Level 5 · Applied Study Lesson 17 of 17
Capstone: Cold Read — Luqman's Counsel
The final exam: eight verses of Surah Luqman (31:12-19) that this site has never analyzed for you. Apply the full 5-step i'rab method to genuinely unseen text, then check your work against the model analysis.
Your Final Exam
Every analysis on this site so far walked you through text hand in hand. This lesson does not. Below are eight verses from Surah Luqman — the passage where Luqman counsels his son — and none of them appear in the site’s 38 surah analyses. You have never seen them broken down here. That is the point.
Work verse by verse:
- Listen to the recitation, then read the Arabic aloud.
- Apply the 5-step method from Full I’rab Analysis Method: segment, identify sentence type, analyze each word on three levels, map relationships, note the rhetoric.
- Write your analysis down — on paper or in a note. Committing to an answer before checking is what makes this work.
- Only then open the model analysis and compare honestly.
Verse 12: Wisdom and Gratitude
وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا لُقْمَٰنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌۭ
wa-laqad ātaynā luqmāna l-ḥikmata ani shkur lillāhi wa-man yashkur fa-innamā yashkuru li-nafsihi wa-man kafara fa-inna llāha ghaniyyun ḥamīdun
And We certainly gave Luqman wisdom: 'Be grateful to Allah.' Whoever is grateful is grateful only for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful — then indeed, Allah is Free of need, Praiseworthy.
— Luqman 31:12
Before opening the model: find the two conditional sentences, and explain why the same verb appears once as يَشْكُرْ and once as يَشْكُرُ.
Model analysis — Verse 12 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Verbal sentence (jumlah fiʿliyyah) opened by an oath-style emphasis, followed by two parallel conditional sentences.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَلَقَدْ | wāw + lām of emphasis + qad, the certainty particle: “and certainly.” Three particles stacked before the verb (Lesson: Emphasis & Affirmation). |
| ءَاتَيْنَا | Form IV perfect, first person plural — root ء-ت-ي, “We gave.” The نَا is the subject suffix (Lesson: Past Tense Conjugation). |
| لُقْمَٰنَ | First object of the double-accusative verb. A proper noun and a diptote: no tanween, and fatha does duty as its accusative marker. |
| ٱلْحِكْمَةَ | Second object, feminine noun, accusative with fatha — Form IV آتَى gives someone something, taking two objects. |
| أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ | Explanatory أَن (“that is:”) followed by a Form I masculine singular imperative, root ش-ك-ر (Lesson: Imperative Mood). The kasra on أَنِ breaks the meeting of two sukūns. |
| لِلَّهِ | Preposition لِ + Allah in genitive (Lesson: Prepositions and Genitive). |
| وَمَن يَشْكُرْ | Conditional مَن (“whoever”) + imperfect in jussive (sukūn) — the condition verb of a shart sentence (Lessons: Conditional Sentences; Subjunctive & Jussive Moods). |
| فَإِنَّمَا | فَ introducing the result clause + إِنَّمَا, the restrictive “only.” |
| يَشْكُرُ | The same verb again, now indicative (damma) — it sits inside the result clause after فَ, not directly governed by the conditional. |
| لِنَفْسِهِۦ | لِ + نَفْس in genitive + attached third person pronoun: “for his own soul.” |
| وَمَن كَفَرَ | Second conditional, this time with a perfect verb as the condition — conditionals accept past-tense verbs with future meaning. |
| فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ | Result clause: فَ + إِنَّ with its ism ٱللَّهَ in accusative (Lesson: Inna and Her Sisters). |
| غَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ | Two indefinite nominatives — khabar of إِنَّ and a following adjective. Both are intensive faʿīl-pattern forms. |
Relationships: أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ unpacks what ٱلْحِكْمَة contains — the wisdom is gratitude. The two مَن-conditionals mirror each other: gratitude returns to the grateful; ingratitude costs Allah nothing.
