The prefix "MU"

unknownuser

Peace be upon you,

I would like to discuss the grammar rules of the prefix "MU" in "Koranic" Arabic.

From a layman (myself), it appears that when the prefix "MU" is added to a word, it means that the person or thing serves as a vehicle for the word. (i.e. one who...)

Please help me list some of the words like;

mushrikeena
musalleen
mu'minoon
masjid

etc.

unknownuser

Salaams idolfree,

mushrikeena
musalleen
mu'minoon

masjid

why didn't you select something better? the first three are people and the last isn't - i think.

may be some arabic speaker could drop an example.

Gods Blessings.

unknownuser

Peace be upon you MZ,

mushrikeena
musalleen
mu'minoon

masjid

why didn't you select something better? the first three are people and the last isn't - i think.

I don't know what you mean by better, I am discussing the prefix "Mu" and these fit that category as far as I understand.

For example, "Musalleen" are those who are "vehicles of salaat" (those who do salaat).

I am hoping other examples can be given and elaborated upon.

Bilal76

Peace be upon you,

I would like to discuss the grammar rules of the prefix "MU" in "Koranic" Arabic.

From a layman (myself), it appears that when the prefix "MU" is added to a word, it means that the person or thing serves as a vehicle for the word. (i.e. one who...)

Please help me list some of the words like;

mushrikeena
musalleen
mu'minoon
masjid

etc.

Peace idolfree1,

J-M-' => MAJMOUW'
SH-R-B => MASHROUWB
K-T-B => MAKTOUB
KKH-L-Q => MAKKLOUQ
Q-T-L => MAQTOUL
'-R-F => MA'ROUWF
S-K-N => MASKOUWN
F-T-H => MAFTOUWH
S-L-M => MOUSLIMOUN
D-R-S => MOUDARRISOUWN
K-B-R => MOUTAKABBIROUWN

Why some words use the prefixe "Mu" whearas others are composed of the prefixe "Ma". Somebody can explain the difference

thanks,

unknownuser

Salaams idol,

Masajid
Shariba ?to drink,swallow,sunk in,absorb.
Mashrabun ? drinking place.
Masharib ?drinks
Manafiun
Munafiqin
Muhajirin
Muhajirat
Mahlika -time or place of destruction.
Muhlika -one who destroys.
Muhliku -those who destroy.
Muhlakin ? those are dead,who are perished.
Masjidun

Hope its what you was looking for.

unknownuser

Salam Idolfree,
I am learning arabic and have a copy of Hans Wehr's arabic-english dictionary. I thought I would share what his definitions are.
Hans Wehr indicates that ma =

(interrogative pronoun) what? (introducing indirect questions) what
ma-da (intensified) what?
li-ma-da why (on earth)?
ma anta wa-daka what's that to you?
(relative pro-noun) that which, what; something which; whatever, all that...
(following an indefinate noun) some, some or other, a certain...
(negation) not
(conjunction) as long as
whenever; as far as, to the extent or degree that....
the fact that (with following verb)
(before an indirect question with "ida" and perf.) if, whether
(with folowwing "af'ala" and accusative)
ma afdala 'umara How excellent Omar is!
ajmalahu how handsome he is!

I hope this helps this was the list of what "ma" can mean when used as a prefix.

I highly recommend Hans Wehr's Arabic-English Dictionary. It takes some time to learn how to use it but its well worth the effort as it has been very useful to me.
Salam Akhi

Someone

Peace Arnaab,

The informations you provided are correct in their context, but are not reffering to the same "ma" used in the examples posted by idolfree1. This is just to clarify, to not mix different things together.

There is too much details to take in consideration when studying arabic grammar, and sometimes it's hard to translate the rules to english especially when there is no such equivalent rules in english.

