Mubtada, Khabar, Badal, Lam of possession Simplified: Madinah Book 1 Lesson 8

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Mubtada, Khabar, Badal, Lam of possession Simplified: durusul lughah Book 1 Lesson 8

Lesson 8 of  Durusul Lughah (Madinah) Book Volume 1

Lesson 8 of the well-known Madinah Arabic series is a key milestone for beginners. It takes you beyond basic sentences and helps you learn:

  1. How to make a specific statement (The Badal Rule).
  2. How to show ownership (The Lām of Possession).
  3. How to describe location (Place Adverbs).
Let's break down these concepts one by one, but before that, let's read the text in the book along with its English translation.

Arabic text and English translation: Madinah Book 1 Lesson 8


Mubtada, Khabar, Badal, Lam of possession : Madinah Book 1 Lesson 8


الدَّرْسُ الثَّامِنُ
The Eighth Lesson

هَذَا الرَّجُلُ تَاجِرٌ وَذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ طَبِيبٌ
This man is a merchant, and that man is a doctor.

اسْمُ التَّاجِرِ مَحْمُودٌ وَاسْمُ الطَّبِيبِ سَعِيدٌ
The merchant's name is Mahmoud, and the doctor's name is Sa'eed.

هَذَا الْبَيْتُ لِلتَّاجِرِ وَذَلِكَ الْبَيْتُ لِلطَّبِيبِ
This house belongs to the merchant, and that house belongs to the doctor

بَيْتُ التَّاجِرِ أَمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِ وَبَيْتُ الطَّبِيبِ خَلْفَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ
The merchant's house is in front of the mosque, and the doctor's house is behind the school

لِمَنْ هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ وَلِمَنْ تِلْكَ ؟
Whose car is this, and whose is that?

هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ لِلطَّبِيبِ وَتِلْكَ لِلتَّاجِرِ
This car belongs to the doctor, and that one belongs to the merchant

هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ مِنَ الْيَابَانِ وَتِلْكَ مِنْ أَمْرِيكَا
This car is from Japan, and that one is from America.

From the text we learned the following:

1. Making Specific Statements: Understanding Badal

The biggest shift in this lesson is moving from simple identification to specific description. This involves understanding the difference between two kinds of nominal sentences (جُمْلَة اِسْمِيَّة).

The Simple Sentence of jumlah ismiyyah (Mubtada’ and Khabar)

note: jumlah ismiyyah in English term is nominal sentence.

In earlier lessons, you learned how to identify things:

  • The previous lesson (Complete Sentence): هَذَا رَجُلٌ (Hadha rajulun) means "This is a man," and it is a complete sentence (because it consists of Subject and Predicate/Mubtada' and Khabar).


mubtada' and khabar: simple nominative sentence




The Specific Statement of jumlah ismiyyah (Mubtada’, Badal, and Khabar)

Now, we want to start a sentence by pointing out a specific person or thing:

  • The New lesson (Incomplete Phrase): هَذَا الرَّجُلُ (Hadha ar-rajulu) means "This man," but it is an incomplete phrase. We are waiting to hear the description (the Khabar).


mubtada' and badal: not a complete sentence



The Rule (The "Badal" Switch)

To turn your pointer هَذَا or ذَلِكَ into the subject of a specific description, you must make the noun following it definite by adding the article Al (ال). This specific, definite noun is called the Badal (Apposition).

Mubtada', badal, and khabar: a complete nominal sentence (complete jumlah ismiyyah)

We must add the khabar to make it a complete sentence. For example, we add the word "تَاجِرٌ" as a khabar, so it becomes a complete sentence => هَذَا الرَّجُلُ تَاجِرٌ (This man is a merchant.).

In this sentence:

  • هَذَا : mubtada'
  • الرَّجُلُ : badal
  • تَاجِرٌ : khabar


mubtada', badal, and khabar: complete sentence



Key Takeaway: If you add ال after هَذَا or ذَلِكَ (or another demonstrative pronoun), you are talking about that specific thing and need to add more information (Khabar) to complete the sentence.


2. Showing Ownership: The Lām of Possession

How do we say that something belongs to someone, like "This house belongs to the merchant?" 

The tool for showing possession ("belonging to" or "for") is the preposition Lām (لِ), pronounced "Li".

The Two Rules for Lām (لِ)

Rule 1: The Kasrah (ـِ)
Since لِ is a preposition, the noun it attaches to must take a Kasrah (the short "i" sound) at the end.

Rule 2: The Dropped Alif
When Lām (لِ) attaches to a word that starts with the definite article Al (ال), the initial Alif (ا) is dropped.

The Two Rules for Lām (لِ)


Asking "Whose?"

The question word for possession is formed by attaching the لِ to مَنْ (man, meaning "who"):

  • لِمَنْ (Li-man) means "Whose?" or "For whom?".
  • Example: لِمَنْ هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ؟ (Whose car is this?) 

3. Pinpointing Location: Place Adverbs


The final concept teaches you how to precisely locate objects using "Place Adverbs".

The Location Words

  • أَمَامَ (Amama): In Front 
  • خَلْفَ (Khalfa): Behind 

The Governing Rule

These location adverbs are also followed by a rule similar to the Lām of possession: the noun that immediately follows them must end with a short "i" sound (Kasrah).

Sentence Examples:

بَيْتُ التَّاجِرِ أَمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِ
The merchant's house is in front of the mosque. (Note the i sound on الْمَسْجِدِ)

بَيْتُ الطَّبِيبِ خَلْفَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ
The doctor's house is behind the school. (Note the ة on الْمَدْرَسَةِ takes Kasrah).

Closing


By mastering the rules for Badal (making statements specific), the Lām of possession, and the Place Adverbs, you can now build descriptive and grammatically correct Arabic sentences. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be speaking like a pro!