Al-Ma’un (Small Kindnesses)

Overview

• Revelation: Meccan
• Verses: 7
• Theme: Condemns religious hypocrisy — those who deny the Day of Judgment, mistreat orphans, neglect the poor, and perform prayers ostentatiously while refusing the smallest acts of kindness.
• Grammar Focus: Rhetorical interrogative أَرَأَيْتَ, relative clauses with الَّذِي/الَّذِينَ, exclamatory وَيْلٌ construction, active participles (الْمُصَلِّينَ, سَاهُونَ), Form III يُرَاءُونَ, present tense for habitual action

Structural Overview

Verse-by-Verse Analysis

Verse 1

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): The interrogative أَ precedes the verb رَأَيْتَ forming a rhetorical question. الَّذِي is the مَفْعُول بِهِ (direct object) of رَأَيْتَ, in the accusative position (في مَحَلّ نَصْب). The verb يُكَذِّبُ within the relative clause is the صِلَة الموصول — it has no independent i’rab position. بِالدِّينِ is a prepositional phrase: بِ governs الدِّينِ in the genitive.

Sarf (Morphology): يُكَذِّبُ is a Form II verb (فَعَّلَ → يُفَعِّلُ) from root ك-ذ-ب. Form II adds intensity and declarative meaning to the base root: while كَذَبَ (Form I) means “he lied,” كَذَّبَ (Form II) means “he called someone a liar” or “he denied/rejected.” The doubled middle radical ذّ is the morphological marker of Form II. The بِ preposition with يُكَذِّبُ indicates what is being denied.

Balagha (Rhetoric): The surah opens with a question rather than a statement, immediately engaging the listener. The use of الَّذِي (singular masculine) creates a specific archetype — not “those who deny” but “THE one who denies,” making the portrait sharp and personal. الدِّينِ with the definite article refers to THE Recompense (the Day of Judgment), not religion in general. The opening verse poses a challenge: can you identify this person? The following verses reveal him not through theology but through behavior.

Verse 2

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): فَ is فَاء الفَصِيحَة or فَاء السَّبَبِيَّة, connecting the consequence to its cause. ذَٰلِكَ is the mubtada’ (subject) and الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ is the khabar (predicate). The nominal sentence structure ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي creates an equation: “that one = the one who repels.” يَدُعُّ takes الْيَتِيمَ as its direct object (maf’ul bihi, accusative with fatha).

Sarf (Morphology): يَدُعُّ is from root د-ع-ع (a doubled/geminate root) on the Form I pattern يَفْعُلُ. The doubled final radical عّ creates the emphatic pronunciation. This verb means “to push violently, to shove away” — stronger than mere neglect. الْيَتِيم from root ي-ت-م on the فَعِيل pattern denotes the child who has lost his father — a person of utmost vulnerability in Arabian society.

Balagha (Rhetoric): ذَٰلِكَ (far demonstrative: “THAT one”) creates contemptuous distance — the speaker points to this person as someone to be observed and condemned from afar. The present tense يَدُعُّ indicates habitual action — this is not a one-time event but his character. The choice of يَدُعُّ (to shove, to push violently) over a milder verb like يَتْرُكُ (to leave alone) paints a picture of active cruelty, not passive neglect. The orphan is already the most vulnerable member of society; to violently repel him reveals the depths of the denier’s moral corruption.

Verse 3

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): لَا is لَا النَّافِيَة (negation particle) negating the present tense without changing its mood — يَحُضُّ remains marfu’ (indicative). This contrasts with لَمْ which would cause jussive mood. The prepositional phrase عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ tells what he fails to encourage. طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ is an idafah where طَعَامِ is majrur by عَلَىٰ and الْمِسْكِينِ is majrur as mudaf ilayhi.

Sarf (Morphology): يَحُضُّ is from root ح-ض-ض (another doubled/geminate root) on the Form I pattern يَفْعُلُ, meaning “to strongly urge, to encourage.” الْمِسْكِين from root س-ك-ن on the مِفْعِيل pattern denotes someone immobilized by poverty — the root itself means “to be still/quiet,” and the pattern suggests someone whose poverty has rendered him unable to move or act.

Balagha (Rhetoric): The verse condemns by indirection: not “he doesn’t feed the poor” but “he doesn’t even encourage feeding.” This is devastatingly effective — it reveals a person so morally bankrupt that even the IDEA of helping the poor doesn’t cross his mind, let alone the act itself. The coordination with وَ links this failure to the orphan-repelling in verse 2, building a portrait of comprehensive social cruelty. Both verses use present tense (يَدُعُّ, يَحُضُّ) to indicate these are permanent character traits, not isolated incidents.

Verse 4

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): فَ here marks a transition between the surah’s two halves. وَيْلٌ is the mubtada’, and لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ is the khabar (prepositional phrase in the position of nominative). Some grammarians analyze وَيْلٌ as khabar muqaddam with a deleted mubtada’ — either analysis yields the same meaning. الْمُصَلِّينَ is majrur by لِ, taking the ya ending characteristic of sound masculine plurals in the genitive/accusative.

