The Relative Clause in the Deictic (Annu, Ma) from the Perspective of Structure and Governing Elements

Abstract

This research presents a structural grammatical study of the conjunctive particles (ʾan and mā) and their subordinate clauses in Surah Yusuf (peace be upon him). This study is significant due to the great importance of these two particles in linking structures together, and because Surah Yusuf is rich in the presence of these two particles, which are used within the Quranic textual context to denote both past and future tenses. Notably, the particle (ʾan) signifies the future through its construction with the present tense verb, which denotes the future, whether its subject is apparent or implied. In contrast, we find that the particle (mā) is constructed with both past and present tense verbs. In the Quranic context, the particle (mā) can perform two important roles: that of a particle and that of a nominal element, estimated to be the relative pronoun (alladhī), according to the appropriate estimation. We have observed that the two particles (ʾan and mā) are interpreted as a verbal noun (maṣdar), which substitutes for a single entity and is parsed according to its position in the context, such as a subject, doer of an action, object of a verb, genitive construction, and other positions that a single entity can occupy. A conjunctive particle necessarily requires a subordinate clause to complete its meaning; it connects what precedes it to what follows it through a clause that has no apparent grammatical position, according to the rules of grammarians. However, this position is not devoid of meaning, as its meaning completes the intended meaning of the conjunctive particle structure. We will note that the particle (ʾan) is an operator (ʿāmil) on what follows it both in form and meaning: in form, by changing the inflection of the present tense verb from nominative to accusative, and in meaning, by shifting the tense of the verb from the present to the future. Conversely, we find that the particle (mā) is not an operator; rather, the present tense verb after it remains in the nominative case, and it also precedes the past tense verb.