Rhetoric: The jussive/indicative contrast on يَشْكُرْ / يَشْكُرُ is your Step 5 prize: same verb, two moods, and the mood alone tells you which clause you are in.
Verse 13: The Gravest Wrong
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَٰنُ لِٱبْنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
wa-idh qāla luqmānu li-bnihi wa-huwa yaʿiẓuhu yā-bunayya lā tushrik billāhi inna sh-shirka la-ẓulmun ʿaẓīmun
And when Luqman said to his son, while admonishing him: 'O my dear son, do not associate anything with Allah. Indeed, shirk is a tremendous injustice.'
— Luqman 31:13
Before opening the model: there is a ḥāl clause and a prohibition in this verse. Find both, and find the extra lām that sneaks into the last three words.
Model analysis — Verse 13 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Verbal sentence introduced by the past-time particle إِذْ (“when”), carrying quoted speech.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَإِذْ قَالَ | إِذْ points to a past moment; قَالَ is Form I perfect, third masculine singular. |
| لُقْمَٰنُ | Fāʿil (doer) in nominative — the diptote takes damma normally in rafʿ; it only loses tanween. |
| لِٱبْنِهِۦ | لِ + ابْن in genitive + attached هِ: “to his son.” |
| وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ | The wāw here is the circumstantial wāw (wāw al-ḥāl): “while he was admonishing him.” An independent pronoun + imperfect verb forming a ḥāl clause (Lesson: Hal Clauses). يَعِظُ is from the assimilated root و-ع-ظ — the initial wāw drops in the imperfect (Lesson: Assimilated Verbs). |
| يَٰبُنَىَّ | Vocative يَا + بُنَىّ, the diminutive “my dear little son,” with the first person pronoun fused at the end. As a muḍāf vocative it stands in the accusative. |
| لَا تُشْرِكْ | Prohibitive لَا + Form IV imperfect, second masculine singular, jussive with sukūn: “do not commit shirk” (Lessons: Negation Particles; Imperative Mood). |
| بِٱللَّهِ | بِ + Allah, genitive — the verb أَشْرَكَ takes its object through بِ. |
| إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ | إِنَّ + its ism ٱلشِّرْكَ in accusative. |
| لَظُلْمٌ | Lām al-muzaḥlaqa — the “sliding lām” of emphasis that attaches to the khabar of إِنَّ. The noun itself is indefinite nominative: “truly an injustice” (Lesson: Emphasis & Affirmation). |
| عَظِيمٌ | Adjective agreeing with ظُلْمٌ in case, number, gender, and indefiniteness (Lesson: Adjective Agreement). |
Relationships: The ḥāl clause وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ frames the whole quotation — this is counsel, not condemnation. Inside the speech, the prohibition comes first, then إِنَّ + lām gives the reason with double emphasis.
Rhetoric: Notice the tenderness/severity pairing: the diminutive يَٰبُنَىَّ (affection) against لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ (double-weighted severity). The grammar carries the parenting.
Verse 14: Two Years, Two Parents
وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍۢ وَفِصَٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
wa-waṣṣaynā l-insāna bi-wālidayhi ḥamalathu ummuhu wahnan ʿalā wahnin wa-fiṣāluhu fī ʿāmayni ani shkur lī wa-li-wālidayka ilayya l-maṣīru
And We have enjoined upon man care for his parents. His mother carried him, weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the final return.
— Luqman 31:14
Before opening the model: this verse is a dual-form workout. Find every dual, and find the sentence whose word order has been flipped.
