then that” timeline here? Classical commentators do not all explain it that way. For the grammar, the safe point is simpler: جُمْلَةُ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى (the whole clause “then He turned …”) is coordinated with the earlier clause built around قَدَّرَ (“He determined/ordained”). The sentence therefore reaches across the verse boundary.

• Function: فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb)

It is a فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb). Its subject is an understood هُوَ (“he”), referring to God.

The important unit is not اِسْتَوَى by itself but اِسْتَوَى إِلَى.

Al-Zajjāj explains the construction with عَمَدَ (“turned or aimed toward”) and قَصَدَ (“directed toward”). That helps explain why إِلَى follows: the prepositional phrase belongs to the verb and completes its direction. The larger coordinated clause is لَا مَحَلَّ لَهَا مِنَ الْإِعْرَابِ. In plain English, the clause is linked to another clause, but it is not itself doing a noun-like job such as subject, object, or حَالٌ (state description).

• Function: حَرْفُ جَرٍّ (preposition)

إِلَى is a حَرْفُ جَرٍّ (preposition). It opens the phrase إِلَى السَّمَاءِ, which attaches to اِسْتَوَى.

Al-Zajjāj’s glosses عَمَدَ (“turned or aimed toward”) and قَصَدَ (“directed toward”) make the link easier to see: إِلَى marks what the verb is directed toward.

• Function: اِسْمٌ مَجْرُورٌ (genitive noun)
• Visible sign: الْكَسْرَةُ (the visible ِ ending)

Because إِلَى is a preposition, it governs السَّمَاءِ. Grammarians therefore call السَّمَاءِ اِسْمًا مَجْرُورًا (a noun made genitive by a preposition), and its visible marker is الْكَسْرَةُ (the ِ vowel at the end). The whole phrase إِلَى السَّمَاءِ then attaches to اِسْتَوَى.

The وَ is وَاوُ الْحَالِ (the wāw that opens a background/state description). So it does not simply add another event. It briefly freezes the action and tells us what the sky is like at that moment. هِيَ is مُبْتَدَأٌ (the subject of the little nominal sentence), and the next word supplies its predicate.

• Function: خَبَرٌ (predicate)
• Case or mood: مَرْفُوعٌ (nominative)

Together with هِيَ, دُخَانٌ completes the mini-sentence وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ, “while it was smoke.”

Inside that mini-sentence, دُخَانٌ is the خَبَرٌ (predicate) and is مَرْفُوعٌ (nominative). Now zoom out one level: the whole mini-sentence is فِي مَحَلِّ نَصْبٍ.

In plain English, the complete unit is doing the job of a حَالٌ (state description) of السَّمَاءِ, and a حَال normally belongs on the accusative side of the grammar. That rule describes the job of the whole clause; it does not turn دُخَانٌ itself into an accusative word. Two layers, two questions.

The فَ is حَرْفُ عَطْفٍ (a coordinating particle) and moves the sequence on to the act of speaking.

The verb قَالَ is a فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb) with an understood هُوَ (“he”) as its subject. The clause فَقَالَ … is coordinated with what precedes.

Grammarians call it لَا مَحَلَّ لَهَا مِنَ الْإِعْرَابِ: it is part of the chain of clauses, but it is not itself serving as a subject, object, حَالٌ (state description), or another noun-like job.

The phrase depends on قالَ and identifies the first recipient of the speech. Its attached هَا refers back to السَّمَاءِ.

• Function: وَاوُ عَطْفٍ + جَارٌّ وَمَجْرُورٌ (coordinating وَ + prepositional phrase)
• Case or mood: الْأَرْضِ: مَجْرُورٌ (the noun is genitive)
• Visible sign: الْكَسْرَةُ (a visible ِ on الْأَرْضِ)

The وَ joins this entire recipient phrase to لَهَا, so both phrases depend on قالَ. Within the second phrase, لِ gives الْأَرْضِ its genitive ending.

• Function: فِعْلُ أَمْرٍ (imperative verb)
• Build: مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى حَذْفِ النُّونِ (imperative form made by dropping the final nūn)
• Subject: أَلِفُ الِاثْنَيْنِ فِي مَحَلِّ رَفْعٍ فَاعِلٌ (attached “you two” pronoun acting as the subject)

اِئْتِيَا is a فِعْلُ أَمْرٍ (imperative verb). Its corresponding present form is تَأْتِيَانِ, “you two come.”

Because that dual present belongs to الْأَفْعَالُ الْخَمْسَةُ (the five present-tense patterns with a final nūn in the indicative), the command is مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى حَذْفِ النُّونِ (built by dropping that nūn). The final ا is أَلِفُ الِاثْنَيْنِ (the attached dual subject pronoun: “you two”).