Some examples from arabic, not necessarly from the scripture

To build bana' # a building mabna'
To work 3amila # a workshop ma3mal
To teach darrassa # a school madrassa # a teacher mudarriss
To write kataba # a desk maktab # a book kitab

This is all I can add to the examples listed by the others for now, I hope that helps

unknownuser

Hello all

let me put it simple as follow

to create a noun from a root, the wazn is used, some examples as follows

Faail, ""
Mufaal, ""
Mafaal, ""
Mafool, ""

the above is is for a singular, and by adding "oon" , "in" or "at" at the end, it becomes plural except 2 & 3

you can also see from the above that 2 = 3, the only difference is the Tashkil, for example

if the M has a dumma, then it has to be pronounced "Mu"

if it has a fatha, it has to be pronounced "Ma"

it is rare that the first M will have a kasrah to be pronounced "Mi" but it is still a possiblity

therefor the M has nothing to do with the meaning rather it is coming from the Wazn to differntiate it from other words derived from the same root

an example is as follow

root = "Qa Ta La" = " ", to kill

first noun = "Qa T iL" = "", a killer

second noun = "Ma Q Ta L" = "", a murder

third noun = "Mu Q Ta L" = "", a murder, but I guess this tashkil is not valid with this word, never heard of it

fourth noun = "Ma Q To L" = "", a person who is murdered, the M here must always have a fatha hence it is Ma

all the above nouns is for a singular and by adding the following at the end it will become plurals

"oon", "", males, or males/females together
"in", "", males, or males/females together
"at", "", females only

the difference between 1 and 2 above is only the tashkil at the end, the taskil for a dumma will make it "oon" and for a kasrah or a fatha it has to be "in"

for the female plural it will always stay "at" regardless of the tashkil

i hope my 2c helps a bit

cheers

unknownuser

Salam,
Thank you brother Ahmed for your input that was very helpful.

unknownuser

Salam,
Thank you brother Ahmed for your input that was very helpful.

no worries bro, please ask me any question regarding the language, even if I don't know the answer I will find it easy for you inshaallah
cheers

unknownuser

Peace be upon you all,

How would the prefix "mu" work with the word "hamd"?

unknownuser

Peace be upon you all,

How would the prefix "mu" work with the word "hamd"?

The prefix Mo in Mohammad name has no effect because Mohammad is a human name

peace

unknownuser

Peace be upon you,

The prefix Mo in Mohammad name has no effect because Mohammad is a human name

So grammar and logic go out the window when it comes to that word D

Interesting.

unknownuser

Peace be upon you,

The prefix Mo in Mohammad name has no effect because Mohammad is a human name

So grammar and logic go out the window when it comes to that word D

Interesting.

not really with that word, bit with any of the followings

a human name
a country name
a city name
a suburb name
a street name
and, any other entity name for that matter

like any other language exactly, nothing new or explicit to the arabic here

Also I didn;t say thrown out of the windows, I meant has no effect in the meaning, all other grammar rules exist on the word regarding its positions with the other words, but its context will never change from a human name

cheers

unknownuser

Salaams idolfree,

I think you can look to other words which are similer

Shirkun =share .
Ashraka =Associate partner/sharer.
Mushrik = Who associates partner.

Hamdun =Praise.
Ahmad =Most praiseworthy.
Muhammad =The one who praises.

Gods Blessings.

unknownuser

Peace be upon you MZ357,

I think you can look to other words which are similer

Shirkun =share .
Ashraka =Associate partner/sharer.
Mushrik = Who associates partner.

Hamdun =Praise.
Ahmad =Most praiseworthy.
Muhammad =The one who praises.

Thank you brother!!! Thank you! Thats all I was asking for, however, some are so scared to admit the truth of the GRAMMAR.

The preconcieved idea of the word "muhammadun" being a literal person has effected the proper understanding. Now this has turned into worship of an unverifyable man, rather than being a guide to a certin type of character for us all.

unknownuser

Peace be upon you,

Actually, I need to make a correction

Muhammad =The one who praises.

There is no "The" in the translation, only one who is "hamd".

The implies that there is only ONE. Just like there is no "The" in the first example, there is none in the other.

unknownuser

Peace be upon you,

Brother MZ has given more examples in another thread which I am pasting

Sharibu = They drank.
Sharibeena /sharibuna = drinkers.
Ma-shariba = a Drink.
Ma-sharabun = Drinking place.

Sajidu =Accept
Sajideena.=Accepters.
Ma-sajida =What you accept.
Ma-sajadun=practice of your acceptance

But I question am noticing is why not "place" of acceptance? How does it turn to "practice"?

unknownuser

Salaams idolfree,

because you drink/take in a drink in/at a place.