Model analysis — Verse 14 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Verbal sentence, with an embedded descriptive sentence about the mother and a closing inverted nominal sentence.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَوَصَّيْنَا | Form II perfect, first person plural — root و-ص-ي, “We enjoined.” The shadda on the middle radical is the Form II signature (Lesson: Verb Form II). |
| ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ | Direct object, accusative. |
| بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ | بِ + dual genitive (“both parents”) — the dual’s final ن drops before the attached pronoun هِ (Lesson: Singular, Dual & Plural). |
| حَمَلَتْهُ | Perfect verb + feminine tāʾ agreeing with the mother + attached object هُ: “she carried him” (Lesson: Gender in Arabic). |
| أُمُّهُۥ | Fāʿil in nominative + possessive pronoun. |
| وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ | Indefinite accusative describing the state of the carrying — “in weakness upon weakness” — then عَلَىٰ + genitive stacking the weakness (Lesson: Hal Clauses). |
| وَفِصَٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ | A small nominal sentence: mubtadaʾ فِصَٰلُهُۥ (“his weaning,” nominative) with its khabar as the prepositional phrase فِى عَامَيْنِ — عَامَيْنِ being dual genitive after فِى. |
| أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ | The same explanatory أَن + imperative structure as verse 12 — deliberately parallel. “Thank Me and your two parents” (dual again, لِوَٰلِدَيْكَ). |
| إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ | Taqdīm: the khabar (إِلَىَّ, “to Me”) is fronted before the mubtadaʾ (ٱلْمَصِيرُ, “the return”) — fronting the prepositional phrase restricts the destination: to Me alone (Lesson: Word Order & Emphasis). |
Relationships: The middle of the verse (mother’s carrying, two years of weaning) is the reason wedged between the command’s introduction and the command itself — the grammar makes you feel the debt before you hear the order.
Rhetoric: Gratitude to Allah and to parents share one verb (ٱشْكُرْ) and one لِ construction — placed side by side, made grammatically inseparable.
Verse 15: The Limit of Obedience
وَإِن جَٰهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُشْرِكَ بِى مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌۭ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ۖ وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًۭا ۖ وَٱتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَىَّ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
wa-in jāhadāka ʿalā an tushrika bī mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun fa-lā tuṭiʿhumā wa-ṣāḥibhumā fī d-dunyā maʿrūfan wa-ttabiʿ sabīla man anāba ilayya thumma ilayya marjiʿukum fa-unabbiʾukum bimā kuntum taʿmalūna
But if they strive to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them — yet keep their company in this world with kindness, and follow the way of those who turn back to Me. Then to Me is your return, and I will inform you of what you used to do.
— Luqman 31:15
Before opening the model: the longest verse of the passage. Find the dual verb, the subjunctive verb, and the jussive verb — three different endings, three different reasons.
Model analysis — Verse 15 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Conditional sentence (shart + jawāb) followed by a chain of imperatives, closing with an inverted nominal sentence.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَإِن جَٰهَدَاكَ | Conditional إِن + Form III perfect dual: the alif before كَ is the “they two” (the parents) subject marker, and كَ is you, the object (Lessons: Conditional Sentences; Verb Form III). |
| عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُشْرِكَ | أَن + imperfect in subjunctive (fatha ending) — the particle أَن forces naṣb on the verb (Lesson: Subjunctive & Jussive Moods). |
| بِى مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ | مَا “that which” (relative) + لَيْسَ, the negating sister of كَانَ. Its ism is عِلْمٌ (nominative), pushed to the end; لَكَ and بِهِۦ are fronted prepositional phrases: “that of which you have no knowledge” (Lessons: Kaana and Her Sisters; Relative Pronouns). |
| فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا | فَ opens the result clause; prohibitive لَا + Form IV jussive + the dual object pronoun هُمَا: “do not obey the two of them.” |
| وَصَاحِبْهُمَا | Form III imperative + dual pronoun again — refusal of obedience does not cancel companionship. |
| فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًۭا | Prepositional phrase + indefinite accusative مَعْرُوفًا, a passive participle used adverbially: “with recognized kindness” (Lesson: Active & Passive Participles). |
| وَٱتَّبِعْ | Form VIII imperative, root ت-ب-ع — the infixed doubled tāʾ is the Form VIII signature (Lesson: Verb Forms VII & VIII). |
| سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَىَّ | Object in accusative + relative مَنْ + Form IV perfect أَنَابَ (“turned back”): follow the path of whoever returns to Me. |
| ثُمَّ إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ | ثُمَّ sequences; then the same taqdīm as verse 14: fronted إِلَىَّ before the mubtadaʾ مَرْجِعُكُمْ. |
| فَأُنَبِّئُكُم | فَ + Form II imperfect, first person singular (the أُ prefix) + كُم: “then I will inform you all” (Lesson: Present Tense Conjugation). |
| بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ | بِ + relative مَا + كَانَ in second plural + imperfect تَعْمَلُونَ: the kāna + imperfect pairing renders “what you used to do” (Lesson: Kaana and Her Sisters). |
Relationships: One conditional governs three commands: disobey (in shirk), accompany (in kindness), follow (the penitent). The verse holds refusal and kindness in a single breath — and the grammar keeps them from contradicting.
