ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْtheir two shoulder-blades

Example sentences

• قَالَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَأَصْرُخَنَّ بِهَا بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ،

  He said, "By the One in whose hand my soul is, I will certainly call out with it between their shoulder-blades."

  ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ — their two shoulder-blades. This is the dual — Arabic's dedicated 'exactly two' form, folded into the noun's ending rather than spelled out with a separate 'two'. The attached -hum ('their') then makes it the two shoulder-blades belonging to the group, so count and owner ride on one word.

  From: A Stranger Finds the Prophet →