Sarf (Morphology): الْمُصَلِّينَ is the active participle (ism fa’il) of the Form II verb صَلَّى (to pray), following the مُفَعِّل pattern. The sound masculine plural adds ـينَ in the oblique cases (genitive and accusative). Form II صَلَّى (with doubled lam) is the standard verb for ritual prayer in Arabic, derived from root ص-ل-و.

Balagha (Rhetoric): The فَ connects the two halves of the surah: BECAUSE these people deny judgment (vv1-3), THEREFORE even their prayers bring condemnation (vv4-7). Using an active participle (الْمُصَلِّينَ — “those who are praying ones”) rather than a relative clause (الَّذِينَ يُصَلُّونَ — “those who pray”) makes prayer their defining identity — they ARE prayers, yet their prayer is condemned. The paradox is the point.

Verse 5

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): الَّذِينَ introduces a relative clause qualifying الْمُصَلِّينَ. Inside the clause, هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ is a nominal sentence: هُمْ (mubtada’), سَاهُونَ (khabar). The prepositional phrase عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ is مُتَعَلِّق بِـ (connected to) سَاهُونَ, specifying what they are heedless of. صَلَاتِهِمْ is majrur by عَن with the attached possessive pronoun هِمْ in the genitive position.

Sarf (Morphology): سَاهُونَ is the active participle (ism fa’il) of سَهَا (to be heedless, to forget) on the فَاعِل pattern, in the sound masculine plural (فَاعِلُونَ → سَاهُونَ in nominative). Using the active participle rather than the verb يَسْهُونَ makes heedlessness a permanent state, not a temporary action — they ARE heedless ones by nature.

Balagha (Rhetoric): The nominal sentence structure (هُمْ…سَاهُونَ) emphasizes permanence — this is their constant state, not an occasional lapse. The detached pronoun هُمْ at the start of the clause adds emphasis: THEY specifically are the heedless ones. The preposition عَن (from/about) rather than فِي (in) is a deliberate rhetorical choice that scholars cite as evidence of Quranic precision — it distinguishes between natural human distraction during prayer (forgivable) and fundamental disregard for prayer as an obligation (condemned).

Verse 6

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): This verse mirrors verse 5 structurally: الَّذِينَ + هُمْ + predicate. The second الَّذِينَ can be analyzed as either بَدَل (apposition) to the first الَّذِينَ or as a second na’t (adjective) to الْمُصَلِّينَ. هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ is a nominal sentence with a verbal khabar — the detached pronoun هُمْ adds emphasis before the verb.

Sarf (Morphology): يُرَاءُونَ is the present tense of the Form III verb رَاءَى (يُرَائِي), conjugated for the plural. Form III (فَاعَلَ) indicates directing an action toward someone else — the root ر-أ-ي (seeing) becomes “to make others see, to display oneself.” The hamza in the middle creates the distinctive pronunciation. The present tense indicates ongoing, habitual behavior.

Balagha (Rhetoric): After establishing that they are heedless OF prayer (v5), the surah reveals WHY they pray at all: for human observers. The Form III pattern (directing action toward others) makes the grammar itself encode the hypocrisy — their worship is not directed toward Allah but toward people. The parallel structure with verse 5 (both starting with الَّذِينَ هُمْ) creates a two-part accusation: they don’t care about prayer (سَاهُونَ) AND their prayer is for show (يُرَاءُونَ).

Verse 7

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Nahw-Sarf-Balagha Synthesis

Nahw (Syntax): وَ coordinates this verb with the preceding relative clause, continuing the description of the condemned group. يَمْنَعُونَ is a transitive verb taking الْمَاعُونَ as its direct object (maf’ul bihi, accusative with fatha). The present tense indicates habitual refusal.

Sarf (Morphology): يَمْنَعُونَ from root م-ن-ع on the Form I pattern يَفْعَلُ means “to withhold, prevent, refuse.” الْمَاعُون from root م-ع-ن follows the فَاعُول pattern, which is relatively rare and here denotes an instrument or means of small assistance. Some linguists connect it to مَعُونَة (help, aid), making الْمَاعُون the diminutive or minimal form of help.

Balagha (Rhetoric): The surah ends not with a grand theological statement but with the mundane: refusing to lend a neighbor simple household items. This is the final, crushing irony — the surah moves from cosmic theology (denying the Day of Judgment) through social cruelty (orphans, the poor) through spiritual hypocrisy (prayer for show) to arrive at the pettiest possible failure: withholding a cup of salt. The descending scale of the condemnation makes it universal: if you fail at even the smallest kindness, your prayer and your faith are both hollow. The word الْمَاعُونَ, which gives the surah its name, encapsulates its entire message in a single term.

Practice Exercises

Key Vocabulary

Grammar Summary