Rhetoric: Three moods in one verse — subjunctive after أَن, jussive in the prohibition, plain indicative in the promise — each mood matched exactly to the speech act it serves.
Verse 16: The Mustard Seed
يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍۢ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍۢ فَتَكُن فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
yā-bunayya innahā in taku mithqāla ḥabbatin min khardalin fa-takun fī ṣakhratin aw fī s-samāwāti aw fī l-arḍi yaʾti bihā llāhu inna llāha laṭīfun khabīrun
O my dear son, if it should be but the weight of a mustard seed — and be within a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth — Allah will bring it forth. Indeed, Allah is Subtle, All-Aware.
— Luqman 31:16
Before opening the model: two verbs in this verse have lost letters. Find them and explain each loss.
Model analysis — Verse 16 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Vocative + إِنَّ sentence whose khabar is an entire conditional sentence.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| يَٰبُنَىَّ | The affectionate vocative again — Luqman’s refrain. |
| إِنَّهَآ | إِنَّ + هَا, “indeed it” — the pronoun anticipates the deed about to be described. |
| إِن تَكُ | Conditional إِن + تَكُ, the jussive of كَانَ with even its final ن dropped: تَكُن → تَكُ, a permitted lightening unique to this verb (Lessons: Hollow Verbs; Kaana and Her Sisters). Feminine, agreeing with هَا. |
| مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍۢ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍۢ | Khabar of تَكُ in accusative + idafah: “the weight of a grain,” then مِنْ + genitive: “of mustard” (Lesson: The Possessive Construction). |
| فَتَكُن | فَ + the same jussive verb (this time keeping its نْ), coordinated inside the condition: “and it be…” |
| فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ | Three فِى phrases joined by أَوْ (“or”) — rock, heavens, earth; ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ is a sound feminine plural in genitive (Lesson: Singular, Dual & Plural). |
| يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ | The jawāb (result): يَأْتِ is the jussive of the defective verb أَتَى — the final weak letter ى drops to mark jussive, since there is no sukūn to give (Lesson: Defective Verbs). بِهَا “with it” makes the coming transitive: “Allah brings it.” ٱللَّهُ is the fāʿil, nominative. |
| إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ | Closing إِنَّ sentence: ism in accusative, two intensive-pattern predicates in nominative. |
Relationships: The entire hypothetical — seed, rock, heavens, earth — is one long condition whose answer is just two words: يَأْتِ بِهَا. Cosmic scope, minimal verb.
Rhetoric: Both dropped letters (تَكُ, يَأْتِ) are grammar you can hear: the jussive physically shortens the verbs, and the shortening is triggered by the conditional frame. Step 5 note: the divine names لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ (Subtle, All-Aware) answer the scenario exactly — only subtlety finds a seed in a rock; only awareness knows it is there.
Verse 17: Prayer, Patience, Resolve
يَٰبُنَىَّ أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱنْهَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَ ۖ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ
yā-bunayya aqimi ṣ-ṣalāta wa-ʾmur bil-maʿrūfi wa-nha ʿani l-munkari wa-ṣbir ʿalā mā aṣābaka inna dhālika min ʿazmi l-umūri
O my dear son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, that is among the matters requiring resolve.
