رَفِيقًاthin

Example sentences

• فَيُوقِدُ وَقُودًا رَفِيقًا

  Then he lights some thin kindling.

  رفيقًا — thin. An adjective describing the fuel just before it, and it matches that noun on two counts: both are indefinite (no 'the') and both carry the same -an object ending. Arabic adjectives trail their noun and echo its definiteness and case, which is how you know this word attaches to the fuel and not to something else in the sentence. Its agreement is the glue tying it to what it modifies.

  From: Mothers and the Companions →

• وَأَنَّهُمْ هُمْ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا،

  And that they are those on whom Allah has bestowed favor: the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. Those are excellent companions.

  رَفِيقًا — a companion. Grammatically singular yet meaning the whole group, this noun stands in the special 'clarifying' accusative that pins down in what respect the praise applies: excellent as a companion. Arabic regularly uses a singular in this slot to state the standard of comparison, so one word covers 'as companions'. Its bare accusative ending is the tell that it answers 'excellent in what way?'.

  From: Choosing Good Companions →