But you carry out an order/command at a place.

I think you do need a place to drink but not a place to accept because one is a physical thing and the other isn't.But you do need a physical place to carry it out though.

Salaams.

Grourself

Peace,
Here's the results of my research so far. There were some Hebrew graphics that are not showing but I don't think it matters.

Muhammadun as used in the ?Qur?aan? is not a proper noun. It is a derivative of the verb H-M-D (appreciate/acclaim/praise). The messenger of the reading (qur?aan), is referred to as muhammadun. It is important to understand the full meaning of the words generated by the Arabic root H-M-D. These words retain the essence of this definition. Mahmud, praise; ahmadu, most praised; muhammadun, the praised one.

In the ?Qur'aan?, the word muhammad-un is a *participle and functions as a common **nominative noun.

*PARTICIPLES come in two varieties past and present and they have three functions in sentences. They can be components of multipart verbs , or they can function as adjectives or nouns. Past and present participles often function as adjectives that describe nouns. Present participles can function as nouns--the subjects, objects, and complements in sentences.

**NOMINATIVE serving as or indicating the SUBJECT of a verb- the subject is who or what DOES the verb. In the Arabic language this grammatical singular case ending is ?un?.
Mu-hammad-un = nominative case noun *indefinite, the subject (the doer) of the verb.

*The indefinite corresponds generally to the English noun with the indefinite article ?a? (plural ?some?) For example a man, some men. For a noun to be definite it must be preceded by the definite article ?the? or be first in a construct. For example kitabu-r-rajuli, the man?s book, kitabu rijali, a man?s book. The first word in this construct never takes the definite article. When the second word in this construct in indefinite, the whole phrase is indefinite, otherwise the phrase is definite. )

This is the grammatical breakdown of the word muhammadun

The case ending ?un? is singular and in this form mu-hammad-un is

Derived from the verb HaMiDa {Definition Root-H-M-D Hamida-he praised, Hamdun true praise. This word not only embodies the idea of thankfulness but also has reference to the intrinsic qualities of the object of praise. Hamd is always true and used only about such acts as are volitional. It also implies admiration, magnifying and honoring of the object of praise, humility and submissiveness in the person who offers it. Hamd is a praise which is offered in appreciation of commendable action of one worthy of praise.

It also includes lauding one who has done a favor of his own volition and according to his own choice. It is not only a true praise but also an admiration. The word shukr, thanks, differs from Hamd in the sense that its application is restricted to beneficent qualities and praise. The word Madha, gratitude, differs from Hamd in the sense that it also applies to involuntary beneficence. The word hamd is much more comprehensive than shukr.

MU- a participle prefix meaning the person or thing to which the ACTION of the verb H-M-D has been APPLIED. It is attached to a derivative of a verb.
haMMad Derivative of H-M-D Form II (fa-?a?a-la doubling of the middle root consonant) meaning, carrying out an action TO someone or something else and can also give a verb the meaning of DOING something INTENSIVELY and or REPEATEDLY]
Muhammad-in the genitive case ending. The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. In English it is expressed by using the word ?of? or an apostrophe ?s?. It is used with prepositions (in, from, on, upon etc.) as in the case of ?ala, ?upon?.

In aHMaDu is the *elative form of H-M-D.

It means most appreciated/acclaimed/praised. Isa says "?his designation (ismahu) will be most appreciated- acclaimed-praised". It functions as an adjective. It is not a proper noun or name.
The word muhammadun can be found in the reading in three places quoted above. As muhammadun and as muhammadin, ?ALA RASUL God descends the truth upon the appreciated one . All have the same root, H-M-D. These are not proper nouns.

You also will not find this word, muhammadun, appearing in the reading preceded by ?YAA? which is common of vocative *particles used in calling one who is near, (like O!) and who is far in place or high degree to him who is between near and distant. A few examples from the list of its extensive use are O Musa, O Isa, O Iblis and even O jibaalu (mountains, yet inanimate objects but they are being addressed by God). There is no O Muhammad.

O Messenger, let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief (whether it be) among those who say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the guided,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places they say, "If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!" If any one's trial is intended by God, thou hast no authority in the least for him against God. For such - it is not God?s will to clean their hearts/thinking. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the hereafter a heavy punishment.