— Luqman 31:17
Before opening the model: four imperatives in a row — but each one is built from a different kind of root. Classify all four before you look.
Model analysis — Verse 17 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Vocative + a chain of four coordinated imperatives + a closing إِنَّ sentence.
The four imperatives — a weak-verb parade:
| Imperative | Root type | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| أَقِمِ | Hollow (ق-و-م) | Form IV imperative; the middle wāw contracts away because the final letter carries sukūn, and it takes a helping kasra here before the following ٱل (Lesson: Hollow Verbs). |
| وَأْمُرْ | Hamzated (ء-م-ر) | Form I imperative of أَمَرَ; the root’s hamza quiesces with sukūn right after the wāw in وَأْمُرْ (Lesson: Hamzated Verbs). |
| وَٱنْهَ | Defective (ن-ه-ي) | Form I imperative of نَهَىٰ; the final weak letter drops in the imperative, leaving ٱنْهَ (Lesson: Defective Verbs). |
| وَٱصْبِرْ | Sound (ص-ب-ر) | Form I imperative, fully regular — the control case (Lesson: Imperative Mood). |
Rest of the verse:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ | Direct object of أَقِمِ, feminine accusative. |
| بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ / عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ | Two prepositional phrases with passive participles as their objects: the recognized-good and the rejected-wrong (Lesson: Active & Passive Participles). |
| عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَ | عَلَىٰ + relative مَا + Form IV perfect أَصَابَ (hollow root ص-و-ب) + object كَ: “over what strikes you.” |
| إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ | إِنَّ + the far demonstrative ذَٰلِكَ as its ism — pointing back at all four commands at once (Lesson: Demonstrative Pronouns). |
| مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ | The khabar as a prepositional phrase: مِنْ + idafah عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ, “among the resolve-demanding matters.” |
Relationships: Four commands, one verdict: ذَٰلِكَ gathers them into a single “that,” and the khabar explains what they share — they all take resolve.
Rhetoric: The order is deliberate: prayer (yourself), enjoining and forbidding (others), patience (what comes back at you). The grammar’s flat coordination (وَ… وَ… وَ) makes them one program, not a menu.
Verse 18: The Tilted Cheek
وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍۢ فَخُورٍۢ
wa-lā tuṣaʿʿir khaddaka lin-nāsi wa-lā tamshi fī l-arḍi maraḥan inna llāha lā yuḥibbu kulla mukhtālin fakhūrin
And do not turn your cheek away from people in contempt, nor walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster.
— Luqman 31:18
Before opening the model: two prohibitions, then a reason. Work out the exact case of مُخْتَالٍ and فَخُورٍ, and why.
Model analysis — Verse 18 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Two coordinated prohibitions + an إِنَّ sentence giving the reason.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ | Prohibitive لَا + Form II imperfect jussive, root ص-ع-ر: “do not tilt (your cheek) in contempt” — a rare, vivid verb (Lesson: Verb Form II). |
| خَدَّكَ | Direct object, accusative + your كَ. |
| لِلنَّاسِ | The preposition لِ fused onto the definite noun, genitive: at people. |
| وَلَا تَمْشِ | Second prohibition — a defective verb, root م-ش-ي: the final weak letter drops under jussive, leaving تَمْشِ with its telltale kasra (Lesson: Defective Verbs). |
| فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ | Prepositional phrase. |
| مَرَحًا | Indefinite accusative describing the manner of walking — “exultantly, in insolence.” Most analysts read it as a ḥāl; some as a mafʿūl li-ajlih (“out of insolence”) — both parse cleanly, and weighing the two is genuine Level-5 work (Lessons: Hal Clauses; The Mafʿul li-Ajlih). |
| إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ | إِنَّ + accusative ism + negated Form IV imperfect: “Allah does not love…” |
| كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍۢ فَخُورٍۢ | كُلَّ is the accusative object; مُخْتَالٍ is genitive as the second term of idafah with كُلّ, and فَخُورٍ agrees with it (Lesson: The Possessive Construction). مُخْتَال is the Form VIII active participle of the root خ-ي-ل — the conceited one who imagines himself grand; فَخُور is the intensive faʿūl pattern: habitual boaster. |
Relationships: The two prohibitions target face (contempt toward others) and gait (celebration of self); the إِنَّ sentence names the disease behind both — the self-imagining conceit packed into مُخْتَالٍ.
