مُنْتَشِر
root: ن-ش-ر / form VIII active participle / definition: widespread, ubiquitous
We all know ذٰلِكَ. And how could we not? It’s that ubiquitous demonstrative pronoun meaning “that”.
But have you also heard of ذٰلِكِ and ذٰلِكُمْ? Because those are demonstrative pronouns too—but ubiquitous? Not so much. More like rare, actually.
So, where can we find these other demonstratives? And how do their meanings differ?
Well, we’re about a week into Ramadan, so I assume some of you have been reading the Qur’an more than usual.
And that’s one place we can find ذٰلِكِ and ذٰلِكُمْ.
Let’s look at an example or two (…okay, five):
قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ ۖ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ ٱللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
She said, “My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?” [The angel] said, “Such is Allāh; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is. (Qur’an 3:47)
قَالُوا۟ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
They replied, “Such has your Lord decreed. He is truly the All-Wise, All-Knowing.” (Qur’an 51:30)
And:
وَإِبْرَٰهِيمَ إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ ۖ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
And ˹remember˺ when Abraham said to his people, “Worship Allah, and fear Him. This is better for you, if only you knew. (Qur’an 29:16)
وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَـٰكُم مِّنْ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَآءَكُمْ ۚ وَفِى ذَٰلِكُم بَلَآءٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ
And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive. And in that was a great trial from your Lord. (Qur’an 2:49)
ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ خَـٰلِقُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَكِيلٌ
That is Allāh, your Lord; there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He is Guardian of all things. (Qur’an 6:102)
Notice how, in the first two verses, ذلكِ (in the form of كذلكِ) appears when speech is being addressed to a female. That makes sense: ـكِ is the feminine singular pronoun suffix.
But what about ذلكُم?
Well, we could say the same about ذلكُم—that it can be used when addressing a group of people (hence the plural pronoun suffix ـكُم). But I looked it up, and it can also be a reference to a group of things, like in the fourth example, “And in that [i.e. those things] was a great trial from your Lord“.
And then we have another instance in which ذلكُم can be used: للتعظيم (to emphasise greatness). Which is why, like in the last example, it can be used to refer to God: “That is Allāh, your Lord“.
We can see this—I mean, using the plural form for respect and greatness—in various forms in the Arabic language. And in other languages too. But maybe that’s a topic for another post.
Oh, and for more about the components and hidden meanings of ذلك, read these posts:
!مع السلامة
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