See Lanes Lexicon Vol. 2 pg. 640c ref. muhammadun ?a man praised much, or repeatedly, or time after time endowed with many praiseworthy qualities.?
See Lanes Lexicon Vol. 2 pg. 639c ref. ahmad He (a man,) came to a state, or result, such as was praised, or commended, or approved; properly, his affair, or case, came to such a state or result he did, or said, that for which he should be praised, or commended; or that which was praiseworthy, or commendable;?

Mahmud according to LL means ?the station in which its occupant shall be praised by all creatures (on the day of resurrection)?Vol. 2 pg 640a

O MESSENGER
Notice No ?O Muhammad? Why?

O Messenger, let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief (whether it be) among those who say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the guided,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places they say, "If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!" If any one's trial is intended by God, thou hast no authority in the least for him against God. For such - it is not God?s will to clean their hearts/thinking. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the hereafter a heavy punishment.
567 O Messenger. proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And God will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For God guideth not those who reject Faith.
599 The Messenger?s duty is but to deliver (make reach). But Allah knoweth all that ye reveal and ye conceal.

Mahmud according to LL means ?the station in which its occupant shall be praised by all creatures (on the day of resurrection)?Vol. 2 pg 640a

Special Note ?If Muhammad was the name of the prophet of Islam, why is it that the word Muhammad is not even once mentioned as the name of Islam?s Prophet in classical lexicons??

yuhmadu

Mu-Harram-un & Mu-Hammad-un
Form II verbs with the prefix (mufal) mu, participle, i.e., the action of the verb is applied the person = the ?sanctioned one? & the ?praised one?
Neither are proper nouns

2146 Those whom We gave them The Book they RECOGNIZE it, as they recognize their sons, and that a group from them hide/conceal the truth and they are knowing.
Much of the second sura addresses the Bani Israel, the people of the book. These people familiar with the message spoke Hebrew. I note below how they understand the word muhammadun in their language. Religionists have accused them of deliberately translating this word so as to take the ?name? Muhammad out of the prophesies. This word is also used in about 10 other bible verses besides Songs of Solomon 516 and if left un-translated it renders the verses indecipherable. It is food for thought.
Muhammad In Hebrew? Mem-chet (het)-mem-dalet-mem

His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.'
The 5th chapter of Songs of Solomon is discussing someone. In reading the English translation of Songs 516 it finishes the description by saying "He is altogether lovely". The words "altogether lovely" was translated from mahmad ( ).
The way this word is written is Hebrew is . Let's look at the spelling of this word...

It has four characters. Going from right to left they are...

When writing in Hebrew, there is no difference between the word mahmad ( ) and muhammad ( ). The only difference is in the vowels used when pronouncing this word ( ). Hebrew is an ancient language, and there are no vowels. It is made up of 22 consonants. In ancient times, the reader decided on his own which vowels to add in. It was not until the 8th century that vowels were introduced, in the form of dots and lines. However, this has nothing to do with real Hebrew. The word mahmad ( ) in ancient times would most likely have been pronounced "mahamad".
According to Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary, is correctly pronounced "mahamad" (not mahmad) which is very close to muhammad.

Ben Yehuda's Hebrew-English Dictionary defines " " as "LOVELY, COVETED ONE, PRECIOUS ONE, PRAISED ONE". The correct way to say "praised one" in Arabic is muhammad, so this is the same word.
Muhammad ( ) and the word mahmad ( ) are spelled exactly the same way in Hebrew, and both have the same meaning. The only reason they are pronounced different is because of vowels (dots and lines) introduced in the eighth century. The Hebrew word for praised one is

Regarding the etymology of "Muhammad" as being the "Transferred Proper Noun," (as proposed by one reader), I must say that it's nothing more than a hypothesis.

The sound and surer etymology of the word "Muhammad," on the contrary, is as follows

Root H-M-D

Active participle of the Verbal Form I HamaDa.

Passive participle of the Verbal Form I MaHm?d.

Active participle of the Verbal Form II HammaDa

Passive participle of the Verbal Form II MuHammaD.

But the surety of etymology in Classical Arabic ends here. Any attempt to trace the Proper Noun to such trilateral VERBAL roots is bound to remain a hypothesis.