Rhetoric: Both banned behaviors are bodily — cheek and stride. The verse legislates posture, and the morphology (Form VIII “self-deceiving” participle + intensive boaster) diagnoses the soul behind it.
Verse 19: Walk and Voice
وَٱقْصِدْ فِى مَشْيِكَ وَٱغْضُضْ مِن صَوْتِكَ ۚ إِنَّ أَنكَرَ ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِ لَصَوْتُ ٱلْحَمِيرِ
wa-qṣid fī mashyika wa-ghḍuḍ min ṣawtika inna ankara l-aṣwāti la-ṣawtu l-ḥamīri
Be moderate in your walk, and lower your voice. Indeed, the most repugnant of voices is the braying of donkeys.
— Luqman 31:19
Before opening the model: the last verse hides a doubled root, a partitive مِن, an elative, and one more emphasis lām. Find all four.
Model analysis — Verse 19 (open only after your own attempt)
Sentence type: Two imperatives + a closing إِنَّ sentence with an elative subject.
Word by word:
| Word | Analysis |
|---|---|
| وَٱقْصِدْ | Form I imperative, root ق-ص-د: “aim for the middle” — moderation as a verb. |
| فِى مَشْيِكَ | فِى + مَشْي (the masdar of walking) in genitive + كَ (Lesson: Verbal Nouns). |
| وَٱغْضُضْ | Form I imperative of the doubled root غ-ض-ض. In the imperative the two identical letters separate (ٱغْضُضْ) rather than fuse — the sukūn on the final letter blocks the usual merging. |
| مِن صَوْتِكَ | Partitive مِن: lower some of your voice — the preposition itself does the moderating (Lesson: Prepositions and Genitive). |
| إِنَّ أَنكَرَ | إِنَّ + its ism أَنكَرَ — an elative (afʿal pattern, “most repugnant”), diptote, showing fatha, and muḍāf to the next word. |
| ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِ | Second term of the idafah, genitive plural: “of voices.” |
| لَصَوْتُ | The lām al-muzaḥlaqa again on the khabar + صَوْت in nominative: “is truly the voice…” |
| ٱلْحَمِيرِ | Final idafah term, genitive: “of the donkeys.” |
Relationships: Command pair (walk, voice), then a reason aimed only at the second — the comparison is reserved for the loud voice, and the elative أَنكَرَ makes it superlative, not casual.
Rhetoric: The passage ends where verse 13 began: with إِنَّ + emphasis lām. Luqman’s counsel opens and closes on the same emphatic frame — ring composition you can now prove from the particles alone.
After the Exam
You have now done what this course was built for: opened a passage of the Quran you had never studied, and read its grammar with your own eyes. The 38 surah analyses on this site are no longer walkthroughs — they are second opinions.
Words from this lesson
High-frequency Quran vocabulary you just saw in context.
- تَعْمَلُونَ taʿmalūna to do, work, act
- وَإِذْ waʾidh when, at the time that (past temporal)
- عَظِيمٌ ʿaẓīmun great, mighty, tremendous
- فَإِنَّمَا faʾinnamā indeed, verily (emphasis particle)
- ٱلْمَصِيرُ al-maṣīru destination, final return, end
- بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ bilmaʿrūfi kindness, good conduct, honorable custom
- وَإِنَّهُۥ waʾinnahu indeed, verily (emphasis particle)
- كَفَرَ kafara to disbelieve, reject faith
- إِنَّهَا innahā indeed, verily (emphasis particle)
- يَٰبَنِىٓ yābani my son, dear son (diminutive of affection)
Apply it: read with the analysis open
9 surah analyses matched to what Level 5 taught.