Now zoom out from the word to the quotation. Classical iʿrāb calls the command beginning اِئْتِيَا مَقُولُ الْقَوْلِ (the words being said, or quoted speech). The whole quoted clause is فِي مَحَلِّ نَصْبٍ (it fills the “what was said?” slot after قَالَ). That label belongs to the whole quotation, not to اِئْتِيَا as an individual verb.

• Function: مَصْدَرٌ فِي مَوْضِعِ الْحَالِ (verbal noun used to describe how the action happens)
• Case or mood: مَنْصُوبٌ (accusative)

Classical grammarians call طَوْعًا مَصْدَرًا فِي مَوْضِعِ الْحَالِ (a verbal noun doing the job of a حَالٌ, a state/manner description that tells us how the two are to come).

In plain English: “come willingly.” Al-Zamakhsharī and al-Samīn spell out the grammatical paraphrase as طَائِعَتَيْنِ أَوْ مُكْرَهَتَيْنِ (“you two – feminine – being willing or compelled”). That feminine dual is worth noticing now, because the verse will later surprise us with طَائِعِينَ.

• Function: حَرْفُ عَطْفٍ (coordinating alternative)

It coordinates كَرْهًا with طَوْعًا: willingly or unwillingly. Both belong to the same command and describe the manner of the commanded coming.

• Function: مَعْطُوفٌ عَلَى طَوْعًا (coordinated with ṭawʿan)
• Case: مَنْصُوبٌ بِالْفَتْحَةِ (accusative with a visible َ ending)

كَرْهًا is مَعْطُوفٌ عَلَى طَوْعًا (coordinated with طَوْعًا) through أَوْ, so it inherits the same job. Like طَوْعًا, it is a verbal noun used as a state/manner expression: “unwillingly” or “under compulsion.” Its ending is مَنْصُوبٌ بِالْفَتْحَةِ (accusative, marked by the visible fatḥa َ).

• Function: فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb)
• Feminine marker: تَاءُ التَّأْنِيثِ السَّاكِنَةُ (the standard feminine t-marker; “sākinah” is its traditional grammatical name)
• Subject: أَلِفُ الِاثْنَيْنِ فِي مَحَلِّ رَفْعٍ فَاعِلٌ (attached “they two” pronoun acting as the subject)

The ending ـتَا is worth slowing down for because it contains two different grammatical pieces.

1. The ت is تَاءُ التَّأْنِيثِ السَّاكِنَةُ (the standard feminine t-marker). Its traditional name contains “sākinah,” but in قَالَتَا the ت is actually heard with a fatḥa before the dual alif. It agrees with the feminine nouns السَّمَاء and الْأَرْض.
2. The ا is أَلِفُ الِاثْنَيْنِ (the attached dual subject pronoun), so it supplies the “they two” who spoke. One ending, two jobs.

قَالَتَا itself is a فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb). It starts a fresh sentence after the command and opens the reply of the sky and the earth.

• Function: فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb)
• Build: مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى السُّكُونِ (past verb with a fixed sukūn-based form because subject نَا is attached)
• Subject: نَا فِي مَحَلِّ رَفْعٍ فَاعِلٌ (the attached نَا is the subject)

أَتَيْنَا is a فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ (past-tense verb). It is مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى السُّكُونِ (built on sukūn) because it is attached to نَا الْفَاعِلِينَ (the نَا that acts as the subject: “we”). So the subject is already packed into the end of the verb.

The full reply أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ is the second مَقُولُ الْقَوْلِ (quoted speech). Traditional iʿrāb calls the whole reply فِي مَحَلِّ نَصْبٍ (it fills the “what did they say?” slot after قَالَتَا). Again, that description belongs to the whole quotation, not to the individual past-tense verb أَتَيْنَا.

• Function: حَالٌ (state description: how the subject is at that moment)
• Case or mood: مَنْصُوبٌ (accusative)
• Form: جَمْعُ مُذَكَّرٍ سَالِمٌ (sound masculine plural)
• Visible sign: الْيَاءُ (the letter ي, because it is a sound masculine plural)

طَائِعِينَ is a حَالٌ (a state description: it tells us how the speakers come) referring back to the subject نَا (“we”) inside أَتَيْنَا. It is مَنْصُوبٌ (accusative) and has the form جَمْعُ مُذَكَّرٍ سَالِمٌ (sound masculine plural), so its visible marker is الْيَاءُ (the yāʾ in ـينَ).

The striking part is not the case but the number and gender: the explicit speakers are السَّمَاء and الْأَرْض, a feminine pair, yet the verse says طَائِعِينَ.

There is no single classical explanation for the plural here. Two common suggestions are: once the sky and earth are represented as speaking and answering, Arabic treats them like rational beings; or the wording embraces the sky, the earth, and what is within them. Al-Farrāʾ, al-Zajjāj, al-Zamakhsharī and al-ʿUkbarī preserve versions of these explanations.